Monitor technology doesn’t advance as quickly as CPUs or GPUs do, which means that some of the best monitors are still up to standard years after release. The downside is that prices stay higher for longer, and good deals can be hard to come by; the upside is that a good, discounted monitor bought on Cyber Monday could last you for years. What have we got for you? We’ve got your bargain 1080p screens, we’ve got your ultrawide boys, we’ve got your 4K beasts with heightened refresh rates. Something for everyone, basically. Of course, we’re also tracking all kinds of PC gaming hardware offers in our main Cyber Monday deals hub, so head over there for more - or check out our full set of deals roundups:
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Cyber Monday gaming monitor deals (UK):
LG 27GP850 - £299 from Overclockers (was £379)
LG’s Nano IPS tech ensures all the vibrancy of traditional IPS panels, with faster response times. The LG 27GP850, a follow-up to the fantastic 27GL850, shows thaty you don’t need to pay big money for Nano IPS either.
MSI Optix MAG272CQR - £299 from Overclockers (was £400)
This is a great price for the firmly curved MSI Optix MAG272QCR, which makes up for its middling brightness with a high refresh rate, strong contrast and near-perfect sRGB colour gamut coverage. It’s not officially certified for G-Sync as well as FreeSync, but the former worked well enough in our testing.
Asus ROG Strix XG27WQ - £360 from Ebuyer (was £449)
The ROG Strix XG27WQ goes in a completely opposite direction to the CRG5, with show-off onboard lighting, a higher resolution and an even faster refresh rate.
BenQ EL2870UE - £180 from Ebuyer (was £240)
As Katharine found in her BenQ EL2870U review (don’t worry about the added ‘E’ suffix on this model, it’s the same monitor), this is a respectable option if you want a 4K resolution on the cheap. Even cheaper now, too. Another relatively attainable 4K display, the TUF Gaming VG289Q keeps its refresh rate at a so-so 60Hz - but that might not matter when even the best graphics cards can’t run every game above 60fps at such a sharp resolution. It’s still got decent gaming creds otherwise, including FreeSync support. This is the same as the BenQ Mobiuz EX2710 we looked at earlier in the year, but with a higher resolution and better refresh rate. Considering that the lack of pixels was the only thing holding the EX2710 back, this beefed up version is certainly worth a look.
Best ultrawide monitor deals
LG 34GP950G - £1000 from Ebuyer (was £1300)
An ultrawide cousin of the LG 27GP850 listed above, the big and bold 34GP950G stretches out its own Nano IPS panel while keeping a high 144Hz refresh rate. It’s got fully official Nvidia G-Sync support, too.
MSI Optix MAG342CQRV - £349 from Very (was £449)
Although its 100Hz refresh rate isn’t as high as a lot of gaming monitors, the Optix MAG342CQRV is an attractively priced alternative as far as ultrawides go. That was true before Black Friday, and it’s a full £100 cheaper now.
Cyber Monday gaming monitor deals (US):
This is basically our favourite 1080p monitor overall, the A4G2U, just cheaper and without a USB hub. Even if there are bigger discounts on other monitors, this is easily one of the best buys. The 27GL850 is no longer the newest in the range, but I can say from experience that it’s still a brilliant gaming monitor that nails the 1440p/144Hz sweet spot. Not quite as hefty a discount as the earlier offer from B&H, it’s still a good saving. This is one of the few 240Hz monitors I’ve seen at a decent discount, too. What you lose in the refresh rate department, the U32J590 will pay you back with sheer sharpness, screen space, minimal input lag and native FreeSync. With both HDR and a great refresh rate, Katharine was impressed with the BenQ Mobiuz EX2710 when she looked at it back in January. The EX2710Q is more of the same, but with a higher resolution and even more Hz!
Best ultrawide monitor deals
MSI Optix MPG341CQR - $650 from B&H Photo (was $700)
Gaming monitors, even ultrawides, rarely come as fully-featured as the Optix MPG341CQR: from the humble mouse bungee to the camera mount that lets you use a DSLR in place of a webcam, I’ve never tested a monitor with so many gadgets. Picture quality ain’t half bad, either.
Acer Predator X34 - $860 from B&H Photo (was $930)
You can stick with the Acer Nitro XV340CK and get nearly identical specs for a lot less cash, but there’s a lot to be said for the punchiness of the X34’s IPS screen. Acer has also upped the refresh rate from 100Hz on the previous model to 144Hz here.
How to get the best Cyber Monday gaming monitor deal
Resolution: If you’re not sure what kind of gaming monitor is best for you, a good place to start is to look at what kind of graphics card you’ve got. A higher resolution will mean more pixels to push, and you don’t want to over-tax your GPU. For instance, if you have an Nvidia GTX 1660 or AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT card (or below), then you’ll probably want a monitor with a 1920x1080 resolution. Got an Nvidia RTX 2060 / RX 5700 or above? Then you can comfortably handle a 2560x1440 screen without needing to drop graphics quality settings. For smooth 4K, we’d recommend at least a Nvidia RTX 2080. Freesync or G-Sync? Traditionally, you’ll find most Black Friday gaming monitor deals come with AMD’s FreeSync technology, which allows AMD graphics cards to produce a super smooth, tear-free gaming experience with no stutter and no skipped frames. Previously, Nvidia owners couldn’t make use of this tech - they had to look for monitors with Nvidia G-Sync tech. These are becoming increasingly scarce now, though, thanks to Nvidia’s new G-Sync Compatible driver. This lets Nvidia graphics card owners use Freesync monitors exactly like AMD owners. As a result, buying a good FreeSync monitor is now a much better way of saving money than finding a good G-Sync deal. For more info on how they differ, read our G-Sync vs Freesync vs G-Sync Compatible guide. That said, there are some FreeSync monitors that don’t play as nicely with Nvidia graphics cards as others, which is why Nvidia have their official G-Sync Compatible standard (with a capital ‘C’). All Freesync monitors are theoretically G-Sync compatible (with a small ‘c’), but only the ones Nvidia have tested and certified get a big ‘C’ sticker. You’ll find a complete list of all the confirmed G-Sync Compatible monitors right here, so make sure you check your deal against this list to see if it’s guaranteed to give you a good experience. That said, there are plenty of non-G-Sync Compatible monitors we’ve tested that have worked perfectly fine with an Nvidia graphics card, so there’s still a good chance of compatibility even if it hasn’t made Nvidia’s official list yet. Panel type: Different panel types behave differently, and often impact the price of a monitor. TN panels are cheap and fast, so can be good for twitchy shooters, but they don’t reproduce colours as well as IPS panels. These are the best for colour accuracy, and some - like LG’s Nano IPS panel - are approaching TN levels of response times. VA panels, on the other hand, have superior contrast to IPS, but their colour accuracy can suffer slightly. To find out more, read our Gaming monitor panel types explained article to see exactly what each one means, what their advantages are, and what to look out for.
