I'm a bit late to the party but I actually have to politely disagree with going straight for LG. Dont get me wrong, they make great panels, but their budget options often have pretty weak contrast ratios which can make dark scenes look kinda gray. Since you mentioned photo editing, that might bug you after a while. If you want something super reliable without the Gigabyte lottery issues, I'd check out the Dell G2724D 1440p 165Hz IPS. Dell has way better quality control in my experience and their stands are actually sturdy. Another one that's been killing it lately is the HP Omen 27q 1440p 165Hz IPS. It usually sits well under $300 and the color accuracy is surprisingly good right out of the box. Both are solid alternatives that feel a bit more premium for the price tag.

been looking around for similar deals lately and i think the Acer Nitro XV272U Vbmiiprx 27 inch 1440p 170Hz is probably your best bet. it usually stays well under that $300 mark and the colors are surprisingly accurate for the price. i havent had any ghosting issues while gaming... it just works great without needing a ton of calibration which is nice for a beginner.

tbh if you want reliability just go with LG. I have been building rigs for a decade and their IPS tech is basically the industry standard for a reason... you cant really go wrong with any of their higher refresh 1440p displays. Their color reproduction is usually way better than the cheaper competition, which helps a lot with your photo work.

Same here!

Just catching up on this. Honestly, the biggest mistake people make with budget 1440p screens is ignoring the quality control lottery. My current setup works well, but I had to send back my first choice because the backlight bleed was just unbearable for editing work. You gotta be careful with the too good to be true deals on brands you've never heard of... most of the time they use B-grade panels that didnt pass the main factory tests. Tbh, as long as you buy from somewhere with a solid return policy, you'll be fine. Being happy with a screen usually comes down to whether the colors stay consistent, but man, those dark spots in the corners on cheap IPS panels are a total vibe killer. Just watch out for that and you'll probably be good.