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After your graphics card, your choice of monitor is the most important piece of the gaming puzzle in determining how enjoyable and lifelike your games appear. A monitor with a fast response time, speedy refresh rate and adaptive frame rate technology via either AMD's FreeSync or Nvidia's G-Sync can do wonders for making your gaming action smooth and tear- and stutter-free.
Best Buy has four gaming monitors marked down that will let you upgrade your gaming rig for less. Two are 24.5-inch panels and the other two are 27-inch panels.
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MSI Oculux NXG251R 24.5-inch LED FHD G-Sync Monitor: $380 (save $120)
This 24.5-inch TN panel features a 1,920x1,080 resolution, a 240Hz refresh rate and a 1ms response time. It uses Nvidia's G-Sync technology to synchronize the monitor's refresh rate to your GPU's render rate, which eliminates the screen tearing and stuttering that can occur when the two are out of sync.
Acer XF251Q 24.5-inch LED FHD FreeSync Monitor: $140 (save $80)
This 24.5-inch TN panel features a 1,920x1,080 resolution and a 1ms response time but only a 75Hz refresh rate. If you've got a midrange AMD Radeon card that won't be pumping out more than 75 frames a second, then this Acer display could be a good fit. It features FreeSync, which is AMD's competing adaptive frame-rate tech.
HP 27f 27-inch IPS LED FHD FreeSync Monitor: $180 (save $70)
With a 75Hz refresh rate and a 5ms response time, this 27-inch IPS panel isn't as fast as a TN panel, but IPS panels generally offer better color accuracy, a higher contrast ratio, and wider viewing angles. This general-use display could pull double duty as a gaming display as long as you don't harbor aspirations of becoming a fast-twitch esports athlete, and it offers AMD FreeSync for smooth gameplay.
MSI Optix MAG270VC 27-inch LED Curved FHD FreeSync Monitor: $250 (save $50)
This 27-inch display features a 144Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time, but what really marks it as a gaming monitor is its curvature. The curved panel creates a more immersive viewing experience, gently wrapping around your field of vision to make you believe you are right in the action. It also serves up AMD FreeSync to prevent tearing and stuttering from ruining the illusion.