Acer 21.5 Inch Full HD (1920 x 1080) IPS Ultra-Thin Zero Frame Computer Monitor (HDMI & VGA Port), SB220Q bi

This review is for the SB220Q series (1920x1080) 75Hz monitor variant. At a $90 price point as of July 2020, all of the praise this monitor has gotten and continues to get is pretty well deserved. Right out of the box the factory calibration is pretty awful as with most TVs and monitors (I’ll never understand why that is), but Acer’s built-in menu gives you a wide range of control to tweak the image quality to your liking. Here are some of the most noticeable Pros & Cons after using this monitor daily for the past three weeks: PROS: - The colors can be very vibrant and the sharpness makes everything nice and crisp both up close and from a distance without going overboard. Although the spec sheet does not specify the exact Adobe or sRGB color gamut range, it does have a stated 72% NTSC coverage (keep in mind that the NTSC color gamut has the highest level of color reproduction), which would imply that it should have close to 100% sRGB coverage. This is pretty standard for most sub $200 monitors (note: the unit that TechSpot tested came in at around 93% of sRGB coverage mostly losing detail in the green range so your unit’s reproduction may vary). The 6-bits + FRC (equal to 8-bits) color depth is also an industry standard for entry level monitors and is completely fine for casual use. - This montior’s “100,000,000:1” Dynamic Contrast Ratio (DCR) (non-standardized measure of contrast for videos) definitely seems to outperform my other slightly more expensive budget IPS monitors (the HP VH240a and ViewSonic VS2412-H) that only have 20,000,000:1 and 50,000,000:1 contrast ratios respectively. However, note that it still has an industry standard 1000:1 Static Contrast Ratio (measure for non-moving images) which isn’t great but is perfectly acceptable for casual viewing since only the highest tiered ($400+) IPS panels exceed that point with 1,500:1 being the maximum native contrast typically achievable with an IPS. ~ A quick side note about that “100,000,000:1” DCR number: there is no industry standard methodology for this particular measurement so the number itself is mostly useless marketing fluff. But as I noted, compared to the two other monitors with the same industry standard SCR, this monitor did seem to outperform them both in that area. - Its 102 PPI pixel density actually makes a subtle difference in image quality when viewing up close compared to my 24 inch 1080p monitors that have a 92 PPI. Text seems to be a bit smoother in comparison. This is purely an advantage of having the smaller 21.5 inch screen. - The Color Adjustment Menu allows you to adjust both the RGB and CMY gains, bias, hues, and saturation levels to get a better color balance. - The Picture Menu lets you adjust the screen’s brightness, contrast, gamma, and blackness (“black boost”) levels while also providing a ‘blue light’, ‘adaptive constrast’ (ACM), and a ‘Super Sharpness’ on/off switch. - The Game Menu has FreeSync (for AMD GPUs) and Overdrive options CONS: - The bezels are a bit thicker than I woud’ve liked (they’re about 1 cm on the top, left, and right sides) making the frameless design nothing more than a gimmick. - The top-down viewing angle is noticeably darker compared to looking at the screen head on. - Despite having a good DCR of 100M:1, the blacks are still a bit too bright for watching anything with heavy dark scenes since the display itself does not have any HDR capabilities with high contrast control zones aka local dimming (to be fair, this is completely expected at this $90 price point and is only being mentioned as reference for those that may be thinking of using this monitor to watch TV/movies). - The Picture Menu’s ‘Super Sharpness’ option is just an on/off switch; it does not give you a more granular adjustment control over the amount of sharpness to apply. - Even with all of the image quality adjustment options available in the settings, the whites remain on the slightly warmer side of the color temperature chart. It’s not that noticeable when viewing on this monitor alone, but the difference can be seen if you have another slightly cooler display adjacent to it. This is most likely just an issue with my particular unit since other reviews have noted their unit had a more neutral or “near perfect” white temp. - It only has a paltry 15° degree back tilt compared to most other budget monitors being able to tilt closer to 30° degrees (this is super nitpicky as compromises are to be expected at a sub $100 price point). - The Power button is completely indistinguishable from the rest of the menu buttons (both in shape and spacing). Overall, if you’re looking for a nice quality budget monitor to look at spreadsheets, word documents, and do some internet browsing or even some light casual gaming, then this is a great choice. If you are a competitive gamer, photographer, professional editor, or a content creator then you’ll obviously need to invest in a higher spec monitor.

My laptop screen finally burned out and I needed a quick but still decent solution since a whole new computer is out of budget right now. Boy, did I luck out finding this! At 22 its about a 5 upgrade from the original screen in roughly the same footprint on my desk. And wow is it SHARP... and BRIGHT! I can now sit back further from my desk without straining my eyes while editing photos, reading, and watching videos. Since Im not a hardcore gamer I cant speak to its performance in that regard, except to say that emulated DOOM ran perfectly smooth and looked great on it :-D My only real gripe is that the buttons for power, display settings, etc are located under the bottom edge of the screen, which is really inconvenient, and theres no labeling or anything on the front edge to correspond to which button is which, so until you learn the layout by muscle memory, you might have to do like i did and keep the diagram from the manual as a cheat sheet. Once you get into the menus, however, there are plenty of options to tweak to your hearts content. I really like that theres a blue light setting for working at night or when you just want to give your eyes a break (obviously, you wouldnt want this on if youre editing photos, but for reading its fantastic). Theres also a display widget for certain models that you can download from the Acer website that gives you point-and-click desktop access to some of these adjustments without having to use the monitor buttons. A nice touch, but it would be nice if ALL the features could be accessed through the widget as well. Setup is plug-and-play; I literally had this out of the box and ready to go within minutes (you will need to supply your own HDMI cable if you dont have one; only a VGA cable is included). Apparently some models have built-in audio; I can tell you that the SB220Q that I have does NOT have audio out, so you will need external speakers to run the sound from your system out to if thats an issue. VERY happy with this value monitor!

Needed another screen for work and it works perfectly, without breaking the bank.

Solid monitor overall but, as you can see from the picture, quality control for the stand is lacking. The picture compares my perfectly straight LG and this “leaning forward” Acer. As the title says, the LG is 4k and over $400. The Acer is 1080p and under $100. Lack of attention to detail like that is disappointing, especially because they messed up the least costly component and it sort of spoils the whole thing.

First things first: please treat this review as a 3.5 star, which is what I would rate it if Amazon allowed me to. My main issue with this screen is that it has to be the sorriest excuse of an IPS/AHVA/PLS panel Ive ever seen. The viewing angles are actually so bad for left/right that there is only a very small position where I can leave my head so that there is no discolouration on the sides, worse than any TN panel Ive ever seen. Also, it looks like there is a lot of excess light directly off center to your heads position, as if there is backlight bleed that shifts as you move your head left and right while staring at the screen. Since this was purchased to be my second monitor, it isnt that big of a problem to ME specifically... but it also means its impossible to keep my head in the perfect position, due to it being off-center to me. I actually had to tilt the screen somewhat sideways (instead of being flush next to my main monitor) so that the sides would mostly look normal in terms of colour. Now I WILL admit that it is possible this is a defect with my actual screen, possibly some problem with backlight bleed or something, but since this is my only sample size, I must rate it accordingly. If Acer has a problem with my statements, they should step up their quality control game and not let a monitor like this pass inspection for sale. Now, the good! For a breakdown, Ive rated this a 4/5 for gaming, 3/5 for picture quality, and 5/5 for brightness, heres my take on each: - The input lag is quite low; there is no system lag while working on it. Being above 60Hz also gives it a solid edge for gamers. Gamers generally care less about viewing angle issues like what I described, so as a gaming screen this should not be too bad. Unfortunately I still cannot ignore the viewing angle problem due to how bad it is, and I will never rate any screen below 120Hz as 5 stars for gaming, so it settles at 4. - Picture quality is actually quite good. The contrast is great and the colours very crisp - if the viewing angles and backlight shenanigans were a non-issue i would probably even rate this 5 stars (largely considering the price), but alas, 3 stars. - For brightness, its certainly bright enough for my needs, though Ive not used it in direct sunlight. The anti-glare works well and it keeps its picture quality and visibility perfectly fine even with a flashlight shone at it. I cannot ask for more, so full marks here. All in all, for $90 I cannot truly complain. It does its job of being a screen for discord, watching videos/anime, and handling my stream alerts/notifications. Its light and easy to set up, the on/standby light is not bright yet still well visible, so not distracting in a dark room. Unfortunately viewing angle issue and discolouration it produces ALONE is enough for me to say consider other options, but the rest of the screen pulls it up a bit. If this is going to be your main monitor, and you are not someone who does little but game on your computer? Stay far away. If you need a cheap, decent screen for gaming or this is going to be a low-importance second monitor? Id say its up for consideration, if only because its 75Hz at this price point.

this is an amazing little monitor for how expensive it is. its not super flashy or fancy but it gets the job done. super sleek and looks clean

works well

Just what we needed.

The display is clear and crisp, providing great color and contrast. Its also very easy to set up and use. The build quality is solid and the screen is lightweight, making it easy to move around. Overall, a great value for the price.

Picture quality is Great, but I would like the sound to be louder.