Anyone who has a PC needs a monitor, and there are a wide variety of displays to choose from. Well, if you’re looking for an affordable monitor with adequate gaming performance, here’s one for your consideration: the Acer KG251Q gaming monitor.
Sporting a 75Hz refresh rate, good response time, FreeSync support, and decent panel quality, the KG251Q is a very good monitor for budget-conscious gamers. Let’s get the quick review started, shall we?
What It Is
The KG251Q is a 24.5-inch 1920 x 1080 gaming monitor with a 75Hz refresh rate; a pretty good refresh rate for an affordable monitor. Aside from that, it also has a TN panel, which makes it possible for the display to achieve a 1ms grey-to-grey response time.
But what makes the KG251Q a “gaming monitor” is its FreeSync capability, which can eliminate screen tearing and stuttering when paired with an AMD Radeon GPU. For this specific monitor, its FreeSync range is from 40Hz to 75Hz – a wide enough coverage.
As for connectivity, the KG251Q has two HDMI inputs, a VGA port, as well as a 3.5mm headphone jack. Do note that out of the box, this monitor only comes with a VGA cable – an HDMI cable is not provided.
The Good Stuff
Naturally, the main highlight of the KG251Q is its FreeSync support at up to 75Hz, and it really works as intended. I played Witcher 3 and Diablo 3 on this monitor, and they ran beautifully. There was no screen tearing, and I didn’t notice any stuttering either.
Provided you have a GPU that’s powerful enough to push at least 40 frames per second in video games, you will be able to enjoy the KG251Q’s FreeSync feature. Not having to deal with annoying screen tearing is quite amazing on a monitor this affordable.
Besides that, the design of the KG251Q is quite good too. The small bezels give the monitor a sleek appearance, and the minimalist design with its black colour scheme will fit with practically any environment. Whether you’re planning to use this monitor in the office or at home, it wouldn’t look out of place.
Last but definitely not least is the panel quality of the KG251Q, which I’d say is above average for a TN panel. It can get really bright, colours look pretty good – when viewed head-on, of course – and the matte surface eliminates glare well enough.
But at the end of the day, this is still a TN panel – let’s move on to the not so good stuff.
The Bad Stuff
One of the biggest weaknesses of TN panels is limited viewing angle, and colour shifting on the KG251Q is very obvious when you view the monitor from any angle that’s not directly straight. To get the best user experience, you really have to view the monitor head-on.
Due to its affordable price tag, the design of the KG251Q has limited functionality too. You cannot adjust the height of the display, and it cannot be swiveled either. You can, however, tilt the panel up or down slightly, so it’s not all bad.
Last but certainly not least is the KG251Q’s OSD, which…isn’t very intuitive to navigate around. But hey, this is an affordable monitor – it comes with the territory.
Is It Worth It?
For those who are working with a tight budget, the Acer KG251Q is one of the best gaming monitors you can get at its price point. Although this monitor officially retails at RM559, you can easily get it for much less. In fact, there is one retailer on Lazada that’s offering the monitor for only RM469 – that’s RM90 discount.
At that price point, you can do a lot worse than the KG251Q. If you can live with the TN panel’s limited viewing angles and the monitor’s lack of adjustability, you will be very happy gaming with this entry-level gaming monitor from Acer.
Plus, it’s great to have FreeSync support, a 75Hz refresh rate, and a good response time at this price point. All of these factors make the Acer KG251Q a good buy for budget-conscious gamers.