The festival of manic materialism that is Black Friday 2023 is still over a month away. But there are some very decent deals right now on 1440p gaming monitors. Indeed, with big-brand 170Hz models available for a penny under $200, it’s unlikely Black Friday with unearth anything dramatically cheaper.
1440p arguably remains the sweetspot for real-world PC gaming. For sure, there are benefits to 4K in terms of razor-sharp visuals. But then there are also downsides, debilitating GPU load being the most obvious. And price. 4K high refresh really costs.
So, what can you expect for your 200 smackers? We’re generally reluctant to recommend rolling the dice on some utterly obscure brand, so you’ll be pleased to hear we’re dealing with a Gigabyte model, the GS27QC, which is just $200 at Newegg. It’s a 27 incher with a top refresh of 170Hz, plus claimed response of 1ms from its VA panel.
That latter metric is courtesy of the MPRT metric, which is typically lower than the GtG measure. Unfortunately, Gigabyte doesn’t quote a GtG figure, but it will be certainly be higher than 1ms.
The other obvious weakness is the mere 250 nits of brightness. That’s not terrible, but it is lower than most modern gaming panels. It also means there’s no chance of HDR support, though the VA’s inherent 4,000:1 contrast does offset that to some degree.
If you fancy something bigger, there’s the LG 32GK650F. It’s a 32-inch model running at 144Hz. Not the quickest, but 144Hz is enough for most of us and the entry price is an appealing $229. It can also hit a reasonable 350 nits. The drawback: this is predictably another VA model with a 5ms GtG response rating.
It’s probably not the best choice for esports addicts, then. Another interesting option if improved response is your thing, is the ViewSonic OMNI VX2728J-2K. That’s a 27-inch 1440p model with 1ms GtG response from an IPS rather than VA panel, plus 165Hz refresh, for $249. The only snag is the 250 nits brightness.
Or what about the Lenovo G27Q? Again, we’re talking 27-inch 1440p and 165Hz. Again it’s an IPS panel, but with punchier 400 nits brightness and all priced at $239. Is there a snag with this one? It’s rated at 1ms for MPRT response and 3ms in its fastest GtG mode. So, it’s slightly off the pace of the absolute best premium panels.
Another options that’s not off the pace is the Acer Nitro XZ323QU, a 240Hz 32-inch beast with 1ms GtG response rating. It’s also rated at 400 nits and has basic HDR support. Hurrah. The price of all this $299.
And there are plenty more where those panels came from. So, yeah, there are lots of very reasonably-priced pre-Black Friday 1440p gaming panels to choose from.
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