We’ve discussed quite a few gaming monitors on this site and Acer has been a prominent one among them. In this post we are going to be introducing another popular Acer gaming monitor much sought after in the gaming arena. The 24 Acer KG241 has proved itself a reliable, dependent monitor that delivers as listed on paper. The previously discussed Acer Predator XB3-27 is for Nvidia fans because it is G-sync. This one is not so cutting edge or fancy but it will get the job done if you are a competitive gamer. Anyways, here are the specs.
24 Acer KG241 Specs
- -Available in four sizes and many refresh rates
- -The one we are reviewing is the 23.8″ Full HD (1920 x 1080) with 165Hz refresh rate
- -Response Time: 1ms (VRB) | Pixel Pitch: 0.275mm | Color Saturation: NTSC 72%
- -91PPI (pixels per inch) and peak brightness of 250-nits
- -Zero-Frame Design | HDR Ready
- -VESA mounting compliant (100 x 100mm) | Ergonomic Tilt: -5° to 15°
- -Ports: 1 x Display Port 1.2 and 2 x HDMI 2.0 (HDMI Cable Included)
- -Weighs 8.36 pounds
- -Multiple Gaming Modes
- -AMD FreeSync
Display
For a monitor with this price tag, We’d say the display is fairly adequate. You cannot expect 4K @ 120Hz with a value like this. 1920 x 1080 resolution in a 16:9 aspect ratio does give more detail and specifics enough for competitive gaming, video editing etc. The 165 refresh rate shortens the time it takes for frame rendering, lower input lag resulting in a great gaming experience. We will check the average practical FPS anyway at the end of this post. As we’ve mentioned before, IPS and VA panels are in competition for gaming displays and Ultra-wide TV’s.
For a quick recap, here are the primary differences that concern us gamers. VA has high native contrast ratios, providing deeper blacks and better performance in dark environments, which is how we mostly game. IPS not so much. VA panels as you can see have better FPS over IPS but now most IPS monitors offer this aspect too. In short, IPS is better for video editing related stuff and VA more towards gaming.
Having 1080p resolution gives you better flexibility in choosing your GPU with an affordable budget as opposed to having a 4K one. A well suited GPU would be the Radeon RX 7600 or the RX 6700 XT. Of course you can go lower if you aren’t looking for the exact specs as on paper.
Design And Build Quality
The adjustment options are a bit limited but I don’t think that’s a major concern here. It only becomes a slight issue when you are using multiple monitors but a relatively thin bezel is helpful here. You can remove the monitor stand but then you’ve got to remove the back panel as well. Black Plastic material allowing wall mount with the specified dimensions. As we mentioned before, the size ranges from 23.6 inches to 27 inch varying with the refresh rate. You have the directional joystick at the back to navigate through the on-screen-display and three buttons that are for shortcuts along with the power button. Connectivity is not bad with 3 input ports in total and the FreeSync works with all ports if the GPU is AMD.
24 Acer KG241 Performance
So this is what we are all interested in and want to know about and what actually matters. The Acer KG241 integrated multiple gaming modes allowing you to choose from action, racing, sports, and more! You can also customize all your apps to automatically run in the mode you prefer. The Acer Nitro KG241YS Has three different response time settings. Off, Normal, and Extreme are the three response time overdrive settings of which the Normal is recommended. The monitor also supports a variable refresh rate (VRR) for tear-free gameplay up to 165 FPS. However, experts state that there is some flickering at the threshold value. According to gpucheck.com and based on our research, the best suited GPU for the Acer KG241 would be the Radeon RX 7600 with 8GB DDR6 as we mentioned before and on average it outputs roughly 144 fps at 1080p and 63 FPS at 4K.
There are some users who use this monitor with the RX 580 too but it is useless of course as the GPU bottlenecks the monitor. If you are planning to use this monitor with the recommended RX 7600 with say for example an Intel i5 12400F, i5-13400F, i3-13100F or the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X, Ryzen 5 5600G, and 16 to 32GB of RAM, you should experience a pretty solid, immersive and attention to detail type gaming experience. With an identical setup, you should get on average 130+FPS on games such as Apex Legends, Forza Horizon 5, Grand Theft Auto V, Shadow Of The Tomb Raider, Crysis Remastered and Battlefield 2042. All in high and ultra settings without ray tracing.
Some Comparisons
24 Acer KG241 vs KOORUI 24.5
A brand that isn’t quite famous yet although it seems to be making its way as an affordable high end gaming monitor. Priced the same, it has identical specs with a few tweaks here and there. Same VA panel, Adjustable angle -5° to 20° (Koorui wins here), 144hz/170 hz refresh rate with 1ms response time and 16.7M color gamut with 3000: 1 dynamic contrast (Again Koorui wins) and 99% SRGB (NTSC 72%). Connectivity is the same with similar ports. Considering these factors, it seems that the Koorui although not as famous as Acer, seems to be the sensible choice, at least on paper.
Then there’s the Sceptre New 27-inch Gaming Monitor for the same price which lags behind in a crucial parameter. Same resolution but the refresh rate is only 100 Hz. Hardware wise it has an additional feature, Built-in Speakers. This isn’t a major competitive aspect because literally no one uses the monitor speakers as everyone has a dedicated speaker system. VESA Wall Mountable, Two HDMI ports and one DisplayPort port with 2 gaming modes. Although a lower refresh rate is a drawback, the users are praising this monitor for it’s picture quality, smooth and fluid gameplay even in fast-paced titles according to one user and the sleek design. Speakers aren’t so good apparently. So everyone agrees that it is a definite bang for the buck.
One last strong competitor that we must mention is the AOC 24G15N 24″ Gaming Monitor which as the users say, “the value hype is real”. It costs only $98 which is 11 less than the Acer plus the refresh rate is 180 Hz. It lacks a few minor features such as the adjustability and having only 1 HDMI port. Best of both worlds with the Adaptive Sync option, VA panel same as the Acer, same resolution with true HDR1000. Not a single complaint from the users as the IPS transitioned gamers mostly are amazed with the HDR and having no glow plus no VRR flickering, black smearing and the awesome response times.
General Review on The 24 Acer KG241
That’s pretty much about this gaming monitor by Acer. Now that you have an idea about the competition, here’s the general user review.
To be completely honest, we really could not find any negative reviews and you can’t expect higher specs with such a low price tag in an era where a decent monitor costs 300 bucks or above. If there are any cons, it is the limited adjustability (again, no one complained) and the tilt-only stand. Regardless of these minor limitations, fact remains that the design is sleek and the high refresh rate together with the HDR makes the gaming experience phenomenal. All this for just $109. Let’s be honest for a minute here and acknowledge the fact that not everyone of us needs 4K or 1440p gaming at 120 refresh rates or curved monitors. Therefore, we can safely conclude that you are in for a deal of a lifetime with the Acer KG241.
