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Wednesday, November 23, 2011

ASUS VH236H 23" Widescreen HD LCD Monitor - 1920x1080, 20000:1, 2ms, HDMI


While the Asus VH236H is lacking in the desktop and internet browsing department, it is unbeatable when it comes to gaming.

Weighing in at a modest 12 lbs. with a 23” screen, the Asus VH236H is a great compromise between size and desktop footprint.  1920 x 1080 resolution and DVI, D-Sub, and HDMI inputs ensure that your PC games and your current-gen consoles will look their best.  Don’t let the low 300 cd/m2 brightness fool you…this is an extremely bright, high-contrast monitor.

Get an ASUS VH236H 23" Widescreen HD LCD Monitor w/ 1920x1080, 20000:1, 2ms & HDMI for $134.99 at Buy.com, a $44.01 Savings! Valid through 11/27/2011

Construction

The Asus VH236H is made out of a fairly cheap-feeling glossy black plastic, although it seems to be more than sturdy enough for the monitor’s diminutive bulk.  There is no height adjustment, however there is a tilt adjustment that should be adequate for most setups.  The tilt mechanism is extremely stiff; you will most likely be using both hands to do adjustments.  On the plus side, whatever angle you adjust the tilt to, it’s going to stay there until you purposely move it again.  Should you wish to use a different stand or do a wall mount setup, it uses a standard 100x100mm VESA mount.  The black glossy frame looks great, although like most glossy plastics it is a magnet for dust and fingerprints.  I would have liked to have seen a soft cloth included in the box, but they are easy enough to obtain.

The buttons are a bit cheap feeling as well, although they are sufficient for their intended function.  The power button is orange, making it easier to find in the dark.  The blue power LED is relatively bright, but not enough to be distracting.  There are 2 2-watt speakers included, and considering they are built into a monitor, they sound decent.  Knowing you have a set of speakers no matter where your monitor is a nice addition to a monitor with such a low price point.  There is a headphone jack next to the video inputs, so if your case is in a location not conducive to using headphones, this monitor gives you an additional option.  There is also a digital-output for when you hook up a console via HDMI and want to send the audio signal to an external audio system.  Considering the size of this monitor, the footprint is relatively small…even on a cramped desk, fitting this monster is not too difficult.

Desktop Usage

Tooling around on the desktop and browsing the internet is a bit lacking on the Asus VH236H.  A fair amount of tweaking is required to prevent things from looking blown out, although it is possible in just about any room no matter what the lighting situation is.  I personally enjoy fiddling with new additions to my PC and making them my own, so I don’t mind the necessary adjustments, but be forewarned that you aren’t going to take this monitor out of the box and just start going to town.  Coming from a Dell 2005FPW, I had to make adjustments to the overall theme and the default font used for Windows XP SP3. In the time since I originally wrote this review, I’ve moved on to Windows 7…and the desktop performance is much better.  It certainly isn’t as good as an IPS display, but it’s more than sufficient for most people.

Gaming

This is where the true capability of the Asus VH236H is revealed.  This is, quite honestly, the absolute best TN panel for gaming I have ever come across.  With a grey-to-grey response time of 2ms, there is zero evidence of ghosting.  No matter how fast the action is moving on screen or how quickly you whip your viewpoint around, there will be a razor sharp picture.  There are details that I never even noticed on my 2005FPW, and not just because of the higher resolution.  Colors and textures seem to jump right off the screen, and games like Dragon Age with a lot of tiny details look positively stunning.  This truly is a gorgeous display when used for gaming…it’s something that you just have to see in person, words don’t do it justice.

Conclusion

At a $200 price point, there are some sacrifices that must be made.  From a cheap feeling (but great looking) housing to no USB ports to uselessness for professional photo editing, this monitor is not a jack of all trades.  With the right tweaking, you can get this display to look decent for daily use, but if you don’t play modern games on your PC, completely disregard that this monitor exists.  There are much better options out there for desktop use, and this is definitely the wrong monitor to use for heavy-duty photo editing (although I think it would be good enough for video editing.)  HOWEVER!  If you play modern games on your computer or need a small display for a console hookup, you would have to spend double the cost or more to find something better…and it would only be marginally better.  If you are primarily a gamer, the Asus VH236H should be at the top of your list.

One thing to keep in mind, however…this IS a TN panel, which means you may have some viewing angle problems with Eyefinity…keep those receipts!

Get an ASUS VH236H 23" Widescreen HD LCD Monitor w/ 1920x1080, 20000:1, 2ms & HDMI for $134.99 at Buy.com, a $44.01 Savings! Valid through 11/27/2011

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