ASUS VY249HGR 23.8" black 2024

Smooth 120Hz on a budget, but the color is rough and the ports are ancient. Buy it only if you catch it at the low end and don't care about color accuracy.

The 120Hz refresh rate and 1ms MPRT response time are the real story here. Motion is smooth, and Adaptive Sync keeps things tear-free without much fuss. But the display itself sits in the 39th percentile, and color lands way down in the 17th percentile. That means out of the box, this thing is dim and desaturated. You'll want to spend time tweaking settings just to make it look acceptable. The 250 nits brightness is fine for a dark room, but it'll struggle near a window.

The Dell S2725QC and Acer Nitro XV272U both offer better color and more modern connectivity, but they cost more and are larger. The HP OMEN 27qs G2 is a much better gaming monitor if you can stretch your budget, with a higher refresh rate and better panel. The KOORUI 34E6UC is a different beast entirely, ultrawide and curved. If you just need a cheap 120Hz screen for a kid's first setup or a secondary monitor, the ASUS is fine. If you care about color or want DisplayPort, look elsewhere.

At USD 86 to USD 120 across US listings, this monitor is cheap. The best deal we see is around USD 86, and at that price it's hard to complain too much. But if you're paying closer to USD 120, you're getting into territory where a used or open-box monitor with better color and DisplayPort starts to make more sense. In Canada, prices range from CAD 100 to CAD 140, and the same logic applies. It's a good value only if you catch it at the low end.

The ASUS VY249HGR is a budget monitor that punches above its weight for smoothness, but skimps on the stuff you'll notice every day. You get a 23.8 inch IPS panel running at 120Hz with Adaptive Sync, which is genuinely nice for casual gaming and scrolling. But the color performance is rough, and the port selection feels like it's from 2015. It's a solid pick if you want high refresh on the cheap and don't care about color accuracy.

If you need accurate colors for photo or video work, this isn't it. Go grab a Dell UltraSharp or a mid-range LG instead. And if you're running a newer GPU with only DisplayPort outputs, you'll be annoyed by the lack of DP here. Save yourself the dongle hassle and get a monitor with modern ports.

The ASUS VY249HGR is a budget monitor that gets the basics right for smooth motion but drops the ball on color and connectivity. If you can find it for around USD 86, it's a decent buy for casual use. If you're paying more than that, or you need accurate colors or DisplayPort, skip it and save up for something better.