Best Gaming Monitor Under $500?

Overall Thoughts: The Dell S2716DG is an incredible gaming monitor that offers 144hz, 1ms response time, and the NVIDIA G-Sync technology which helps eliminate screen tearing and minimizing display stutter and input lag for a faster and smoother gaming experience. For the price point of $499 when found on sale, this is definitely the best bang for your buck as other TN panels sometimes have the same specs but are more expensive. The monitor's frameless bezel looks absolutely beautiful and really cool! The Dell S2716DG is a very impressive gaming monitor and has high end specs which creates an amazing gaming experience, so is this monitor for you? Let's discuss! So for design, The Dell S2716DG looks very sleek and the frameless bezel looks amazing! The stand is really cool because you can put stuff on top of it like your phone. This is really cool because sometimes certain stands have a design where it sticks out and takes up space on your desk. As far as flexibility, the S2716DG feels very smooth when adjusting the height and turning the monitor side to side and you can also tilt it, swivel, and put it in landscape or portrait mode which is really cool! Also, the monitor is not really wobbly when it sits on your desk and if you bump into your desk, it will not wobble much which is really nice! When it comes to panels, the Dell S2716DG has a TN panel. Should you get an IPS panel instead? So first the basics,

TN panels typically does not have the best color accuracy or color reproduction. Also, the viewing angles make the colors look washed out and produces a yellowish tint. Whereas an IPS panel has great color accuracy and color reproduction and colors stay consistent when viewed from different angles. So should you just get an IPS panel instead? It all depends on a few factors. If this monitor is going to be sitting right in front of you and you are going to be mainly gaming on it, casual cruising the web, and not super picky on colors, then the Dell S2716DG is a fantastic option. The only time to consider an IPS panel is if you are going to be photo editing and need the best colors or if you are going to be running a dual monitor setup where this will be on the side. What about hardware? Screen size? When it comes to hardware, I would suggest a GTX 1080, 1080ti and the cutoff would be a 1070. With the 1070, you will want to lower the settings so you can achieve a high refresh rate or use ultra settings knowing you probably won't high 144hz exactly, all personal preference. So is 27 inch too big? Not big enough? I would say 27 inch is the sweet spot in my opinion because anything bigger is to big and has a lot going on when you sit close to the monitor and anything too small might not be enjoyable for some. This is all personal preference but in my opinion, 27 inch is the sweet spot and looks terrific!

Now, gaming on the Dell S2716DG is an incredible experience! The 144hz makes the game look so smooth and with the g-sync technology and 1ms response time, it creates an amazing gaming experience! If you are coming from a 60hz monitor, you will be blown away! After gaming on a high refresh rate monitor, it's so hard to go back to 60hz because the smooth game-play really makes gaming so enjoyable. Now is 144hz enough or do you need more like 165hz or 240hz? 144hz is the sweet spot because anything after that it becomes really hard to notice. If you go from 144hz to 165hz, you won't notice much of a difference and even 240hz as well. When you go from 60hz to 144hz, you will notice a HUGE difference! Overall the Dell S2716DG is an amazing gaming monitor that offers high end specs for $499. For that price you are getting 144hz refresh rate, 1ms response time, and the NVIDIA G-Sync Technology. If you are on a budget and want a high end gaming monitor, then the Dell S2716DG is the best bang for your buck! There are other options such as Asus or Acer version that basically has the same specs and price so it's personal preference but I will say Dell did a fantastic making an awesome gaming monitor at a budget price!!

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