The growing trend for Ultra HD monitors is understandable, considering the way technology and gaming is driving the use of 4K at the moment, but Full HD monitors are still the best value for money at the moment and a good one can vastly outshine some of the lower end 4K options.
Enter Viewsonic’s VX2776-SMHD, a 27″ Full HD IPS monitor which is as impressive as it is thin. The ultra-slim profile helps to set this apart from other 1080p monitors out there and really does look impressively thin. How does it manage this? Well nearer the bottom, where all the inputs are, is a bulge which contains the bulk of the electronics, meaning that the rest of the monitor is pure frameless screen.
The monitor is presented on a triangular silver stand which is very sturdy. The one issue I had with the stand, though, is that it has a lack of movement due to the whole thing being a single solid piece which sits behind the monitor, slotting in from the bottom. This, in turn, makes it difficult to adjust the viewing angle of the monitor to the optimum setting for your desktop.
Hooking the monitor up, I was impressed with the clear IPS panel and, in particular, the viewing angles. According to Viewsonic, the viewing angles reach 178° and I can certainly believe this having sat at the side while watching someone else playing. The 1920×1080 resolution delivers good colours and a vivid picture in the right picture modes, which provide useful presets for optimised screen performance in different applications.
Viewsonic claim that the monitor helps against eye strain with its flicker-free technology and a blue light filter. It’s clearly able to display a solid picture and I noticed no flickering or ghosting on games with a lot of movement at 60FPS.
Colours are good, I didn’t notice any degradation in any particular mode and blacks, while not perfect, are deep enough. The contrast ratio is a pretty standard 1000:1. Response time isn’t the fastest on the market but is certainly good for the £199 RRP, coming in at around 4ms.
Inputs are well catered for, though nothing out of the ordinary for a gaming monitor. Hdmi, DisplayPort, and VGA inputs provide some flexibility in connectivity options and are in a good position to reach from the front. These are joined by an Earphone output and standard audio input for VGA connections from a PC.
Going up against other IPS monitors like the HP 27XW and the Acer 277H, the Viewsonic certainly wins out on looks, while the screen quality is on par with its rivals. It has a great response time for something in the sub-£200 price bracket in Gaming mode and while it might not have all the bells and whistles of some high end monitors, it’s a great buy for the budget-conscious PC user.
This monitor is part of a wider range, with the VX2776-SMHD, VX2476-SMHD and VX2276-SMHD focusing on Full HD 1080p at 27”, 24” and 22” size displays that have been designed for home entertainment or home office applications.
The VX2778-SMHD QHD monitor offer a 2560×1400 resolution with 80% more detail than standard Full HD for higher quality gaming and applications.
ViewSonic VX2776-SMHD
Pros
- Good viewing angles
- vivid colours
- impressively thin screen
Cons
- Standard connections
- Lack of movement to adjust monitor
