Best new monitor for gaming under £250?

[Viridian112]

Hey guys.


I'm currently looking to purchase a new monitor for gaming as a replacement for my 21.5" Phillips monitor. The trouble is, I have no idea what to buy. I'm living in the UK, in case this is relevant at all.

My budget is around £250 (closer to £200 would be preferable, but I can stretch all the way to slightly over £250 if the monitor is really worth it). The trouble is, I play two very different styles of games. I'm a huge fan of fast FPS gaming such as Quake Live and in these types of games I value performance more than anything. However, I also absolutely love the Elder Scrolls series, where I value picture quality over absolutely anything - were it not for this I'd have just attempted to hunt down an old CRT. Since I need both picture quality and performance to come under one package, I would be appreciative if someone could recommend me something.

I have only a few set requirements:
- It must be under £250 (unless £20 or so extra makes a huge difference)
- It must have a resolution of 1920x1080
- Preferably 23/24" size.
- Must have less than 5ms response time, minimum input lag is crucial.
- At least decent picture quality


In case it matters, my CPU is an Intel i5 3570k @ 3.7 GHz and my GPU is an XFX Radeon 7950 Double Dissipation Black Edition (935MHz). And the size of this monitor really can't be much bigger than 24" since my desk space is small.


Thanks!

 

[lucasz]

http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/monitors/24inchmonitors/ve248h.html

 

[envy14tpe]

Lots of good choices:
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/aoc-monitor-i2367fh
http://uk.pcpartpicker.com/part/asus-monitor-vn248h

I agree with your choice. Go IPS but get a fast one.

 

[lucasz]

Anything from a reputable brand will be good. People say BenQ monitors are great, I've never used one though.

 

[Viridian112]

I like the suggestions so far - thanks!

One question; if I were to buy a 120 or 144hz monitor, would that hurt the HD gaming I do too? For many games such as Crysis 2/3/The Elder Scrolls on ultra with mods/etc, I can't reach a stable 120 or 144 FPS, whereas I can easily max out Quake with plenty of GPU power left over. Just asking because I've seen this, wondering if it's worth the money: http://www.novatech.co.uk/products/monitors/24inchmonitors/9h.l9slb.qbe.html


I'll stick with 60Hz if it means that I can play my Elder Scrolls smoothly <3

 

[lucasz]

You'll notice how smooth it is when you get 100fps on a 120hz or 144hz monitor. It really depends on which games you play the most. If you play Quake a lot then I'd say go for it!

 

[lucasz]

That's a good monitor. I'd get it

 

[envy14tpe]

120Hz monitors are fast but overkill in my opinion. I'd rather have a monitor with good depth and richness.