If you want to upgrade your gaming life without splurging on a new graphics card during the ongoing chip shortage, we’ve spotted some nice high refresh rate gaming monitors that won’t break the bank. Best Buy is selling a curved 27-inch Samsung Odyssey for $250, while Amazon has the 24-inch Samsung curved 1080p monitor for $170, $150 off the MSRP and nearly the all-time low .
Let’s take a look at the Odyssey first. This 1080p display and it offers an astounding 240Hz refresh rate. That should make gaming (and even desktop browsing) feel buttery-smooth, buoyed by the inclusion of Nvidia’s G-Sync Compatible technology, which offers an adaptive sync feature that matches your monitor output to your GPU’s output to avoid stuttering and screen-tearing. This display has a 1500R curvature, a 178-degree viewing angle, two HDMI inputs, and one Display Port.
If a 24-incher is more your style, then the Samsung CRG5 is a good choice. At $170 it’s near the all-time low of $166.84.
It’s also a 1080p monitor, with a slower-but-still-blazing-fast 144Hz refresh rate and FreeSync instead of G-Sync Compatibility—though “G-Sync Compatible” is built on the back of FreeSync-like technology anyway, and isn’t the same thing as a true G-Sync monitor with dedicated hardware inside. The curve on the Samsung CRG5 is a little less intense at 1800R, and it also has a game mode that is supposed to adjust black gamma levels, contrast, and sharpness based on game genre. There’s also a low input lag mode, which esports enthusiasts will likely appreciate.
If you need a new gaming monitor, and don’t mind 1080p resolution, these are two good choices at excellent prices.
[Today’s deal: Samsung gaming monitors at Amazon and Best Buy.]
Ian is an independent writer based in Israel who has never met a tech subject he didn’t like. He primarily covers Windows, PC and gaming hardware, video and music streaming services, social networks, and browsers. When he’s not covering the news he’s working on how-to tips for PC users, or tuning his eGPU setup.
