Looking For 27" Monitor - Gaming + General Use (Less than £250)

Spoonerism

Honorable
Feb 11, 2014
15
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10,510
So I have been looking lately for a monitor that I can use for day to day use such as web browsing, word documents etc, but also is capable when it comes to gaming. (By this I mean ghosting, tearing and all that) Firstly, I want to note that I am the exact opposite of an expert when it comes to monitors, which is partially why I am asking for advice here. Also want to apologise in advance for how long this post will be, feel free to skim read it as I say many unnecessary things. (e.g. my hdmi switch rant and finding issues with the VX279Q)

I did some research on amazon as to what was on offer for prices ranging from £150 - £250, although generally I have been looking at monitors around £200ish where the flood of results began. Since I own an Asus laptop and I have found them a reputable brand in the past I would say I have likely been biased towards those choices, but it seems Asus is huge in my price range since on Amazon they and BenQ dominate the results.

After some searching I found monitors such as the:
Asus VE278H / Q
Asus VS278Q
Asus VX279Q
BenQ GW2760HM
and many others.

I made this list simply due to the general popularity of these products which broadly match the specs I am looking for. As I said most of my time was spent looking around Asus, although since BenQ seem to be pivotal in MLG these days, or at least something competitive, the brand seems to suggest they know what they're doing. However, that still doesn't necessarily mean they offer the best monitor in my price range (which is quite a budget monitor I suppose considering I have no interest in 120Hz, 4K or 3D, since I know a high refresh wouldn't suit me as I don't have a beasty setup with over 120fps on ultra bf4 or anything like that).

I have looked at IPS monitors, and while I think the general consensus is that you sacrifice ghosting for better colour and viewing angles, I still am unsure as to what display would best suit me. My initial guess was that IPS is better as I once used an old square LCD monitor, which only when it was finally replaced I realised how yellow tinted and dull the colours were. Also, I saw that the VS278Q is LED and offers 1ms response time but I can't help think the number is some marketing number and doesn't reflect the true time.

Also, 2 HDMI ports would be ideal considering I want to hook up a 360 and computer, but did see through a google search about HDMI switchers, which from what I could tell (from a brief 5 minute search) allow 1 port to be used for multiple devices? But even if that works maybe quality would be worse and such so to summarise 2 HDMI ports would be ideal.

Basically, I looked through a number of monitors, but since I don't really have a real understanding I feel like I generally was plucking random monitors out of the air to make some kind of shortlist. One monitor I saw was the VX279Q, and thought it seemed to provide everything I needed, and in a slim design that was all the better. (IPS, edge to edge display) generally it looked good. But as I searched on YouTube, to get an idea of the size and reviews, I found the top results were just "problems" "defects". So after a bit more digging it turns out Asus had terrible customer service too, which shows how little I know about this "premium" brand. Plus, it was only then I noticed it had only 1 HDMI port.This is when I came to the conclusion that I had no idea what I was doing and had simply chosen a top of my budget, nice looking, but seemingly unreliable monitor as a potential pick. So now after this huge post I ask for anyones help on what I should look at.

Summary: (and a well needed summary)
27" monitor (IPS or LCD?)
Able to easily connect to PC and Xbox
Under £250 - I feel that if someone suggested a £250 monitor that may be a stretch too far
Capable for gaming (5ms or less? Again this is something you would know far better than me)
No need for 120/144Hz, but that is far out of the price range anyway, or 3D / 4K etc
I listed a few monitors I saw through Amazon if that helps show what I was looking towards