ViewSonic VX2475Smhl-4K 24-Inch UHD Monitor Review

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Packaging, Physical Layout And Accessories

The VX2475Smhl-4K arrived in a box barely bigger than the panel itself. However, it's reasonably well-protected from damage by the usual rigid Styrofoam and double-corrugated cardboard. If you get one through mail order, we suggest inspecting the contents if your carton looks damaged.

The cable bundle is fairly minimal; you only get an external power brick and an HDMI cable. You can use the monitor at its 3840x2160 native resolution over HDMI if your video card has a version 2.0 output. Also in the box is a CD containing the user manual and drivers. Printed materials include connection and assembly guides.

Product 360

The base and upright snap onto the back of the panel after they're assembled with a captive bolt. The stand is secure with a sufficient footprint to keep the monitor from tipping, but we found it a little wobbly. The lone adjustment is tilt and its hinge point is at the bottom of the panel rather than the center as we're accustomed to.

The VX2475Smhl-4K is nicely styled with a gloss-black bezel and a strip of clear plastic trim across the bottom. The border is a little wider than most at around three-quarters of an inch on the sides. The screen coating absorbs light very well without imparting grain or other artifacts. That's a good thing too considering the nearly 187ppi pixel density! Even though text in Windows is extremely small, it's perfectly legible. We turned the dpi scaling up to 150 percent for our hands-on tests.

OSD buttons are under the center of the bezel behind the aforementioned plastic trim strip. Small and rather difficult to see icons are molded in, telling you their function. We were able to operate by feel after a short while, but after being spoiled by the joystick controllers from BenQ and others, old-school keys like this are becoming so last year.

The side profile is reasonably slim at about 2.25 inches. You can see some nice styling cues in the way the power bulge tapers down to the edges and the vents form a nice curve. Sadly, there is no USB hub in evidence.

The soft curves are easier to see in this rear-panel photo. The finish is a brushed texture with the ViewSonic logo prominently displayed in white. You can see how the stand is anchored at the bottom rather than the center. This makes the whole package feel a little less solid. Fortunately, there is a 100mm VESA mount in the appropriate spot so you can use your own stand or bracket.

Inputs face downwards and consist of a single DisplayPort 1.2a and two HDMI 2.0 connectors. One of the HDMI connectors is MHL-compatible for easy hook-up of smartphones or tablets; and both will support the VX2475Smhl-4K's full native resolution with an appropriate graphics board. The far-right jack is a headphone output. There are small internal speakers that can play audio from either the HDMI or DP inputs.

Christian Eberle
Contributing Editor

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.

  • wtfxxxgp
    24" UHD monitor for gaming? Nope. Just nope. It's too small for me, I'm getting old.
    Reply
  • JeanLuc
    The pixel density of a 4K screen is about the same as a high end 1080p smart phone, the picture quality of this must be stunning.
    Reply
  • MasterMace
    Waiting on 60hz ips 2160p at $200 and 120hz ups 2160p at $350.
    Reply
  • xenol
    The pixel density of a 4K screen is about the same as a high end 1080p smart phone, the picture quality of this must be stunning.
    The monitor is half that, compared against a 6" phone. But at the viewing distances of a monitor, it may as well be effectively greater.
    Reply
  • Joseph Jasik
    Way too small, sorry.
    Reply
  • DisplayJunkie
    "nicely styled with a gloss-black bezel"

    Are you kidding me? Nicely styled? NO. Glossy black plastics are COMPLETE CRAP. They REFLECT the damn displayed image! This is ESPECIALLY horrible when it's used on bezels, it is EXTREMELY annoying.

    And glossy black plastics look terribly cheap.

    Not to mention black bezels reduces the perceived contrast ratio. Matte grays are the correct choice.

    Why do monitor manufacturers keep doing this?

    "Just" because of that, this monitor is immediately disqualified from my consideration.

    Reply
  • xenol
    24" UHD monitor for gaming? Nope. Just nope. It's too small for me, I'm getting old.
    You can think of it this way: you no longer have to deal with anti-aliasing of any kind!

    But then again 4K with no AA may as well be the same as 1080p with 4xMSAA (only not since MSAA is much cheaper than 4K still)
    Reply
  • nitrium
    I often wonder what the scalers are like in these things, i.e. if you run a resolution lower than native - something you may potentially be forced to do to get a playable framerate in gaming for example. Does it look absolute rubbish? How does 1080p look on these screens compared to 1080p on a screen with that as native resolution? Does it generally look better, worse or roughly the same? Are all scalers created equal? Would be very interested to read about this in future articles.
    Reply
  • chumly
    or you can get a 28" 4k from monoprice for $50 less.
    Reply
  • picture_perfect
    Here we go again.The best graphics card today will average 40 fps at this resolution. Check any current game. That means an awful gaming experience with judder, blur and lag. Scaling resolution down degrades picture / adds lag. So for gaming I will say NO.
    Reply