If you’ve been looking at gaming monitors over the last few years, you’ve probably seen a lot of OLEDs and not much else. If you’ve been hunting for a solid non-OLED deal, you might want to check out Dell’s newest offering: a 27-inch 1080p monitor with a color-accurate IPS panel and 240Hz of speed. That’s pretty darn good if you play online multiplayer games… and right now it’s just $130. Dang!
Notably, this is a Dell monitor, not in the company’s more premium Alienware brand. That makes sense as the SE2726HG appears to be very specifically targeted at budget gamers. It uses dull black plastic, it has zero USB inputs, there are no RGB lights on the rear. But it does support multiple devices at once (two HDMI 2.1, one DisplayPort 1.4) and has a headphone jack for easily connecting a headset or speakers. You get a VESA mount, which you should absolutely use to add a monitor arm.
The 1920×1080 resolution is fairly basic for a modern monitor, especially a 27-inch one, during a time when 1440p is the new “sweet spot.” But the IPS panel—a definite upgrade over cheaper VA—gets my attention as someone who frequently has to work with photos. And 240Hz is a huge plus! That’s four times the speed of a basic non-gaming monitor, and definitely in the range that competitive gamers want.
All this for $150 retail or $130 with the current discount on Dell’s web store. (These discounts tend to be “sticky” for Dell, so you can expect to see this price a lot going forward.) That’s the best price I’ve seen on a new gaming monitor in a long, long time.