Hear me out, this cheap $79 TV deal could be an essential buy for budget gamers this Prime Day
Jul. 9, 2024Your Steam Deck will love this 720p screen
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
If you told me a few years ago I’d be telling people to buy a 720p TV on Prime Day, I’d probably have cackled. However, that was before I started getting into budget gaming setups as a hobby, as while screens for well under $100 aren’t going to satiate your PS5, they’re actually extremely useful if you’ve got a Steam Deck or something that prefers to run games at lower resolutions.
This isn’t the first time Insignia’s budget screen has dipped to its lowest price, but I normally only see it nosedive like this during either Prime Day or Black Friday. So, the fact it’s already down in price a week before Amazon’s big event is an excellent opportunity, particularly if you need a cheap TV right now. There’s no guarantee stock will still be plentiful come July 17, and while I could be proven wrong, I feel like 720p displays could vanish in the not-too-distant future.
Insignia F20 720p 32-inch |$129.99$79.99 at AmazonSave $50 -A 38% discount has kicked this cheap 720p screen down to its lowest price ahead of Prime Day, and you won’t find many TVs for under $80 at Amazon. It tends to save dropping this low for seasonal sales like Prime Day and Black Friday, so now’s your chance to bag one again for a record low.
Buy it if:
✅ You’re buying a secondary display✅ You don’t need 4K✅ You still want smart features
Don’t buy it if:
❌ You want a TV for gaming❌ 720p is far too low a resolution
Price check:Best Buy $79.99|Walmart $97.95
Should you buy the Insignia F20 Series?
If you’ve ever plugged aSteam Deck dockand tried to run new games at your 4K TV’s native resolution, chances are you’ve ended up with something resembling a slideshow. That’s largely becauseValve’s device is primarily designed to feed its built-in 800p screen with visuals, so you’re more than overworking your portable pal by forcing it to do UHD. The remedy often comes down to setting your resolution to at least 1080p, but scaling things to a larger screen usually leads to soft pixels and textures you probably would rather not see up close.
I’m aretro consolenerd, so it’s probably unsurprising to hear that I still have a 720p display as part of my setup. The reason? It makes for a much more pleasant viewing experience when using mySteam Deck OLEDor even older systems like the Xbox 360, PS4, and Nintendo Switch. Keep in mind that I’m also currently testing the beautifulLGOLED G4 right now, and yet, I still find myself climbing up to my loft gaming space to play those systems on a screen that isn’t full HD. Simply put, lower-spec devices will scale more efficiently to smaller, lower-resolution screens, whereas the latest panels are designed to deliver extraordinary results with Ultra High Definition visuals.
My advice basically boils down to this – if you merely need a screen for your handheld or an older console, the $79 Insignia F20 will deliver. It’s easy to get caught up looking at massive high-spec panels on Prime Day, but sometimes it’s nice to duck your head into the bargain bin for a browse at more appropriate screens. At its current price, I’ll also be telling my friends and family to consider this screen for their bedrooms or makeshift cupboard-under-the-stairs gaming setup (yes, I know someone with one those), as it’s even got Fire TV smart features built-in.
Just don’t tell my grandma about this offer, as she wanted a 720p TV to replace her old bedroom screen and I got her to buy a 4K one instead. Whoops.
Looking for more summer savings? Dive intoPrime Day monitor dealsandPrime Day Steam Deck dealsfor some excellent upcoming discounts. Alternatively, swing byPrime Day tablet dealsif you need a new multimedia rectangle.
Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more
I’ve been messing around with PCs, video game consoles, and tech since before I could speak. Don’t get me wrong, I kickstarted my relationship with technology by jamming a Hot Wheels double-decker bus into my parent’s VCR, but we all have to start somewhere. I even somehow managed to become a walking, talking buyer’s guide at my teenage supermarket job, which helped me accept my career fate. So, rather than try to realise my musician dreams, or see out my University degree, I started running my own retro pop culture site and writing about video games and tech for the likes of TechRadar, The Daily Star, and the BBC before eventually ending up with a job covering graphics card shenanigans at PCGamesN. Now, I’m your friendly neighbourhood Hardware Editor at GamesRadar, and it’s my job to make sure you can kick butt in all your favourite games using the best gaming hardware, whether you’re a sucker for handhelds like the Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch or a hardcore gaming PC enthusiast.
My favorite gaming monitor will save you buying two separate screens this Cyber Monday
The LG OLED B4 is now under $600 for Cyber Monday, and it’s my favorite TV deal of the year
Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
