Ten affordable mid-sized Full HD monitors
Give your PC a facelift
Product Round-up Monitors don’t age very well; growing, as they do, dimmer and yellower as time passes. Premium panel technologies are now also considerably cheaper than they once were, so if you haven’t updated your display in a while, the chances are it’s now more than a little bit rubbish.
I’ve taken a look at ten of the best affordable monitors available with an eye to the on-line prices you can expect to find, as there are definitely some bargains to be had. Each monitor in this selection has rather different strengths and features but all offer a full HD 1920 by 1080 resolution and measure up at roughly 24 inches. Some offer super-fast response for games and others, supreme picture quality while some are simply stylish. It’s effectively your computer’s face, so why not make it better-looking?
AOC i2353Fh
On its release, the AOC i2353Fh was a game changer. A tight budget no-longer forced a compromise between style, picture quality and price – this monitor delivers all three. The high-quality 23in E-IPS panel outperforms any budget TN display so comprehensively that you’d never go back. Its wide viewing angles and deliciously consistent colour are so easy on the eye that work becomes immediately less stressful. With its almost impossibly slim panel and snazzy brushed aluminium frame, it also looks like it costs double the £130 you’ll pay for it. It’s been around for a while now though, so grab one while you can.
Reg Rating 85%
Price £130
More info AOC
Asus PA248Q
The PA248 is a brilliant choice for graphics fans for a number of reasons: First of all it comes with a must-have pre-calibrated IPS panel, which delivers wide viewing angles and consistent colour that won’t shift at the edges of your vision. Secondly, it doesn’t pander to the cost-savings of a standard 16:9 HDTV aspect ratio – instead giving you 24ins of 1680 by 1200 pixel 16:10 goodness. Of course you get a fully height-adjustable stand and a matte anti-glare screen coating. You also get very fine control over colour output with six-axis hue controls. The PA248Q combines affordability with serious quality for graphics work.
Reg Rating 85%
Price £335
More info Asus
Next page: BenQ XL2420T
COMMENTS
Stop promoting this junk!
1080p is just junk, the whole pc monitor industry has been sucked into TV manufactures wet dreams for cheap panels.
We had affordable high resolution CRT's a decade ago and now years on unless you take out a bank loan were stuck with this low resolution crap. Whats even worse is that 4K is here apparently but only in 55" screens or above, unless of course you take out the afformentioned bank loan.
If tech sites like the Reg and many other really really wanted to address their audiences views and requirements they should mark down any 1080p panel with a vocal explanation in each review. My ipad now has a higher resolution that the monitor I use for content creation which is rediculous.
1920x1080 is so 2010...
Enough of this widescreen POS we want lots of pixels in every direction 4:3 rules ok.
Being serious,
I use two Dell 24in 1920x1200 screens for my main dev work. slightly different model numbers, Totally different colour profiles. WTF! Thankfully I have a Spider and can calibrate them but the earlier post about colour profiles is very true. The makers all seem to think that the only thing we are going to show in these screens is the latest hollywood crap sequel/prequel.
Pah. Nuke them all I say!
Scores
So five monitors share equal first place at 85%.
Five more monitors share equal sixth place at 80%.
Is the competition really that close?
I'm no closer to being able to chose my new monitor now than I was 20 minutes ago.
I'm sorry El Reg, I'm not a habitual flamer; but please give me more specs and numbers. Tell me how many dvi/rgb/dp connectors the screen has, also please give me a review score that doesn't end in a zero or a five.
Finally, the BenQ XL2420T gets 85% at £290 - also the AOC i2353Fh gets 85% at £130. Is the BenQ really more than twice as good in order to justify the price? Is it really so impossible to pick between these two that on a scale of one to 100, they both get exactly the same marks?
Re: Asus PA248Q
Yeah, really disappointed with this article - I'd love to replace my aging monitor (used mainly for gaming, so the Asus is out) with a modern equivalent, but there's no way I'm giving up my 1920x1200 resolution - and none of these panels seem to offer it.
Review comment
It'd be nice if the inputs each supported were listed to save checking each individually...
