The Acer XFA240 is one of the best budget gaming monitors with a 144Hz refresh rate and Free-Sync/G-Sync compatibility paired with its own game mode delivering great gaming performance. Despite having pretty noticeable bezels on all four sides, the XFA240 still has a pretty decent aesthetic with a red ring at the base, and with its adjustable stand, it can be tilted and angled to adapt to your needs. Apart from that, the Acer XFA240 also features good color accuracy, a low input lag, and a fast response time. Overall, although it’s built-in speakers aren’t that great, and its menu system is a bit confusing, the experts consider the XFA240 to be an excellent buy for gamers in this price range.
PICTURE QUALITY
Blacks
- The Acer XFA240 displayed mediocre black levels, which is good enough for a TN panel monitor at this price range, according to testers. They also mentioned that it has calibration settings for the black levels which allow you to vary the depth of the black levels to your taste(they found a setting of 5 and tweaking the gamma levels to work better for deep black levels).
Brightness
- Experts loved that the Acer XFA240 has a max brightness of 350 nits which can be calibrated down to avoid eye fatigue. The XFA240 HD monitor lets you tone it down or up as needed without any harsh effects on the image or color quality. Critics even stated that 50% of the XFA240’s brightness is enough for everyday use.
Color Accuracy
- The Acer XFA240 comes with 106.3% color accuracy on the sRGB spectrum and a Delta E accuracy of 0.26 (being closer to 0 is better), according to product testers which makes the color saturation of images appear more vivid. Reviewers from Tom’s Hardware and Tom’s Guide found this to be better than other monitors at this price range.
Color Gamut
- Product reviewers appreciated that the Acer XFA240 supports a wide color gamut with a native color depth of 8 bit, and with tests showing a super low out-of-box error of 1.51dE while hitting all sRGB targets for saturation and hue. Testers also measured it to have a color temp of 6500K and a gamma level below 2.2 which adds up to greater color saturation and accuracy.
Color Gradient
- The Acer XFA240 testers didn’t have anything to say regarding the color gradient of the monitor. However, the brand mentions the monitor to have the ability to display up to 16.7 Million colors.
Color Uniformity/Variance
- Top critics found the Acer XFA240 to have splendid uniformity in their black field test without visible bleed, hot spots, or glow. However, product testers also found that the XFA240 has a slightly greater brightness in the center which can be seen in plain view affecting the uniformity, but this also contributed to the ANSI contrast helping in making the image appear more deep and saturated.
Contrast
- The Acer XFA240 has a static and dynamic contrast ratio of 1000:1 and 100000000: 1, respectively, which testers found to be higher than most TN and IPS gaming monitors giving you better image quality.
Resolution
- Top Experts were disappointed that the Acer XFA240 has a 1920 x 1080 resolution which allows you to view HD content, but with a pixel density of 92 pixels per inch, which is on the lower end, so the XFA240 has less detailed picture quality.
Refresh Rate
- The Acer XFA240 comes with a max refresh rate of 144Hz which means you can play your games at higher frames per second paired with the g-sync compatibility, giving you a better overall gaming experience, according to testers. They also reported that most games running at 60 fps and other games running at 120 fps performed well, without any form of tearing or stuttering.
Glare and Reflections
- Reviewers found the Acer XFA240 to have no glare or reflections, and with its bright and clear display, images appear sharp and vibrant.
HDR
- The Acer XFA240 doesn’t feature HDR, according to editors at Cnet and Tomsguide. This means that the image won’t have the same dynamic range of colors as other HDR-supportive monitors.
Image Flicker
- Expert critics were pleased to find that the Acer XFA240 comes with a flicker-free display as it doesn’t use any form of Pulse-Width Modulation to regulate the brightness. This means you won’t have to worry about any headaches or eye pain from flickers. While they didn’t have anything else to add, there were a few reports from users of occasional flickers across the top of the screen when using g-Sync or plugging in a device with the display port.
Image Retention
- The Acer XFA240 reviewers didn’t have anything to say regarding the image retention of the monitor. But, it’s always best not to keep static images on the screen for too long to avoid burn-in.
Local Dimming
- Critics could not comment on this aspect as the Acer XFA240 doesn’t have a local dimming feature. If it did, it would have helped it to have better blacks.
DESIGN
Aesthetics
- The Acer XFA240 comes with a 2.4-inch thick panel with 14mm wide bezels on all sides, which experts found reasonable. Design-wise, the only thing that makes it seem like a gaming monitor is the red ring around its base.
Build Quality
- Reviewers found the Acer XFA240’s build quality to be good with a sturdy base and stand paired with the display. They noted that these feel like premium parts.
Portability
- The Acer XFA240 has a total weight of 14.11 lbs. Reviewers found its parts to be light, making the monitor more portable than most. But it’s still heavier than some other 24 Inch monitors like the Acer Predator XB272.
Size
- Top Experts measured the Acer XFA240 to have a 24-Inch display with a 16: 9 aspect ratio which makes it big enough to comfortably work on documents and play games. Overall, it has dimensions of 22.3 x 2.4 x 13.2 inches.
Stand and Mounting
- The Acer XFA240 gaming monitor comes with a wide round stand that allows you to adjust the monitor’s height or even tilt the screen a complete 90 degrees when you need to. Experts found this paired with the four screws included for a VESA mount to make the XFA240 adaptable to the needs of programmers who would prefer a vertical screen for code thus giving it a fully ergonomic design.
FEATURES
Connectivity and Inputs
- Critics admired the variety of inputs and controls on the XFA240 monitor. Starting from six buttons to control the menu at the front, it also comes with an HDMI port, a DisplayPort, a DVI port, and two 3.5 audio jacks(one for audio and one for mic), one at the front and the other at the back.
- However, they also didn’t like that it doesn’t come with any USB ports and just one HDMI port, as this makes it not the most suitable for people who want to play on multiple displays on consoles.
Controls
- The Acer XFA240 HD monitor comes with five control buttons with one power button located at the lower right side of the monitor. They are in the front instead of being tucked at the bottom, which makes varying the settings more accessible. The settings range from calibration controls that allow you to vary the brightness, sharpness, and so on, to Gaming and User mode options that make it possible to fix tiny hue errors in cyan and magenta. Top experts also found that it’s much easier to browse through the on-screen display menu and find the settings that work best for the user with five separate buttons instead of a single control button.
Bluetooth
- Testers didn’t find any Bluetooth support in the Acer XFA240, which means you’ll always have to use wired connections.
Menus
- The Acer XFA240 gaming monitor comes with various options in its on-screen display menu, allowing you to find settings like low blue light mode which acts like a blue light filter and a game mode that adjusts the screen brightness and sharpness accordingly.
- However, with so many options and multiple buttons, critics from Toms Hardware and Toms Guide didn’t like the menu system as it tends to get confusing for the average user.
Microphone
- Top experts noted that the Acer XFA240 does not support a microphone, but with its 3.5mm jack, you can always plug in your headphones for a better experience.
Speakers
- The Acer XFA240 features built-in stereo speakers, which boast 2 watts of power, but they fall short with no bass and an emphasis on mid-high frequencies, which reviewers found to be like most built-in speakers. However, it is better than having no speakers at all, like the Alienware AW2721D.
Webcam
- Testers found that the Acer XFA240 doesn’t feature a webcam, so they could not comment on this aspect.
GAMING
G-Sync / Freesync
- The Acer XFA240 gaming monitor is compatible with both G-Sync and Freesync, giving you a better gaming experience with high frame rates and smooth motion. Tests by critics found that the XFA240 delivered increased performance in games such as Tomb Raider and Call of Duty WWII with a range of 75-90 fps on both games. They also observed the sync to have a 48-144 Hz range, which they found to be on the higher end for monitors at this price range.
Adaptive Sync
- Product reviewers were delighted by the Acer XFA240’s adaptive sync feature, which significantly improved their gaming experience with smoother gameplay while maintaining a high frame rate.
Input Lag
- The Acer XFA240 features a low input lag of 6ms, which helps register inputs faster, making it easier to play fast-paced games.
Response Time
- Top Experts were impressed with the XFA240’s quick response time of only 1ms, which allows it to change the color of pixels much faster. So reviewers did not see any form of motion blur or ghosting from fast-paced games.
Text Clarity
- The Acer XFA240 didn’t have any reviewers commenting on its text clarity. However, one user reported that some text looks blurry when they are playing games.
Viewing Angles
- Product testers found the Acer XFA240 displays mediocre viewing angles at 160°/170° which, although not a dealbreaker, makes it less suitable for watching sports or movies with a large number of people. They also measured the monitor to have a 50% light reduction and shift to green and red when viewed from an angle of 45 degrees horizontally.
