The Best Gaming Monitors Under 200 USD (2024 Reviews)

If $200 is all you can give away for your new display, do not despair — you won’t need a $500+ monitor to enjoy crisp image quality and smooth gaming performance.

In this guide, you’ll find the best monitors for gaming under 200 USD.

All monitors are different from each other, and there’s no doubt that at least one is perfect for you, depending on what type of games you play.

Even with less than 200 USD, you can nowadays get a great monitor with either a 1440p high refresh rate panel, 4K UHD resolution or an ultrawide format!

Check out the reviews below to find the best gaming monitor under 200 USD for you!

If you want to view our changelogs for this particular buying guide, you can do so at the end of this article.

About The Monitor

The Acer XV271U M3 is a 27″ 1440p 165Hz (180Hz OC) IPS gaming monitor with a quick pixel response time speed and a wide color gamut, ensuring both an immersive and responsive gaming experience.

Image Quality

Based on an IPS panel, the Acer XV271U M3 boasts 178° wide viewing angles meaning that the image will remain perfect regardless of the angle you’re looking at the screen.

Thanks to its 95% DCI-P3 wide color gamut, you get rich and saturated colors – and can even do professional color-critical work if you have a colorimeter to profile the display. For basic content creation though, the Acer XV271U M3 is more than good enough right out of the box.

As it’s the case with all IPS monitors, there’s some IPS glow and the native contrast ratio is mediocre at ~1,000:1, so you won’t get as deep blacks as that of VA panel monitors with a contrast ratio of around 3,000:1. However, VA technology has other disadvantages, which we’ll get into later.

Moving on, the Acer XV271U M3 monitor has a peak brightness of 250-nits, which is the minimum as far as modern LED-backlit displays go, but it can still get more than bright enough under normal lighting conditions.

Most importantly, it has a rapid response time speed for no visible ghosting behind fast-moving objects.

Features

In addition to its rapid response time speed and low input lag, the Acer XV271U M3 supports variable refresh rate (VRR) for tear-free gameplay up to 180Hz.

VRR synchronizes the refresh rate with GPU’s frame rate. So, if your frame rate is 70 FPS (Frames Per Second), the refresh rate dynamically changes to 70Hz in order to display 70 whole frames without tearing; what’s more, no perceptible latency is added like it is the case with V-Sync.

You can use VRR as long as you have an AMD FreeSync-compatible GPU. While not officially certified as ‘G-SYNC Compatible’ by NVIDIA, VRR also works with compatible GeForce GPUs (10-series or newer) over DisplayPort without any issues.

The Acer XV271U M3 also supports MBR (Motion Blur Reduction) technology called VRB (Visual Response Boost), which uses backlight strobing to reduce perceived motion blur at the cost of picture brightness. However, VRR and MBR cannot be active at the same time.

Other features include crosshair overlays, Black Boost (improves visibility in darker scenes), a refresh rate tracker, crosshair overlays and various picture presets.

Design & Connectivity

The stand of the monitor is sturdy and offers height adjustment up to 120mm, tilt by -5°/25°, 360° swivel, +/- 90° pivot and 100x100mm VESA mount compatibility.

Connectivity options include DisplayPort 1.4, two HDMI 2.0 ports (max 144Hz), a headphone jack and two 2W built-in speakers.

Alternatives

There are plenty of excellent 27″ 1440p high refresh rate IPS gaming monitors available nowadays ranging from $200 to $250 (depending on sale).

So, we recommend checking them all out and choosing whichever is the cheapest or according to your design/feature preference:

• ASUS VG27AQ3A
• Dell G2724D
• KTC H27T22S

If you want a smaller 24″ 1440p 165Hz IPS gaming monitor, check out the Koorui GP01, which goes for $200 – $220.

About The Monitor

Under $200, you can also get a great 1440p 144Hz gaming monitor with a curved VA panel, the Koorui 27E6QC.

Image Quality

The VA panel of the Koorui 27E6QC offers an exceptional static contrast ratio of 3,000:1 in comparison to the 1,000:1 contrast ratio of IPS panels.

Now, such a high contrast ratio provides you with deeper blacks and better relation between the darkest and the brightest tones, which is the main asset of VA panels.

The colors aren’t as consistent as that of IPS displays, but they are vibrant and vivid regardless thanks to the 85% DCI-P3 (~125% sRGB) wide color gamut support of the Koorui 27E6QC. So, you get more saturated colors than that of the standard gamut displays.

For entry-level color-critical work, IPS is still the better technology due to its wider viewing angles and no gamma shift.

In comparison to the previously mentioned 144Hz monitors, the VA panel of the Koorui 27E6QC has a slower response time speed, resulting in noticeable trailing behind fast-moving objects, especially in dark scenes.

On balance, if you mostly play competitive FPS games, the IPS models will provide you with better results and performance. The Koorui 27E6QC is more suited for those who play FPS games more casually and prefer immersion provided by the higher contrast ratio and wide color gamut.

Features

The Koorui 27E6QC offers crosshair overlays, on-screen timers and a few picture presets.

Further, it supports AMD FreeSync over both HDMI and DP with a 48-144Hz VRR range, and although it’s not certified as G-SYNC Compatible by NVIDIA, FreeSync works with compatible NVIDIA cards.

Unfortunately, some units of the Koorui 27E6QC (and most other monitors based on VA panels) are affected by the brightness flickering issue when VRR is enabled.

This brightness flickering is mostly visible when your FPS fluctuates a lot or when it gets below 48FPS and triggers LFC. It doesn’t affect all units of the monitor, and it’s not visible in all video games.

Design & Connectivity

The Koorui 27E6QC has a tilt-only stand, but it is VESA mount compatible via the 75x75mm pattern.

It has a moderate screen curvature of 1800R, which nicely complements the monitor and adds a bit of extra depth and immersion.

Connectivity options include HDMI 2.0, HDMI 1.4, DisplayPort 1.2 and a headphone jack.

Alternatives

27″ 1440p high refresh rate curved VA panel models usually go for $220 ~ $250, such as the AOC CQ27G2, the Gigabyte G27QCA and the MSI G273CQ. So, the Koorui 27E6QC offers excellent value for money. In case you can’t find it, consider a cheaper 1080p model, such as the AOC C24G1A.

You can also sometimes find a 32″ 1440p 144Hz VA curved model on sale for ~$200, such as the Acer EI322QURP and the Acer ED323QUP.

About The Monitor

Nowadays, you can even get an ultrawide monitor for under 200 USD!

Image Quality

This type of monitor offers a 21:9 aspect ratio as opposed to the standard 16:9 giving you extra horizontal space for a more cinematic viewing experience.

Ultrawide monitors are great for PC gaming, watching movies and multi-tasking as well.

The LG 29WQ500 is the only 21:9 monitor available for under $200. Note that the monitor is 29-inch in diagonal but longer in width than a standard display.

So, the monitor is as tall as a regular 23-inch 16:9 monitor but wider — which may take some time to get used to.

The LG 29WQ500 offers 2560×1080 Full HD Ultra-Wide resolution and since it is a fairly small monitor in size, it will provide you with a decent pixel density of 96 PPI (Pixels Per Inch).

This means that the image will have very sharp details and plenty of screen real estate for you to work with.

As if that’s not enough, the monitor is based on an IPS panel with true 8-bit color depth and over 99% sRGB color gamut, so the colors will be accurate and consistent, which may interest aspiring designers as well.

Features

The LG 29WQ500 supports AMD FreeSync with a 40-100Hz VRR range, and it works well with compatible NVIDIA GPUs.

If your favorite games support 21:9, you will be able to enjoy them on a whole new level!

Keep in mind that video games that don’t support ultrawide resolutions will just have black borders at the sides or stretch the image. You can check which games support the 21:9 aspect ratio here.

The LG 29WQ500 offers its share of game-enhancing features, including Black Stabilizer, pre-calibrated picture presets and advanced picture and color adjustments.

Design & Connectivity

The design consists of thin bezels at the top and at the sides which make it a great choice for a multi-monitor setup as well.

It also has 100x100mm holes for VESA mount while the screen can be tilted by -5°/20°. Connectivity options include HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2 and a headphone jack.

Alternatives

There’s also the LG 29WQ600 model with a USB-C port (DP Alt Mode, no Power Delivery) and dual 7W integrated speakers. It’s more expensive, but can be found on sale for $200.

About The Monitor

You can even find a 4K monitor below $200, though without some nifty features such as AMD FreeSync.

Image Quality

Even though it’s $50 – $100 cheaper than most budget 4K monitors, the Sceptre U275W-UPT features an IPS panel with wide viewing angles, 99% sRGB color gamut and a strong peak brightness of 350-nits!

4K UHD resolution results in a high pixel density of 163 PPI on 27″ monitors, which translates to plenty of screen real estate with crystal-clear details and text!

Keep in mind that you’ll need a powerful PC system to run the latest games at 4K with decent frame rates and picture settings. For office and everyday use, this won’t be an issue.

Just like most IPS monitors, the Sceptre U275W has a contrast ratio of 1,000:1, so don’t expect particularly deep blacks as that of VA panels.

However, it has a fast response time speed, so there won’t be any prominent trailing behind fast-moving objects. The monitor even supports 70Hz over DisplayPort for a very subtle boost in motion clarity as opposed to 60Hz.

Design & Connectivity

The stand of the monitor is fairly sturdy and offers tilt adjustment by -5°/15° as well as VESA mount compatibility via the 100x100mm pattern.

Connectivity options include DisplayPort 1.2 for 4K 70Hz, one HDMI 2.0 port (for 4K 60Hz), two HDMI 1.4 ports (limited to 30Hz at 4K) and a headphone jack,

Conclusion

This brings us to the end of our best gaming monitor under 200 USD buyer’s guide. As you can see, for just $200, you can get a pretty neat monitor.

Each monitor on the list has its advantages and disadvantages, so only you can know which one is the best for you.

If you mainly play competitive FPS games, then you should definitely get the Acer XV271U M3.

In case you’re more of a single-player kind of gamer and don’t care about scoreboards, the Koorui 27E6QC will provide you with a more immersive gaming experience thanks to its high contrast ratio.

Finally, in case you don’t care much for high frame rates and fast-paced gaming, the LG 29WQ500 and the Sceptre U275W offer decent performance, but a more crisp image quality as well as accurate and consistent colors.