Best 4k monitor under 300

When choosing between VA and IPS matrices, you should start mainly from the budget. An average VA for the price of a cheap IPS is likely to be better.

If you can shell out more than $500 for a gaming monitor, you can count on an excellent IPS-matrix with a diagonal of 27 inches, a frequency of 144 Hz and G‑Sync. It will be the https://thetimes.digital/games/best-gaming-monitor-under-300/ with accurate color reproduction and wide viewing angles, suitable not only for games and video content, but also for amateur color work.

Compromises

In lower price categories, compromises will inevitably have to be made. For those who are not ready to pay more than $300 for a gaming monitor, the market offers mainly 2K (2560x1440) models with VA matrices. For the money, you get a moderately fast panel with wide viewing angles and a bright, crisp, visually appealing picture. After the purchase, you will most likely need to dig into the settings and tweak the factory calibration, but then you can comfortably work, play and watch movies.

The curvature of the monitor is needed mainly in order to improve the viewing angles and uniformity of the backlight of the VA matrix. This is a technological feature that almost does not affect either the price or the perception of the image.

Dump the ballast

If the budget is even more limited, you will have to “dump the ballast”. First of all, we lower the resolution to Full HD, bringing down the price to $250. Next, we reduce the diagonal to 24 inches, this will allow us to throw off 4-5 thousand.

Separately, I would like to touch on the topic of buying a monitor with a high resolution and then using it at lower values. The option, of course, is appropriate when your new video card has not yet arrived from the store, but, from our point of view, it’s still not worth doing this “permanently”. By doing this, you kill the whole point of acquiring an expensive display: the clarity and quality of the picture is reduced due to the use of interpolation algorithms. In some models, this mode works better, in others worse, but it will definitely not work to achieve the same quality as with the "native" resolution.

Matrix types: advantages and disadvantages

Some 3-4 years ago, only models with TN + Film matrices could be classified as real gaming monitors, but they fundamentally did not suit those who wanted to get a universal device - not only fast, but also with accurate color reproduction, stable picture and good viewing angles. After the appearance of the first 120-Hz TN, it took more than 5 years to wait, but now you can find a fast monitor for every taste and budget on sale.

Gaming computers and monitors: see Wikipedia