We’ve covered a lot of different monitors here at MMORPG and often they’re on the expensive end of the spectrum. But what about the gamer who doesn’t have $500 to spend just on a single display? That’s what we’re exploring today with the Viotek NB24C. It’s 24-inches, curved, 1080p, and offers a 75 Hz refresh rate with Freesync. For gamers on a budget, is it worth the current price of $149.99? Let’s find out.
Specifications
- Current Price: $149.99
- Resolution: 1920x1080p
- Panel: Samsung VA
- Screen Ratio: 16:9
- Refresh Rate: 75Hz Max.
- Response Time: 5ms
- Display Colors: 16.7M Colors
- Dynamic Contrast Ratio: 1000000:1
- VESA: 75x75mm (adapter included)
- Ports: 1x VGA / 1x HDMI 1.4 (hdmi cable included)
- Speaker: Yes, 2x 4Ω/3W
- Tilt Adjustable: Yes, -5° ~ 15°,
- Color Availability: Black & White
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On features alone, the NB24C is an impressive display for the price. When we think of $150 monitors monitors for gamers, the image that comes to mind is distinctly entry-level. Viotek is clearly going for something more in the design of this display. It’s 1080p and has a whole lot going for it that challenges other monitors at this price.
Visually, it’s impressive with those ultra-thin bezels. We’re not quite at the point where even expensive monitors go “edge to edge,” but it feels close. I won’t go so far as to say it makes games more immersive but it does make them more fun to look at and the display all-around more eye catching.
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I was also quite surprised to see Viotek include a Samsung VA panel in this model. In this price range, you’ll often find cheap TN panels. The color reproduction here is much better as you can tell from the pictures we’ve included here. One of the first things I do when sitting down to game is crank up the saturation and the display just pops. Playing a colorful game like Overwatch is just fantastic. The blacks are also much darker thanks to that VA panel, too.
As I test new monitors, I always look for a few key things that can really destroy a display experience. The first is dead pixels. I didn’t have any but in researching it was surprised to see that Viotek has an especially generous Dead Pixel Policy. If you have even one fully dead pixel, they’ll replace your entire monitor. When more major brands chalk a certain amount of dead pixels up as “normal deviations” that’s impressive from an up-and-comer like Viotek.
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The other things I look at are backlight bleed, hotspots, and input lag. After two weeks of use, the amount of backlight bleed is absolutely minimal and no hotspotting whatsoever. The BLB I did pick up on was when viewing the panel from sharp angles and wasn’t visible when viewing it normally.
The trade-off of a VA panel is that they’re slightly less responsive than their TN counterparts. The response time quoted by Viotek is 5ms. While we don’t have the technology in-house to fact-check this claim, what I can say is that the timing between clicking the mouse and firing a shot felt instantaneous. I also didn’t find any ghosting whatsoever, even in fast paced games with rapid flips of the camera.
For gaming, Viotek has a few tricks up their sleeve with the NB24C. The first is the 75Hz refresh rate. While it’s arguable whether you would notice a difference between 60 and 75 hertz, if you can push more than 60 FPS, why wouldn’t you, and it’s certainly smooth to play on when maxed out. It’s also a nice middle ground for gamers who might be able to outdo a 60Hz frame cap but don’t want to spend so much more on a 120 or 144Hz monitor. If you’re running an AMD graphics card, you’ll also get the benefit of FreeSync, though I’m unable to find the range at the time of review. I will update the article when that’s confirmed by Viotek.
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The last selling point is that sweet 1800R curve. Over the last year, I’ve gone from someone who wrote off curved gaming (thank you, bad TVs) to someone who loves it. At 1800R, the NB24C is just curved enough to draw you to the center of the screen and seem to wrap into your FOV. For gaming, it’s just plain more fun to play on a monitor with a nice curve like the one found here, and it looks great on your desk too.
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Now, at this price point we would expect some sacrifices and this display is no exception. The biggest is connectivity. The NB24C falls into “just enough” territory, only allowing HDMI and VGA connections. In this day and age, I’m honestly surprised there isn’t a DisplayPort connections. That said, if you’re purchasing this monitor, you’re not looking at 4K 144Hz and really don’t need more advanced connections.
The HDMI signal also carries audio through to a pair of speakers, which is another boon to gamers on a budget. They get the job done but are expectedly thin for a monitor that prides itself on its trim size. It’s good that they’re there but I would expect most of us to be using a headset and leaving them turned off most the time.
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Lastly, we have the stand. It’s the same stand we found on the GN32Q, which is to say it’s rigid and not height adjustable. Stands of this type are common on affordable Eastern brands but I still wish Viotek would cast it to the side and pack in something more customizable. We’re not there yet, but they did include a VESA adapter for use with your own stand or monitor mount.
Final Thoughts
All in all, I think these are reasonable sacrifices for a great monitor at an affordable price. The trade-offs we find here probably won’t mean much to the majority of gamers but the performance and savings definitely will. The NB24C punches above its class. For $149.99, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this monitor to anybody, whether they’re a gamer on a budget or just a day to day user that wants his Netflix to look way better. If you’re in need of a new display but don’t want to spend half your budget on a monitor alone, the Viotek NB24C is definitely worth a look.
Pros
- Samsung VA panel looks great - rich colors, deep blacks
- No hotspots, BLB, or noticeable input lag
- 1800R curve is great for gaming
- Looks great with thin bezels; also comes in white
Cons
- Limited connectivity
- Rigid stand
- Speakers are so-so
The product discussed in this article was provided by the manufacturer for the purposes of review.
