Monoprice WQHD 2560×1440 144Hz Monitor Review

The new Monoprice 27-inch monitor with FreeSync Technology offers a lot in an attractive package at a reasonable price. After spending a month testing it out with the MacBook Pro and recently with the Xbox One X, here’s what I learned about this monitor.

While Monoprice is best known as the go to source for great deals on cables and accessories, they also standout when it comes to monitors and speakers that come with their house brand.

This review is for the 27-inch WQHD 2560x1440p AHVA 144Hz Ultra Slim Aluminum Monitor, also listed as product number 24657 on the Monoprice website. This slim, attractive looking monitor performs well, but it isn’t perfect.

[letsreview]

At $399, you get a monitor that comes with a Pixel Perfect Guarantee and you can get two of them for your system at about the price you would pay for one 2k 144Hz monitor from a brand like Acer.

This is an IPS display with great viewing angles and support for 2560×1440 resolution at 144Hz with no need to mess around with any settings or options. When plugged into our MacBook Pro with a USB C to Display port adapter and a DisplayPort cable or plugged into the Xbox One X both systems instantly saw it as a 2K monitor and the MacBook went to 144Hz. Even at a 2K resolution this monitor delivered a ton of real estate to get to work on, play games and watch movies.

You’ll need to turn on FreeSync in the menu, but once that is enabled you should be good to go if your system supports it. This helps deliver smoother and better looking graphics while playing PC Games. While playing the Xbox One X on it we didn’t run into any noticeable input lag.

The monitor does a good job of displaying colors. Out of the box there is very little saturation compared to a Samsung monitor or even the MacBook Pro 15 display. There are several default monitor settings for different game modes as well as watching movies. I increased the saturation and it delivered just the look I wanted to really bring out the greens and reds to our liking. If you prefer a more neutral look that’s what you’ll get instantly, but the menu will allow you to change the profile to match your needs perfectly. I was very impressed with the color and with the viewing angles on this display. There is no support for HDR on this monitor.

According to Monoprice the AH-VA Glass panel is from LG, and it is backed by their pixel perfect guarantee. That means if there is even one dead pixel on the screen during the first year, Monoprice will replace the display.

The display is sleek and modern looking with a front facing aluminum trim and sturdy stand. The monitor is very thin, and quite light. The stand only allows you to tilt the screen back or forward. There is no height adjustment and the stand isn’t tall enough for our liking. Thankfully there is support for 100×100 VESA mounting so you can quickly mount this on arm to get it just right.

There are plenty of ports with Dual-Link DVI-D, DisplayPort 1.2a with AMD’s FreeSync technology, and two HDMI inputs. There is also a 3.5mm jack to connect speakers or headphones to. There are no built-in speakers in this monitor.

The joystick controls for the menu are somewhat frustrating to use as it is very easy to turn off the display while you are trying to change settings. Many monitors use the same system, but it’s an area where we’d love to see improvement.

Users looking for an affordable 2K monitor with Freesync need to check out this Monoprice monitor for $399. There is also a 24-inch version for $349.