Computer Shopper - UK (2020-10)

MONITORS

ISSUE392|COMPUTER SHOPPER|OCTOBER 2020 67

NEVERBELIEVETHATmeaningful advances
can only be made at the most expensive and
of the hardware spectrum. Only recently,the
£150 BenQGL2780 (Shopper389) set new
expectations forhow colour-accuratea
cheap monitor could be,aswell as how
much screen space you could get forso
little money. The AOC24B2XH achieves
something similar: at £103, it’s the cheapest
IPS monitor we’ve ever seen.
While in some ways it’s as simple as
monitors come –itonlymeasures 24in
diagonally,for instance –itdelivers on the
basics. It has agoodquality panel that
produces acalibre of imagethat’s more
than acceptable forsuch alow price.Ifyou
want or need abiggerscreen then you’ll
inevitably have to paymore,but as faras
cheap desktop displays go,thisisaworthy
alternative to the GL2780.

GOTTHE SHAKES
To reiterate, however,itclearly is alower-end
piece of kit. The 24B2XH comes with astand
that only allows forasmall amount of
forwards and backwards tilt adjustment,
and it’s made of lightweight, flimsy-feeling
plastic that wobbles alittle when you knock
the desk or prod at the screen.
That said, it’s easy enough to set up.As
with most cheap monitors, the base of the
stand needs to be attached to the monitor
with asmallthumbscrew but that’s asimple
job.And, once you’ve cleared aspace forit
on your desk it looks quitenice too.
There’s nothing fancy like acurved
screen here,but the barely-there
bezels along the left, right and top
edges make forasufficiently
elegant-looking design.
It’s very slim, too, and AOC
includes both HDMI and VGAcables
in the box so you’re ready to go
straight away. And if youwant
height adjustment (or you want to
wall-mount the display), there’s a
four-point 100mm VESA mounting
on the rear so you can buy your own.
The one black mark against
the 24B2XH is that the power
supply isn’t built intothe display.
Instead, you’ve got to find room
on or around your desk fora
dangling external adaptors, which
is abit of apain.
The24B2XH isn’t exactly chock full of
inputs, either.You get an HDMI and aVVGA
port, both situated in the centre of theerear
panel next to a3.5mm headphone outpput.

AOC 24B2XH

★★★★★

£103•Fromwww.uk.insight.com

VERDICT

Anothersuperblow-costscreen,thistime
with an IPS panel as standard

This might not

seem like much,

but it does cover

most PCs and

laptops, even

those that are

restricted to USB

Type-C, although

you would need to

buy an adaptor or HDMMI-to-USBType-C

convertercableifthisappliedtoyou.That’s

indirectcontrasttothhePhilips243B9,a

moreexpensiveIPSmonitorbut

onethathasitsownTType-C

inputandincludesammatching

cableinthebox.

EYE SCORE

So far, the 24B2XH might seem alittle

underwhelming, even with concessions to

its low price.Image quality,however, is

downright fantastic. It’s not merely good for

the money, it’s one of the best-looking

affordable monitors we’ve ever tested.

This is largely thanks to the use of an IPS

panel rather than the usual TN fare.Itisn’t the

highest resolution at 1,920x1,080, but at 24in

it’s sharp enough that you don’t notice jagged

edges from normal viewing distances. Unlike a

TN panel, you get good, wide viewing angles

with no colour shiftingordimming as you

look at the screen from an angle,whether

that be vertical or horizontal.

It performed very well in all our calibrator

tests. Peak brightness reaches 272cd/m2,

which is lower than that of the 243B9 but

still decent, and will be generally bright

enough formostoffices or studies.

The contrast ratio is solid at 1,122:1,

ensuring bold, vibrant images, but it’s the

colour accuracy in the monitor’s sRGB

mode that really catches the eye. It’s simply

brilliant, delivering an average delta-E of

1.26, aresult much better than we’re used

to seeing from amonitor so cheap.

Couple that with amaximumrefresh rate

of 75Hz, whichbrings smoother frame rates

intoplaywhen gaming, and abluelight mode

(aimed at reducing eyestrain forthose who

have ahabit of working lateintothe night)

and you have asuperb all-round package.

The GL2780 has an advantage on accuracy

as well as brightness –BenQ’s monitor

recorded an even lower average delta-E of

00 .9 999 –bbut the IPS panel here exhibits much

more vibrant colours when viewed at an

angle.Itt’salsocomprehensivelybetterthan

mmostotherbudgetdisplays.

HOTPROPERTY

TThere are some lingering availability

issues due to high demand from the

ccoronavirus crisis, but if you can lay

yyour hands on one of these screens

yyou’ll be getting amassive bargain.

TThe AOC24B2XH maynot be equipped

wwith luxuries like Type-C connectivity

ooraheight-adjustable stand, but it’s

ggot quality where it counts.

If you do want some extra features,

tthe Philips 243B9 is much better

eequipped, and while it’s not even close

tooAOC’s monitor in the affordability

stakes, it’s not bad value foranIPS monitor

either.TThat said, the 24B2XH outperforms it

on conttrast and matches it forcolour

accuraccy, which only underscores even

further what afantastic deal it is.