Eighty bucks is pretty cheap for a monitor, but not unheard of if you’re limiting yourself to a budget 24-inch 1080p panel. But with extra features thrown in, it becomes a great value. I’m talking a speedy 180Hz refresh rate that makes for a pretty good gaming display and an IPS panel for superior color accuracy. You can get such a deal on Amazon today: this Aopen by Acer monitor is on sale for $79.99. (That’s 38% off!)
First, that brand name. “Aopen” isn’t a household name for PC gear, but it is in fact a subsidiary of Acer that’s mostly focused on B2B sales, and the “Fire Legend” label is Aopen’s attempt to break into affordable gaming monitors. So yes, this is an Acer design—at least nominally—and it should offer better support than most of the white-label gear on Amazon. Aopen has a three-year parts and labor warranty for all of its monitors, according to this US support page. This monitor earns a 4.3 star rating out of 5 from over 700 Amazon buyers, for whatever that’s worth.
For just $80, I can’t overstate how great a deal this is. It’s a very basic design, sure, with only single DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI 1.4 connections according to the specs. Zooming in on the rear shots, it looks like this thing has a VGA port (wow, been a while, huh?) and a headphone port. You don’t get any USB extras or fancy lighting, and at 24 inches and 1080p, it’s about as small as desktop monitors get in 2025.
But a 180Hz IPS panel—not VA like most budget gaming displays—is nothing to sneeze at. I also appreciate that it has a VESA mount for using a monitor arm. (Again, not a given at this price point.) This is also a fantastic deal if you want to add one (or two, or more) displays to a multi-monitor setup for more screen real estate.
In addition to Amazon, a poster at SlickDeals spotted the same discount for this Aopen 24KG3Y model at Walmart and Newegg. Keep your options open if this one sells out on Amazon.
Wow! Get a 180Hz IPS gaming monitor for just $80See our Best Monitor round-up for more PC monitor buying advice.
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer, PCWorld
Michael is a 10-year veteran of technology journalism, covering everything from Apple to ZTE. On PCWorld he's the resident keyboard nut, always using a new one for a review and building a new mechanical board or expanding his desktop "battlestation" in his off hours. Michael's previous bylines include Android Police, Digital Trends, Wired, Lifehacker, and How-To Geek, and he's covered events like CES and Mobile World Congress live. Michael lives in Pennsylvania where he's always looking forward to his next kayaking trip.