ViewSonic XG2401
Premium features on an affordable budget.
Not everyone wants a huge 27-inch or larger screen, and the ViewSonic XG2401 is a very manageable 24 inches. Its gaming credentials come in the form of an excellent 144Hz refresh rate, and Adaptive Sync (supporting FreeSync) for tear free gaming.
Under the rather staid looking shell (aside from the red highlights), the XG2401 has a TN panel with a 1,920 x 1,080 resolution and 1ms response time. While the viewing angles are as expected, the slightly smaller size means that colour reproduction and brightness take a fair bit of off-angle viewing before they are affected. Where the monitor really shines is with super-high FPS gaming, though you do need an AMD GPU. As you head north of 100fps, the smoothness becomes apparent, with little sign of judder or ghosting. The screen has also been designed to reduce any input lag as much as possible, for the best gaming experience.
The XG2401 OSD is quite comprehensive (and benefits from a tweak) including FPS, RTS and MOBA modes — though the buttons themselves can be a bit fiddly to use.
The ViewSonic designers have not forgotten about the little extras either, and the stand has the full range of adjustments, there is a clutter reducing cable ring, plus USB 3.0 hub. Twin HDMI ports are also a nice extra, alongside the DisplayPort connection.
While there are larger screens and cheaper screens, the ViewSonic XG2401 walks the fine line between both quite well, without missing out on any extras.