6 Best Budget FreeSync Monitors

Budget FreeSync Displays Compared 

List of Best Budget FreeSync Monitors

Here is a quick list of the best budget freesync monitors

6 Best Budget FreeSync Monitors Reviewed

We consider any monitor in or around $150 range to be within the inexpensive range.

Although the features that you get with these displays are somewhat limited, they all offer AMD FreeSync.

1. Acer ED242QR Abidpx – 24 Inch – Top Pick

Although this monitor is slightly more expensive than $150 dollar range, we just had to mention this here because of the value it offers.

This is a 24 inch monitor that offers 144Hz refresh rate on a VA panel with a resolution of 1920 x 1080.

When it comes to performance/value we believe this is one of the best budget FreeSync monitors.

Those who understand panels will know that VA lies is in between TN and IPS in terms of performance. As such it offers good color, as well as a decent enough response time.

This monitor has a response time of 4 ms. Though this is not as fast as 1 ms on TN panels, the good news is that VA panels offers three times as much contrast ratio.

Therefore, this monitor makes it up for the awesome colors it offers.

The central feature of this monitor is the high refresh rate. The higher the refresh rate the more improvement in performance you will experience due to FreeSync.

Another great delight on this monitor is the curved display. If you even plan to have a multiple monitor setup, the curvature of this screen will greatly help in improving the experience.

2. Sceptre C248B-144RN – 24″ – Curved – 144Hz - Runner Up

Although Sceptre is not as famous as the already established brands out there, it is gaining momentum within the market.

Almost all of their products are well liked and offer an unparalleled value.

This particular monitor is a bezel less budget gaming monitor featuring a 24 inch screen with a VA panel.

Of course, the biggest and most coveted feature that it offers for gamers is the 144 Hz refresh rate that too on a curved screen.

A higher refresh rate means you would be able to enjoy much higher frame rates. Of course you will need a fairly powerful gaming rig to support high frames rates.

The curved screen would enable a higher immersion and if you decide to get multiple monitors, then you can almost have a curved cockpit.

If you don’t mind this relatively new brand, then there is not doubt that is is one of the best budget FreeSync Monitors in the market.

Plus if you are worried about the product, just read the customer reviews. This would not have received great praise had it not been for its great value.

3. Acer CB272 bmiprx – IPS with 1 ms Response Time

This is a slightly more expensive monitor as compared to the Acer Nitro VG220Q bmiix reviewed below, but it follows the same idea: an IPS monitor with 1 ms response time.

Traditionally, 1 ms response time is only reserved for monitors with TN panels. To have 1 ms on IPS display is like having the cake and eating it too.

With the vibrant colors of IPS and lower motion blurs promised by the 1 ms response time, you can expect a great gaming experience.

If you are looking for one of the best budget FreeSync monitors with a 27 inch display, then this could possibly be it.

This monitor offers FHD resolution as well as higher than average refresh rate of 75 Hz.

One great aspect of this display is that it offers plethora of connectivity options. It offers DP, HDMI, VGA, audio in and audio out.

Many seek them actively because HDMI and DP  are perhaps the most widespread interface for audio-video devices.

Despite being a budget monitor, it does offer eye care technology like flicker less display and Acer’s proprietary VisionCare technology. Plus 75 Hz refresh is ideal for eyes as compared to 60 Hz refresh rate.

To make the deal sweeter, this monitor also boasts built in speakers as well as VESA mounting holes in case if you want to mount a multiple display setup.

Related: How To Mount A Monitor That Doesn't Have VESA Holes

4. AOC 24V2H – 24″ – Frameless

It is not easy to find a monitor harboring an IPS panel and at the same time being built for gaming at a budget.

This monitor is one such rare gem that tends to combine the best features at such a low price.

For starters, this is a 24 inch monitor that has a refresh rate of 75 Hz and a response time of 5 ms. The biggest achievement of this monitor is the IPS panel.

There is not doubt in the fact that no other panels (i.e VA or TN) can compare with IPS in color reproduction. When comparing the two side by side, you will notice a blast of new colors emerging from the IPS panel.

The drawback is that IPS panels have a slower response time vs LED. Although the difference between 5 ms or 1 ms is rarely visible by casual gamers, for hardcore gamers this could be an issue.

Another great feature of this display is the virtually frameless design. This is yet another added benefit of IPS panel, they almost always enable the construction of gorgeous monitors such as this.

If you appreciate elegance, then this is one of the best budget FreeSync monitors.

5. Acer Nitro VG220Q bmiix – 21.5 Inch – IPS with 1 ms Response Time

This is a fairly small monitor in comparison to the rest of the monitors here but it offers the same amount of screen resolution as the others.

As far as gaming concerned, this could be the truest gaming monitor in this list.

It hails from the Acer’s famous Nitro brand that creates great gaming gear and accessories. This particular monitor is 21.5 inch, has an FHD resolution and higher than normal refresh rate of 75 Hz.

One thing that sets this monitor apart is that not only does it offer an IPS panel but at the same time has a response time of 1 ms.

Never has there ever been a monitor that boast this combination. IPS panels weren’t simply built for a high response time like TN panels. Acer has completely changed that narrative.

So in short, if you want a monitor with IPS panel but with a fast response time, then this is one of the best budget FreeSync monitors.

6. Philips 276E9QDSB – 27 Inch – Professional Monitor with FreeSync

What if you are a gamer as well as a designer?

Perhaps you have a knack for colors.

If that is the case then this is certainly one of the best budget FreeSync monitors.

It has both color enhancing features as well as gaming centered features.

It offers AMD FreeSync in order to deal with the screen stutter as well as the as the screen tearing issues. However, this monitor goes far beyond that.

This monitor harbors a high quality IPS panel. IPS panels, as you may well know, are the go to panels for high performance monitors centered around best color reproduction.

As a result this monitor offers 124% coverage of sRGB color space. This is about 93% of the NTSC color gamut.

If you are a designer you would understand the significance of such a high coverage. If you are not a designer, rest assured in knowing that you will be able to enjoy your games with rich and vibrant colors.

This monitor does not come with ergonomic stand built in. However, it does offer VESA mounting holes with which you should be able to mount this on dedicated arms and stands.

Note that this monitor also has a 24 inch variant that is much cheaper and has the same specs.

All in all, this is one of the best budget FreeSync monitors for those who game as well as design/edit.

People Also Ask (FAQs)

What Really IS AMD FreeSync?

Although FreeSync and adaptive sync all sound sophisticated and therefore desirable, have you wondered what it actually does?

I am sure you may have heard that it makes the gaming experience smoother, but that is a pretty lackluster definition.

Let us learn a bit more about here.

Frames Per Second vs Refresh Rate

Before you start learning more about this technology, it is important to first understand a few terms and especially the difference between frames per second and refresh rate.

Refresh rate is the function of a monitor whereas frames per second (frame rate) is the function of your gaming hardware.

The refresh rate is basically how many time the display updates itself in a second. The higher the refresh rate, the more number of times it refreshes per second. Conventional monitors have a refresh rate of 60Hz. This means that the screen updates itself 60 times in a second.

Now in order to utilize the entire 60 Hz, your hardware needs to be capable enough to pump out that many frames per second. If your monitor has a refresh rate of 60 Hz but your hardware is only pumping out 30 frames per second, you are not utilizing the monitor to full capacity.

Conversely, if you have super powerful hardware that is pumping out way more than 60 frame per second, you need to upgrade your monitor.

With that said, when refresh rate and frame rate do not match, it causes two phenomenon called screen tear and screen stutter.

The adaptive sync technology like AMD FreeSync aims to solve these two issues by syncing the refresh rate and frame rate. Let us look at the two a little more in depth.

Screen Tear

Screen tear is a frustrating issue faced by gamer who have much more powerful hardware as compared to their monitors.

Essentially your hardware is getting bottlenecked by the monitor when this occurs.

Screen tear happens when the hardware is sending a lot of frames, but the monitor doesn’t have the capacity to refresh that fast.

So for example if you have a 60 Hz monitor but your hardware is pumping out 120 frames per second, then the display is essentially receiving twice as many frames as it can handle.

As a result the screen tears and you see distorted images here and there.

This issue can traditionally be solved by enabling V-Sync on your games which forces the graphics card to release only as many frames as the monitor can handle.

However, this too has its issue since the games have become way too action oriented with frame rate changing drastically from one scene to another.

Screen Stutter

On the flipside of screen tear lies the issue of screen stutter. This happens when the graphics card is pumping less frames than the your monitor can handle.

So if your monitor has a refresh rate of 60Hz but your hardware can only send 40 frames per second, you will experience a stutter.

Games have become so action packed these days that at some moments the frame rate can drop even on an otherwise high end PC.

For this reason V-Sync does not work, as mentioned earlier, because when you force the frames to match the refresh rate with V-Sync, if the frames were to drop suddenly in an action packed scene on a game, you will experience a stutter no matter how powerful your gaming rig is.

AMD FreeSync Saving the Day

So here comes the life saving AMD FreeSync or the adaptive synchronization technology in general. It essentially enables the monitor to talk with the graphic card.

Thus, it syncs the refresh rate of the monitor to the frame rate of your gaming rig.

Note that previously, refresh rate was thought to be this rigid spec that cannot be changed on the go.

With the adaptive sync like FreeSync, refresh rate is constantly changing as two hardware components (i.e monitor and graphics card) are communicating.

According to AMD, FreeSync works for frame rates between 30 fps – 144 fps.

What IS AMD FreeSync 2?

AMD FreeSync 2 has essentially the same function as the Original FreeSync i.e remove screen tear and screen stutter. However, there are few additional features to it.

FreeSync 2 enables the support for HDR displays.

Furthermore, with the Original FreeSync the minimum requirement for frame was 30fps for it to function, however, with FreeSync 2 that requirement is removed.

FreeSync 2 also improves the input latency of the monitors making them better for giving a more competitive edge to the players.

Another important difference between the two is that FreeSync 2 requires AMD validation before they are produced.

As such, FreeSync 2 monitors are more expensive and usually high performing. The Original FreeSync did not require validation from AMD and was completely open. Therefore, it could be fitted on any monitor.

That is the reason why it is the most widespread adaptive sync technology in the budget monitors.

This Video Explain FreeSync

Conclusion

In this article we talked about some of the budget FreeSync monitors in the market.

It should be noted that while the original FreeSync can be found on budget displays, FreeSync 2 is only found in the most premium gaming monitors.

FreeSync is an important feature if you constantly suffer from screen tear and screen stutter issues when gaming. This happens when a de-sync occurs between monitor refresh rate and hardware frame rate.

We looked at displays from various size categories ranging from 21.5 inches to 27 inches. Some offer a conventional refresh rate of 60Hz which is enough for basic gaming. Others can feature a high performance 144Hz refresh rate for more hardcore gaming.

Similarly, we found that AMD FreeSync can be found on all kinds of panel types including VA, IPS and TN.