The 7 Best Budget 144Hz Monitors 2023 | VSS Monitoring

For PC gamers, like myself, there is a bit more finesse involved in the best gaming experience but that comes with added versatility which I found in the best gaming monitor s from each renown brand. One of the main reasons for being a PC gamer is the increased quality of my visual experience. That said, you’ll want to look at some freesync monitors or you might also consider these cheap monitors .

If you are primarily a console gamer then you are probably used to hooking your machine up to whatever is available and playing games without having to worry overly much about what kind of monitor or television you are connecting to. As long as it has an HDMI port and an outlet to plug in the power block you’re ready to go! In that case, you can check our review of the more affordable offerings with a lesser refresh rate.

Most PC gamers know that the quality of your gaming experience relies heavily on the quality of your equipment. One of the most important pieces of equipment you’ll need is the best budget 144hz monitor for your setup. If you’re on a tight budget, then take a look at these best budget monitors. All the monitors I reviewed are around 25 inches.

It is fully VESA compatible which makes this a good choice for a multi-display setup or a wall-mounted display. This great monitor also has a very thin frame so it should be pleasing to the eye and very convenient if you decide to go that route.

The maximum resolution it is capable of is 1920 by 1080 at a 144 Hertz refresh rate, in the right circumstances, and with a 16:9 aspect ratio. The GN246HL is a flat LED display with a TN style panel type and good viewing angles.

It has a faster response time of 1 millisecond and a 144 Hz refresh rate. It supports G-Sync which is always nice and should make for smoother gameplay overall. It comes with built in speakers, but they aren’t a recommended audio option except as a last resort.

It supports a 1920 by 1080 resolution with a native aspect ratio of 16:9. It has TN panels and is an LED screen. This monitor does have all of the specs you would want for a high-quality ultrawide gaming monitor including a 1 millisecond response time and a 165 Hz refresh rate

The G2590FX from AOC has a larger screen size than the other options so far at 25 inches. It supports a maximum resolution of 1920 by 1080 at the desired refresh rate of 144 Hz and has a 16:9 aspect ratio.

It has a 1 millisecond response time and 144 Hz refresh rate but it lacks a syncing option for frame rate which means you will have to find a manual way to link them or be susceptible to screen tearing and stuttering.

Fortunately, for the aspiring PC gamer or the veteran looking for an upgrade, 144hz PC monitors are cheaper than they ever have been. You can find a cheap 144hz monitor with all of the necessary extra features relatively easily! It might be a little more difficult to find a cheap 1440p 144hz monitor or a 4k 144hz monitor but it can be done with persistence and determination.

That said, while you can find cheap monitors with the right specs and a lot of sweet other features for relatively cheap costs you will have to accept that finding something top tier is going to be more expensive. When you are purchasing something at a cheaper cost that usually means that the item will lack in quality, but you can still find good ones if you follow our guide for the best budget gaming monitors . Continue reading to find out what the best budget 144hz monitor is.

Best Budget 144hz Monitor Reviews

This great ultrawide gaming monitor comes with several connectivity options including DisplayPort, DVI-D, and HDMI. It is nice to have a variety of options to link your monitor to the device of your choosing but it is not recommended to use the HDMI option because it does not support the full 144 Hz refresh rate. You can also see multiple windows opened at the same time, because of it’s width.

It is fully VESA compatible so it should be easy to mount to a wall or multi-monitor stand. Unfortunately, it does have very thick bezels so this might not be the best use for this gaming monitor, but it has a great build quality. If that isn’t your thing then that’s alright too, it comes with a stand that is fully capable of tilting, swiveling, height adjustment, and it can even pivot into vertical screen mode if you spend a lot of time working with text or code or browsing the web.

It comes with built in speakers built into the frame, though they are of very poor quality. I recommend using any other audio option you have at your disposal, such as headphones or external speakers. You do not want to use these as your main option for audio, trust me. But the visual gaming performance is seriously amazing and it also has wide viewing angles.

It has a rapid response time of 1 millisecond with is always nice to see when paired with a 144 Hz refresh rate but it is fairly common for TN style gaming monitors. It is more than fast enough for any style or level of gaming and should please any gamer.

ASUS has developed the VG248QE, which a 24-inch monitor . It supports a native resolution of 1920 by 1080 with an aspect ratio of 16:9. The VG248QE is an LED display. It is the best gaming monitor due to its 144hz refresh rate that you can achieve without upgrading graphics cards, but if you have the latest graphics cards, this best gaming monitor will put it to full use.

It is VESA compatible and the stand it comes with is very ergonomic but the bezels are extremely thick which makes it a poor choice for a multi-display setup.

It has a 1 millisecond response time and 144 Hz refresh rate but it lacks a syncing option for high frame rates which means you will have to find a manual way to link them or be susceptible to screen tearing and stuttering.

The ZOWIE XL2411P from BenQ is a 24 inch display with a native resolution of 1920 by 1080 and a 16:9 aspect ratio. The panel type is TN and it is an LED screen.

Without a doubt, I would say this is the best option for gaming on this list, though it is also one of the most expensive monitor. It is also worthy of note that this is a TN panel type monitor and is susceptible to good color accuracy problems and contrast ratio, as well as maybe being a little too bright, so this is not a good option for general uses. It is specifically designed for gaming and will perform at its best in that capacity.

This not so good budget gaming monitor comes with several connectivity options including HDMI, DisplayPort, and VGA but, much like the first option, you have to use specific ones to get the maximum refresh rate this gaming monitor is capable of. If you are using anything other than a DisplayPort cable to connect to your machine of choice you will be locked to approximately 100 Hz for your refresh rate.

It is fully VESA compatible so it should be easy to mount to your wall or add to a multiple display frame. It also has the thinnest bezel I’ve ever seen on a monitor which is extremely pleasing to the eye. The only downside here is that such a thin bezel won’t support or protect the screen very well so you should be extremely careful when handling this cheap gaming monitor or transporting it.

It comes with compatibility for G-Sync which is especially pleasing for an NVIDIA user like myself. I see quite a lot of cheap gaming monitor options that come with AMD FreeSync users but very few of them come with native G-Sync compatibility so I’m always a little excited when I see that.

The response time is lightning quick at 1 millisecond so there should be no complaints about input lag by anyone from casual to professional and competitive gamers. This, combined with the high refresh rate, makes this a fantastic option no matter which kind of games you are playing or at what level of play.

The G2590FX from AOC has a larger screen size than the other options so far at 25 inches. It supports a maximum resolution of 1920 by 1080 at the desired refresh rate of 144 Hz and has a 16:9 aspect ratio. It has a TN panel type and a flat LED display.

Unfortunately, getting all of these extra features at such a cheap price comes at a cost. The quality control for this monitor is very low and, due to the extremely thin bezel, the monitor is very fragile. If you are lucky enough to have this budget ultrawide monitor arrive with no damage then it works well, but that is an unlikely occurrence.

It has compatibility with DisplayPort and HDMI cables. That said, if you choose to connect using the HDMI cable your refresh rate will cap out at 120 Hz, instead of the maximum 144hz refresh rate.

The E255B-1658A from Sceptre has a screen size of 24.5 inches. It supports a 1920 by 1080 resolution with a native aspect ratio of 16:9. It has TN panels and is an LED screen. This cheap gaming monitor does have all of the specs you would want for a high-quality ultrawide gaming monitor including a 1 millisecond response time and a 165 Hz refresh rate, it even has Free Sync compatibility, for a relatively cheap price. It makes use of Anti-flicker technology and is VESA compatible with an extremely thin bezel.

It has a faster response time of 1 millisecond and a 144 Hz refresh rate. It supports G-Sync which is always nice and should make for smoother gameplay overall.

The XFA240 is another option from Acer. It has a 24 inch screen size and supports resolutions up to 1920 by 1080 with an aspect ratio of 16:9. It is an LED screen with a TN panel type.

Ultimately, this monitor is an excellent choice if you are looking for a 1080p 144hz gaming monitor and it has all of the basic things you could want in a best budget gaming monitor but it could be better, so I wouldn’t call it the best 144hz monitor, but the contrast ratio and response time is great. It’s, however, the best in lower price range according to my tests.

This great gaming monitor has 3 different connectivity options available for use. There are HDMI, VGA, and DVI ports for connecting to your machine of choice, though you should also remember that the HDMI and VGA ports are limited to a 60 Hz refresh rate and the only way to get the 144 Hz refresh rate is through the DVI port.

It has received an ENERGY STAR rating which means that while you are using this best budget gaming monitor in place of one without that rating you are saving money on your electricity bill because this monitor uses power at a very efficient rate. What a nice bonus!

This cheap gaming monitor is VESA compatible which makes it a great choice for a multiple display setup if that strikes your fancy. Unfortunately, this monitor has some fairly thick bezels on it which could be distracting in a setup like that and it could also be inconvenient depending on how your setup is configured.

Unfortunately, this monitor does not come with FreeSync or G-Sync which means you will have to manually match your frame rate to your refresh rate if you notice any of the symptoms that occur when they aren’t synced. Having that capability is fairly important for a solid gaming monitor which holds this one back from being a fantastic choice for all of your gaming needs.

The 1 millisecond response time is a fantastic response time for gaming and you couldn’t ask for better. That said, this monitor’s refresh rate is a little wonky. It advertises a 144 Hz refresh rate, but it fails to mention in the product description that it actually operates at a 60 Hz refresh rate except for when you use a DVI plug to connect it to your machine. So, if all you have is HDMI or VGA then you are stuck at 60 Hz until you shell out the extra cash for a DVI cable. On the upside you are likely to not need a new graphics card.

The GN246HL from Acer has a 24 inch display. The maximum resolution it is capable of is 1920 by 1080 at a 144 Hertz refresh rate, in the right circumstances, and with a 16:9 aspect ratio. The GN246HL is a flat LED display with a TN style panel type and good viewing angles.

Altogether, I’d say this is an excellent and relatively inexpensive choice if you are looking for a 144 hertz gaming monitor. The only downsides to getting this monitor are the lack of connectivity options and, from a gaming perspective, the slower response time if you are into competitive games that require a faster response time.

It is fully VESA compatible which makes this a good choice for a multi-display setup or a wall-mounted display. This great monitor also has a very thin frame so it should be pleasing to the eye and very convenient if you decide to go that route.

This option does come with AMD’s FreeSync technology and compatibility for AMD GPU users. It also has g sync compatibility if you are more of an NVIDIA person like me but, unfortunately, there is no native g sync support for it so you will have to configure it yourself.

The refresh rate is as high quality as you would expect at 144 Hz and it doesn’t require that you use any special or specific cables to get it. That would be great if not for the fact that this monitor only has one connectivity option, which is HDMI. So, if you don’t already have an HDMI cable then you will have to purchase one to connect this monitor to your machine. This size 24 inch gaming monitor from Viotek is one of the best with, in addition to previously mentioned things, its color gamut and good contrast ratio provides great picture quality and smooth gaming experience. It has free sync support, as well as being g sync compatible, to reduce screen tearing..

This option has a much slower response times than the monitor offered by Acer at 4 milliseconds, but that is still acceptable for gaming and most likely won’t be too noticeable for anyone that isn’t a professional FPS or MOBA player. As an RPG player, I found this to be perfectly acceptable and didn’t notice much, if any, low input lag to allow it to deliver an immersive gaming experience with minimal motion blur. The wide viewing angles really stood out and surprised me what I could see on the screen space when way off to the side as I come back in getting a glass of water.

The 109013NH from Viotek is 24 inches diagonally from corner to corner and supports a resolution of 1920 by 1080 at 144 Hz with an aspect ratio of 16:9. The 109013NH is an LED with a VA panel type.

The ASUS ROG PG279Q is NOT cheap and is more high end since it’s closer to 4 figures than mid 3-figures, but with 1440p and g synch it’s pretty powerful if you’re serious about gaming. It has great viewing angles and contrast ratio due to the IPS panel. What is an IPS monitor and what makes it the best gaming monitor, as we explained earlier, is its fast response time, low input lag, and high image quality, as well as great image depth.

This beast is a great choice. It’s not exactly a budget pick but it’s still relatively affordable at just a few hundred bucks. With a high refresh rate it’s great for gaming and watching videos. Additionally, it has IPS panel which has amazingly wide viewing angles. It’s a little older at 4 years old but it still runs wicked smooth.

What Does a 144Hz Refresh Rate Mean?

Essentially, refresh rates can be compared to frame rates in games. If you have a 60 Hz refresh rate then your monitor can refresh the image on the display 60 times in one second just a 60 fps framerate would show 60 frames per second. The two are intrinsically linked so the idea is to keep them similar in number, though they are different. If you have a great GPU with awesome frame rates but a bad monitor with low refresh rates then the bad monitor won’t be able to take advantage of your GPU and will show the max refresh rates that it can,.

A 60 fps framer ate game will look just as good on a 60 Hz refresh rate monitor as a 144 Hz monitor, but a 144 fps game will look bad on a 60 Hz monitor and will often display artifacts in how it projects images such as screen tearing or stuttering because the frame rate and refresh rate aren’t synced. A best 144hz gaming monitor is great for avid gamers looking for visually appealing and consistent gaming performance, in addition to having a 1ms response time.

This is also where you hear mention of things like “FreeSync” or “G-Sync”, they are programs that are developed by AMD and NVIDIA, the two main accepted producers of GPUs, that link your framerate and refresh rate to smooth out your visual experience with minimal motion blur. I tested both and was pleased with the gaming performance. 

What Aspect Ratio Do You Need for Gaming?

There are 2 commonly accepted aspect ratios for most games, 16:9 and 16:10. Most best gaming monitors operate on a 16:9 aspect ratio and so that is what most games expect and are developed for. That said, there are plenty of 16:10 gaming monitors out there and occasionally a game will even be made to support very niche aspect ratios like 4:3.

Mostly, you should be looking for a 16:9 aspect ratio for your monitor if you are getting it specifically for gaming. You can branch out to a 16:10 if you find the best monitor and you can’t find anything in 16:9 that makes you happy, but I would stay away from other, more niche aspect ratios like 4:3.

Which Resolution Is Best for You?

Resolutions keep climbing higher and higher. Fortunately, most game developers know that not everyone can afford to jump up to the newest and most expensive technological advancements so most games are developed for 1080p resolution and anything higher than that is just icing on the cake. I’ve been using a 1080p monitor for 10 years and have never felt a need to move up to something extravagant like a 4k gaming monitor or even 1440p 144hz monitor. 

With that mentioned, it is also true that the higher your resolution the clearer image quality on your display will be, so if you can afford to jump up to a higher resolution then more power to you. The only important thing to keep in mind is that a higher resolution will not make up for a lower refresh rate or response time. Those are the most important things to keep in mind and resolution is secondary to that unless you’re below a 1080p resolution.

What Screen Size Do You Need?

Screen size doesn’t matter too much from a technical aspect and is mostly subjective (see 32 inch gaming monitors). As long as your screen is large enough to support a 1080p resolution then you should be fine. Bigger gaming monitors give you more screen real estate to work with, but a monitor that is too big can be inconvenient. That is why the size of your monitor is mostly based on your workstation and your personal preferences. 

Something important to consider, based on a mistake I’ve made in the past, is that a bigger monitor is also going to be heavier, so if all you have to use is an extremely cheaply made desk that is also very old then you might want to reconsider making the jump to a bigger and more solid desk or face the consequences of your new monitor falling through your old and crappy desk. Very funny in retrospect, but it was an embarrassing, and expensive, lesson to learn.

Do You Need a Monitor With a Higher Refresh Rate?

Do you need it? No, you don’t need a monitor with a higher refresh rate. As long as you have a 60 Hz refresh rate monitor and you can limit the framerate of your games to 60 fps then you are fine. That said, if you are routinely running your games at a higher framerate than your monitor’s refresh rate then you will probably be noticing things like stuttering and screen tearing and your monitor won’t be able to take advantage of your GPU.

If you’ve been wracking your brain to figure out why this is happening in your games, consider upgrading your monitor. I spent several weeks inspecting every part of my setup trying to figure out why World of Warcraft was the only game in my library that would frequently experience stuttering and freezing, never thinking to check if it was my monitor. This was before I had an understanding of how framerate and refresh rate interacted with each other. 

So, if you take nothing else from this article, know that refresh rate and framerate are linked, and having them synchronized is always better than having one higher than the other.