Regardless of if you are spending upwards of $300+ or going for a gaming monitor for under $150, knowing what to look for is an important part of the process. Below, we have gone over a few key factors that you should consider before making your final purchase. These key factors will not only make choosing your next monitor easier but they will ensure you get a product that fits your needs and limit the risk of wasting any money.
Response Time
A low response time is one of the more important factors and something we can often take for granted.
Response times can vary dramatically from monitor to monitor, even with gaming monitors, but 1ms is very common these days. Most gaming monitors for under $150 will be under 5ms, and as a general rule of thumb, the faster the response time, the better that monitor is going to be for gaming. Lower response time is especially important for competitive players who have a lot of fast-moving imagery on their screen that needs to be seen as quickly as possible.
Refresh Rate
Unless you are on a tight budget or are looking into 4K gaming, a refresh rate is of high importance. A monitor’s refresh rate is measured in Hz(Hertz) and is a way of measuring how fast a particular monitor can refresh the image on the screen.
Refresh rates vary from 60Hz to 240Hz, with some even higher coming out more recently but, generally speaking, the faster the refresh rate the better, with the odd exception to this rule.
60Hz is fine for gaming but should be avoided if and where possible unless you are planning on buying a 4K monitor. 60Hz can also be a great option for those on tighter budgets or just looking for a casual monitor.
144Hz could be considered the new benchmark of where you want to be and a monitor that features 144Hz should always be considered first, even if it means you may have to save for a little longer. Jumping from 60Hz to 144Hz is a very noticeable difference and the quicker refresh rates are ideal for any FPS competitive players out there.
Screen Resolution
When it comes to the best gaming monitors for under $150, you aren’t really going to see a variety in screen resolution. In fact, the majority of options available in this price range are going to be 1080p.
The screen’s resolution can have a direct impact on performance you are playing a demanding game so if your PC is old or features slower components you may want to avoid going for 1440p gaming monitors and up. On the flip side of that argument, if you have an excellent gaming computer, it may be worth investing in a 1440p gaming monitors to show off your games and future proof your setup further.
Panel Types
Today, most modern monitors are manufactured using a TFT-LCD (thin-film transistor – liquid crystal display) technology. There are other technologies too, each with its own plus points and drawbacks. Each panel type performs best in different situations, for example, some are more responsive, whereas others boast better viewing angles or color accuracy.
The three main panel types are TN (twisted nematic), VA (vertical alignment), and IPS (in-plane switching). To better understand the differences take a quick look at the table below and if you still want to know more, check out this page all about the different panel types:
