If you’re like most hardcore gamers, there’s a good chance you’ve spent a sizeable chunk of change on a high-end rig and need a monitor that can keep pace with all of that graphics horsepower. The BenQ RL2460HT ($249) is such a display, and unlike most gaming hardware, it’s relatively affordable. Boasting a speedy pixel response rate and minimal input lag, this 24-inch screen is well-suited to playing real-time strategy (RTS) and first-person shooter (FPS) games. The Twisted Nematic (TN) panel delivers good color and gray-scale performance, but it loses some luster when viewed from an angle. This model lacks the generous port selection found on our Editors’ Choice for midsize gaming monitors, the BenQ XL2420TX, but it is $300 less expensive, too.

Design and Features
The RL2460HT looks exactly like the BenQ RL2450HT( at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) that we reviewed a while back. The 1,920-by-1,080 TN panel is housed in a matte-black cabinet with red accents and is supported by a round base with a mounting arm that gives you 4.3 inches of height adjustment. The side of the arm is marked with a scale, making it easy to readjust the panel to your optimal height. The stand also provides 20 degrees of tilt adjustment and a 90-degree swivel range, and you can pivot the screen 90 degrees for Portrait mode viewing. The cabinet can be removed from the mounting arm and hung on a wall using the four VESA-compliant mounting holes and an optional mounting kit.

There are five function buttons and a Power button on the right side of the cabinet. The buttons use on-screen labeling to tell you which one to press for each function, making it very easy to navigate the Menu system. At the rear of the cabinet are two HDMI inputs and DVI and VGA inputs. There’s also an HDMI output that allows you to send an HDMI video signal to a second display. This comes in handy if you’re going head to head with another player and want separate screens for each player. The HDMI output is also useful for sending a video signal to a video-capture device without introducing lag, as it sends the stream after the signal has already gone through the display (most recording devices capture video before it hits the monitor). You don’t get any USB ports with the RL2460HT, but it does have a set of speakers, a headphone jack, and an audio input. The speakers aren’t very strong, and, because they lack bass, sound hollow.

There are loads of picture settings on the monitor. Those include the usual Standard, Movie, Photo, sRGB, and Eco picture modes. As with the BenQ XL2720Z( at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) and most other BenQ gaming displays, the RL2460HT offers additional gaming modes that are optimized for specific types of games, including two RTS modes, one FPS mode, and one Fighting mode. You can also use the three Gamer modes to create your own custom settings; simply change whatever image settings you want and save the new configuration as Gamer 1, Gamer 2, or Gamer 3. The Black Equalizer setting lets you enhance darker shades of gray without altering lighter shades, and a Low Blue Light setting helps reduce eye strain by decreasing the level of blue light emitted from the panel. As with all BenQ monitors, the RL2460HT comes with a three-year warranty on parts, labor, and backlight. It also ships with DVI, VGA, and HDMI cables.

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Performance
The RL2460HT did a fine job of reproducing dark shades of gray from the DisplayMate 64-Step Gray-Scale test, but there was a hint of clipping (wherein the lightest shades of gray suddenly go white rather than gradually transitioning to white) in the two lightest shades. My test images showed sharp shadow detail, and highlight detail was only slightly affected by the clipping.

See How We Test Monitors

Out-of-the-box color accuracy is also good, but not perfect. As shown on the chromaticity chart below, red and blue (represented by the colored dots) are right in their ideal zones (represented by the boxes) as determined by the CIE (International Commission on Illumination), but green is slightly skewed. Misaligned greens are not uncommon with TN monitors, especially low-cost models, and this flaw is so minor that it doesn’t affect overall color quality. I watched several scenes from Iron Man 3, and skin tones appeared natural, with no tinting. Moreover, colors were rich and evenly saturated.

The RL2460HT’s 1-millisecond (gray-to-gray) pixel response will appeal to discerning gamers, as will its 10.1-millisecond input lag. (We measure input lag, the amount of time it takes for the monitor to respond to a command from your keyboard or game controller, using a Leo Bodnar Lag Tester).

The action was smooth and blur-free while playing Aliens vs. Predator on the PC, and there was no noticeable lag while firing off rounds in Call of Duty: Black Ops on the XBox 360. Ghosting and motion blur were not an issue while tearing through the streets of Paradise City in Burnout Paradise on the Sony PlayStation 3 console.

The RL2460HT used 22 watts of power during testing while set to Standard mode. I measured power usage with all of the various gaming modes, and there was little change, but switching over to Eco mode knocked consumption down to 11 watts. However, the picture was consequently a little too dim. That said, its energy efficiency is similar to that of other 24-inch monitors we’ve reviewed, including the AOC i2473PWM( at Amazon)(Opens in a new window) (22 watts) and the NEC MultiSync EA244WMi($325.91 at Walmart)(Opens in a new window) (26 watts).

Conclusion
At a list price of just under $250, the BenQ RL2460HT is a good choice for gamers on a budget. Its solid gray-scale performance provides very good shadow detail, and it delivers rich colors and comes with a fully adjustable stand. Its off-axis viewing could be better, and a USB hub would be handy, but its fast pixel response and negligible lag time will give you an edge while playing games. If you’re into 3D gaming, however, check out our Editors’ Choice for midsize gaming monitors, the BenQ XL2420TX. It comes with everything you need to enjoy multi-dimensional gaming, and it has a USB hub, but its list price is $300 higher than the RL2460HT.