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There are many good gaming monitors at both extremes of the price spectrum. If you have $1,000 to spend, there are fast OLEDs that will satisfy. But if you have less than $200, you can get much of that experience. For good gaming, you need speed and smoothness first, followed by high contrast and saturated color. The Lenovo R25f-30 has all these for $162 at this writing.
(Image credit: Lenovo)
At 25 inches, the FHD resolution is not a hindrance. Pixel density is 90ppi, so you’ll get smooth font edges and good detail in your favorite games. You can edit photos too, as long as you don’t need sRGB color. The R25f-30 falls a bit short there in both volume and accuracy. But it covers more of DCI-P3 than most budget screens and delivers good accuracy out of the box and great accuracy with a simple calibration. And with higher-than-average VA contrast, it has better picture depth than most sub-$200 displays.
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)
Gaming performance can only be called superb. The overdrive is what I’d expect from a more expensive screen with precise operation at 280fps and near-complete elimination of motion blur. The MPRT backlight strobe is a viable option for users running below 120fps. And Adaptive-Sync worked in all instances without a hiccup. The R25f-30 is a precise and reliable gaming tool for fast-paced competition. And I noted better than average sound quality from the internal speakers. Most monitors treat these as an afterthought, but Lenovo has paid more attention. They are clear, loud and well-detailed.
The Lenovo Legion R25f-30 delivers an astounding gaming experience for just $162 at this writing. You’ll need to spend three or four times as much to get a little more performance. It’s one of the best budget screens I’ve reviewed of late, which is excellent news for bargain shoppers.
Christian Eberle is a Contributing Editor for Tom's Hardware US. He's a veteran reviewer of A/V equipment, specializing in monitors. Christian began his obsession with tech when he built his first PC in 1991, a 286 running DOS 3.0 at a blazing 12MHz. In 2006, he undertook training from the Imaging Science Foundation in video calibration and testing and thus started a passion for precise imaging that persists to this day. He is also a professional musician with a degree from the New England Conservatory as a classical bassoonist which he used to good effect as a performer with the West Point Army Band from 1987 to 2013. He enjoys watching movies and listening to high-end audio in his custom-built home theater and can be seen riding trails near his home on a race-ready ICE VTX recumbent trike. Christian enjoys the endless summer in Florida where he lives with his wife and Chihuahua and plays with orchestras around the state.
