4K monitors with high refresh rates – 120Hz, 144Hz, or 165Hz – are ideal for South African gamers who want detailed imagery and smooth motion.
Historically, monitors with such a high resolution and refresh rate have been prohibitively expensive – often costing at least R10,000 and usually closer to the R20,000 mark.
However, we have recently discovered several options under R10,000 – including a few below R7,000, and one under R6,000.
This makes them far more accessible to South African gamers who want fluid motion and crisp imagery.
While the cheapest 4K 120Hz monitor you can find is likely to have some downfalls, it is likely to still meet your needs.
For example, you’re unlikely to get industry-leading colour accuracy or contrasts, or a fancy OLED panel on a monitor like this – but it still displays high-quality 4K images.
If you want a high refresh rate with a 4K resolution and superior colour accuracy, you will need to push your budget significantly higher.
We shopped around at a few of the top retailers in South Africa to see what the cheapest 4K, high refresh rate monitors on the market were, and we found a surprising number of options.
Before discussing these monitors, it is important to clarify two things:
- 4K is also often denoted by ‘UHD,’ meaning Ultra High Definition, but they are the same thing – both mean 3,840 x 2,160 resolution.
- Most of the time, the size of a monitor is rounded, but some manufacturers report the precise number (i.e. 31.5 inches) rather than the rounded number (i.e. 32 inches).
We use 4K and a rounded-number notation for consistency, since they are the most commonly used.
Most of the options we found were 27-inch displays, but we even found a few 32-inch monitors for under R10,000.
We detail the monitors we found below.
WootVision 32U V144 WV32UHDVPB-144HZ
Popular PC component retailer Wootware offers its own brand of products, one of which is its line of WootVision monitors.
At R5,799, this is the most affordable monitor we could find that met our 4K, high refresh rate requirements – and, impressively, it is a 32-inch panel.
The WootVision 32U V144 offers a 144Hz refresh rate. It also provides a solid 4ms response time, adaptive sync, auto low latency mode, and 95% DCI-P3.
It uses a VA panel – see this article for an explanation of display panel types.
Dell S2725QS
The next-best deal we found was on the Dell S2725QS – a 27-inch 4K monitor with a 120Hz refresh rate.
It uses an IPS panel with a 4ms response time and built-in dual 5W speakers.
This was available from Evetech for R6,499, from Wootware for R6,849, and from Takealot for R6,852.
There is also a 32-inch version of the same monitor – S3225QS – available from Takealot for R8,498.
Dell S2725QC
The Dell S2725QC is very similar to the above model, with the main difference being that it supports a USB-C connection with 65W power delivery.
This replaces the S2725QS’s DisplayPort 1.4, though both monitors retain an HDMI port.
It retails for R7,699 from Evetech and R7,793 from Wootware.
Gigabyte M27UP
Gigabyte comes into the equation with a 27-inch 4K, 160Hz IPS monitor that retails for R8,499 from Wootware.
Where it beats the other monitors we’ve listed so far is that it offers a much faster 1ms response time.
Gamers who play a wide range of titles will also appreciate its ability to switch to a 1080p 320Hz mode for faster-paced games.
LG UltraGear 27GR93U
LG offers a 27-inch 4K, 144Hz monitor with a 1ms response time for under R10,000.
It features built-in speakers and RGB hexagon lighting, combined with a modern design.
The LG 27GR93U retails for R9,399 from both Amazon South Africa and Takealot.
AOC U27G42
The final 4K, high refresh rate monitor we found for under R10,000 was the AOC U27G42.
The 27-inch 4K monitor offers a 160Hz refresh rate with an impressive 0.5ms response time and an IPS panel.
It was available from Evetech for R9,599.
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