I was shopping online and found a display that was cheap AND looks great. So the Acer ET241Y Thin Bezel shows us good design is possible at this price point. This 23.8 inch 1080p IPS monitor retails for 4 thousand nt, about 137 us dollars, though on Amazon it’s available for just 120. Terrific price for a 4 millisecond response panel with a static contrast of 1 thousand to 1. Great, great price for a stylized IPS monitor that looks amazing.The very sleek display is 3.9 kilos when assembled, so it’s just slightly heavier than others, and it’s got 100mm VESA mounts built into the middle bump which also houses the connections.
The very sleek Acer ET241Y is 3.9 kilos when assembled, so it’s just slightly heavier than others, and it’s got 100mm VESA mounts built into the middle bump which also houses the connections.
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The base is square and very sturdy
The base is square, angular, and is very sturdy, with a huge metal backplate and screw for attaching the post. The post is solid too, and feels that way. Next we need a power cable, and… Yeah, well, with a VGA cable, I guess not everything can be perfect. Let’s see an HDMI cable next time, Acer, okay?
Looking at the Acer ET241Y’s connectors, there’s an HDMI and VGA. Wait, what’s that? It’s an Audio In jack. That’s right, this monitor has built-in speakers. Although I’d counter that actually having an audio out may be more useful. Any added functionality at this price point is appreciated though.
Time for assembling the base. Yes, you all played with the toy when you were a kid where you had to match the shape to the hole. First you fit the back tab into the plate. With the tab at the bottom and its shape, as you can see it’s a bit tricky to fit it together. However I think that it needs to be manufactured to this tight tolerance in order to fit snugly and not wobble, so that’s a positive. Anyways, the panel slides down on the stand easily and locks. Nice sound. So it looks like this. I’ll grab that tape off the Acer logo, too.
There’s no front button markings because there’s no front buttons! Just this nice square blue power led. Instead, the buttons are all at the back, with just the power button having a symbol. I really like the brushed look of the middle bump, it looks metallic but it’s actually just plastic, it’s pretty cool what they can do when manufacturing these units.
$300 ASUS 4K VP28U for PC and PS4 console gaming? Bold & amazing!
The buttons on the Acer ET241Y are easy to press and responsive. Don’t worry about the shaking, as here I’m poking them for the camera but in real use your hand will be on the right hand side operating them with very little wobbling.
Turning on the monitor, the green Acer logo shows, although I wish it could have had a smooth fade on. Getting into the menu, as I said button operation doesn’t shake the screen much this way. Any of the four buttons trigger the menu bar, and because the layout fits your fingers, I use my ring finger to trigger the view modes. Just going through a few of the modes here.
I need to point out that while I criticized another display for not having a direct button to switch view modes, it makes sense here to have a menu layer as you can’t physically see them. This menu is more responsive also, which feels easier to use. Also, the volume adjustment is easy to get to.
On the Input menu, hard to see
Even in person and I have GOOD eyes. It’s only on this one menu, though. The Quick Start Mode is awesome, big ups to Acer for including a way to disable the logo on startup. Other manufacturers should take note of this. I found the button and menu system intuitive and actually much easier to operate than bottom type buttons, because your hand position is much more natural.
There’s gotta be something that needs improvement, right? Well, the shake test isn’t it. The base’s design absorbs the shake very well, kind of flexing slightly, and it stops quickly.
Next we go through the standard windows backdrops and the colors look very vibrant and pictures are rendered beautifully. Almost zero moire effect from my camera, of course in person, the screen looks perfect. Note that I’m showing you this on standard mode, on Eco mode contrast and color look the same, just dimmer. Nice functionality.
Acer ET241Y’s thin bezel
Oh yeah, this is what we’ve been waiting for, a super thin bezel, the part that goes around the screen. This one measures just 5 millimeters! So running two or three of these in surround will look really sweet. They also slimmed the whole unit with a screen depth of about 15 millimeters. This display went on a diet and came out shining, nice redesign, Acer.
The Acer ET241Y Thin Bezel page says the speakers are rated at 3 watts each, and though super small, you hear talking and highs, there’s just absolutely no lows. The base has a really nice design with a small ridge which actually provides some functionality as you could put pens or other small things on it and the ridge will prevent them from rolling off.
This Acer ET241Y Thin Bezel panel has a very nicely finished front face-plate, and matching back plastic, it’s very well made and is pretty rigid. It’s unfortunate that they didn’t keep a DVI input on for extra functionality.
I’m testing the output of my Lumix G7 down sampled 4K at 24 frames a second to 1080p24. Only some gaming monitors can accept this frame-rate, so no surprise that the budget end can’t, although this would have been really sweet on this panel.
I found the Acer ET241Y nicely capable of gaming, with a pristine picture and high refresh rate. So no noticeable ghosting or smearing during gameplay. Overall, very impressive for such a budget level monitor.
The Acer ET241Y Thin Bezel is the best looking thin bezel display on the market today. At 140 us dollars, on Amazon for just 120, it gives you the new gaming monitor feel without putting a hole in your wallet. With good menu button placement and control to adjust the screen, a high stem to support it, and the high quality look and finish, I’m happy to award this monitor a 10 on the meter.
When I first took the Acer ET241Y out of the box I was impressed by the look and feel of it. I’m usually going on about having DVI or another input, like dual HDMI, but considering the redesign of the whole body especially at this price point, I feel that this display definitely deserves earning the Techspin Platinum award, for it’s innovation in bringing thin bezels to the budget segment.
And although it doesn’t have a crazy high refresh rate like its bigger brothers, casual and daily gamers both should find this Acer ET241Y Thin Bezel suits their needs for a 24 inch monitor at this incredible bargain. If you pick one up, shopping through our affiliate links will help us here with no extra cost to you. And follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at techspinreview.
Acer has proven that an entry level monitor doesn’t have to sacrifice good design. It’s true you can always go up a tier or three into their gaming lines, but if you have the cash for this one, you can rest easy. If you want to get a very good monitor that can game, you’ll find what you’re looking for with this 24 inch display. Find something good, or want some tech reviewed? Join the discussion in the comments. Please take a second to hit Like, subscribe, the bell, and we often reply to your feedback so if you have a question, fire away. We really appreciate you watching this far, thanks for your time, and we’ll see you on the next. Bye for now.
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