Acer AL2423W 24" Review, Pics.

Cornflake

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 28, 2006
Messages
135
Hi everyone,

Let me first start of by saying it was very tough deciding on which 24" LCD to choose. VERY tough. I did in-depth research for 3 days straight before I decided to get this LCD. At first, I was going to get a Dell 2407 24" but I heard about some of the problems it was having.. and decided to dig deeper.

That's what eventually brought me to NewEgg.com to look at this monitor. It had everything. 1000:1 contrast, 500 cd/m2 brightness (MUCH brigter than most LCD monitors) and a great price tag of $699 for a back-to-scool special.

Monitor Specs

I made a detailed post about all of the monitor's specifics at Widescreengamingforum.com (http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=5568) and I will quote myself, no need to re-type the details:

Cornflake said:
After extensive comparison between this monitor, and others like the Dell 2407WFP, I've decided to order this from NewEgg.com. I hope people will spread the word about this monitor, because it is superior to nearly every other 24" LCD on the market!

Here are the basic details:

-Brigtness: 500 cd/m2
-Contrast: 1,000:1
-Display Type: WUXGA (1,920x1200 pixels)
-GTG Response time: 6ms
-Black to White response time: ~16ms
-Viewing Angle: 178° H/V
-Connection Types: DVI/VGA
-Silver bezel, height ajustable and rotating stand

Advanced Details

-Uses P-MVA panel type*
-Has an approximate input lag** of 20MS on the desktop
... (Information found on This web page translated from Dutch to English).
-Such a relativley new monitor, that's why the page above with the input lag demonstration was only found in Dutch
-Many reviewers across the web, on the reviews that were found, state this monitor has EXCELLENT color and contrast, plus no mouse lag detected compared to models like the Samsung 244t.
-Many users such as on the [H]ardforum.com are always pleased about this monitor, no complaints.

* A P-MVA type monitor uses a system to give fast response times, AND good colours, as compared to the Dell 2407 where it has horrible color banding issues. note that "TN" panels are the worst color producers, and "SPS" monotors are a little bit better than MVA, that this monitor uses. Here is a definition from HardForum.com:

MVA (Multidomain Vertical Alignment)
- compromise between TN and IPS technologies
- superior color reproduction over TN but not as good as IPS
- very good viewing angles but less than IPS
- higher contrast than TN or S-IPS means very good blacks
- dead pixels are black
- slower pixel response than TN or IPS
- details can be lost when directly viewing dark areas

Premium-MVA (P-MVA) - ACER AL2423W
- same as MVA except ...
- "overdrive" technology increases pixel response but still slower than TN
- may have slightly degraded color reproduction due to "overdrive" process

** The term "input lag" describes the amount of time between moving your mouse / controller (or typing on your keyboard) and when it shows up on screen... and NOT to be confused with "Response Time" which refers to the level of "ghosting" on a monitor. This is a newer term because on LCD's 19" or smaller, there is usually very little input lag. Note the worse the input lag, the more sluggish your mouse will feel.

- I hope I helped shed some light on the details of this monitor. It is a much better buy for $699 than almost any other 24" LCD, please spread the word!

So, my research and all the reviews I could find told me that this monitor is S-MVA meaning great blacks, great veiwing angles, and excellent full 24-bit color. All wrapped in a nice package with no input lag. True? Well, keep reading...

First Impressions

Well, upon recieving the box I kept saying "Thank god for protective packaging!" because my box was full of dents thanks to UPS :rolleyes:


Outside box pictures


pictures of packaging

the box could certainly use a little bit more packing. Maybe something like bubble wrap to take shock when the LCD bounces.. because that styrafoam is hard and the monitor feels whatever hits it because the energy travels straight through (You know, kind of like those swinging gray orbs that nock on each other and swing :p ).

One think I want to mention, like many of ohers have said. This thing is HUGE! I'm upgrading from a 19" 5:4 LCD to this 16:9 24" LCD. It looks amazing in comparison! The pictures on the internet do not show what this thing really looks like. I need to mention that the bezel looks nearly as thin as the Dell ones when you actually see it. It's got a nice matte off-silver color to it. The screen is matte also (Not reflective!)


Pictures of monitor completley unvelied

Down to Business

Okay, now here's the good nitty-gritty stuff you've been waiting to hear. Is everything true about this monitor? What's it like? Here's the scoop.

Upon connecting it and turning it on, I noticed NO dead pixels. Thank goodness! I still have yet to recieve one PC monitor that has dead pixels (I've bought 3). Although, I did notice some strange shape on the size of the screen near the corner where the pixels were pink and made a round shape similar to a hand. I absolutley freaked out when I saw this! No worries, though. It went away after ~20-30 minutes of use.

Comparing this LCD to my previous Sony SDM-HS94P 19" (400 cd/m2, 500:1, 12ms) I noticed the ghosting was MUCH better. Now, I never really cared about ghosting that much at all... but it is nice to see a little less blur in the desktop. Even though this monitor had double the contrast, and 100 cdm2 more brightness, i only noticed a slight improvment on brightness. I don't know whether my old Sony is actually brighter than the specs say, or this monitors specs are exaderated I don't know.

What about the 1920x1200 resolution you ask? AMAZING to see that much desktop space. I'm still using my old Sony with this for a dual-monitor setup... but I rareley need it because of how much space I get on this monitor. I feel so much more immersed looking at a widescreen monitor because it actually fills up my perhabrial (SP?) vision. The stand of this monitor is great, as someone else here on this forum once mentioned.. "it looks like a stealth aircraft!" And... The stand is completley adjustable... including rotation and height which is great. Although, the stand sticks out in the back a bit so I can't tuck my monitor as far back as i'd like to.


Pictures of the monitor's height-adjustable stand

Now for a few very inportant key points:

-Black Levels: VERY good. As a matter of fact... this monitor probably has better black levels than any LCD i've seen... inlcuding the TN Sony panel sitting right next to me.

-Overall Image Quality: This is also very good. On the "cool" color preset, colors are inviting, rich, and white looks like pure white (Not tan or blue). There is a strange effect, though, a little bit of sparkling / grid effect on the monitor that I didn't expect. BUT, it's not very noticable and it could just be a charactaristic of this type of LCD panel.

-What panel type is this?: It is a P-MVA panel; look at my quote above if you want to see what those panels are like. It is a good "all around use" LCD.

-Is this panel true 8-bit (24-bit) color?: YES! That means no wierd shades of gray or pink mixed with dots on certain colors - like TN panels that are 6-bit tend to do.

-WHAT ABOUT INPUT LAG?: This was probably my #1 concern about this monitor. I was concerned that the 20MS input lag (NOT the same as pixel response time) rated on Here (dutch page translated to english) would cause bad enough mouse lag to use this monitor. And to my pleasent suprise It's barley noticable! My mouse doesn't feel quite as snappy as on my older 19" LCD, but it's barley noticable like I just said. This is one of the key points about this monitor, most 24" LCD's have 35-60ms input lag! This monitor only has 20!

-How is ghosting?: Although you LCD users might prefer no ghosting at all, this LCD gets pretty close with only 6ms. I can tell you it's an excellent improvment over the 12ms 19" Sony TN monitor I previously owned. You will really only notice it when dragging white objects on a black background (Like on the desktop).

-And viewing angles: This is another very impressive aspect about this monitor. The colors barley change at all when moving around the monitor... at nearly 180 degress to the right or left, I can still easily make out what colors are on the screen.


As you can see in the last two pictures, the 19" Sony gets pink and discolored at extreme angles, where th Acer AL2423W stays crisp

Conclusion

I've gotta say that the research I put into this monitor was well worth it. With no dead pixels, minimal input lag, great color reproduction, and deep blacks... it's all around great. Good for movies, gaming (yet to be tested) and desktop. The thing that probably bothered me the most was the "twinking" or "sparkling I noticed earler... but I still am getting used to the fact this monitor had no glossy finish. Pros and cons:

Pros
- Great, deep blacks
-Cool, adjustable colors
-Wonderful veiwing angles
-Minimal mouse (input) lag
-Completley adjustable stand.
-Very bright (500 cdm/2 monitor)
-High-res of 1920x1200
-Nice looking outer bezel.
-Even backlight.

Cons
-"Overdrive" may cause "persistant" or "burnt-in" images after a displaying a static picture for a long period of time.
- Monitor slightly titled (crooked) on stand... :confused:
-A slight twinkling effect noticable across the screen.

My bottom line: This is probably the BEST 24" monitor available on the market today. It is very evenly lit, consistant color, and does not have the problems that plauge the Dell 2407 and input lag is hardly noticable... where input lag in the Samsung 244t can ruin your computing experience.

I will be constantly updating this thread, with more pictures and info! Suggestions are welcome!


-Cornflake (Adam of Denver, CO USA 17yrs of age).


Additional Comparisons

I've taken some comparison pictures between my 19" Sony TN 6-bit display and the 24" Acer 8-bit display to try and guage color quality. I must say this monitor is a massive improvment.

If you take a look at the following screenshot, you can tell how Sam is pink, and sometimes green in areas compared the the 24" acer to the right:


Now let's compare the dark color areas of Sam's outfit to see how the dark color shades look:

19" 6-bit panel picture to the right, Acer 24" to the left

Notice that? For those of you who have never seen it, there are color bands of odd colours in the screenshot if the 19" monitor's image. Even though you still see bands with the Acer, they are even and not odd shades of green / or pink. No video card is yet capable of creating an image completley band-free.



Acer 24" gradients on the left, 19" Sony on the right

As you can clearly see in those gradient pictures above, the Acer generates clean, clear, pink / green free dark colors which look much better. This is because it is an 8-bit P-MVA panel as opposed to the Sony which is a 6-bit TN. The acer can accuratly re-produce all needed colors.

Here's a few screenshots of Doom 3, Far Cry, and Raven Shield running in different resolutions scaled to the monitor's size. NOTE Your video card drives scale up the pictures to full panel size by default. The monitor DOES NOT effect wehter images are left in a letterbox, or scaled. It only effects the quality of the scaling.


Raven shield in 1920x1200 mode (left) and 1024x768 (right).


Far Cry in 1920x1200 and 1024x768. Notice how Far Cry reduces your vertical viewing angle in widescreen mode


Doom 3 in 1600x1200 (it does not support widescreen) and 1024x768 from left to right

Didn't notice much difference between them? Well, there is a much larger difference than those pictures show. After testing different screen sizes, I've come to the conclusion that anything below the 1280x1024 level starts to look VERY pixelated in many games. It's a good idea to at leat run at 1280x1024 for a non-widescreen game, and 1280x768 for a wide-angle one. **Remember, unless specified differently by your drivers, a standard 4:3 resolution will be streteched full-screen making objects look slightly fat.

And, as a final touch, i've included some info abot the On-screen Display (OSD). I actually find the button layout pretty easy to work with (although not the best). The options available in the OSD in DVI mode are: Brightness, Contrast, Color Temp [warm, cool, user], Language, OSD position, VGA or DVI input, Info, Reset, and Exit. This is a fairly complete OSD, but it lacks options such as Sharpness, White level, Gamma, etc. Even though I miss the Gamma option on the monitor (Now I would have to change gamma through my driver's control panel) it isn't a big deal.


Picture of the color adjust screen in the OSD
 
Can you take some pictures of the monitor scaling to low resolutions in games?
 
a little bit of sparkling / grid effect on the monitor that I didn't expect. BUT, it's not very noticable and it could just be a charactaristic of this type of LCD panel.

I think that might be the screendoor effect, but its completely normal for 24"/22"/19" monitors because of the high pixel pitch.

I'm really curious about this monitors image quality/color reproduction because of this,

- may have slightly degraded color reproduction due to "overdrive" process

It'd be cool if you could post a butt-load of various pictures of websites and games so we can compare the image quality.

Also, has going from a glossy to a matte screen bothered you?
 
Man, you REALLY just love blowing the whole input lag thing way out of proportion don't you Cornflake? The 244T is like the only 24" monitor out that has enough lag that people notice, and most people STILL don't...you better be telling me you're a professional gamer or something, because otherwise: :rolleyes:
 
Looks nice...and HUGE. :D The "twinkling/sparkly" effect you're seeing might be the matte anti-glare coating doing it's thing..I'm glad my Acer F-20 has the "crystalbrite" glossy screen that simply looks like the glass on a crt.
 
Daggah said:
Man, you REALLY just love blowing the whole input lag thing way out of proportion don't you Cornflake? The 244T is like the only 24" monitor out that has enough lag that people notice, and most people STILL don't...you better be telling me you're a professional gamer or something, because otherwise: :rolleyes:

I don't think he is blowing it out of proportion at all. I am a gamer, just a casual gamer now though. And even the slightest lag, even 5 ms, is enough in most of my high end clan matches to determine the winner or the loser.

I cant seem to understand why people are not raising more of a stink about input lag :p
 
SandTiger said:
I don't think he is blowing it out of proportion at all. I am a gamer, just a casual gamer now though. And even the slightest lag, even 5 ms, is enough in most of my high end clan matches to determine the winner or the loser.

I cant seem to understand why people are not raising more of a stink about input lag :p

The reason why people aren't raising more of a stink is that most people do not notice it. "High end clan matches" is not casual gaming...you may be one now but if you participated in them then yeah, you might have the ability to notice it. But 5 ms of lag determining the winner from the loser? Horse shit. Period. I mean, hell, plenty of people seem happy with their 244t and don't notice the processing delay (which is what it really is) and that's the one with the highest amount of "lag" out there...
 
The lack of HDCP is a major con in my book.

When you are spending this kind of money on a monitor, you want it to last for years. Without HDCP, you can't get more than 720x480 resolution with HD-DVD or Blu-ray (1920x1080p formats) on that monitor.
 
Well, for those of us who are disgusted with both formats I don't suppose it matters now, does it. Maybe if either actually had a complete and interesting catalog. Or maybe if they weren't $500-$1000 apiece. Or if the studios had even bothered to enable that protection on the movies in the first place (read: they haven't).

I'll start worrying about HDCP when I can pick up an hd-dvd player at wal-mart for $30, just like with dvd players today. Until then, bring on the Acer.
 
dclam said:
Well, for those of us who are disgusted with both formats I don't suppose it matters now, does it. Maybe if either actually had a complete and interesting catalog. Or maybe if they weren't $500-$1000 apiece. Or if the studios had even bothered to enable that protection on the movies in the first place (read: they haven't).

I'll start worrying about HDCP when I can pick up an hd-dvd player at wal-mart for $30, just like with dvd players today. Until then, bring on the Acer.
I feel the same way...I've seen both HD-DVD and Blu-ray in action and I don't feel I'm missing a thing using my 42" plasma with an upconverting dvd player. Of course I'm not one of those videophiles who analyze every little detail of the PQ when I'm watching a movie. It's kind of like playing Oblivion without maxed out eyecandy...after you get sucked into the game it doesn't really matter any more.
 
Well, I'm going to admit, I was lazy in getting a review of this out. I don't ahve a digital cam and didn't have time to write one. But everything that has been said here is absolutly true about this monitor. I've been using it for nearly 3 weeks now and its nothing but a pleasure. As for the "shimmering" effect, I haven't noticed anything like that, but this may be because I am in a very dark room. Either way. I love this monitor. Movies are great and games are even better. I been addicted to Oblivion for 3 days now, and you totally get emmersed in the game using this monitor. It's funny, i thought the extra space would be wasted, but its really cool having it fill up your entire view. :cool:
 
Thanks for the review. This is the monitor I've been also been eyeing for a little while now, and will probably be ordering it next Monday.

Can anyone tell me what the difference between these two models is?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...28&Submit=ENE&SubCategory=20&Manufactory=1146

It looks like one has a DV-I input with a height adjustment and the other does not, yet the one with the input/adjust has free shipping while the other does not, so the price difference is almost non existent.
 
Sanctuary said:
Thanks for the review. This is the monitor I've been also been eyeing for a little while now, and will probably be ordering it next Monday.

Can anyone tell me what the difference between these two models is?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...28&Submit=ENE&SubCategory=20&Manufactory=1146

It looks like one has a DV-I input with a height adjustment and the other does not, yet the one with the input/adjust has free shipping while the other does not, so the price difference is almost non existent.

Acer AL2423Wdr has Height Adjustmests
 
I ordered one from Newegg a couple of days ago. Shipped yesterday. :)

Thanks for the review, BTW.
 
si0dine said:
Can you take some pictures of the monitor scaling to low resolutions in games?

Sure... although I can't guarantee you will be able to tell the full effect of what it really looks like through a picture. I will post some though.

si0dine said:
I think that might be the screendoor effect, but its completely normal for 24"/22"/19" monitors because of the high pixel pitch.

I'm really curious about this monitors image quality/color reproduction because of this,
It'd be cool if you could post a butt-load of various pictures of websites and games so we can compare the image quality.

Also, has going from a glossy to a matte screen bothered you?

Yeah, I was kind of thinking of calling it a "screendoor" effect, but I can't see the individual pixels... it just twinkles when I move my head a bit.

As far as comparing colours... I'd have to compare it to my Sony 19" TN 6-bit panel. This monitor (The Acer) is full 8-bit so there are no speckles or strange shades like the sony monitor... so the color reproduction is pretty good. I will post some picks, but like I said I don't have an IPS or such monitor that has better color reproduction (supposedly) to compare. And no, moving from a glossy screen to a matte finish is not bad .. I'ts much better :D

SandTiger said:
I don't think he is blowing it out of proportion at all. I am a gamer, just a casual gamer now though. And even the slightest lag, even 5 ms, is enough in most of my high end clan matches to determine the winner or the loser.

I cant seem to understand why people are not raising more of a stink about input lag :p

Thanks SandTiger... the reason I make such a big deal about input lag is because it's a relativley new issue were are having to deal with on larger monitors, and I want other people to know about it.

On the Acer, with 20ms lag (slight compared to others) is still noticable. My mouse doesn't feel as "snappy" on the desktop. In games, it actually does make my mouse feel significantly more behind than before. Let's just say you don't want to go much above 20ms lag. I'm not a pro gamer... nor casual. But in-between.

I can gurantee if every one of you in this thread got a Syncmaster 244t, at least 60-70% of you would have to return it due to input lag.

joemama said:
Looks nice...and HUGE. :D The "twinkling/sparkly" effect you're seeing might be the matte anti-glare coating doing it's thing..I'm glad my Acer F-20 has the "crystalbrite" glossy screen that simply looks like the glass on a crt.

That's probably the best explanation... since Pestilence didn't notice this effect... than it's probably normal. Like I said, I've been using a glossy 6-bit panel for a while now so this is a change. And yes, it's HUGE! I'm typing on it right now, on my desk, and it looks very large. It damn near gives me a surround monitor feeling when i'm in front of it.

dclam said:
I'll start worrying about HDCP when I can pick up an hd-dvd player at wal-mart for $30, just like with dvd players today. Until then, bring on the Acer.

So... basically withoud HDCP you cannot get full resolution HD to work (at all) on your monitor, even without an adapter? (Still learning a bit on this). That bothers me too... because one of the reasons I was looking at the Dell 2407 monitor was because of it's wide array of TV inputs. But, as I recall, the Dell downsizes 1080i HD video to 480p which looks terrible. So why have HDCP on a monitor like that when it doesn't even work right? :rolleyes:

-=PESTILENCE=- said:
But everything that has been said here is absolutly true about this monitor. I've been using it for nearly 3 weeks now and its nothing but a pleasure. As for the "shimmering" effect, I haven't noticed anything like that, but this may be because I am in a very dark room.

I am glad to hear i'm giving accurate info! I'm trying to give the cold hard facts... but I really haven't found anything "bad" about the LCD except maybe lack of HDCP.

-------------------

I will post the extra pics at the bottom of my fist post, should be done in about an hour. Cheers!
 
Thanks for the review and pics. I'm tempted to get another 24" and might pick this up.
 
LCDs dont burn in. He's completely wrong on that count.

Otherwise, a good review. Congratulations on your new purchase!
 
SeetheSeer said:
LCDs dont burn in. He's completely wrong on that count.

Otherwise, a good review. Congratulations on your new purchase!

You're right, they typically don't -- but with the "overdive" feature to reduce pixel response over-surges the pixels with too much electricity to get them to respond faster. I heard that LCD's with overdrive could possibly have slight burn-in problems.

BUT, Acer's typically do not suffer this burn in-problem, but I won't review it from my review until i'm sure it doesn't suffer from burn-in. Chances are it doesn't though.

P.S. Thanks for the compliment on the review, though, put alot of time into it :D
 
good review,im quite intrested in this monitor,altho i think ill wait til "input lag" free 24" monitors starts showing up.
 
I just ordered one from my local PC shop for $340. How? I traded my 24" CRT and 20" LCD for $325 store credit lol. I love that shop. I paid $500 for both of those monitors combined and they give me what 70% back? Wow. Anyway for 340 I really won't be too picky with it. I just need to find a way around the mouse lag b/c I am a serious fps player.
 
I'm an fps player as well and I can tell you, I feel absolutely no mouse lag whatsoever. Granted i'm using a 2000dpi logitech G5, but still...i don't feel any when im at my friends house with a p.o.s. mouse either.
 
bastards. you just made me order one.
It shipped today from NJ :D should be here by Thursday! *yay*
 
Are you sure about this "input lag" thing??? I've been reading reviews all over the web and have now heard anyone else talking about input lag. I can see people thinking there is lag during a game but it's really their FPS dropping because of the high resolution they are playing at.
 
so it has arrived and man it's large. I though my 20" LCD was big, but MAN... wow. I need to move it back a little more in order to be able to use it correctly.

Where can I get some gradients to test the image with?
 
hardcore fps player here. one of BF2s best infantry. Love this damn monitor. great color and just wow visuals. no perceptible lag for me. want a 24"? this is a great budget buy. now why does bf2 have 1920x1440 and not 1920x1200? I have to run it in 1600x1200 for some reason.
 
You can force BF2 to run in widescreen mode but it works by cutting off some of the viewport in the top and bottom.

So you will see sorta the the middle part of a virtual mega 4:3 monitor.

You can get the details on widescreen gaming forum
 
spaceman said:
I have to run it in 1600x1200 for some reason.

What video card do you have? I am seriously thinking about getting this monitor when I uprgrade in a month or 2. I hear nVidia scales nicely with drivers, and allows 1600x1200. But ATI does not do that, they force screen stretch. I am not positive on this but I think thats how it goes.

I am VERRRRY much wondering if the Acer has a menu option to force black bars, or if it stretches smaller images to the aspect ratio.

Black Bars FTW.

Anybody know?
 
I can run at 1920X1200 with adding this to the shortcut

"C:\Program Files\EA Games\Battlefield 2\BF2.exe" +menu 1 +widescreen 1 +szx 1920 +szy 1200

If it's stretched I have a hard time seeing it. Running a 1900XT
 
spaceman said:
I can run at 1920X1200 with adding this to the shortcut

"C:\Program Files\EA Games\Battlefield 2\BF2.exe" +menu 1 +widescreen 1 +szx 1920 +szy 1200

If it's stretched I have a hard time seeing it. Running a 1900XT

I would rather run it at 1600x1200 than by forcing BF2 to do fake widescreen. BF2 does not support wide screen. what you are doing is still keeping the same FOV, you are effectively cutting off the top and bottom of your screen in order to get the whole thing to work.

Are you able to run it at 1600x1200 with having the acer force black bars?
 
SandTiger said:
What video card do you have? I am seriously thinking about getting this monitor when I uprgrade in a month or 2. I hear nVidia scales nicely with drivers, and allows 1600x1200. But ATI does not do that, they force screen stretch. I am not positive on this but I think thats how it goes.

I am VERRRRY much wondering if the Acer has a menu option to force black bars, or if it stretches smaller images to the aspect ratio.

Black Bars FTW.

Anybody know?
it stretches from all i can tell. Windows 16x12 -> streched.

Forcing centered output via nForce drivers -> black bars.
 
drizzt81 said:
it stretches from all i can tell. Windows 16x12 -> streched.

Forcing centered output via nForce drivers -> black bars.

DOH!!! I guess that means I will have to buy a nVidia card. Not such a Big deal, but still I don't like having my options limited.
 
Just pulled the trigger at newegg for one of these. Ouch.. Sure hope all the hype is true, took me a long time to decide to retire my Sony/IBM P202 21" CRT. Been waiting for an LCD that could cut the mustard. Im a 52 year old hardcore gamer who cut his teeth on pong and space invaders back in the distant past. Looks to be an awesome monitor from all thats been said. I will give my impressions as soon as i get it. Which shouldn't be long considering newegg usually delivers my order before i hit the buy button.. Thanks for all your input.
 
Back
Top