The AOC 24G2 remains in the leading position for a value-oriented 1080p option. For $170, the 24G2 delivers an excellent experience, bringing a 24-inch 1080p 144Hz IPS panel that performs well and packs solid color quality – regardless if you get the original 2019 variant or the updated 2020 variant.
It also includes an ergonomic stand with height adjustment, often omitted from other budget 1080p monitors. The overall package AOC is offering is balanced between gaming performance and image quality, so I’m comfortable continuing to recommend it.
Other options considered included the MSI G242 and Gigabyte G24F, but both are more expensive and don’t appear to be offering anything better than the AOC. I’ve also liked the performance BenQ delivers with the EX2510. It’s a better all round package than the AOC 24G2, but it’s very hard to justify at $250 when the Asus VG259QM is just $230.
Is there anything worth buying if I have less than $170 to spend?
Unfortunately, the answer is mostly no. You can shave off around $10 opting for a curved VA panel instead, with 1080p 144Hz specifications. However, we’ve typically found these monitors perform much worse than the 24G2 with unsightly issues like dark level smearing, making them not worth the minor price saving. The same can be said about TN monitors that can be found for around $150, you will be sacrificing performance in general for a small discount.
These days monitors that top out at 144 to 165Hz are more medium-refresh rate, given the prevalence of 240Hz and above especially at 1080p. This is by far the most popular category for 1080p buyers, and there’s a serious wealth of options to choose from, which makes picking one out quite tricky. For this reason, we’re splitting this category in two brackets: the best quality IPS offering and the more budget oriented monitors for cash strapped gamers.
It should be noted that the best value option will vary based on your location and local pricing. And while this is usually the case, today there’s more volatility in the monitor market and supply issues are affecting displays, just not to the same extent as other PC components.
For most people, our top recommendation for 1080p 144Hz is the AOC 24G2. The 24G2, and the larger 27-inch variant (27G2), include an IPS panel, adaptive sync and a refresh rate that tops out at 144Hz. We were impressed with the build quality that includes features like a height adjustable stand, not often found on more budget oriented displays. But one of the key features, especially of the newer 2020 variant, is response time performance, which is very strong and in some ways as good as higher-end 1440p monitors. The 24G2 is among the best 1080p IPS monitors we’ve tested for motion clarity, which makes it a great choice for gaming.
At some point we hesitated to keep recommending the 24G2, given that AOC silently changed the panel last year, without changing the name or informing customers. However, we bought the new variant and found that while it doesn’t perform the same as the older variant, in some ways it’s actually superior. Other aspects are solid as well, including its wide gamut support and contrast ratio, however the older 2019 variant is superior for contrast ratio and factory calibration, so it may be worth hunting the older model if you need those features. But in general this is a versatile monitor with a nice set of features and great performance at this price.
Two Alternatives: BenQ & MSI
If you are unable to find the AOC, there’s a great alternative in the BenQ EX2510. While usually more expensive than the 24G2 for a similar level of performance, if pricing is similar to the 24G2 in your region then it’s also a good choice.Another option worth considering is the MSI Optix G242. It uses the same panel as the newer AOC 24G2 suggesting that performance should be similar in terms of response times and color performance, although MSI will use different overdrive settings. Based on previous MSI monitors that we have reviewed, they are competent at getting decent results from a given panel.
Going Larger or Cheaper
If you want something larger, in the 27-inch range, in addition to the AOC 27G2 we’d also consider Gigabyte’s G27F and M27F, which offer a classic 1080p 144Hz IPS experience. Gigabyte are mostly focusing on 27-inch 1080p monitors in their line-up, and these two options often have competitive pricing in the $220 range.
While products like the AOC 24G2 and MSI G242 can be quite affordable, there are cheaper options also worth considering. Both the Pixio PX248 Prime and the Asus VP249QGR are worthy affordable options. We’ve tested both the PX248 Prime and the Prime S version, and honestly we’d save the money to get the slightly cheaper non-S model, which retails for just $170. Response times are similar to the older version of the 24G2, and while factory calibration could use some work, it’s an acceptable panel overall.
What Not to Buy
What we’d steer clear from at the moment are 1080p VA monitors. The value proposition isn’t there compared to IPS, especially as most of these VAs use fairly mediocre panels with issues like dark level smearing and slow response times. The Asus VG24VQ, for example, is a particularly popular option, but it costs $180 – only $10 less than a decent IPS like the MSI 24G2 and $10 more than cheaper options like Asus’ own VP249QGR.
As for 1080p 144Hz TN panels, again the value proposition isn’t great. You can find some monitors with these specs below $150, like the Acer KG241QP, but many options we feel are overpriced. The LG 24GL600F was a great budget option on release, but the price squeeze on IPS places it around the same mark as budget IPS alternatives. You may want to consider one for backlight strobing technology, although finding a panel that does this well at 144Hz at an acceptable price is difficult.
Among gamers 1080p monitors are still extremely popular. While some will no doubt look to upgrade to a higher resolution with their next monitor purchase, if you only have around $200 to spend, you’ll get by far the best experience going with something 1080p. There are several 1080p monitor types on the market, and we’ve been recommending VA or TN panels in this category depending on where pricing sits at any given time. But in 2020, with the release of several really high quality yet affordable IPS options, we believe the best bang for buck right now lies with this often premium monitor technology.
Currently the best budget 1080p monitor is the AOC 24G2. Not only is this the best 1080p 144Hz gaming monitor on the market overall, but thanks to a low $180 price, we also believe it’s the best bang for buck 1080p monitor you can get.
The 24G2 uses a 24-inch flat 1080p 144Hz IPS panel with adaptive sync and low frame rate compensation. The gaming experience is simply great due to a combination of factors. We get a high refresh rate, great adaptive sync implementation that works flawlessly with AMD or Nvidia GPUs, and fast response times due to its use of IPS technology.
A 5ms grey to grey average using its optimal overdrive settings is a good bit faster than equivalent VA panels, and approaches some TNs that typically retail for around the same price. Throw in a backlight strobing mode and the 24G2 delivers very good motion handling, which makes it ideal for fast paced gaming.
AOC backs this up with low input lag, a high contrast ratio for an IPS panel, low power consumption and an ergonomic design that includes a height adjustable stand, which is rare among budget oriented monitors. Even factory color performance is solid with the bonus of some wide gamut coverage.
This is nearly a complete package that nails all the key areas for a gaming monitor. With that low $180 retail price that puts it around the mark of several popular TN monitors, we see no reason to choose a TN panel over this IPS model. It’s a great buy.
A larger alternative, and even cheaper options
There are several other options that take our fancy in this market. If you want something larger, say 27-inches, the AOC 27G2 is the bigger brother of the 24G2 that retails for $210. We’d choose this over the similarly priced Acer Nitro VG271P, as the Acer model has a more limited stand and lacks adjustable overdrive when adaptive sync is activated. While we do believe both the 24G2 and 27G2 deliver the best bang for buck in the 1080p market, $180 might be on the upper end of your price range, and that’s understandable.
There are other 1080p 144Hz monitors available closer to $150, which is a decent saving of 17% or so. At this price point, you’re looking at a curved VA monitor, but you’ll still be getting a 144Hz display with adaptive sync performance. VA panels tend to be a bit slower than IPS and can suffer from an issue called ‘dark level smearing’, where slow response times for dark colors in particular can cause more blur than you’d like. But we think this issue tends to be overstated a bit given modern VA panels are pretty decent.
If you’d prefer to save some cash and spend $150, here’s what we’d recommend: for 1080p 144Hz VA options, we have the Viotek GN24CB which comes close to the performance we see from the 24G2. It’s available for just $150 in the US. It lacks a height adjustable stand and its performance isn’t as strong at lower refresh rates, like 60Hz.
If you can’t get the Viotek, or you want a height adjustable stand, our choice would be another AOC monitor, the C24G1. At ~$145, it packs the same height adjustable design as our top IPS recommendation although panel performance isn’t as solid, but it’s good enough for the price. Outside of these, we’re not enthused by the value proposition of any 1080p TN monitors right now, so we’d just stick to the options we’ve mentioned.
