32” Gaming Monitor Recommendations ~$300

MaximumEffort777 on 19/12/2019 - 11:58

Our 16yo son is wanting to buy himself a monitor, an upgrade from a crappy 32” TV but knowing nothing about monitors I just wanted to get some advice on the caveats of certain models, features etc.

He only games on an Xbox One S currently but wants to future proof for the Xbox Series X next year so what I’m just confused between the best resolution vs refresh rates on a lot of monitors I see out there. I’d say say at a minimum he’d want a 2K monitor and preferably at least 32” but is there a massive difference between a 60hz and 75hz monitor and is the jump completely unnecessary to 144hz for console gaming?

The other thing is curved vs flat screens? Is this a preference thing or is there some added benefit to one or the other?

Obviously the best bang for his buck is the ideal option and a few I’ve sussed out are:

  • AOC;
  • Viewsonic;
  • Kogan.

TIA for any feedback folks.

Gaming Computer Peripheral LCD Monitor

Comments

  • skid on 19/12/2019 - 12:23

    What sorta games does your son play? Does he have a monitor in mind?

    • MaximumEffort777 on 19/12/2019 - 12:37

      Fortnite mostly followed by Rocket League and just random games after that. He was looking at the 35” curved monitor from Kogan, which can be had for $340 currently with the 10% off gift cards.

      https://www.kogan.com/au/buy/kogan-35-curved-219-ultrawide-7…

      Not sure how this compares to AOC, Viewsonic etc.

      • scrimshaw on 19/12/2019 - 13:05
        +2

        I've tried Xbox console on a 35" ultrawide, not recommended since Xbox One (s) does not support any aspect ratio outside of the classic 16:9. Ultrawide gaming isn't a thing yet for consoles and it only works for PC.

        Stick with regular 16:9 monitor with freesync (pretty much every monitor supports it nowadays) and 75hz (at least) with 2k resolution.

        • MaximumEffort777 on 19/12/2019 - 13:44

          Thanks for that, I had no idea about the ultrawide screen. Does it shrink and/or the image being output or does it just give black borders around it? I was only thinking the wider screen for what features may be implemented with the Xbox Series X.

  • Bad Company on 19/12/2019 - 12:56

    Just get a TV………….you won't get anything nice with $300 but 144 hz is entirely unnecessary for console gaming so a TV is more than enough.

    You can get a 40 inch 1080p TV for less than that money from Big W.

    1080p is all you need for Xbox One S.

    • dotMonkey on 19/12/2019 - 13:12
      +4

      If he wants to future proof he will want a higher resolution and probably high refresh rate too (according to what I read on the MS blog, the Series X will allow for higher refresh rate gaming).

      • MaximumEffort777 on 19/12/2019 - 13:47
        +1

        This was the reason for him wanting a monitor over a TV but I guess it's a question of just how many games will be 120fps?

        • skid on 19/12/2019 - 14:56
          +1

          That was the reason I asked which games your son plays. Based on your answer, I'd predict that a lot of those sorts of games will be >60fps on the new xbox.

          As to whether a curved screen has benefits? When it comes to online gaming, a curved screen would be a preference thing.

          I'd look for the biggest, highest res, highest refresh, flat 16:9 monitor your son can afford. I'd pick size over res over refresh. I wouldn't pick it based on the panel type or brand. Hope that's not a crap answer.

    • MaximumEffort777 on 19/12/2019 - 13:46

      I'm not sure if you actually read my post :/

      He has a crappy TV already and he will be upgrading to an Xbox Series X in a years time which will reportedly be capable of 120hz.

  • Jolakot on 19/12/2019 - 14:58

    After spending a fair bit of time shopping for 1440P 144HZ 32 inch monitors with VESA compatibility (can mount on monitor arms/the wall), the best bang for buck has to be the LG 32GK650F-B, can often grab them for $400-$440 during ebay sales.

    Likely overkill for even an Xbox X though, as very few games even go over 60fps, so I'd go for a cheap 4k/60hz monitor for around the same price. Scales well for 1080P as well, so it'll be useable with the xbox one s until he upgrades.

    • Agret on 19/12/2019 - 16:01

      Likely overkill for even an Xbox X though, as very few games even go over 60fps,

      Fortnite and Rocket League will definitely be capable of 120hz on the new xbox.

    • MaximumEffort777 on 19/12/2019 - 18:02

      Thanks for the feedback, I think in this case what's overkill now will be less so in a years time so we'd rather he invest his money wisely now for some future proofing.

  • interfreak on 19/12/2019 - 17:44

    BenQ EW3270U.

    4K HDR with freesync. I’ve had one for a while now and it’s awesome.

    • MaximumEffort777 on 19/12/2019 - 17:59

      Looks great but a little out of his price range. Seems like the lowest it's been is around $500.

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