Buying suitable monitors for gaming under $150 can be daunting, but it is doable even if what you can get isn’t a full-fledged gamer-centric unit. But then again, a sophisticated 144Hz or faster screen with Gsync or Freesync can cost a fortune sometimes not worth paying for if you can’t utilize every bit of its capabilities to justify the cost.
Thankfully, the market is vast and ripe with the best monitors for the money, which become more affordable thanks to price reductions and excellence due to the manufacturer’s expertise and experience. The following monitors for gaming under $150 are your best bets to help you save money while enjoying gaming glory in your free time.
What to Expect From Monitors for Gaming Under $150
The best advice we could give our practical readers who are looking to spend no more than $150 is always to manage your expectations. At this price range, you can’t expect lightning-fast performance or fantastic features like adaptive sync or flexible ergonomics. Although by buying smart, you can get away with an excellent product at a wallet-friendly-price
Resolution
The best resolution you can find at this budget is 1080p or 1920 x 1080, the current, widely preferred format for gaming and general use. FHD is the most optimized and easiest to run aside from 1440p and 4K, so you won’t need a massively powerful build to enjoy games at 60fps.
This category still offers acceptable levels of detail and field of views, so you won’t have to worry about being left out. Experts say that 1080p still has a few more years before it becomes obsolete, so an FHD display should last you two to three years of hard use.
Panel Type
There are three panel types you can consider under $150. Primarily, TN is the king of this bracket for its affordability and widespread availability. You sacrifice a bit of color vibrancy and viewing angles, but its snappy response and fully-optimized nature make it the top choice for thrifty gamers.
You can also choose to go VA or Vertical Alignment for its excellent contrast and improved color fidelity, but you sacrifice pixel response so you might experience interlacing or ghosting in fast-paced action. Finally, you can choose the IPS versions which offer the best vibrancy, saturation and view angles, but be wary of sluggish pixel transitions and the dreaded IPS glow.
Refresh Rate
Refresh rates are measured in Hertz or Hz, which corresponds to how many times per second a screen can render every pixel or frame. The best gaming monitors under $150 often only have the typical 60Hz, but you can find deals which can go up to 75Hz depending on the season and your timing.
Don’t fret if you can’t wait or extend your budget a bit, 60Hz is still plenty for casual enjoyment, and most of your games will still be enjoyable unless you want to be competitive or are sensitive to flaws in the images on the screen.
Screen Size
At the time of this writing, the biggest monitor for gaming under $150 you can get are only up to 24 Inches in size. Still, that form factor isn’t so bad especially if you consider that most professional events still play on 24-inch screens. This size still is the most comfortable to view without sacrificing field of view and pixel density, so most of the time, your games will appear satisfyingly bright and crisp.
Response Time
The response time of a monitor listed on boxes and user manuals pertains to the time its pixels can transition from white to black, or gray to gray. The faster this spec is, the better your chosen monitor will be for your gaming since a slow response time can result in ghosting or interlacing.
1 to 4ms is ideal, but 5ms to 6ms is still acceptable for casual usage. Most of the best gaming monitors under $150 won’t be able to reach their corresponding panel’s maximum times although they are still capable enough for your after-hours enjoyment.
The Best Monitors for Gaming Under $150
1. BenQ GL2460HM
The BenQ GL2460HM is a primary choice if you are looking for the best monitors for gaming under $150. For its cost of around $130.00 at the time of this writing, you get a snappy 2ms screen with gorgeous blacks and an easy to correct color temperature for the best gaming performance.
The BenQ GL2460HM is pretty well-equipped for something so cheap since it includes HDMI, DVI, and VGA ports for connectivity, plus you also get a basic pair of built-in speakers. Another pleasing aspect is this model’s 24-inch form, which is the biggest you can get at this price point.
2. Acer R240HY
The Acer R240HY is a budget-friendly offering disguised in a high-end borderless appearance which provides a fantastic view of the vibrant, 1080p IPS panel. This model also performs with a pixel response time of 4ms, the maximum rating screens of this type are capable of providing.
You also get vibrant colors, and excellent grayscale performance, plus input lag is measured to sit below 10ms, making this monitor ideal for fast-paced action without any delays. Acer did not include a lot of physical features, but we imagine that the missing bits will be easy to ignore against the beautiful screen.
3. ViewSonic VX2457-MHD
The ViewSonic VX2457-MHD is an excellent monitor for gaming under $150 because it carries Freesync tech for its low price. The 24-inch 1080p TN panel is capable of up to a 75Hz refresh rate, making it the fastest screen in this lineup.
There are some compromises in panel uniformity in some models, but the specs are quite impressive plus a Delta E rating below 2.0 is easy to achieve just by lowering the brightness to comfortable levels. Finding something that offers similar specs with fewer flaws will cost you more bucks, so we think the ViewSonic VX2457-MHD is already an excellent deal despite its forgettable flaws.
4. Asus VS239H-P
The Asus VS239H-P is one of the most capable monitors under $150 when it comes to image fidelity thanks to its built-in sRGB mode which instantly allows excellent color reproduction. The IPS panel can only go up to 5ms in pixel response, but this model is great at connective feel since it has an input lag result which sits between 9 and 10ms.
Considering its price, the only caveat we can think of is its limited flexibility and glossy finish which almost always leads to scratches and fingerprints. You don’t get speakers, but this model can handle a PC plus two other host devices since it includes an HDMI, DVI, and VGA port neatly tucked into its slim profile.
5. HP Pavilion 22CWA
The HP Pavilion 22CWA is one of our favorite budget monitors for it’s more or less $99.00 and gorgeous screen. The thin borders make it ideal for multi-monitor setups (5760 x 1080 gaming for 300???). The smaller form factor also provides a pixel density of 100PPI, making images appear cleaner and crisper when compared to 24-inch offerings.
One downside to the HP Pavilion 22CWA is its 7ms response time, which can induce ghosting in fast-paced action. The excellent panel uniformity despite being one of the cheapest monitors you can buy makes it easy to ignore these flaws. If you don’t believe us, check out this product’s rating on Amazon to discover why it is one of the top sellers on that website.
Thoughts
Finding the best monitors for gaming under $150 is a challenge because there aren’t a lot of capable products at this price range, and yet there are so many cheap models to choose from. These top five products we specified here can be considered as the role models or benchmarks in this category since it would be even harder to find something with similar specs and pricing at the time of this writing.
We always recommend users to get the best their budgets can buy when it comes to monitors since these peripherals typically outlast a build or two before they require upgrading or replacement. Getting one of the best gaming monitors available right now is ideal, but it is hard to turn down a bargain once you see one.
Buying one of the best monitors for gaming under $150 is also ideal since it allows you to allot more cash to other crucial parts such as a GPU or more RAM. Or you can build a multi-display setup for half of what ultra-wide monitor costs. Practically speaking, if you skimp on your rig internals, the system won’t be able to run and maximize that 144Hz screen you want anyway.
gaming skärm 27 tum 144hz says
Me encanto mucho tu articulo Gracias Saludos
Paolo Reva says
Gracias por sus amables palabras! Estamos contentos de estar de servicio.
neptuniafan says
I totally agree with having to compromise to purchase a budget monitor, a gaming monitor at that. I of course have that experience a lot of times, and it is not easy. I am also wondering if it is important to have a good SRGB coverage (95% or above) or a good contrast ratio (3000:1 or above), cause you can’t have both.
Of course I don’t really mind the response time considering there is so much you can have on a budget. Also surprise that the Benq GL2460HM is still on the favorite budget list, that monitor has been there for a long time. Also what do you think about the Viewsonic VX2363smhl being a good budget monitor?