Budget Monitors That Aren't Garbage

A cheap monitor used to mean washed-out colours and motion blur you could see from across the room. That is no longer true at the bottom of the market — but it is still true for a big chunk of it. We tested five screens under $300 against the same panel benchmark: colour accuracy, response time, brightness uniformity and whether the stand wobbles when you type.

Two are legitimately good. One is a trap with a famous logo on it.

Panel Type Is the Whole Ballgame

At this price you are choosing between IPS and VA. IPS gives better viewing angles and colour; VA gives deeper blacks and contrast but smears on fast motion. For office and creative work, IPS wins almost every time. The "gaming" VA panels under $200 promise 1 ms response but deliver visible ghosting in dark scenes.

The Numbers

What to Ignore

• "1 ms" claims. Usually a marketing scalar, not measured grey-to-grey.
• HDR on a budget panel. Without local dimming it is a filter, not real HDR.
• Ultra-thin bezels. Nice, but not worth losing a height-adjustable stand.