Z-Edge UG25I 24.5" Black

The Z-Edge UG25I is a 24.5-inch 1080p gaming monitor with a 240Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time at a budget price. It's a great pick for competitive gamers who want high frame rates without spending a lot. The VA panel's contrast is nice, but color accuracy and display quality are below average.

The UG25I's performance is the main reason to buy it. Our database puts it in the 87th percentile for performance, which means it outruns most monitors in its class. The 240Hz refresh rate is the star here. Combined with the 1ms MPRT response time, motion clarity in fast games is excellent. You'll notice less blur when whipping your crosshair around in shooters, and the FreeSync support keeps screen tearing at bay when your frame rate dips.

The VA panel's 5000:1 contrast ratio helps with dark scenes, which is a nice touch for horror games or moody RPGs. But VA panels do have a reputation for ghosting in high-contrast transitions, and the 1ms figure is MPRT, not a true gray-to-gray measurement. In practice, you might see some smearing in very dark scenes. Still, for the price, the raw speed here is hard to beat. The 350 nits brightness is adequate for most indoor setups, though HDR10 support is more of a checkbox than a real feature at this brightness level.

Stacked against the LG UltraGear 27G810A-B or the ASUS ROG Strix XG27JCG, the Z-Edge UG25I is the budget option. Those monitors offer 1440p resolution, better color accuracy, and more refined stands, but they also cost significantly more. The Dell Alienware AW2724DM is another step up, with a 27-inch QHD panel and better ergonomics. If you're playing competitive shooters at 1080p and want maximum frames per dollar, the Z-Edge makes a strong case.

The Acer Nitro XV272U W2bmiiprx and HP OMEN 27qs G2 are also 1440p competitors. They'll look sharper for desktop use and creative work, but they won't hit 240Hz as easily on mid-range GPUs. The Z-Edge's 1080p resolution is actually a feature here, it's easier to drive, which means you're more likely to actually see 240fps in real games. If you're on a budget GPU, this monitor makes more sense than a 1440p panel that your card can't fully utilize.

At $120 USD, the Z-Edge UG25I is one of the cheapest ways to get a 240Hz gaming monitor. That's a genuinely aggressive price. The CAD 337 and JPY 47,527 listings are less compelling once you factor in regional pricing, but the US price is the one that matters most here. For comparison, many 240Hz monitors from bigger brands start at $200 or more. You're giving up some color accuracy and build quality, but if raw refresh rate is your priority, this is a lot of speed for the money. The 4.4 out of 5 rating from over 3,000 reviews suggests most buyers feel they got what they paid for.

The Z-Edge UG25I is a 24.5-inch 1080p gaming monitor aimed at competitive players who want high refresh rates without spending a fortune. It's a VA panel with a 240Hz refresh rate, 1ms MPRT response time, and FreeSync support. At around $120 USD in our database, it sits firmly in the budget gaming monitor category, but the spec sheet reads like something pricier.

People searching for a cheap 240Hz monitor will find this one pretty interesting. The 1920x1080 resolution keeps things easy on your GPU, which means you can actually hit those high frame rates in games like Valorant, CS2, or Apex Legends without needing an RTX 4090. The 5000:1 contrast ratio is a nice bonus for a VA panel, giving you deeper blacks than typical IPS monitors in this price range.

Is the Z-Edge UG25I good for gaming? For fast-paced esports titles, yes. The 240Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time are the headline features here, and they're what put this monitor in the 87th percentile for performance in our database. That's genuinely impressive for a budget display. But it's not all sunshine, the display quality itself ranks in the 32nd percentile, so you're trading visual fidelity for speed.

Skip the Z-Edge UG25I if you do any kind of color-sensitive work like photo editing, video production, or graphic design. The display quality ranks in the 32nd percentile in our database, and the creative score of 49.9 out of 100 tells the story. You'll also want to look elsewhere if you need a monitor for productivity, the 1080p resolution on a 24.5-inch panel is fine for gaming but feels cramped for spreadsheets or multitasking. If you want better color accuracy and sharper text, consider stepping up to a 1440p monitor like the Acer Nitro XV272U or the HP OMEN 27qs G2. And if you're sensitive to ghosting, the VA panel's dark-scene smearing might bother you more than the high refresh rate helps.

Should you buy the Z-Edge UG25I? If you're a competitive gamer on a tight budget and you want 240Hz without spending $200 or more, this is a solid pick. The performance is genuinely impressive for the price, and the 5000:1 contrast ratio gives it an edge over budget IPS panels in dark scenes. The 4.4-star rating from thousands of buyers backs that up.

But if you care about color accuracy, sharpness for productivity, or want a monitor that looks good doing anything other than gaming, look elsewhere. The display quality is the weak point here. For creative work, this monitor scores just 49.9 out of 100 in our database, which is mediocre. And the tilt-only stand with no height adjustment means you might need a VESA mount to get it positioned comfortably. For pure esports speed on a budget, though, it's hard to argue with what you get.