Asus VH236H

Bottom Line

Gamers want monitors that can keep up with the on-screen action, and the 23-inch Asus VH236H delivers on that score. Neither ghosting nor input lag is a concern, and picture quality is surprisingly good considering the TN panel technology it uses. A wallet-friendly price is the icing on the cake for this great gaming choice.

Performance

Lightning-fast response times. Like any ideal gaming monitor, the Asus VH236H -- with its 2ms response time -- is built for speed. Like most fast monitors, it relies on a TN panel to deliver that speedy response, with the downside being poorer overall picture quality than monitors that use different LCD technologies. That said, picture quality is a cut above similar TN-based monitors, most agree. Reviewers generally find ghosting to be minimal during games and movies, and CNET says the picture quality looks great when testing Unreal Tournament 3 at 1,960-by-1,080-pixelresolution. A majority of Newegg.com contributors praise the overall picture quality and color performance. Black levels are pretty good, and CNET says they're especially dark in the monitor's Theater Mode, giving a "cinematic" feel. The display generally seems to be free of input lag, an important consideration for a gaming monitor. CNET found that the 2 watt built-in speakers sound a little muffled, but they're still a nice touch.

Now for the bad news: Not unlike many TN panels, screen uniformity is barely average. The limited viewing angle is also a concern; color accuracy and text quality diminishes rather quickly the farther you sit from dead center. Poor shadow detail is a common complaint among Newegg.com contributors.

Features

Solid customization. The Asus VH236H comes with a good variety of picture tweaking options. Users can adjust brightness, color temperature and even set red, green and blue values manually. The display has Overdrive -- a feature that boosts the transition speeds of the panel's liquid crystals to reduce ghosting -- but CNET says they couldn't find a noticeable difference when it's turned on; in any event, as noted earlier, ghosting is well controlled in the VH236H.

Design

Lacks ergonomic adjustments. The Asus VH236H sports a plain design that still manages to satisfy the eye; its matte black cabinet hosts a glossy black bezel with Asus inscribed in silver, all resting on a stand with a circular base. The on-set controls are located on the right side of the bezel, facing the front. The 25-degree back-tilt is the only ergonomic adjustment offered, and the display is prone to wobble when knocked from the side, says CNET.

Connectivity options are pretty good; inputs include HDMI, VGA, DVI, Audio line-in and SPDIF; a headphone jack is also included. Reviewers complain that the onscreen display is obtuse and often inconsistent.

Value

Great for gamers. Reviewers agree that the Asus VH236H is relatively inexpensive for all it offers: rapid-fire response times, solid performance that's a step above many TN monitors and overall good connectivity and picture-setting options. Although it's far from perfect, budget-minded gamers will appreciate what it offers for the low price. It's not for everyone, though; graphics professionals may want something with better color quality, like the Asus PA246Q (*Est. $450) , whereas those who want a display more suited for general use might want to check out the Dell UltraSharp U2412M (*Est. $340)