It seems like only yesterday that a decent 1440p monitor with a refresh rate of 120Hz or higher was a significant expense. So when I saw the regular price of this ASRock monitor, I was reminded that the market for the best gaming monitors has advanced frighteningly fast over the past few years. But there are also hefty discounts.

The 27-inch ASRock Phantom PG27Q15R2A is worth even its undiscounted $240 price tag. This discount is well below the list price of many 1080p gaming monitors.

While we did not get our hands on this standard aspect ratio model, Jeremy previously tested the similar but ultra-wide ASRock Phantom PG34WQ15R2B and found it to be excellent. The currently offered 27-inch ASRock Phantom display has the same 550-nit peak brightness as the ultrawide he tested and meets the DisplayHDR 400 rating.

In fact, this means it delivers punchy visuals and dynamic contrast. Jeremy found that the ASRock Ultrawide displayed SDR content beautifully on Windows-enabled HDR. This punch, of course, is to be expected from a solid VA panel. Expect deep blacks, bright whites, and vivid colors. But don't expect anything close to the contrast of the DisplayHDR 1000's hot shots.

One drawback of VA panels compared to IPS panels is the slow pixel response time, and ASRock claims a video response time (MPRT) of 1 ms. However, ASRock claims a MPRT (video response time) of 1 ms. As always, this should be taken with a pinch of salt and should not be confused with g2g (gray-to-gray) response time.

This monitor also shares the same (AMD FreeSync Premium) 165Hz refresh rate as the ultrawide, at 1440p, arguably the best configuration for most mainstream PC gamers today. with Nvidia's DLSS AMD's FSR have made playing games at 1440p at over 100 fps more affordable for more gamers than ever before, this incredibly affordable monitor has the mainstream PC gaming market well nailed.

And while 4K monitors are great, 1440p is still the sweet spot for many who want to game at 144Hz or 165Hz. Just be sure to connect the monitor via DisplayPort, as the monitor's HDMI connection has a maximum of 100 Hz.

This monitor also has a Wi-Fi antenna built into the stand, so Wi-Fi can be extended. [This monitor can be purchased for an unbeatable price if you are looking to buy a high refresh rate mainstream monitor, even without these dubious accessories. Come to think of it, it's also a great match for the SkyTech gaming PC specials we raved about yesterday. For all you aspiring 1440p gamers out there this week!

Amazon Prime Day is right around the corner, and soon everyone will be able to participate. Right now, there is an early bird discount on Prime Day gaming monitors.