These days, ridiculously expensive graphics cards have caused me to lose faith in decently priced gaming hardware. But here comes BenQ proving that you don't have to completely drain your wallet to get a great gaming experience.

Enter the BenQ Mobiuz EX240, a 24-inch, 1,920 x 1,080 pixel display that won't blow you away with its sheer scale or ultra-sharpness. But for only $160, it fits many requirements for entry-level esports use and performs well for all-around gaming.

Key specs are 1080p at 165Hz with an IPS panel, and our hands-on (open in new tab) with this monitor showed it to be well-made with a sleek style. As for brightness, it is 350 nits, which is adequate for most needs, and it also supports basic HDR10. Note that there is no VESA certification or local dimming, so this is not a proper HDR panel.

As for actual image quality, this is a fairly vibrant, punchy panel with good viewing angles; BenQ claims 1ms responsiveness on the less demanding MPRT metrics, which is not far off from the best 1ms IPS monitors measured in gray-to-gray, racy small panels.

There are also three levels of overdrive to choose from. The fastest setting produces a bit of overshoot and reverse ghosting, but the middle option is a good compromise overall; the 165 Hz refresh keeps latency well under control.

Indeed, 1080p seems stingy as a native resolution these days. But thanks to its compact 24-inch diagonal, pixel density isn't too bad, and as we observed when we reviewed the BenQ Mobiuz EX240, at least you don't have to run a cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme to buy this monitor.

Even better, since we reviewed it just a month or so ago, it has dropped from $200 to just $160 (open in new tab). $200 was a bargain; for $160, you get excellent pixel response, reasonable overall calibration, overall punchy pleasant image quality, great low latency, all in a nice looking chassis, it really is a heck of a screen for the money.