Acer SB241YA Review: Budget 1080p 75Hz FreeSync VA Monitor

The Acer SB241YA is an affordable 24″ 1080p VA monitor with FreeSync over HDMI support up to 75Hz, making it a good option for gamers on a budget.

Note that there are a few versions of the Acer SB241Y in the SB1 series:

	Panel	Audio
Acer SB241Y Abi	VA	N/A
Acer SB241Y Abmix	VA	2x2W, Headphone Jack
Acer SB241Y bi	IPS	N/A
Acer SB241Y bmix	IPS	2x2W, Headphone Jack

The model in this review is the Acer SB241Y Abi, which we’ve shortened to SB241YA.

Image Quality

Based on a VA (Vertical Alignment) panel, the Acer SB241Y A offers a high 3,000:1 static contrast ratio for deep blacks. Indeed, IPS monitors, which usually have a contrast ratio of around 1,000:1, have grayish blacks in comparison!

On top of that, there’s no IPS glow, which along with the high contrast ratio makes for a more immersive viewing experience, especially in dark rooms.

However, VA monitors don’t have quite as wide viewing angles as IPS panels. You will be able to notice minor gamma and saturation shifts on the Acer SB241YA at certain angles, but it’s not an issue for everyday use.

If you do color-critical work, then IPS is the way to go due to better image consistency.

The Acer SB241YA monitor covers 72% of the NTSC color space, which is equivalent to around 100% sRGB gamut size. This doesn’t mean that it covers 100% of the sRGB color space as there will be undercoverage at some places and extending beyond the gamut at other places.

Overall, the sRGB coverage will vary from unit to unit, but you can expect around 95% sRGB color space coverage, which is expected from a budget monitor and the difference between 95% and 100% sRGB coverage is not really noticeable.

Moving on, the Acer SB241Y-A has a peak brightness of 250-nits.

It can get more than bright enough under normal lighting conditions, but if you’re in a particularly bright room (studio lights, screen facing a big window, etc.), it won’t be able to get bright enough to mitigate glare, in which case you’ll need to dim the lights or get a brighter screen.

The 1920×1080 Full HD resolution results in a decent pixel density of 92 PPI (pixels per inch) on the 23.8″ viewable screen of the monitor. You get reasonably sharp text and fine details without having to use any scaling. In comparison, a 27″ monitor with Full HD resolution looks noticeably worse with pixely details (.

Performance

The Acer SB241YA supports AMD FreeSync with a 48-75Hz variable refresh rate range.

Since the monitor only has HDMI and VGA ports, VRR only works with compatible AMD Radeon GPUs and Xbox consoles.

VRR synchronizes the monitor’s refresh rate to GPU’s frame rates and thus prevents screen tearing at imperceptible input lag penalty. So, as long as your frame rate is within the supported range, you won’t get any screen tearing. Below 48FPS, VRR stops working until your FPS recovers.

Using CRU (Custom Resolution Utility), you might be able to extend the range to ~40-75Hz, however, your mileage will vary depending on your unit.

A 75Hz refresh rate provides a small but noticeable boost in motion clarity as opposed to 60Hz displays, but in order to actually feel the difference, you must also be able to maintain 75FPS!

There are three response time overdrive modes: Off, Normal and Extreme. We recommend leaving this option at ‘Normal’ for the best performance.

While VA monitors usually have noticeable ghosting behind fast-moving objects, 75Hz doesn’t require the pixels to change as fast as higher refresh rates, so there won’t be nearly as much ghosting or dark-level smearing on the SB241YA.

Input lag performance is excellent as well with ~10ms of delay, which is imperceptible.

The monitor also supports VRB (Visual Response Boost), which uses backlight strobing to reduce perceived motion blur at a cost of picture brightness, but it can’t be active at the same time as FreeSync.

Finally, the backlight of the monitor is flicker-free (unless VRB is enabled) and there’s a low-blue light filter mode.

Features

Beneath the bottom bezel of the screen, you will find a power button and five hotkeys for navigation through the OSD (On-Screen Display) menu.

Useful gaming features include Black Boost (improves visibility in dark scenes), a refresh rate tracker and various picture presets, including three customizable profiles.

Besides the standard image adjustments (brightness, contrast, color temperature, etc.), the Acer SB241YA also offers 6-axis hue/saturation, Auto Source (input detection), aspect ratio control (full and aspect) and gamma presets.

We also recommend leaving ACM and Super Sharpness options disabled for optimal image quality.

Design & Connectivity

The stand of the monitor is tilt-only and the screen is not VESA mount compatible, but it has a matte anti-glare coating against reflections.

Connectivity options include one HDMI 1.4 port (75Hz) and a VGA port (60Hz). Note that the product image for the SB241Y Abi on Amazon shows audio jacks, but this model doesn’t have any!

Acer’s SB0 and SB1 series consists of many budget 1080p 75Hz monitors with similar names, so here’s a quick summary:

	Size	Panel
Acer SB220Q bi	22”	IPS
Acer SB230 Bbix	23”	IPS
Acer SB240Y Bbix	24”	IPS
Acer SB270 Bbix	27”	IPS
Acer SB241Y Abi	24”	VA
Acer SB241Y Abmix	24”	VA
Acer SB241Y bi	24”	IPS
Acer SB241Y bmix	24”	IPS
Acer SB271 bi	27”	IPS

Price & Similar Monitors

The Acer SB241YA price ranges from $100 to $130. We recommend the Acer SH242Y Ebmihx. It offers a higher 100Hz refresh rate at the same price.

Nowadays, you can also find 144Hz+ gaming monitors for under $150, so be sure to check out our best monitors under $150 guide.

Conclusion

Overall, the Acer SB241YA is a decent budget monitor, but there are plenty of similar options at this price range, so to get the best value for your money, check out which models are on sale.

For gamers, we highly recommend investing in a 144Hz display though!

Specifications

Screen Size	23.8-inch
Resolution	1920×1080 (Full HD)
Panel Type	VA
Aspect Ratio	16:9 (Widescreen)
Refresh Rate	75Hz
Response Time (GtG)	Not specified
Response Time (VRB)	1ms (MPRT)
Adaptive-Sync	FreeSync (48-75Hz)
Ports	HDMI 1.4, VGA
Brightness	250 cd/m²
Contrast Ratio	3000:1 (static)
Colors	16.7 million (6-bit + FRC)