ViewSonic VX2252 22” Monitor Review

[AkG]

In a market that’s loaded with well-priced competitors, some may question the relevance of Viewsonic’s VX2252. It is a 22”, 1080P monitor which costs less than $175 but Viewsonic has backstopped it with some serious technology. Granted, with over 25 years of experience ViewSonic knows what it takes to make a great value orientated display: good performance, great looks, a host of extra features and accomplish all of this without breaking budgets. On paper this may sound simple, but getting the proper blend of performance and price takes a deft touch.

With the low-cost marketplace firmly wrapped up, ViewSonic is branching out and have started to offer monitors which cater to slightly different corners of the value-first segment. This has been accomplished with varying degrees of success but the VX2252 does things a bit differently. Unlike most other entry level monitors, it has been designed to cater to the multimedia enthusiast who is on a tight budget. Between the two sizes available right now (the other is a 24” model priced at $190) the 22-inch VX2252 appears to fill this role like a well-tailored tuxedo.

Satisfying the requirements of PC gamers and movie buffs isn’t easy for any so-called “entertainment” monitor but to do so while maintaining a lower price point seems like a lesson in futility. The main challenge has always been producing a visually gorgeous looking monitor with a good selection of inputs that offers razor sharp, blur free clarity without sacrificing other key aspects.

To give these tough to satisfy consumers exactly what they want ViewSonic has thought outside the box. Instead of cutting costs on the performance side of things have instead simply opted for a smaller panel while optimizing performance. By going for a 22-inch model not only does the TN panel itself cost less to manufacture, it requires a smaller chassis and needs less backlighting to properly illuminate it. This in turn helps keep manufactures costs down – without reducing quality - and allows ViewSonic to pass these savings onto the consumer.

While small, this 21.5” TN panel does promise to deliver stunning performance. It is rated for a 2ms response rate that is backstopped by ViewSonic’s ClearMotiv 2 technology. ViewSonic may have shrunk the screen size, but the VX2252 is still a 1920x1080, 60Hz monitor and as such has much better pixel density than the typical 23 or 24 inch 1080P monitors. Add in two 2 watt speakers, multiple pre-configured monitor settings in the OSD and an LED backlight and the VX2252 sounds like a very good option. However with its actual price floating within the $150 realm and a feature set that trumps more expensive alternatives, we can’t help but wonder if this may be the monitor which finally gets the bang for buck equation right.

 

[AkG]

A Closer Look at the VX2252

A Closer Look at the VX2252

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The VX2252 may not be the thinnest or best looking monitor available but it is one of the more impressive looking value-oriented displays we have seen. With its combination of sleek and stylish curves, glossy black chassis with clear Lucite accents – the center of which glows blue when the unit is on – ViewSonic have been able to carefully tread that delicate line between being too utilitarian and too garish. This is all the more impressive when the small footprint and even smaller asking price is taken into consideration and we must admit to being impressed. This thing looks great!

Unfortunately once you get past the aesthetically pleasing nature of this new model a few flaws quickly come into focus. First and foremost is the rather flimsy feel to the chassis. This is a low cost product so certain allowances have to be taken into consideration but the amount of flex the plastic body displays is rather disturbing. Needless to say you will not want to use as a frustration reliever (read: punching bag) when gaming, but by the same token it is not so fragile that it can’t take the occasional bump and bang.

What is not as easily overlooked is the rather bright blue glow that emanates from the center of the bottom bezel’s Lucite fascia. Since the VX2252 is a multimedia orientated monitor and will likely that be used in a darkened environment, that rather bright light and can be distracting.

The VX2252’s exterior looks may be impressive but its main claim to fame is the panel itself. Even though it a 6 bit TN based panel and has a resolution of 1920x1080, the very fact that it is only 21.5 inches on the diagonal makes the pixel density very, very attractive. To be precise it has approximately 102.4 pixels per inch and a .2479 dot pitch which should result in a much crisper image than 23-inch (95.78 pixels/inch) or 24-inch (91.79 pixels/inch) 1080P monitors. When the 2ms Gray to Gray refresh rate is taken into account this the VX2252 should be well equipped for fast paced gaming and movie scenarios. It is unfortunate that ViewSonic has opted for a fairly glossy coating and in bright environments a lot of this crispness and image detail may be lost to errant reflections.

Also of note is the VX2252’s use of a white-LED backlight and as such it should be very power efficient and have a wider color gamut when compared against older ‘value’ monitors. Whether or not this combination of TN + LED is enough to persuade consumers of the VX2252’s merits remains to be seen, but on paper it does have some great features given its $150 price.

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The stand which accompanies the VX2252 isn’t all that great either. Like the rest of the monitor, it is rather flimsy looking and lacking in advanced features, offering just 20 degrees of tilt (0° to +20°) adjustment and nothing else so you may need to go with MacGyver-esque approach . If height adjustment is needed we recommend a stack of phone books. If you need to swivel the display you will either have to swivel the entire unit or place a lazy Susan underneath it.

On the positive side, this stand may be lacking in features but it is quite attractive looking and provides a very stable platform for this monitor. Unlike many value orientated monitors, an accidental bump won’t bring the monitor crashing to its side and in the grand scheme of things we will gladly give up advanced features in return for stability.

The input port selection is best described as slim at best as it consist of a single HDMI, VGA and DVI ports. This is more than adequate but not precisely overwhelming but we have to remember that ViewSonic’s VX2252 also comes with two integrated 2watt speakers and as such also comes with a 3.5mm stereo in port. Considering the price tag of this monitor, including stereo speakers is a nice little bonus – even if they are a touch underwhelming in their abilities.

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We also liked ViewSonic’s use of actual physical buttons instead of touch based capacitive sensors since they respond better and have a well-balanced tactile feel.

 

[AkG]

Menu Layout & Observations

Menu Layout & Observations

<div align="center"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Monitor/VX2252/menu1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /> </div>

The VX2252’s onscreen display is classic ViewSonic which means it gets the job done but there aren’t a ton of options being offered but it is still well fleshed out and easy to use.

One the menu system is accessed, a small pop-up window displays a submenu list containing the various primary-level options. Although each submenu must be selected to find out the full extent of its potential modifications, these are labeled in a straightforward manner. With that being said, it can be rather difficult figuring out how to access some of the more advanced features. For example, tweaking the screen’s color output is somewhat hidden under the “Color Adjust” heading but is only accessible via the “User Color” selection.

<div align="center"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Monitor/VX2252/menu2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /> </div>

The core features most average consumers will need are much easier to access and are typically only a button press or two away. The most used adjustment features will be brightness and contrast levels, both of which have their own dedicated top level menu option. Meanwhile, the Dynamic Contrast Ratio is set to off by default and so too is the overdrive settings (or what ViewSonic calls ‘Response Time’) set to its least aggressive state.

<div align="center"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Monitor/VX2252/menu3.jpg" border="0" alt="" /> </div>

Unfortunately, advanced features such as fine grain gamma correction are missing as are nearly any other real advanced feature you could care to mention. Once again, this is an entry level, value orientated monitor so the lack of advanced features is not all that surprising. Overall, the onscreen display feels a bit limited and outdated by modern standards, but it should be more than adequate for the VX2252’s intended market.

 

[AkG]

Testing Methodology

Testing Methodology

Testing a monitor is not as simple as setting it up and using it a for a couple weeks and making a judgement call based solely on such subjective ‘tests’. It is also not as easy as using as colorimeter, running the built in tests and calling it a day. Rather than these two extremes a careful balance of real world subjective and synthetic tests are required.

To ensure that the monitor is performing at optimal levels and any issues which do occur are not simply the results of hardware bottle-necking a very high performance testbed has been created with goal in mind: push as many pixels as possible and be able to consistently be ready to deliver more than any monitor being tested can handle.

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Our test setup consists of an Intel Haswell 4770K, a 4670K, MSI MPower Max Z87 motherboard, two NVIDIA GTX 780, 32GB of G.Skill Trident X 2133 9-11-11-31 1.6v memory, Seagate 600 Pro 400GB SSD, and a Intel 910 800GB PCI-E SSD. All this is powered by an Corsair AX860i 860W PSU.

For synthetic tests we used a combination of ColorHCFR and SpyderPro color calibration tools.

For real world testing a monitor is used for a minimum of two weeks. During this period a minimum of eight movies are used and a minimum of 40 hours of PC gaming.

All applicable tests were run 4 times and average results are represented.


Processor: Core i5 4670K
Motherboard: MSI Z87 MPower Max
Memory: 32GB G.Skill TridentX 2133
Graphics card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 780 in SLI
Hard Drive: Seagate 600 Pro 400GB SSD, Intel 910 800GB PCI-E SSD
Power Supply: Corsair AX860i

Special thanks to NCIX for their support and supplying the i5 4670 CPU.
Special thanks to G.Skill for their support and supplying the TridentX Ram.
Special thanks to NVIDIA for their support and supplying the GTX 780s.
Special thanks to Corsair for their support and supplying the AX860i PSU.

 

[AkG]

Image Quality; Uniformity / Panel Performance / Gamma

Image Quality (Uniformity / Panel & Gamma Performance)

Calibrated Settings

Please remember that the settings below have been calibrated for our specific environment and your viewing conditions may differ from ours.

Mode Used: Dynamic Contrast set to OFF + User Color Mode selected
Brightness: 30%

Notes:
- All tests done at default settings at 120 cd/m2.


The VX2252 is primarily a low cost gaming and multimedia-orientated monitor and its performance attributes reflect this. Everything not directly related to providing the best bang for your buck gaming or movie-watching experience has been sacrificed in some way. Unfortunately, this makes for a very bi-polar experience with results which vary from memorably good to sub-par. In either case, the VX2252 will leave a lasting impression.

Its surprisingly large color gamut and razor sharp image capabilities – thanks to its small dot pitch – will take many by complete surprise but this is still a TN based monitor and its non-gaming abilities are no match for even entry level IPS panels. Luckily no one expects a $149 monitor to act like a $200 or $250 one, yet this is the first value monitor to come close to doing precisely that.

With a maximum output of 248.1 cd/m2, the VX2252 can certainly push out bright images and somewhat compensate for its glossy screen in well-lit environments. It is also easily adjustable down to a more precise 120 cd/m2 thanks to its combination of a well designed interface and an OSD that has a dedicated brightness and contrast section located directly on the landing page.

Panel Uniformity

In a perfect world a screen’s brightness output would be equal throughout the entire panel. This is not a perfect world, but the lower the variation the less chances you will notice overly bright or dark sections on the screen. For the consumer LCD marketplace a variance of 10% is our gold standard but anything below 15% can be considered excellent as we doubt anyone will notice a -7.5 to +7.5 variation. A variation above 15% but below 24% can be considered adequate, but anything above this does not meet our basic minimum standards.

For such a small screen we were expecting good results but a variation of 16% is rather high for a 22-inch class monitor. Most of this variation comes from lower brightness output and is concentrated to the left side of the screen, creating somewhat visible dark zones. Simply boosting brightness can alleviate these issues but they won’t be completely remedied for eagle-eyed users.

Panel Performance

In a perfect world a screen’s real world response rate would be so high that motion blur, ‘ghosting’, ‘reverse-ghosting’ would be a thing of the past. No matter how fast the action on screen all images would be represented in pristine condition similar in quality to a static image. This is not a perfect world, but the less amounts of blurring which occurs the less chances you will notice the issue in real world scenarios. While the panels response rate (ms) and and frame rate (Hz) can give a fairly rough idea of how much blurring to expect it is not the end all and be all.

To this end we have taken PRAD’s Pixel Persistence Analyser ‘Streaky Pcitures’ program and using a high speed camera captured exactly how much and what kind of motion blur you can expect from a given monitor.

Default Response Time Setting

Aggressive Response Time Setting​

As you can see, this monitor may be classified as a ‘2ms’ panel but its results are rather mediocre. From a performance perspective VX2252 reacts more like a 5-6ms IPS based unit rather than a bleeding edge 2ms TN gaming panel. If the overdrive setting is increased above the default levels some inverse ghosting or ‘pre-ghosting’ will occur where the images are displayed in front of where they ‘should’ be as the hardware’s predictive algorithms kick in. Truth be told, only extremely discerning gamers will be able to tell the difference so once again, these results are in-line with our expectations for a budget multimedia monitor.

Gamma Performance

Gamma correction is one of the hardest terms to explain. However, for our purposes the gamma correction of any electronics device is how bright or dark an image will be displayed on a screen.

All PC devices now use 2.20 gamma as the default. Any variance from this will result in an image being either underexposed which will create black crush and underexposed shadow detail or washed out with too little black level detail (aka being over-exposed).

While 2.20 is the gold standard, a minor deviation of 0.10 will in all likelihood never be noticed by anyone other than professional photographers. Higher levels of deflection however will be noticed by just about everyone.

With such a low asking price it comes as no surprise that ViewSonic does not factory calibrate these monitors so the results can easily vary from the rather disappointing gamma results we obtained all the way to decent. It really will come down to luck of the draw, but this is to be expected and is fairly easy to correct for. Luckily an overshoot like the one we see above can be compensated for by using software like the Catalyst Control Panel from AMD or NVIDIA’s Control Panel.

 

[AkG]

Colour Saturation Levels / Default RGB Levels

Colour Saturation Levels

While there are numerous colors the human eye can’t “see”, the human color space confined to three primary colors and combinations thereof. To make things easier for manufactures (and not waste resources displaying colors we can’t see) a color space was mathematically described and while various models do exist, the CIE RGB color space is the de facto standard.

In the below image, the dark triangle which isn’t highlighted is the sRGB color space while the overall CIE color space is displayed as the background colors. Meanwhile, the white triangle with highlighted color represents the results of what a given monitor can display. No monitor can display the entire CIE color spectrum but a good monitor should be able to display the sRGB spectrum of possible colors as this is usually used as the standard for image encoding.

A monitor which uses the “wide color gamut” moniker can display more than the sRGB spectrum and is considered primarily for professional use. If a monitor cannot cover off the entire sRGB triangle, the resulting image will appear “off” to an observer. The end result is a picture displayed on the panel which won’t be as rich, vibrant or as correct as it should be.

These results are nothing short of impressive, so much so that we retested with multiple colorimeters. Remember, the VX2252 uses a TN panel, technology which has never been known to produce a particularly accurate color profile but in this case, it certainly did the job. We’re not talking about IPS levels of accuracy here but the very fact that such a decent panel is housed inside a budget monitor is truly shocking. It seems like w-LED backlighting can make entry level TN panels perform better than previous the generation in terms of color accuracy.

Default RGB Levels

An LCD or LCD LED backlit panel relies on accurately blending Red, Green and Blue pixel clusters to create an overall image so closer to each of these colours is to a “perfect” 100 output, the better and more accurate the default colors will be.

In this case, we have a low tolerance for anything less than perfection since any color shift can be noticeable even to untrained eyes and will require a color correction be applied at the software level to overcome a monitor’s stock output. We do however consider a minor variation of only a few points per color to be acceptable.

As with the color saturation levels, the default out-of-box RGB settings were so close to perfect that we doubt anyone interested in this model would need to correct them. However, just remember that there will be some sample to sample variance so it’s possible other examples of this exact same monitor will return different results.

 

[AkG]

Viewing Angles / Contrast Ratio / Power Consumption

Viewing Angles

Unlike CRT displays, the manner in which LCD panels create an image can result in one large weakness: the image can lose contrast when viewed off angle. While we do not recommend watching an LCD at anything besides perfectly straight on, the reality is this cannot always be done.

To help give you a glimpse of what a panel will look like when seen from either above the horizontal or vertical plane we have taken pictures at fairly extreme angles.

Overall these middle of the pack results are actually surprising considering the VX2252’s $150 price tag. We have seen more expensive TN monitors with noticeably worse view angles than the VX2252 but that’s not to say it’s spectacular either. While slight positional changes from center won’t cause a drastic loss of contrast or image fidelity, severe degradations do occur at more extreme angles.

Maximum Contrast Ratio

While manufactures love to throw around “maximum” contrast ratios in the millions, the fact of the matter is that to get these high numbers they have to use "dynamic contrast" which—at best—results in overly optimistic specs. With DC turned off, the number of shades between purest white and blackest black a given monitor can display is usually in the low hundreds rather than the thousands.

The higher the contrast ratio, the better the monitor will display shades of dark and light. For IPS monitors, anything below 450:1 is unacceptable, with 500:1 or above considered optimal. For TN anything above 120:1 will be considered “good enough” for most consumers.

As you can see in the chart above, there’s a massive contrast ratio drop-off as the field moves from IPS panels to monitors sporting TN technology. With that being said, the VX2252 offers top-level TN performance but don’t expect outstanding results.

Power Consumption

To obtain the maximum number we set the monitors brightness to 100% and the contrast to 100%. The Calibrated results are taken at 120 cd/m2 with the contrast set to the default level.

It comes as no surprise to see that ViewSonic’s small 22” multimedia monitor is quite efficient. When you combine LED backlighting with only 21.5 inches of diagonal real-estate the amount of energy needed to properly illuminate it can be measured in almost single digits. To put this level of performance in perspective the typcial 6500K ‘60 watt’ replacement CFL household bulb uses more power than this monitor when calibrated to 120cd/m2.

 

[AkG]

Gaming & Movie Observations

Gaming Performance

<div align="center"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Monitor/VX2252/g2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></div>

All of the picture quality factors we discussed in the previous pages result in an default color profile that creates very decent looking images. The only real change you will have to do is adjust the gamma ever so slightly, but the amount of correction needed is minor and not totally necessary. Particularly for gaming where color fidelity may not be paramount, the default setup worked well, though we do still recommend fine-tuning the VX2252 to your liking before passing judgment.

<div align="center"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Monitor/VX2252/g1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></div>

Providing an optimal visual experience on a shoestring budget is the ViewSonic VX lineup’s top priority and we were simultaneously impressed and disappointed by the abilities this particular example brought to the table. The combination of small dot pitch with a 2ms response time did result in a fairly crisp and detailed image even during fast paced scenarios. There was some minor ghosting but the amount was more than tolerable and only noticeable when searching for it. This is certainly high praise considering the VX2252 costs just $150.

<div align="center"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Monitor/VX2252/g3.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></div>

There are plenty of reasons to like this monitor, but there are a few minor issues which were anything but impressive. While there was only a minor amount of ghosting present it was still enough to be noticeable in some rare situations and this is only the second time we have come across a claim of ‘2ms’ which exhibited any motion related issues. When we compare the gaming experience of the VX2252 against even an entry-level Dell U2312, the VX2252 loses by a noticeable margin. Again though, we have to temper expectations here since the price difference between those two monitors is a pretty hefty $150 so in other words, you can buy two ViewSonics for the cost of a single Dell.

<div align="center"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Monitor/VX2252/g4.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></div>

Many of this monitor’s cost-saving features can also be double-edged swords when it comes to player immersion. The VX2252 only has 21.5” of real-estate which means it is significantly smaller than its 23” and 24” brethren despite an effective 1080P resolution and these days, it seems like players are gravitating towards larger displays even if it means sacrificing pixel density. The overly glossy coating can also has a tendency to wash out images and make a real mess of an otherwise crisp picture.

Since the VX2252 has integrated speakers, we couldn’t help but test those as well and as you probably expected, they weren’t all that great. The sound produced was tinny and tended to break up as sound levels were ramped up, bass was non-existent and their separation was completely lacking. With so many passable sub-$75 speaker sets and headphones available these days, we recommend budget-minded gamers head in that direction rather than hoping the integrated speakers will provide an adequate soundstage.

<div align="center"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Monitor/VX2252/g5.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></div>

Overall we would consider this monitor well above average for a 22”, value class product but a lot of this praise is tied at the hip to asking price rather than groundbreaking performance. The alternatives in the $150 market are so poor, the VX2252 ends up looking like the Second Coming rather than just another cheap option.

Movie Performance

<div align="center"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Monitor/VX2252/m4.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></div>

Although the ViewSonic VX2252 to watch movies actually resulted in a pretty good experience. The razor sharp detail the panel can create combined with its native 16:9 format makes movie viewing—about the only scenario where it isn’t preferable to have a 16:10 aspect ratio—quite enjoyable since there are no annoying black bars at the top and bottom of your screen. Granted, that glossy coating and the small size do limit its use in this scenario to close-in watching in an environment with limited ambient light but for all intents and purposes, ViewSonic has created an excellent product.

<div align="center"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Monitor/VX2252/m1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></div>

Even televised sporting events are enjoyable on the VX2252 as the action and quick camera pans don’t feature the usual amounts of ghosting which monitors in this price range typically exhibit. To be perfectly candid, unless you are actively looking for ghosting or image smearing you will only notice it occasionally and it should not negatively impact most consumers' impression.

<div align="center"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Monitor/VX2252/m2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /> </div>

As for the integrated speakers, movies lost a lot of their punch thanks to their rather limited abilities. On the positive side, they will be adequate in a pinch for short PowerPoint presentations and similar scenarios as sometimes even poor sound carries more impact than a silent slideshow can on its own.

<div align="center"><img src="http://images.hardwarecanucks.com/image/akg/Monitor/VX2252/m5.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></div>

Overall, consider VX2252 to be well above average for its asking price and were impressed with its multimedia capabilities. Unless we knew that this monitor cost less than $150 would have assumed – based on these results – that is was more in the $175to $199 price range. Of course, it almost goes without saying that if you can afford a slightly larger, more capable $200 monitor then you should opt for it over the VX2252.

 

[AkG]

Non-Colorimeter Tweaking and Results

Non-Colorimeter Tweaking and Results

In a perfect world either every monitor would come factory calibrated to perfection or every single consumer would own a decent colorimeter. We don’t live in such a world and as such most consumers simply use the old Mark 1 Mod 0 eyeball to fix any imperfections with the stock colors of their new monitor.

In order to gauge how easy this is to do for a given monitor we have included a new set of tests. These tests will be carried out before any of our standard tests and will consist of us using a combination of the free online LCD Monitor Test Images (found here LCD monitor test images) and then if necessary the free Hex2Bit Monitor Calibration Wizard (found here Hex2Bit - Software by Mike Walters). The goal of these tests is to not only gauge how easy it is to accurately calibrate a given monitor using only the onboard monitor tools, but to see how closely we can come to what a Spyder3 Elite can do.

To obtain these results we did the following
- used “user color” mode
- ensured dynamic contrast was off
- adjusted the brightness to 30 (which resulted in a 120.3 cd/m2)
- adjusted Red to 99
- adjusted Green to 98
- left Blue at 100
- All other settings left to default levels

Adjusting the color profile of the VX2252 is quite easy due to its straightforward menu system. In our case adjusting the colors took well under 2 minutes and in all likelihood would not have been necessary as they are quite close to perfect out of the box.

Since there are no on panel gamma correction abilities we did have to resort to software solutions, but once again it only took moments to satisfy our obsessive compulsive tendencies. Overall we could consider this monitor to be well above average compared to most we've tested and easily the gold standard upon which future sub $150 monitors will be judged.

 

[AkG]

Conclusion

Conclusion

The monitor market is constantly striving towards upselling rather than making products which benefit the widest range of consumers. As a result 16:9 panels, a staggering number of input options, stereoscopic 3D, 4K and other so-called “must have” features have contributed to higher-priced panels and a gradual decrease in overall image quality. With the VX2252 ViewSonic is going down a path less travelled by getting down to the bare basics and offering a monitor that’s well priced and delivers surprisingly robust performance. It’s an equation that works remarkably well.

We mentioned numerous times throughout the course of this review how the VX2252 simply couldn’t compete against $250 monitors like Dell’s excellent U2312. This comparison speaks volumes about ViewSonic’s achievements since before this monitor, no one would ever seriously consider mentioning a $150 display in the same sentence as the U2312 which is widely regarded as one of the best price / performance options currently available. Granted, the 6-bit TN panel on the VX2252 will never match the capabilities of a full-blown IPS display but it does an excellent job of fitting into the value niche.

While not perfect, ViewSonic’s latest is actually everything you could want in a value orientated monitor. Despite a TN panel, it boasted a reasonably accurate color pallet, relatively good contrast output and certainly one-upped most IPS and PVA monitors in the motion performance department. Simply put, the VX2252 does not look or respond like a “cheap” monitor and provides ample levels of ‘good enough’ performance in nearly every category.

The VX2252 may only offer a 1080P panel, but when spread across only 21.5” of real-estate this high pexel density provides very crisp and detailed images that belie its asking price. The stand may lack any real adjustment abilities, but it is stable and aesthetically pleasing enough to satisfy most consumer’s basic needs. The connectivity options are sparse, but by including VGA, D-sub and HDMI most consumers will have no issues with a lack of inputs. Thanks to LED backlight the VX2252 is ridiculously power efficient as well.

Budget multimedia monitors are a dime a dozen these days but ViewSonic is one of the first companies to get the recipe right. With the VX2252, they have display which caters to price-conscious buyers but sacrifices very little performance and image quality to achieve its goals. If you want more connection options, pointless features or a pretty façade, look elsewhere or be prepared to spend significantly more money. For those looking for a no-frills gaming or general multimedia monitor that fits the bill and comes in under-budget, this is currently one of the best choices.