Cheap Gaming Monitors for Cyber Monday: High Refresh Screens Under $200

Cheap Gaming Monitor Stock Cover Image
(Image credit: Shutterstock/Dell)

Like many other areas of PC tech, high-end monitors have become ever more expensive in recent years, with cutting-edge panels often topping the $1,000 mark. But that doesn't mean you have drop a stack of Benjamins to get a good experience, or even one of the best gaming monitors. While the price of the best gaming monitors has gone up in recent years, the cost of once-premium features has come down dramatically at the same time. There are several surprisingly well-specced sub-$200 gaming monitor deals available during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals season, with more cropping up every day.  

In this price range, you're not going to get OLED, full-array local dimming, or super-fast 360 Hz refresh – although we did see one 360 Hz MSI model get to $199, so there may be more to come. What you generally can find less than $200 are IPS or VA panels (the former better for color and viewing angles, while the latter is better for contrast), refresh rates at or above 144 Hz, and curved displays. 

Most of these budget-price gaming monitors are also 27 inches or smaller, although there are some 32-inch options if you don't mind 1080p resolution at that size. The low pixel density of a screen like that  is generally more noticeable in productivity tasks than gaming. Nut if you loathe low pixel density, stick to the smaller 1440p options, save up for something more expensive, or keep an eagle eye on our Best Cyber Monday Deals on Gaming Monitors blog and hope something pops up. 

Dell S2722DGM (1440p, Curved 165 Hz): was $299, now $189 at Dell

Dell S2722DGM (1440p, Curved 165 Hz): was $299, now $189 at Dell
When we reviewed this 27-inch VA monitor, we praised it for its excellent contrast and color, as well as its solid build quality. It's one of the best 27-inch monitors around.

Scepter ‎E275B-QPN168 27-inch 144 Hz Gaming Monitor: was $254, now $179 at Amazon

Scepter ‎E275B-QPN168 27-inch 144 Hz Gaming Monitor: was $254, now $179 at Amazon
This 144 Hz 27-inch 1440p IPS monitor trades some speed for a better image. It supports HDR400 certification (450 nits of rated brightness) and promises 135% of the sRGB color gamut. If you care more about quality than speed, but you still want to keep your costs down, this model from Sceptre looks to be a great option at just $179.

Monoprice Dark Matter 42770 (144 Hz 1080p, IPS, Edge-lit): now $169 at Newegg (was $249)

Monoprice Dark Matter 42770 (144 Hz 1080p, IPS, Edge-lit): now $169 at Newegg (was $249)
Monoprice Dark Matter 42770 (144 Hz 1080p, IPS, Edge-lit) now $169 at Newegg (was $249) Our favorite budget monitor to date, we found this 144 Hz VA panel delivers a wide color gamut, with excellent contrast, aided by edge-lit W-LED backlighting. It also supports FreeSync and G-Sync variable refresh.

AOC C32G2ZE Gaming Monitor (32-inch, curved, FHD 240 Hz): now $195 at Amazon

AOC C32G2ZE Gaming Monitor (32-inch, curved, FHD 240 Hz): now $195 at Amazon (was $279,)
We tested this monitor and found it to have excellent contrast, accurate color and good build quality. It's also brighter than many budget options, rated at 300 nits. The only real downside here is the 1080p resolution, which isn't ideal for a monitor this big, but you're less likely to notice this when gaming.

Matt Safford

After a rough start with the Mattel Aquarius as a child, Matt built his first PC in the late 1990s and ventured into mild PC modding in the early 2000s. He’s spent the last 15 years covering emerging technology for Smithsonian, Popular Science, and Consumer Reports, while testing components and PCs for Computer Shopper, PCMag and Digital Trends.