Honestly, don't overthink the specs too much. I picked up the LG 27GN800-B 27-inch 144Hz IPS a while back and its been awesome for gaming. The colors look great and it is super smooth compared to my old office monitor. It was well under your 300 dollar limit, so you should be golden. I have absolutely no complaints with how it runs, totally worth the money.

Late to the party but honestly, dont sweat the tech jargon. I grabbed the AOC 24G2SP 24-inch 165Hz IPS a few months ago and its been rock solid for me. No complaints at all.

• Prioritize higher refresh rates if you play shooters.
• IPS panels give the best color. Just make sure your desk has room for the stand, those things can be a bit bulky. Works well for my casual setup.

Been thinking about your question for a few hours now. Honestly, those other folks are spot on about skipping the complicated jargon. When I first started out, I made the mistake of blowing my entire budget on specs that looked good on paper but didnt really make a difference for my casual playstyle. Be careful about spending every last dollar on the monitor itself though, because you might want to consider saving a bit for a decent display cable or a sturdier mount if your desk setup feels a little flimsy. I learned the hard way that a fancy screen is useless if its wobbling all over the place when you get into a match. Just make sure you check if your computer actually has the right ports for whatever you end up grabbing, as older rigs sometimes need an adapter to hit those higher refresh rates. Also, think about your desk space before you buy anything too huge, because having a monitor that is physically too big for your seating distance can actually lead to some pretty bad eye strain after a while. I would suggest measuring your viewing distance carefully before hitting that buy button. Good luck with the search, just keep it simple and dont let the marketing hype overwhelm you.