Best Cheap Gaming Monitors for PC and Consoles

1. Best Pick: Dell S2417DG

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Editor’s Rating: 4.3/5

The Dell S2417DG is a budget G-Sync monitor that offers excellent gaming performance, featuring a QHD native resolution, a 144 Hz refresh rate (165 Hz when overclocked), a very low input lag, and good ergonomics. While it normally sells for around $400, it regularly goes on sale, with the price dropping to around $350, sometimes even less.

A 24-inch display, the S2417DG is a TN monitor with a minimalist design, featuring a thin frame with thin bezels on the top and sides, with the on-screen display buttons located on the thicker bottom bezel. If not for the glossy back panel, you can easily mistake it for a Dell UltraSharp monitor. It has a fully adjustable stand with a small hole for cable management, featuring height, tilt, swivel, and pivot adjustment options. There are no speakers on this unit, which isn’t that big of a deal considering internal speakers found in low-end monitors usually sound terrible.

Concerning input ports, the S2417DG is not that different from most other G-Sync displays, with only one HDMI port and one DisplayPort. But in terms of accessory ports, this monitor is generous, offering a total of four USB 3.0 downstream ports and a pair of analog audio ports, one of which has direct volume adjustment. Of the four USB ports, two are located on the monitor’s left side for quick access, along with the headphones port, while all the other ports are down-facing at the rear.

Like most other Dell monitors, the S2417DG has a well-designed on-screen display with a good selection of options. The control panel is organized and easy to go through, featuring a clean structure with straightforward sub-menus. The control buttons on the bottom-right corner of the monitor are similarly well designed and easy to use, producing a satisfying click when pressed.

The S2417DG is an outstanding monitor for gaming, especially for competitive gaming, boasting an extremely fast response time and a very low input lag with or without G-Sync. It’s great for fast-paced competitive games such as Overwatch and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, as well as racing and fighting games. It’s got a high resolution, too, so texts are sharper and images are more detailed, which is great no matter what kind of games you play.

Regarding overall picture quality, the S2417DG is a mixed bag. On one hand, it has good color accuracy once calibrated and is great when gaming in a well-lit room due to its high peak brightness and good reflection handling. But on the other hand, the S2417DG has very limited viewing angles and a poor contrast ratio. While decent enough for a TN display, you shouldn’t expect too much from this budget G-Sync monitor in terms of picture quality.

Overall, the S2417DG is an excellent monitor for both regular and competitive gaming. It has a high refresh rate, exceptional response time, very low input lag, and good ergonomics. It’s best used for PC gaming, as home consoles won’t be able to take advantage of G-Sync, not to mention both the base PS4 and the PS4 Pro don’t natively support QHD resolution.

If you want a FreeSync alternative, check out the AOC Agon AG241QX, which offers similar specs and gaming performance. While inferior to the S2417DG in several areas, such as peak brightness, ergonomics, and overall picture quality, the AG241QX is also a great monitor for gaming.

2. Best Budget: Dell P2417H

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Editor’s Rating: 3.9/5

There are lots of cheap IPS monitors on the market, with some products selling for just $100, but out of all of them, the Dell P2417H offers the best overall value, especially if you care about picture quality and ergonomics. It’s a good IPS display for regular gaming on PC and consoles, featuring a fast response time and a low input lag, and the best part is that it sells for just around $150-180.

Of the items on this list, the P2417H is the only one not specifically marketed for gaming. It’s almost identical to our top pick, with only minor differences in some areas, such as the placement of the on-screen display buttons. It’s got a professional design, featuring a minimalist frame with narrow bezels on the top and sides and a slightly thicker bottom bezel, where the control buttons are located.

Instead of on the underside, the control buttons are out front, which makes it easier to see which buttons you are pressing, especially since they are not clearly labeled on the frame. On a related note, the on-screen display is organized and easy to go through, featuring a good selection of calibration options, but don’t expect to see a lot of gaming-related options since the monitor wasn’t built with gaming in mind.

Like our top pick, the P2417H comes with a sturdy stand that easily supports the 24-inch screen, with a small hole near the bottom for cable management. The stand is fully adjustable, offering options to adjust the height and tilt and swivel the screen, with good adjustment ranges all around, including a 45-degree swivel range in both directions and a 5.1-inch height adjust. You can also rotate the screen to portrait mode if needed.

When shopping for the best cheap gaming monitors, one of the first things you’ll notice is that many products come with very limited connection options. That’s not the case here. Compared to most other displays in the same price range, regardless of the panel type, the P2417H is a lot more generous. It has one DisplayPort, one HDMI port, one VGA port, two USB 2.0 ports, and two USB 3.0 ports. While all the other ports are down-facing on the back panel, the USB 3.0 ports are on the monitor’s left side for quick access.

Although not as smooth and responsive as budget products built specifically for gaming, the P2417H works well as a gaming monitor, especially if you game on consoles. It has a 1080p native resolution, which is perfect for the base PS4, the Xbox One, and the Nintendo Switch. It’s got a fast response time for a low-end IPS display and a low input lag.

On the flip side, the refresh rate is only 60 Hz, and there’s no adaptive sync tech on this unit, which will definitely disappoint hardcore PC gamers. The P2417H is not a recommended monitor for fast-paced competitive games, most especially first-person shooters. But for action/turn-based RPGs, open-world adventure games, platformers, and strategy games, it’s more than good enough.

Compared to budget TN monitors in the same price range, the P2417H has much better overall picture quality. It’s got wide viewing angles and good color accuracy even before a full calibration. But on the downside, the contrast ratio is subpar and the black uniformity is mediocre, which is noticeable when playing survival horror games, or games with a lot of dark scenes, while in a dark room.

While not ideal for competitive gaming, the P2417H is a good budget IPS monitor for gaming, especially for console gaming. It has decent overall picture quality, a fully adjustable stand, a fast response time, and a low input lag. If you don’t care about very high refresh rates and mostly play games such as Sea of Thieves, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and Nier: Automata, the P2417H is a good budget option.

3. Best Value: ViewSonic XG2402

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Editor’s Rating: 4.1/5

The ViewSonic XG2402 is an excellent gaming monitor for both PC and console gaming, especially if you mainly play fast-paced first-person shooter games. It’s often considered the best 1080p TN display on the market, boasting exceptional response time and input lag as well as FreeSync support. It has a high refresh rate of 144 Hz, with a FreeSync range of 48-144 Hz. You can get it for around $200-250, which is a very appealing price range considering what the product brings to the table.

Compared to the Dell monitors above, the XG2402 isn’t something you’d easily mistake for a regular, non-gaming monitor, with its cool lighting system making sure of that. It has good build quality for a budget product and comes with a well-built stand that easily supports the 24-inch screen. The rigid stand – which has a small ring for cable management and a headphones hook – is fully adjustable, with options to adjust the height and tilt and swivel the screen.

Although the bezels on all sides are fairly thick, they look good. The control buttons are on the bottom bezel, on the right corner. While the buttons are not very clearly marked, they are easy enough to use when going through the internal menu. The OSD itself is a different story, though. It offers a good selection of options, but on the other hand, it’s not well organized and can be confusing.

The back panel is stylish, with the red chevrons lighting up for a bit of flair. All connection ports are down-facing on the back panel. You’ll find two HDMI ports, one DisplayPort, one analog audio out, and a couple USB 3.0 down ports on this monitor. The internal speakers also fire out from the back panel but don’t expect to get good sound quality from them.

While good enough for slow-paced games such as turn-based RPGs, the XG2402 is at its best when used for fast-paced competitive games. It has a very high native refresh rate, giving you a buttery smooth output when playing first-person shooter games on PC, assuming your graphics card is also adequate enough. It also supports FreeSync, which reduces screen tearing and stuttering when the frame rate is erratic.

The XG2402 is a good budget monitor for the base PS4 and the Nintendo Switch, though the high refresh rate and the adaptive sync tech won’t give you benefits if you game on those consoles. For PC and Xbox One gaming, this ViewSonic display is even better, offering FreeSync over HDMI, which is great for the latter platform.

You shouldn’t expect too much regarding overall picture quality, though. While the XG2402 is decent enough for a TN display, it’s not on the same level as IPS displays. It has narrow viewing angles and a low contrast ratio. But on the plus side, it has good color accuracy, even before a full calibration, with great overall coverage for the sRGB color space.

All in all, the XG2402 is a solid budget display that offers excellent value for the money. It has a very low input lag, an extremely fast response time, FreeSync support, good color accuracy, and good ergonomics. If you want a high refresh rate monitor that works really well for gaming, especially for PC and Xbox One, and sells for less than $300, get the XG2402.

4. Samsung C27F398

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Editor’s Rating: 3.8/5

If you usually game with the lights off and love to play survival horror games, the Samsung C27F398 will prove to be a more suitable monitor than the Dell P2417H. It’s a cheap VA display selling for less than $200, with decent picture quality, a low input lag, and FreeSync support.

Of the monitors listed here, the C27F398 is the most unique in appearance, sporting a 27-inch curved screen with a curve radius of 1800R. While the unit is made of plastic from top to bottom, the build quality is satisfactory for a budget product. The bezels are narrow and look good while the stand is decent enough, with no major wobbling issues.

However, the stand is very basic, with no cable management and not much adjustment options. You can tilt the screen, but that’s it. You can’t adjust the height, swivel the screen, and rotate to portrait mode, which makes this Samsung display better off mounted to a monitor arm or on the wall. Although it has a thick frame overall, it will look good in a wall-mounted setup.

There are no internal speakers in this display, which isn’t surprising considering the price. Even if there were speakers, they likely wouldn’t sound very good, if speakers on other cheap monitors in the same price range are any indication. For audio, you can connect external speakers or headphones to the supplied analog audio port at the back.

And speaking of ports, the C27F398 is much more limited than our budget pick, only offering one each of HDMI and DisplayPort, with no USB 3.0 ports for connecting other peripherals. On the upside, all three ports (including the audio port) are easy to access on the back panel due to their outward position.

Like many LG monitors, this Samsung display has a joystick for navigating the OSD. Located on the back panel, on the bottom-left corner (as seen from the back), the small joystick is easy to use and makes going through the internal menu faster. The OSD is also good, with an organized structure and a good selection of options, but don’t expect to see a long list of gaming features.

While not as good as our top three picks, the C27F398 is a solid budget monitor for both PC and console gaming, boasting a fast response time and a low input lag even with FreeSync enabled. The max refresh rate is 60 Hz, but when FreeSync is enabled, that shoots to 72 Hz. Whether you are connected via HDMI or DisplayPort, the variable refresh rate range is 48-72 Hz.

In terms of overall picture quality, the C27F398 is satisfactory enough for a budget VA display. Of the products in this guide, it’s got the best contrast ratio, so it’s great for games with a lot of dark scenes, such as Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, The Evil Within, and other survival horror games. It has good color accuracy as well, but on the flip side, it has limited viewing angles and a low pixel density due to its 27-inch screen and 1080p resolution.

Overall, the C27F398 is a good budget monitor for regular gaming. It’s good for single-player games, but for fast-paced multiplayer games, it’s not ideal. It has excellent native contrast, a fast response time, a low input lag, and FreeSync support. If you want a good VA alternative to our budget pick, the C27F398 is the best option on the market.

5. LG 24UD58-B

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Editor’s Rating: 4/5

The LG 24UD58-B is the best cheap 4K monitor on the market for both PC and console gaming, selling for less than $300, with the price dropping to around $250 during a sale. It’s got a fast response time and a low input lag and supports FreeSync (though only over DisplayPort).

Of the products in this guide, this LG offering is probably the least impressive regarding overall design, featuring a very basic look with fairly thick bezels on all sides. It comes with a curved stand that suffers from poor ergonomics, only offering tilt adjustment. In addition to that, the stand is not as stable as it seems due to the way the mount is positioned on the back panel. If you want an easily adjustable setup, go for a wall-mounted or monitor arm setup.

Regarding connection ports, the 24UD58-B is only marginally better than the Samsung VA display above, offering two HDMI 2.0 ports, one DisplayPort, and one analog audio port, all of which are outward-facing on the back panel. There are no internal speakers on this monitor, which isn’t that big of a deal unless you are one of those people who actually find monitor speakers acceptable for gaming.

For controls, this LG monitor comes with a small joystick slightly hidden at the bottom. While it might take a while before you get used to it, the joystick is more intuitive than the usual clickable buttons seen in other monitors. The on-screen menu is also well designed, with organized sub-menus and a nice selection of options.

The 24UD58-B is a good budget 4K monitor for PC, PS4 Pro, and Xbox One X, especially if you mostly play games with gorgeous visuals, such as God of War, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice. It has a fast response time and a low input lag even when FreeSync is enabled and when running in 4K resolution. It can output in 4K at 60 Hz over both DisplayPort and HDMI, with the latter compatibility being the more important thing for those who game on PS4 Pro and Xbox One X.

If you mostly play fast-paced competitive games such as Overwatch on PC, the 24UD58-B is not the best option. While it has a fast response time and a low input lag, it can only output in 60 Hz, which is a common limitation among 4K monitors. You’ll find the Dell S2417DG and the ViewSonic XG2402 to be more suitable options for competitive gaming.

The 24UD58-B has good overall picture quality for a budget 4K monitor. It has wide viewing angles and good out-of-box color accuracy, with almost perfect coverage for the sRGB color space once calibrated. On the other hand, it has a mediocre contrast ratio, and the brightness could be better, though it still works well enough in a bright room. And compared to the Dell P2417H, the backlight bleed is more noticeable in this IPS monitor, which could be a deal-breaker for some of you.

If you want a cheap 4K monitor under $300, the 24UD58-B is the best option on the market. It has good build quality, a fast response time, a low input lag, and FreeSync support. It has a high resolution, which translates to sharper texts and more detailed images. While flawed in some areas, the 24UD58-B is still one of the best cheap gaming monitors on the market.