This holiday season, you can spend your money on a more-powerful CPU, a better GPU or even more solid-state storage, but the upgrade you'll notice most lives outside of your computer's chassis. A new gaming monitor can give you a sharper picture, more vibrant colors and a smoother gaming experience.

Depending on your budget, you can find good gaming screens going for under $200 or well over $500, even with their Black Friday / Cyber Monday discounts. When you're shopping, first consider whether you your video card supports AMD's FreeSync or Nvidia's G-Sync anti-tearing technology. Consider the panel refresh rate (higher is better). Then think about the panel size you want and the resolution you intend to play at.

Acer Predator Gaming X34 120Hz G-Sync Monitor for $849 (reg $999)
Dell SE2717HR 27-inch FreeSync Monitor for $119 (reg $199)
Sceptre C275B-144R 27-inch, 144Hz Monitor for $179 (reg $260)
BenQ EL2870U 28-inch, 4K Monitor for $359 (reg $449)
Samsung 398 Series 27-inch Curved Monitor for $149 (use coupon code EMCEERS45)
Samsung 750 Series U28H750, 4K 28-inch Monitor for $299 (use coupon code BFAD128)