VIEWSONIC XG 2402 feature image

VIEWSONIC XG 2402 Review

Kyle Bank

The XG 2402 by Viewsonic is an excellent choice if you are looking for a fast 144Hz TN monitor with excellent motion clarity and responsiveness. Its outstanding gaming performance makes it one of the best gaming monitors under 300 dollars. Let’s take a detailed look:

Pros:

– Great value for price

– Freesync Monitor that is Gsync Tested 

– Outstanding motion clarity

– Excellent OSD 

Cons:

– Poor Viewing Angles

– Flimsy plastic parts.

Image Quality 

The ViewSonic XG2402 has a TN panel with 1920x1080p resolution and 144Hz refresh rate with the intention to provide a high-quality experience for gamers on a budget.

However, the Full HD 1080p on the 24″ results in an adequate pixel density of 91 ppi, that is enough to produce images with good detail and sharpness. There is no hint of pixelation whether playing games or using the monitor for text work. 

The XG 2402 is able to produce approximately 16.7 million colors in the sRGB color space (99% sRGB coverage) with a color depth of 8-bits. This color depth is 6-bits + 2- bits FRC and not the native 8 bits. The monitor’s color production is impressively accurate and its only drawback is its inability to produce darker colors accurately because of its low contrast. Playing games like Fortnite with bright, daylight scenes brings out the true color quality of this monitor. 

The color gradients are smooth with minor banding that should be of no serious concern to a gamer, who is more interested in performance than image quality.

For lack of coverage of the Adobe RGB color gamut , the XG 2402 is not the best choice for content creation and professional photo or video editing .Gamers and movie buffs should be pleased by the color quality of this panel, so long as they are positioned in front of it.

Viewing the screen from wider angles produces washed out images, and colors appear less vibrant because of the poor viewing angles offered by TN panels. The specified viewing angles of 170° horizontal and 160° vertical are somewhat overstated as color variations are noticeable at lesser angles.  The recommendation therefore as with any other TN panel is to use this monitor with front-on viewing. 

To overcome the poor viewing angles, Viewsonic has gone the extra mile to include excellent ergonomics that allow easy adjustment of the screen to provide the best viewing conditions. The monitor can be rotated to switch between portrait or landscape orientation. The monitor can also be swiveled by 45 degrees to its right or left. The monitor screen can be tilted forward or backward by 5/-15 degrees.   If the overhead of adjusting the monitor screen does not bother you much then the XG 2402 can definitely land a place on your office desk for sharing with colleagues.  

The XG 2402 has a low contrast ratio of 1000:1 which makes it difficult to produce dark shades of colors. This is also reflected in the monitor’s lack of ability to produce deep blacks, which appear dark gray at best. As a result shadow details are lost in the night scenes which can be a disadvantage when playing games like Battlefield 3 which are set in the dark. However, the OSD includes the option of choosing from a total of 22 black stabilization levels, to improve visibility in the dark so that enemies hiding in the shadows are easier to spot.

The monitor has black uniformity issues, which affects the visual experience in a darkroom environment. Given it’s poor performance in dark environments, 

The XG2402 has a max brightness rating of 350 cd/mm2, which lights up the screen fairly brightly. The anti-glare 3H hard coating also helps in handling glare very well in well-lit rooms.

Overall this monitor impresses us with its color production, brightness and color gradients. The obvious cons are its poor contrast and poor viewing angles. However, the XG 2402 by far has one of the best ergonomics for a gaming monitor in this price range. 

Performance

Sheerly based on performance, the Viewsonic XG 2402 is one of the best gaming monitors under $300 with a 144hz refresh rate and we literally mean that. The monitor is amazingly responsive with virtually no lag. 

The response time is very low at 1ms Gray to Gray, and the XG 2402’s  total response time is less than 7ms which is perfect for a gaming monitor running a 144hz refresh rate. Due to the incredibly fast response time you can easily play fast paced games like CSGO without worrying about motion artifacts like ghosting. The XG 2402 has one of the best motion clarity we have seen in a monitor of its price. 

Of the several available response time overdrive modes: Standard, Fast, Faster, Ultra Fast and Fastest, we found the Fast mode to deliver clearer motion whilst gaming at 144Hz. However, for routine tasks it is best to use the monitor in standard mode. 

The XG 2402 is a freesync premium monitor that has been tested to be GSync compatible by Nvidia. Freesync works in a wide range of refresh rates between 24-144Hz. With Freesync enabled the monitor produces a smooth gaming experience with no tearing or stuttering and no increase in input lag. Being a freesync premium monitor, it is also able to handle very low frame rates with its low framerate compensation technology to provide a tear free gaming experience. Freesync is not enabled by default on the XG 2402 but you can enable it through the monitor’s on screen menu.  Freesync runs over both HDMI and Displayport connections. 

Gsync works seamlessly with Freesync on the XG 2402 to deliver a buttery smooth gaming experience. However, it is only compatible with Displayport.

The 2 Watt speakers on this monitor have a rather flat output that is not too loud. It is best to use a gaming headset to enjoy the sound effects during action. 

Design

The monitor is built with a solid plastic body that doesn’t flex. The thick bezels and a rather meaty stand diminish some of the sleekness of the design. The cabinet has red accents on the back that can be lit up to give the monitor an aggressive look. The monitor screen is coated with anti-glare , Hard coating for a matte finish. The screen can be coupled with the monitor stand in a few simple steps.

Some of the plastic parts on this monitor are rather flimsy. The plastic cable holder that can be fixed to the monitor stand can break easily. Also the navigation buttons on the panel need to be treated with care.

Stand:

The monitor has a solid meaty stand that keeps the monitor stable. The foot of the stand has a basic rectangular shape that takes up more than a standard desk space.
The stand has one of the best ergonomics of any monitor in this price range. It can be adjusted in height, rotated, swiveled, and tilted back and forth to lock in an angle best suited to your position. The monitor can be swiveled by 90 degrees to switch between landscape and portrait orientation. The height of the monitor can be adjusted by 4.7 inches. It can be tilted forward and backward by 5 degrees to 20 degrees respectively.		VIEWSONIC XG 2402

Bezels:

The monitor has thick bezels that prevent the screen from being used in a multi-monitor setup.

Connectors:

  1. USB 3.0 Type A x 2
  2. USB 3.0 Type B x 1
  3. HDMI 1.4 IN x 2
  4. DisplayPort x 1
  5. 3.5MM Audio Out x 1

ON SCREEN DISPLAY

The XG 2402 gaming monitor has an easy to use On Screen Display menu that can be accessed using the navigation buttons at the bottom right corner of the screen. The OSD menu allows users to select a variety of different options for a better gaming experience. 

  1. Several gaming presets to choose between: FPS, RTS and MOBA. ColorX preset for regular use. 
  2. Besides there are three customisable modes that you can use to optimize visuals to your liking and save them for future use. The following are some of the options available to customize
    1. Rampage Response to select from one of the response time modes: Standard,Fast, Faster, Ultra Fast, Fastest
    2. Monitor Hertz Cap: to lock the monitors refresh rate to 144Hz, 100Hz, or 60Hz
    3. Black Stablization: 22 different levels to choose from that can be chosen using a scroll bar that goes from 1 to a max value of 22. 
    4. Brightness
    5. Color Adjust: to adjust the Contrast , Color Saturation and Gamma
    6. Blue Light Filter
    7. ViewScale
    8. Rename Preset
  3. Freesync can be turned on or off through the menu
  4. The red accents on the back of the monitor can be lit up using the Rampage X control that is also accessible through the OSD menu.  
  5. Rampage X to light up the red accents on the back of the monitor.

Summary

The XG2402 is arguably one of the best 144hz monitors that does not cost a fortune. Its gaming performance is spectacular, particularly for action in fast games thanks to its high refresh rate and superior motion handling.