For $155 each, I'm close to bagging three of these 144Hz gaming monitors

The MSI Optix G272 from front and back angles on a blue background. — (Image credit: MSI)

This MSI Optix G272 gaming monitor, with speedy refresh rate and low response time, is just $155 at Walmart right now. That's kind of ridiculous when you consider its usual price is $353. That's almost $200 saved on a pretty decent piece of kit—maybe something to consider if you're looking to round off your mid-range gaming rig setup.

On top of an 144Hz refresh rate, this little esports ready gaming monitor delivers an impeccable 1ms response time. That makes it a great option if you're into competitive online gaming, and although it's only a 1080p native resolution panel, it means it won't push lower end graphics cards too hard.

Easier on your GPU equals higher frames per second, i.e. the gaming life-blood.

What's the catch, you're wondering? While there is a lot going for this gaming monitor in terms of competitive chops, issues crop up when you look below the panel itself.

We've not had a chance to confirm this for ourselves but Rtings testers came back with a few gripes, the stand being one of them. It's not the greatest when it comes to ergonomics, since there's no height adjustment or swivel. You also can't rotate it to portrait orientation if you want to set up some matrix-style coding monitor array. The joystick controls are a great feature for a modern monitor, though this ones got a little wiggle to it.

Otherwise, they reckon this gaming monitor is sturdy, and the picture quality isn't terrible either. That's especially true for this price. Generally it's got slightly better contrast than most IPS monitors, whereas the viewing angle is a little lacking. 1080p at 27 inches also doesn't necessarily make for the best pixel pitch.

This one also doesn't come with FreeSync or G-Sync, and though the Adaptive Sync variable refresh rate (VRR) technology works pretty well with AMD GPUs to achieve a mostly tearless experience, that's only over DisplayPort. It also doesn't support HDR gaming, but that's something I'd be happy to sacrifice at that price.

Having been obsessed with game mechanics, computers and graphics for three decades, Katie took Game Art and Design up to Masters level at uni and has been writing about digital games, tabletop games and gaming technology for over five years since. She can be found facilitating board game design workshops and optimising everything in her path.