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Overall
Review of ViewSonic VX24577-MHD
The ViewSonic VX2457MHD is an excellent and inexpensive gaming monitor under $200 since it employs Freesync and other features at an enticing price. You get 24-inches of 1080p viewing space, an extended 75Hz refresh rate, and several game modes. From the looks of these specs, the ViewSonic VX2457 MHD is already a strong contender in the low-budget gaming market, but the company behind it also claims that it is also an all-around performer for enjoyment in your home.
ViewSonic VX24577-MHD Specifications
- Screen Size: 24 Inches
- Resolution: 1920 x 1080p FHD
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Panel Technology: Twisted Nematic (TN)
- Refresh Rate: 75Hz
- Response Time: 2ms
- Contrast Ratio: 1000:1 (Static)
- Brightness: 300 cd/m²
- Built-in Speakers: Yes 2 x 2 Watts
- Stand: Height – No
- Stand: Tilt – Yes (-5°/+23°)
- Stand: Swivel – No
- VESA Compatibility: Yes 100 x 100
- Connectivity: HDMI x 1, DVI x 1, VGA x 1, 3.5mm Audio Jack
- Dimensions with Stand(WxHxD): 23.2” x 16.6” x 9.0”
- Weight: 9.03lbs
Design and Features
It is immediately apparent that ViewSonic cut some corners in the VX2457-MHD’s exterior design. The thick bezels and the glossy finish make this product look cheap and prone to dust, fingerprints, and scratches. But despite these misgivings, the display is still reasonably thin at 1.8 inches on the side, bringing this monitor’s look back into present-day standards. At least, the rear of the screen is finished with a matte texture, which is a smarter choice for the rest of the product.
This model comes with its stand pre-installed, so you only have to snap the base on the bottom and secure it with a provided screw. Assembly is a breeze, but the poor build quality is most prominent on this part. It seems that the mechanism cannot withstand the weight of the screen, so the whole thing wobbles on your desk from time to time. You also only get tilt for ergonomics, so it would be better to use aftermarket mounting and thankfully, the VX2457-MHD is VESA compatible.
At least, ViewSonic did not skimp on signal input options since this device includes a slot each for HDMI, DisplayPort, and VGA. You need the DP port for 75Hz operation so that you can leave the other slots for host devices such as consoles or a secondary PC. To complete the package, you also get a pair of 2-watt speakers, which as always, still lacks power and quality for dedicated use.
Display and Performance
For its price, the ViewSonic VX2457-MHD offers reasonable performance you don’t find in cheap monitors. The 24-inch 1080p TN panel is only capable of around 92% sRGB coverage, but for contrast, you can get as much as 1100:1 so blacks and shadows will have depth and visible transitions. The slight blandness in color is a natural limitation of TN screens, so we think the output is acceptable for gaming and movies. Out of the box, Delta E goes over 2.70, but you can reach an improved 1.85 by just lowering the brightness to more comfortable levels since the VX2457-MHD can reach 285cd/m2 out of its advertised 300.
Of course, the biggest drawback of TN panels are their limited viewing angles, but you can easily get around this by sitting at the dead center of the screen. We tested Battlefield 1 with the VX2457-MHD, and for the most part, we liked how the product portrayed the 1900’s wartime atmosphere of the title. The Key feature here is the fantastic contrast ratio, even if you sacrifice the greens of the forests and the redness of the sands in the different maps. ViewSonic included several presets for gaming and home use, but we found each of these to be detrimental to its performance since each setting drops the brightness to around 120cd/m2.
The VX2457-MHD slightly drops the ball in screen uniformity, since there are apparent losses in color and detail towards the sides, which could be an issue in darker scenes. For well-lit pictures and environments, however, the 1080p screen offers adequate performance since you can barely notice the shifts in the panel. As for snappiness and input lag, the VX2457-MHD has an average of around 11.5ms, making it suitable for all types of games, including FPS titles.
Moreover, this device has a maximum refresh rate of 75Hz with Freesync. Functional range falls around 40Hz to 75Hz, which is sufficient in our opinion since it is easy to get stable FPS on any title at 1080p. Our RX 470 GPU did quite well in Battlefield 1, with frames averaging from 60 to 78FPS at max settings. Freesync does quite well in reducing tears when the images transition through the minor variance, but we suggest users try and limit FPS to within 42-72, so you always stay in sync. Motion blur shows it ugly face from time to time across our session, but it wasn’t that bad especially when you consider you can only go up to 75Hz.
Conclusion
The ViewSonic VX2457-MHD is indeed a well-rounded gaming and entertainment monitor for a low price, but it does come with a lot of compromises which makes us a bit hesitant to recommend it as a great budget option. The uniformity issues can easily counter the fantastic contrast ratio in dark scenes, but for most purposes such as casual gaming and movie watching, the performance is more than reasonable. For the price, you get a snappy TN screen with 75Hz and Freesync, but we think you are better off spending a few more bucks for a better product with similar features, like the Asus VG254H, one of the budget recommendations we included in our best gaming monitors buying guide for this year.