Question Well, I did it. I pulled the trigger on a 3rd-party refurbished Acer 2560x1440P 25" LCD, "Grade B", off of ebay, for under $100.

[VirtualLarry]

Pardon Our Interruption...

Not sure if I'm allowed to post that ebay link here. Anyways, I bought one, they had "make offer", and it seemed like my offer was auto-accepted. Try something in the $90 range. Maybe lower?

Honestly, I buy refurb stuff before, but I don't know that I've ever bought a "Grade B" refurbished over the internet. I did buy some "recycled"/"refurbished" (tested) 17"-19" LCDs from my local electronics recycler, and those were all good, for around $25-40, depending on condition and brand and wide-screen-ness. I've also bought "official Benq refurbished" 28" 4K UHD that I ended up giving to a friend. In fact, this one is intended for a friend too, but I think that perhaps he would have been happier with that official Acer refurb 2560x1440 LCD for $149.99 @ Newegg (from Acer Official Store), that supported DP and HDMI and FreeSync, 48-75Hz freesync range. But I didn't have the extra money. Maybe he wont want this one, if it's 60Hz-only. I can use it myself, though, too, if it's in acceptable shape.

How bad could it be? (*nervous LOL)

https://www.amazon.com/Acer-G257HU-smidpx-25-Inch-Widescreen/dp/B00QS0AKVK

Amazon reviews are pretty good, seems to state that this is an IPS panel? (And you can OC the display to 76Hz via NV control panel? Custom Res?)

March 18, 2016
Size: 25-InchStyle: WQHD IPS (2560 x 1440)Verified Purchase
Upgraded to this monitor from an old 24-inch Samsung 1080p monitor, and I could not be more happy! I went back and forth on 25-inches vs 27-inches at this resolution, and decided to give this Acer G257HU a shot. The slightly greater pixel density was a factor but I bet the larger 27-inch 2560x1440 resolution monitors look great too.

This is an IPS panel so the viewing angles are amazing! I can walk into my office and see the screen from any angle with no washed out effect that many TN panels produce at angles that aren't straight on. The difference in color contrast between my old monitor and this new Acer is insane, this monitor produces gorgeous colors and makes photo editing and viewing a treat.

When I first hooked up this monitor to my Windows 10 PC, Windows automatically set the monitor resolution to 2560x1440 but also scaled the size of text and everything to greater than 100%. I think this is automatic on Microsoft's part, but I set the scaling back to 100% to take advantage of the full screen real estate. And trust me, the advantage of WQHD (2560x1440) over HD (1920x1080) is great, giving me more room to have my email client open along with everything else I need to be productive at work.

If you want to upgrade your screen real estate, this monitor is an awesome choice.