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Brightness and Contrast

To read about our monitor tests in-depth, check out Display Testing Explained: How We Test Monitors and TVs. We cover brightness and contrast testing on page two.

Acer XFA240

Aorus KD25F

HP Omen X 25f

Uncalibrated – Maximum Backlight Level

Today’s comparison group is all about speed and is made up of both 240 Hz and 144 Hz screens. The higher refresh rates belong to the HP Omen X 25f, Aorus KD25F and ViewSonic XG2530. Running at 144 Hz is the ViewSonic Elite XG240R and Acer XFA240. All are either 24 or 25-inch TN panels.

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High brightness is one of the XN253Q’s selling features, with it delivering a solid 400 nits max brightness in its default Standard picture mode. With the backlight maxed, black levels are a bit high at 0.4815 nit, with a resulting contrast ratio of just 831.4:1. We were initially disappointed by this result, but as we tested further, we found a silver lining.

After Calibration to 200 nits

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Calibration to our settings at 200 nits reduced contrast a bit further to 808:1. But the ANSI test reveals a better result, 942.9:1, a third place ranking in our comparison group and only a tad behind the leaders. Part of this is due to a hotspot in the center of our sample screen. We couldn’t see it with the naked eye, but our meter measured a difference. The checkerboard pattern we use to measure intra-image contrast doesn’t have a square in the center, hence the difference. ANSI contrast better represents real-world content, so games or videos on the XN253Q looks as good as on any other premium TN monitor.

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Christian Eberle is a Contributing Editor for Tom's Hardware US. He's a veteran reviewer of A/V equipment, specializing in monitors. Christian began his obsession with tech when he built his first PC in 1991, a 286 running DOS 3.0 at a blazing 12MHz. In 2006, he undertook training from the Imaging Science Foundation in video calibration and testing and thus started a passion for precise imaging that persists to this day. He is also a professional musician with a degree from the New England Conservatory as a classical bassoonist which he used to good effect as a performer with the West Point Army Band from 1987 to 2013. He enjoys watching movies and listening to high-end audio in his custom-built home theater and can be seen riding trails near his home on a race-ready ICE VTX recumbent trike. Christian enjoys the endless summer in Florida where he lives with his wife and Chihuahua and plays with orchestras around the state.

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