High refresh-rate monitors are becoming mainstream as we continue to get more powerful hardware with every advancement of each generation of products. Even budget GPUs such as the 1050 Ti and GTX 1060 can reach up to a 144fps on 1080p with medium-high settings on competitive games such as Dota 2, LoL, and Overwatch. Morever, the trend of higher resolution gaming also pushes the demand for having higher refresh rates. As the inverse relationship of frame rate versus resolution goes, the higher your resolution is, the lower FPS you’ll get.
Unboxing and First Impression
As with Viewsonic’s other gaming monitors, the packaging for the XG240R is identical with a glossy monitor picture and a matte black background. Unlike other gaming monitor brands, the front of the box doesn’t highlight its key features with the exception of 144hz and the 1ms response time. Moving to the back is a picture of the monitor with its RGB lighting.
Opening the box reveals the monitor itself, a 2-piece stand, a USB uplink cable, a DP 1.4 cable, and a power cable.
The XG240R has the same 2-piece monitor stand found on its predecessor, the XG2402. It has an easy install feature for the base and neck with only one screw and the neck clips on easily to the screen.
The back of the screen supports a VESA mount of 100×100. The power port, USB up/downstream are located on the bottom left while the Display outputs along with the 3.5mm jack are located at the bottom right part.
The back of the XG240R has a distinct X pattern that has RGB lighting. Unfortunately, the RGB lighting found on the XG240R is not compatible with motherboard RGB ecosystems such as ASUS’ Aura Sync. However, it is compatible peripheral RGBs like Razer Chroma, Thermaltake RGB Plus, and Coolermaster Masterplus, that is, if you sport a supported peripheral from either of those brands.
The ViewSonic XG240R, despite being an entry level 144Hz monitor, has a fully ergonomic stand that tilts, swivel, pivot and supports height adjust. The square cutout just above the neck acts as a carry handle for portability.
Despite being equipped with fancy RGB lighting, the XG240R still has a down firing I/O layout which makes it hard to plug in cables. I/O includes a Display Port 1.2 slot, two HDMI 1.4 ports, and 2 USB 3.0 ports. There’s also a 3.5mm jack if you want to utilize the monitor’s 2-watt speakers.
OSD MENU
Surprisingly, the OSD Menu of the XG240R is pretty extensive on what would consider for an entry-level high refresh rate monitors. It’s very convenient to have a top summary of settings that are turned on when navigating through the OSD Menu. Moreover, it offers a wide range of customizable options that’s on par with premium gaming monitors.
As an added bonus, the XG240R is G-Sync Compatible and works very fine with the library of games that we played on the monitor. Do note that you need to enable FreeSync first and have an Nvidia Driver version of at least 419.17 in order for the G-Sync option to appear in the control panel.
MONITOR TESTS
The Spyder 5 Elite Analysis tool helps us further examine the XG240R’s M240HW01 Panel by measuring its color accuracy, brightness and screen uniformity.
Color Space is important for monitors as it displays the range of colors it can produce(which is the triangle) out of the millions of colors that our eye can see which is measured through the sRGB coverage. The 93% sRGB rating of the XG240R is just above average than a standard gaming monitor. The AdobeRGB on the other hand, barely reaches the average rating of a standard monitor. That said, the XG240R will present great color than a typical monitor but it falls short for professional use. Watching movies or TV series will still merit a great experience, just don’t expect the same when it comes to photo or video editing.
Color and Screen Uniformity tells us how the monitor is able to keep its colors and light uniform throughout the display. The DeltaE is a value that notes the total color difference from 3 parameters(green/red, blue/yellow and light/dark) that provide a quantitative color measure. The closer the values are to 0 means better.
The upper right part of the screen with a DeltaE value of 4.3 presents the worst color accuracy in the 9 regions of the monitor. There’s not that much to worry about as this region is mostly where the minimap or hud is displayed in most games. The center of the screen, however, has a DeltaE value of 2.9 which is the second highest score which will present a very minimal color shift on intense scenes and workloads such as color grading.
Screen Quality
CONCLUSION
Performance. The XG2404 definitely has lots of improvements over its predecessors especially when it comes to features. Though the same couldn’t be said about its panel. It still sports the same M240HW01 panel from AU Optronics, meaning that there isn’t any performance improvement, display wise. What we do get is a better experience with its OSD Settings, RGB lighting, and GSync compatibility.
Build Quality. Not much has been improved over the XG240R’s predecessors when it comes to build quality. Good thing that the XG2401 and XG2402 both have a proven track record of having a good build quality. Much can be expected with the XG240R.
Functionality. Take off the RGB and the XG240R is still an upgrade over its predecessors, the XG2401 and XG2402. It sports a better panel courtesy of AU Optronics, a better OSD and an improved design. Features such as having an included 2-watt speaker are something that most people don’t use but it’s a nice thing to add.
Bundle. Part of the monitor’s value comes from the RGB lighting and its fully adjustable stand. It also has an impressive OSD Menu to fully adjust the monitor’s settings to your own liking and use case.
Value. The Viewsonic XG240R currently retails at Php 15,000. The 2nd revision over the first XG2401 24″ 144Hz monitor after the XG2402. Instead of keeping the OG monitor as is and lowering its price to remain competitive and relevant in the market, Viewsonic decided to refresh their gaming monitor with newer features to maintain their market share.
The XG240R is Viewsonic’s response to a growing high refresh rate market. The market for 24” 144hz monitors are getting more competitive as different Chinese and local brands enter with a sub $200 / Php 10,000 offering. The XG240R justifies the extra $100 / Php 5,000 price difference over cheaper alternatives because of its feature set namely the OSD, fully adjustable stand and RGB lighting. To top it off, you’ll also get G-Sync Compatibility and a 1-year warranty.
If you don’t mind the XG2401’s dated panel and feature set with an old-fashioned black and red design, it’s better to skimp on the newer model and opt for the XG2401. But if you feel like you’ll be able to utilize its better panel, extensive OSD Settings, G-Sync Compatibility, and RGB, then the Viewsonic XG2402 is a compelling option.
We give the Viewsonic XG240R our Recommended Award!
