Best LCD Monitors Under $200

For years I have been making do with an under-sized computer monitor because a quality Widescreen LCD Monitor always seemed too expensive. But in recent years, the quality of widescreen monitors has gotten better, and many are now priced within the reach of many budgets. You can even buy a high-quality, affordable LCD monitor for less than $200 at Amazon.com!

I recently did some pre-Spring cleaning and used the Amazon.com Trade-In program to turn a bunch of my unwatched DVDs into an Amazon Gift Card. I decided that the time has come to invest in a new LCD monitor and make my time behind the keyboard more enjoyable!

In the process of deciding how to get the best monitor for my price range, I compiled a list of the best LCD monitors at Amazon.com under $200.

My basic requirements were:

• 22-24 inches across
• VGA and DVI connections, with available HMDI a nice bonus
• Built-in speakers, but only if they were of good quality
• Fast response time, preferably 2ms (Besides my PC, I'll be connecting my XBox360 to this monitor, so it needs to be fast!)
• At least a 3 year manufacturer's warranty

Here are the results of my research, including the LCD Monitor that I actually ended up purchasing!

One of the early contenders for my attention was this Viewsonic model.

It comes with hookup cables for both VGA and DVI, and it has built-in speakers, but at 22 inches wide it's at the low end of my preferred size range.

The customer reviews were glowing, and I kept this one at the top pf my wishlist while I continued to comparison shop...

This Acer model also comes close to meeting my required specs.

It has HDMI, DVI and VGA connections (plus all three cables are included), and at 23 inches wide it should be big enough.

The response time is 5ms, but this is still a well-reviewed monitor that I kept on the list...

Samsung is an industry leader in high-quality LCD widescreen computer monitors, and they are typically priced well-outside my price range!

This was one of just two LCD monitors that I found under $200, and it's at the low end of my size requirements. It also lacks built-in speakers and HDMI input, but that isn't a deal-breaker.

All of the customer reviews were positive, so this Samsung could be a contender...

This 23-inch ASUS monitor seems to meet all of my qualifications, but it's towards the top of my price range.

It got excellent customer reviews, and if nothing better comes along during my LCD monitor research, then this may be the one for me!

This Viewsonic model is one of largest widescreens I found for under $200 - at the time of my research it was priced at $199.99, so it just barely qualified!

As the most expensive LCD monitor on my research list, this one would have to blow all the others out of the water to come out the winner.

It meets all of my qualifications, but there were some less than flattering comments in the reviews regarding the sound quality. A monitor for this price would have to have great sound to justify the expense...

This model from HP looked good at first, but at only 21.5 inches it's at the low end of my size range but the top end of my budget!

I have always had great results with HP products - I have a laptop and a laser printer by HP that have worked flawlessly for years - but when I saw that there is only a one-year warranty on this monitor the deal was off!

Every other monitor I researched has a 3 year warranty, and the one year warranty from HP made me drop this one right off the list...

This Acer LCD had a great low price, but at just 22 inches across it didn't really measure up to the other widescreens on my list.

Add a lack of speakers and just 2 customer reviews at Amazon and the result is clear - this one's off the list too!

If I was looking for a laptop monitor, or maybe a new monitor for the kids' room, then this one is priced low enough to make it ideal for those uses...

I was really tempted by this one - a Samsung that was within my prove range!

It's on the small side, though, and even though it uses an LED backlight for lower electrical consumption, it just isn't big enough to justify the price tag.

On top of that higher price, this monitor also lacks speakers and an HDMI input.

Looks like a Samsung Widescreen LCD Monitor is not in the cards for me!

During the course of my research for the best LCD Widescreen Monitor under $200, I visited quite a few review sites. The overwhelming conclusion seemed to be that ASUS and ViewSonic are the leaders in affordable, quality monitors, so those are the brands that I drifted towards as I narrowed my list.

There were a few monitors that were easy to eliminate from consideration, and in the end I was left with three options. It was difficult to narrow my choice - the Viewsonic monitors were more expensive, but they were also larger and came with built-in speakers. The ASUS had better reviews, but did not have speakers.

In the end, I decided that having speakers wasn't a big deal - the sound system built into any monitor will never compare to even an inexpensive set of external speakers, and I have some in storage that I can set up for the Xbox 360.

And the winner is...

When it came down to it, I went with the best reviewed model I could afford, based on both Amazon customer reviews and other third party websites.

I decided on this ASUS 23 inch monitor.

This LCD Monitor also uses an LED backlight instead of the traditional fluorescent backlight, so it uses less electricity and is more eco-friendly! It was priced just within my price range, plus there was a $15 rebate and free shipping (I belong to Amazon Prime, so I always lean towards products that qualify for that program).

The monitor lacks internal speakers, but it has all three connection types, super fast 2ms response time, a 3 year warranty and it's just the right size for my needs!

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