Best Gaming Monitors Under $200

The price of gaming monitors can vary enormously, with more expensive models offering additional features, better resolutions, and larger screen sizes in general. For less than $200, it’s possible to find a good quality gaming monitor. As with any PC component, the more you pay, the better quality product you’ll get. A gaming monitor that costs $200 is almost always going to be superior than a monitor that costs $100, so it’s worth stretching your budget to its maximum to get the best model.

Monitors, just like TVs or laptops, can come in various sizes, but the majority of gaming monitors tend to stick between 21 and 27 inches. 24 inches is usually considered the sweet spot, and this is the standard monitor size used in professional gaming tournaments. Since you’ll usually be sitting pretty close to the screen, it’s not really necessary to invest in a 30+ inch display, and a larger screen can actually hamper your gaming performance as you’ll need to literally move your head around to see all the information, rather than having it directly in your eye-line.

Simply put, a higher resolution means there are more pixels on the screen, resulting in finer details and better image quality. However, going after the highest resolution for your gaming monitor isn’t always the smartest idea. For starters, many games don’t even run in 4K or 5K right now, so high fidelity displays like these aren’t really necessary. In addition, the bigger the resolution, the harder your system has to work to render graphics, so you have to buy a monitor with a resolution that suits the rest of your system. In general, a 1080p resolution, also marketed as Full HD, is perfectly satisfactory.

The refresh rate, measured in Hertz (Hz) tells us how often the monitor refreshes per second. Again, a super high refresh rate is useless with the graphics card and processing power to back it up, but, as with many other tech specs, a higher number results in better performance here. A higher refresh rate means smoother images and higher potential frame rates.

There are three major times of panel technology being used in gaming monitors right now: TN, IPC, and VA. TN stands for twisted nematic and these are generally the cheapest monitors. They offer high refresh rates and fast response times, making them good for gaming, but can struggle with bold colors and tend to offer narrow viewing angles. VA stands for vertical alignment, and these are the slowest monitors but offer good contrast and image quality. Finally, IPS stands for in-plane switching, and monitors with this tech are usually the priciest but offer decent response times, vivid colors, and wide viewing angles.

Measured in milliseconds (ms), this reading tells us how responsive the monitor is. A faster (lower) response time results in smoother movements, while slower response times may cause a little blurring on the screen, especially during intense action games with a lot of movement and action.

If you’re struggling to choose between two gaming monitors with similar specs, the additional features might help you make a decision. Good gaming monitor features can include things like easy calibration options, lots of input and output slots, swivel and tilt options on the stand, exclusive gaming modes, and more.