This $150 27-inch 1440p monitor is practically begging to be thrown alongside a new PC build

If there’s one type of PC gaming gear that seems to jump lightyears ahead every time I turn my back, it’s the gaming monitor. It feels like only yesterday I was upgrading to 1440p 144 Hz and thinking what a smooth dude I was for being so ahead of the curve. And now? You can get a 1440p, 144–170 Hz monitor for just $150 at Newegg.

The reason I’m not saying a straight 170 Hz as the Newegg listing might imply is that this high refresh rate is not native, rather it’s what the monitor can overclock to. And despite it being manufacturer-advertised as up to 170 Hz with an OC, it’s still probably best to think of this as a 144 Hz monitor, because having it OC’d to 170 Hz all the time can shorten your monitor’s lifespan or lead to artifacts.

That being said, it does hit 170 Hz, and that might be something you consider toggling when you play competitive shooters, for instance. And at other times, you still have a very capable 144 Hz monitor for a very reasonable price.

This monitor would be a particularly good pick for those of you looking to buy a new system—or upgrade your current one with a good Amazon Prime Day deal. If you’re looking to make the most of games today in anything but a truly budget build, you’ll probably be wanting to game at 1440p resolution. And with all the frame gen on offer from both Nvidia and AMD, hitting over 60 fps in most games shouldn’t be too difficult, making a 1440p 144 Hz monitor like this one ideal.

It’s cheaper than even some 1080p monitors, and you’re getting a 1 ms (MPRT) response time plus FreeSync Premium VRR. It has a VA panel, which means you should get some good contrast, although you’re unlikely to get perfect blacks at this price range. It even has some height adjustment and swivel functionality built into the stand, so you can get it positioned just right.

Considering the range of features it packs in, for $150 you’re getting a pretty bangin’ deal. If you have a much larger budget, sure, an OLED or curved ultrawide will serve you better, but if you want to save more money for other upgrades, I reckon you’ll get good mileage out of this one.

Jacob got his hands on a gaming PC for the first time when he was about 12 years old. He swiftly realised the local PC repair store had ripped him off with his build and vowed never to let another soul build his rig again. With this vow, Jacob the hardware junkie was born. Since then, Jacob’s led a double-life as part-hardware geek, part-philosophy nerd, first working as a Hardware Writer for PCGamesN in 2020, then working towards a PhD in Philosophy for a few years (result pending a patiently awaited viva exam) while freelancing on the side for sites such as TechRadar, Pocket-lint, and yours truly, PC Gamer. Eventually, he gave up the ruthless mercenary life to join the world’s #1 PC Gaming site full-time. It’s definitely not an ego thing, he assures us.