Friday May 25, 2012 11:32 AM AEST

Atomic MPC > Reviews > Build > Peripherals > ASUS' VG236H 120Hz Monitor impresses

ASUS' VG236H 120Hz Monitor impresses

Verdict:
Too pricey, but otherwise perfect.

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A great gaming monitor from ASUS, but forced bundling of 3D gear makes it far too expensive for consideration.

Sometimes it seems monitor manufacturers are so obsessed with high volume, low cost business that the really cool tech gets neglected. Trying to find one of the handful of 120Hz LCD screens on the market is often a frustrating experience, and the ASUS VG236H is the first such monitor to get seriously pushed in the Australian market, appearing in such non-esoteric stores as Harvey Norman.

Unfortunately it seems one of the drivers of this is NVIDIA, which means that ASUS is selling the VG236H as part of a bundle with NVIDIA 3D Vision kits. Now 3D is a wonderful novelty, especially in a game like CODBLOPS, which has been designed with 3D in mind. In reality though, this bundle is in danger of pricing itself out of the market thanks to the obligatory 3D glasses tax added to the price.

It is important to separate out the two advantages of a 120Hz screen. The first is that it is capable of displaying enough images to sustain LCD shutter-glass-based 3D. The second, infinitely more important thing about 120Hz screens is that they can sustain framerates higher than 60fps without tearing. We’d argue that while 3D is an occasional novelty, the real, consistent benefits of a 120Hz screen come down to this tear-free high framerate gaming.

We ran ASUS’ VG236H through its paces in various games. There was the obligatory CODBLOPS 3D stint (of all the games released this is probably the best ambassador for 3D) as well as some extended sessions in games like Civ 5 and Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit . Our tests were done with the GeForce GTX 580 so the framerates were consistently over 60fps, and it was incredibly noticeable.

CODBLOPS is a great game to show off the advantages of 120Hz. Because of its console roots, the engine barely stresses a high end PC. Using a GeForce GTX 580 and Phenom II X6 1090T the game happily sat on 91fps for the most part, even with all the details cranked up. On a standard 60Hz screen with Vsync disabled this would be ugly due to the amount of tearing going on. But on the ASUS screen this framerate was delivered in a smooth as silk manner.

This great performance is backed up by remarkably good image quality for a TN panel. The screen is incredibly bright, which is of great benefit when using 3D glasses, colour reproduction is strong and images are free from ghosting.

We also dig the adjustable stand, as well as the ability to mount the screen in landscape or portrait (both are all too rare nowadays). DisplayPort would have been a nice addition rather than just HDMI and DVI, but the only major annoyance with the screen is the horrible glossy coating layered onto it. This makes some lighting conditions quite annoying.

We really dig the VG236H, but wish we could get it without having to fork out the extra cash for NVIDIA’s 3D Vision kit. When it comes to screens a gamer’s priority should be for 120Hz, with something like 3D a novelty that may be added later. This screen could be spectacular, but in the end it is too expensive to passionately recommend.

Product Info

Specs:

23in widescreen; 1920x1080; 400cd/m2

Supplier:

ASUS

Price when reviewed:

640

price check*

$399.00	Asus VG236H 23" 3D Monitor LCD 2ms 1080P w/ Nvidia 3D Vision Glasses 120Hz ... NetPlus (WA)

$419.00	Asus VG236H 120Hz 3D Vision LCD Monitor 1920x1080 2ms J&W Computers & Networking (NSW)

$449.00	23" ASUS VG236H 120Hz GAMING MONITOR : 3D-Vision Reday LCD /2MS/80000:1/DVI... I.Store (VIC)

See more results for ASUS VG236H 120Hz Monitor on staticice.com.au

*Products and prices sourced from staticICE and are in no way associated with Atomic MPC

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5 Comments

tunksy Jan 14, 2011 2:44 PM	its a real pity that its so expensive, its a really nice monitor! id try 3d but really the bundle need to be around $500
slash22000 Jan 14, 2011 2:58 PM	I 100% agree that the 120Hz refresh rate is super noticeable. I recently picked up a BenQ XL2410T and it puts any monitor I've used before to shame. Evidently the VG236H has bette colour reproduction than my XL2410T but mine has a matte screen and bezel (damn I hate glossy monitors).
tunksy Jan 14, 2011 4:27 PM	@ slash, bloody nice monitor you pick up! matte over glossy too!
jdog Jan 19, 2011 12:05 PM	looks like a good monitor but i really wish someone like dell or samsung or someone would put out a 120hz IPS 16:10 screen. that would be ideal for me...but cost a fortune...
gun_sl1nger Jan 20, 2011 7:55 AM	You forgot to mention it's also missing 230,000 pixels. If I want 1080p I will buy a TV

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Atomic Magazine

Issue: 137 | June, 2012

Atomic is a magazine aimed squarely at computer enthusiasts, gamers, and serious PC upgraders.

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