HP X24c Gaming Monitor Promises Extra Curves and Contrast for $250

HP is embracing the curvier side of gaming monitors with the HP X24c, announced today. The 24-incher will etch a small mark in HP’s history by boasting the deepest curvature an HP display has ever had. Debuting at $250, it’ll compete with the best gaming monitors in the budget category when it arrives this fall. 

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With a 1500R curve, the HP X24c is the most curved monitor in HP’s lineup, but not on the market. Samsung’s 1000R T55 monitors are available in 27-inch and 32-inch sizes (the 24-inch doesn’t seem readily available in the U.S. yet). And at CES 2020 in January, we even saw a number of 1000R curvature displays announced, including the Samsung Odyssey G9 and G7 monitors and MSI’s 38-inch MEG381CQR.

Still, HP is promising plenty of immersion with its upcoming curved display, which helps players see more of their game’s world in their peripheral view. During a press briefing, HP pointed to combined 2019 data from the NPD and Gfk research firms indicating that curved monitors represented 29% of the gaming monitor market (monitors with a refresh rate greater than 100 Hz) worldwide in Q4 2017 and 63% of the market in Q2 2019. 

HP X24c Specs

To fight screen tearing, input latency and stuttering, HP opted for AMD FreeSync Premium, the middle child of AMD’s Adaptive-Sync, sitting between standard FreeSync and FreeSync Premium Pro. While FreeSync promises a tear-free, low-flicker gaming experience with low latency, FreeSync Premium adds the guarantee of low framerate compensation, which makes up for low frame rates by displaying frames multiple times, and also requires the monitor to hit a refresh rate of at least 120 Hz at 1080p resolution.The HP X24c surpasses that last requirement with a speedier 144 Hz refresh rate. 

While we won’t know for sure unless we put the HP X24c through our PC monitor benchmarks,   games should look good on the monitor. Its VA panel promises higher contrast than TN or IPS counterparts, with HP speccing the monitor with a 3,000:1 contrast ratio. We consider contrast to be the most important factor in image quality, and with many gaming monitors at 1,000:1 the 3,000:1 X24c sounds promising. However, HP didn’t provide color gamut details.

Gamers looking for a value-priced gaming monitor this fall will likely come across the HP X24c. With some strong 27-inch monitors, like the MSI Optix G27C4 (1500R) and Pixio PXC273 (1800r), going from $200 or under as of writing, the smaller display will have to depend on its upgrade to FreeSync Premium, 300-nit brightness (the MSI and Pixio are stuck at 250 nits) and HP’s reputation.