Best Gaming Monitor Below 200 – Complete Review

One thing most gamers take for granted is the right monitor. The Irony, however, is that it is one of the most important things that make gaming really enjoyable and getting the best gaming monitor under $200 may seem like a Herculean task considering the number of brands in the market and the different prices they go for. Nevertheless, streamlining what separates good monitors from the best, will help you get the best gaming monitor on a budget.

Some major factors would have to be put into consideration especially those that concern the clarity of display, quality of build, the response time lag, input ports and the panel it uses. We have considered all these before selecting what we feel should beat any monitor on the market once the maximum price point is $200.

At the end of our review, it was easy to see why the LG UM57 25UM57 is the best monitor for gaming. This is largely because it offers great video quality, even as it is very wide and complete in most other ways.

If you may prefer something different, either the Acer R240HY or the Dell SE2417HGR should be good enough as they are among our top picks. This is not to suggest that others on the list are in the least sense, less performing since we usually test and review products that come highly recommended to come up with our list of “best of the best” recommendations.

Why You Should Really Trust Us

We are still in what you are allowed to call our gaming season, as gaming peripherals are the things we are reviewing in Bulk at the moment. We have taken a look at the best wireless mechanical keyboards for gaming, best gaming mouse, best CPU coolers, and even gaming chairs.

With this review, we picked and went through picked as much as 19 gaming monitors that were highly recommended by different reviewers on the internet, gamers, buyers, and sellers.

We set them up with other of our selected best gaming components, taking hundreds of hours to go through them. No, we didn’t end with the arrogance of only the things we know about gaming monitors as we also got the opinions of hard-core gamers, computer experts, and buyers who have used these monitors.

At the end of the day, therefore, we have a review that should pass the test of expert and hardcore gamers, computer experts, and everyone that knows even a jack about gaming monitors.

Best Gaming Monitors Under $200: Top Collections

LG UM57 25UM57 Gaming Monitor

gaming monitor under $200
The LG UM57 25UM57

LG hasn’t been much of a company that manufactures gaming peripherals. That being said, when it comes to gaming monitors, you can’t push the company off the cliff. It is simply that good.

With the 25UM57, it has come up with a very good gaming monitor that is ultra-wide and of superbly built. The 25-inch monitor comes with diagonal IPS panel which gives 99% sRGB (standard Red Green Blue) coverage.

A full HD (2560×1080) monitor, it has a very good feature which is the 4-Screen split capability. With this, you will have two, three or four different screens on just one, and it will allow you multitask rather easily. Our disappointment is that the screen splitting does not work on windows 10 but one more feature that we found very interesting is the Flicker-Safe technology which serves to protect your eyes from fatigue even as you play games for a very long time.

The logical fears are on its weight and if it could be mounted easily. It is a light weighted slim monitor and it is very easy to mount.

Featured on the LG UM57 25UM57 are 2 HDMI inputs and a headphone jack. It doesn’t come with a DVI, Displayport, or even VGA.

Finally, if you are not satisfied with the 25 inches that this comes in, you can as well get larger sized versions such as the 34-inch version, even though that is pricier.

Pros

  • It has ultra wide screen
  • Great coloring and sRGB
  • Will serve for multitasking.
  • Enough space for complex gaming and other multimedia works.
  • It comes with many features that are very useful.

Cons

  • It doesn’t come with many ports
  • If you are running on windows 10, you may not get to have the 4 screen split.

Verdict

When you are looking at the best gaming monitor under 200 that will give you an ultra-wide screen, this should definitely beat. And you need to understand that it is not only the screen that sells with this piece as it sells also in performance, price, and features.

Acer R240HY Gaming Monitor

gaming monitor below 200
The Acer R240HY

It doesn’t matter really, how far you have gone with the collection of gaming components, you must have heard of Acer. Once you decide to embark on the journey, the name is among the first that will hit your way and hardly should it then surprise you that the company has some of the best gaming monitors under $200.

A 23.8-inch monitor, the Acer R240HY has a very nice look and intelligent build for convenience. It gives you the opportunity to tilt and adjust the monitor from -5 degrees to 15 degrees for convenience.

More so, it has a widescreen IPS display and an ultra slim build. Its color display is very good and doesn’t get too shouty.

We found the performance really exceptional. It has a pixel response of 4 MS, which means that there are great transition and rendering as you game. What even beats is that there is no ghosting with it.

At 9.6 milliseconds, the lag time is very impressive. It beats what you get with many others, and only comes a little behind the BenQ SW2700PT which records 9.5 milliseconds even as it is more expensive.

Let’s add that while its refreshing time at 60hz, isn’t what you have to get to the moon to obtain, it can be overclocked to reach 75Hz; now this is something that should satisfy heavy gamers.

The grudges some may have with this, including us here, is that Acer didn’t design this with features such as USB ports, audio peripherals, or a DisplayPort input option. But considering its price, one cannot but understand. By the way, it comes with a headphone jack, HDMI, DVI, and VGA input ports,

Pros

  • No ghosting.
  • Good response time
  • The display is very good.
  • Has better features than many in its price range.

Cons

  • It doesn’t come with VESA mount so you may need to buy that differently.

Verdict

The Acer R240HY is a great monitor though you will find that with its price range, it is without many features that only come with the very big boys that ask for as much as a thousand bucks. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t serve very well when it is called upon. In fact, it beats what many offer when you look at its response and lagging. From its looks down to its performance, this has got the honorable pat on the back from us over here.

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Dell SE2417HGR 24″ 1080p LED Gaming Monitor

gaming monitor under 200
The Dell SE2417HGR 24″

Sometimes, it’s not exactly a gaming monitor that you need, but one that will serve you greatly while gaming and still give you the best when you want to put it to professional or everyday use.

For that, there are other things to consider including the performance with everyday proofreading and editing tasks and looks. That is where this monitor answers your call.

It is an all in one solution monitor which has become a choice for moderate to even serious gamers, offering full 1080p HD as well as a fast 2ms response speed.

One thing that is easy to appreciate with this monitor is the fact that it has a very nice and yet simple design, and it comes in different sizes from 17 inches to 24 inches, which is definitely good for gaming.

The problem with the monitor is that it sometimes has ghosting most especially if you are playing games that have anything to do with plenty of speed and very fast moving frames.

More so, because it is one of the very few that will serve your everyday needs, it has to make a few sacrifices. One of such is that it doesn’t come with dual-screen capabilities but the backlighting is great for regular tasks.

Pros

  • Great display capabilities.
  • Classy and simple looks
  • It works well for both PC and Console gaming.
  • It is very valuable

Cons

  • Ghosting can sometimes occur

Verdict

For someone who is a casual gamer, we present this as your head and tail. This is because it has that looks that don’t necessarily scream – gaming! even as it offers one of the best in gaming experience if you are not asking for too much. The most amazing thing with this is that it still allows you to enjoy both PC and Console gaming.

AOC e2752She 27-Inch Gaming Monitor

The AOC e2752She 27-Inch

Formerly Admiral Overseas Corporation, AOC has walked a rather long journey as a Taiwanese company to grow into one of the biggest when it comes to gaming monitors. Before it reached where it is today, it has done great with colored TVs and has a name in the Tablet market.

That at least is a testament of how much expertise and experience it has gathered when it comes to display platforms including monitors. You can’t survive the CRT times and give a good run with LCD monitors and still end up with no experience

With the e2752She, AOC has done something that is both remarkably fast and large enough for those who prefer it massive.

Designed with a TN panel, this 1920 X1080 monitor has a response speed of 2 ms (gray-to-gray), which is really good.

To confess, it is rather intelligent that AOC has decided to have this coming with very good and thoughtful features to ensure great user-experience. For example, the monitor comes with the iMenu option which allows one to make monitor settings without having to reach for the display.

It is also designed with a feature to split your screen for better work experience if you want to have it for other things apart from gaming. With this, you can have your screen split into 4 and be working on each separately.

There is a pair of 2.5-watt speakers that come with it. The audio reproduction of the speakers may not be the best you can have but you get served very strong audio output without distortion which is better than most regular monitors that come with in-built speakers.

Finally, the build of the monitor is easily enchanting. Not because it is aesthetically complete, but because it mixes its average good looks with good build.  It goes on to be easily mountable thanks to the VESA-compliant mounting holes featured.

Pros

  • Remarkably fast
  • It has a very good audio output
  • Good for multitasking
  • Friendly features including the iMenu option.
  • Extremely valuable

Cons

  • Doesn’t have the best viewing angle.

Verdict

At the end of the day, we would have to recommend this to someone looking for a monitor that is both large and fast. It may not have every bell and whistle under the sun (it’s less than $200) but definitely, it rings the right bell and whistles right. Once you need a gaming monitor that will also serve as your multitasking monster, you may need to land yourself this monitor.

BenQ GL2760H 27-inch LED Gaming Monitor

GOOD GAMING MONITOR UNDER $200
The BenQ GL2760H

This monitor is designed to throw fast response, low input lag, and largeness of size at a very affordable price. It is made for people who want as large as life display.

Above many things, the performance of the monitor is worth every accolade you can throw at it, most especially as it is a budget piece. It has a very low lag time of 9.9 milliseconds which is even better than its other brother; BenQ RL2460HT which has its at 10.1ms.

More so, you will get your games rendered in a super-fast manner most especially as it has a 2 ms response time.

One main problem that earliest users of this Monitor had was that of too much flickering at all the brightness level, the result of which is eye fatigue. The company has, however, worked on that and all the sets now are good to go.

Looking at the design of the BenQ monitor, it doesn’t have the killer looks as you would expect of a monster that it is, neither does it have the ugly look. Still, you will get impressed at the end of the day. But the best thing with its build is not about the looks but the quality. It surpasses many others that have crossed our paths or that we have crossed their paths in this review. It is simply great, and it doesn’t need an engineering degree to have it properly installed.

Pros

  • It has very good image display quality.
  • Sharp response.
  • Not difficult to install

Cons

  • The viewing angles are rather Narrow
  • Doesn’t have many features.

Verdict

The BenQ GL2760H 27-inch LED Monitor is what you can call the beast for a slim wallet. It will serve you amazingly well if you are looking for a piece that will be good for gaming and regular office works. Nevertheless, if you need something that will take care of your very high demanding gaming needs, this may not just be it. This is even as we found it to be better than most in this price range.

HP Pavilion 27xw Gaming Monitor

gaming monitor
The HP Pavilion 27xw

There was a time when many gamers would not look at HP components because they have always been more professional than gaming. Nevertheless, times have changed and gamers no longer care about the company once the stuff is a killer.

That is what the 27xw is in both size and performance. More so, because typical gamers now are always asking for more of everything, the monitor offers more in the display with a 27-inch screen at a resolution of 1920×1080 Full HD.

As for the display, it is very sharp, bright, and very good on all colors.

The design of the monitor is another thing that is highly impressive and sturdy. It is very easy for one to appreciate the way HP designed the monitor as it is with most of its computer peripherals. You can have this mounted easily without any fears that it wouldn’t hold.

With bezel-less gradually dragging foot into the main stream, HP has designed the 27Xw with the technology. And yes, we think it makes much sense.

More than the build and design, the performance and emphasis on its display quality is another thing that goes well with the HP Pavilion 27xw 27-in. It enjoys a response time of 8ms.

As a result of its size, many people may get thinking that setting it up may need a diploma in Engineering in the least. On the contrary, with one eye shut and one hand in the pocket, you can have it set very quickly. Very close to that is how easy it is to get installed.

Pros

  • Aesthetically complete and slim
  • The performance is top notch
  • It is very easy to set up
  • Great value for price

Cons

  • There is some reflection with the screen.

Verdict

This could just be the piece for someone wanting more from a $200 budget. It offers a lot in screen display, quality, and overall performance. It is easy to set up, and seamless with almost every game.

Acer H226HQL Gaming Monitor

gaming monitor below
The Acer H226HQL

It is not all gamers that want it complex and larger than life. Some just want it to be as simple as it can be. For such, the Acer H226HQL is just the genie in the bottle.

The monitor is designed with a screen size of 21.5 inches and a resolution of 1920 X 1080, it comes with a response rate of 5ms. Considering its price, this is quite good.

First impressions count right? The first this gives is that of friendliness with its design that is easy to appreciate. It has a glossy screen that is mostly well mirrored.  This means that it will easily reflect light.

The build quality of the H226HQL isn’t the best on the list, but it is still decent enough to last a very generous number of years. In fact, it beats many others that go for the same price.

To the performance, the display quality of this is very generous and the performance is exceedingly good even for its price. What is more is that it doesn’t have ghosting behind its video quality irrespective of the frame speed.

It has VGA, HDMI, and DVI ports for different connectivity options. The HDMI port supports MHL for compatibility of mobile devices.

Pros

  • Good display quality and top notch performance
  • No ghosting.
  • It is very affordable
  • Various connectivity options

Cons

  • The screen reflects light.

Verdict

This monitor can pass as the game changer when you are running at less than 200 bucks or even less than 100. In fact, it is our best cheap gaming monitor under $200.

BenQ RL2455HM Gaming Monitor

The BenQ RL2455HM

The primary design of the BenQ RL2455HM was to give gamers a low budget gaming piece in the line of BenQ gaming monitors which has a reputation even among very high and serious gamers.

There are good points that the monitor pulls to itself as regards the design. We found it to be appealing but fairly adjustable as it only goes 15 degrees backward or 5 degrees forward.

With respect to the performance, the BenQ RL2455HM has been pushed by the company to have 75Hz refresh rate. This is what is mostly obtainable. Nevertheless, running on a console which is even more preferable for the monitor, you may notice a little bit of drag.

However, with that great response rate, the picture quality is another thing that makes this some people’s best monitor for gaming, and that is what brings it on this list. There is complete detail to the video quality it delivers and colors are not overwhelmed.

Featuring a TN panel with an LED backlight, this monitor performs very well.

You don’t get many monitors at this price range that come with many ports but this monitor tries its best by featuring ports such as two HDMI ports, a DVI port, and a D-SUB input and of course, it also has a headphone jack.

The speaker is not what you will flush off with a wave, but if you want something overwhelming for your gaming, we would recommend that you get a gaming speaker or in the least, a gaming headset.

Pros

  • Has the advantage of ports over others that are in the same price range.
  • Highly responsive.
  • Internal speaker.
  • It is very valuable.

Cons

  • Ghosting problems

Verdict

While we think this could as well serve your most gaming needs, we feel this is mostly for someone who is looking for a great monitor for real time gaming or FPS., as it offers very amazing responsiveness and clarity.

ViewSonic VX2452MH Gaming Monitor

great gaming monitor under $200
The ViewSonic VX2452MH

The first thing that one notices with the ViewSonic VX2452MH is that it has a look and design that could make you believe it is more expensive than what it sells for.

It has a design that is quite good and easy to appreciate. You can tilt it either forward or backward, but you can’t make changes to the height.

With the performance, the monitor is not the one to beat others on the list and only makes it as an affordable option when looking for the best gaming monitor under $200. Even though it doesn’t have the best brightness, on the gaming mode, the brightness is just good enough for most games.

More so, for the viewing angles, you don’t get the best kill on the list but once you consider that it’s a TN paneled monitor you will definitely appreciate how good it goes.

The response rate is also very good hitting it at 2ms. This means that there is hardly any game that will drag with you.

For the extras, this features an in-built speaker. It is quite nice, but for gaming, it will be barely enough hence rather than depending on it, we would recommend that you either settle for a great gaming headset or better still a good gaming speaker.

For someone that may prefer a 22-inch version of this monitor, the company makes it as the VX2452mh.

Pros

  • Very smooth and fluid operation
  • It has great aesthetic appeal
  • Fast response
  • Well priced

Cons

  • Not the best when it comes to adjustability.
  • It doesn’t have the best color output.

Verdict

What comes to you with this monitor is a piece that joins together affordability, clear display, and good performance. This appears on the list as one that you can get when the budget is really tight. As such, unless the budget is really tight, we would recommend that you go for any of the options above just because it doesn’t perform as good as the others nor is the display as good as others on the list.

Read: Skullcandy Hesh 2 Wireless Review 2017: Everything You Should Know

Dell S2216M 22-Inch Gaming Monitor

Gaming Monitor Under $200
The Dell S2216M 22-Inch

The Dell S2216M is a very beautiful and sleek monitor that adds a lot of aesthetics to your gaming desk and at the same time, brings a lot to your gaming experience.

It has a full HD screen that gives a resolution of 1920 X 1080. And before we get any further, it is important that you understand that this monitor is our best gaming monitor under $200 for only people who are not interested in hardcore gaming, and therefore need something affordable that they can use for other professional tasks.

That being said, looking at the performance front, the Dell S2216M pushed rightly. It has a response time of 6ms which although is not the best considering that there are some that even go as fast as 2ms, it still manages to hold very well.

Also, you get very good viewing angle which couples with an amazing display. The brightness is good enough while the coloring also doesn’t fail.

It has a contrast ratio of 1000: 1 on one hand and Dynamic contrast ratio of 8 Million: 1. With that, brightness and color accuracy are complete.

For the connectivity, this only comes with the VGA and DVI ports, leaving out the HDMI. Probably to compensate for this, Dell gives the monitor some interesting features such as good power management with its PowerNap technology.

Pros

  • The display quality is very good.
  • Aesthetically great.
  • Easy to set up and use.
  • Versatile monitor.
  • It is valuable.

Cons

  • Has no HDMI connection

Verdict.

For a gamer who wants something that would be able to handle many other things apart from gaming, we would easily recommend this simply designed and minimalist monitor. Importantly, though, this is for someone who doesn’t want a piece for hard-core gaming. Instead, it is for someone that loves gaming from time to time and would also like to use it for other tasks.

Conclusion

Gaming monitors can cost as high as over a thousand dollars. That is not to suggest that if you are looking for the best gaming monitor under $200, that you cannot get a great piece which is why we conducted this review.

Our pick for the overall best gaming monitor under $200 is the LG UM57 25UM57. The monitor delivers on almost all grounds rather easily.

With any monitor from our selection, you will definitely get a great gaming experience and the most necessary features needed in any gaming monitor. You will also get great performance, good response, and nice build.

What you may not get, however, are some extra features that may come with some of the more expensive ones but it is important to note that there is no single gaming monitor that will serve all your gaming needs.

Sources: 

  1. Definition of DitheringPCMag
  2. Setting the Contrast Control, 2nd EditionSpears & Munsil
  3. Monitor Setup & UsageHealthy Computing
  4. Jason Fitzpatrick, The How-To Geek Guide to Cleaning Your LCD Monitor ScreenHow-To Geek, August 12, 2013
Tim Flaherty
Tim Flaherty
Tim is our talented senior tech writer and editor, the one who plays music on replay, drinks more coffee than beer, plays video games, and reads poetry. In between, Tim reviews products, write about computers, games, hardware, software, guides, reviews and talk tech and arts. If there is a WWIII, he thinks it could be caused by bad writing.

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