Though the price wobbles up and down by the day, many retailers—including Amazon, Newegg, and TigerDirect—sell the Acer SB220Q for less than $100. (The MSRP is $124.99.) But this compact, general-purpose display doesn’t wobble itself, and it shows that “cheap” need not mean “shoddy.” It has a typical, basic feature range of a budget monitor, with a smaller screen than some users may be satisfied with. But its 21.5-inch IPS panel is amazingly thin, with very good color accuracy in the sRGB space. The SB220 is a good choice as a second monitor if you are space-strapped, and it is reasonably portable. For only a little more money, though, you can find 24-inch panels with a wider range of features.
The Skinny on Acer’s Hyper-Thin Monitor
Measuring 15.1 by 19.6 by 8.3 inches (HWD), and weighing 5.5 pounds, the SB220Q is both lightweight and very compact. Its dimensions don’t tell the whole story, as the figure for the depth or thickness of the monitor includes its base. And while the bottom third of the cabinet is more than an inch thick, the top two thirds of the screen is just under a quarter of an inch thick, making it one of the thinnest monitors we have reviewed. Its narrow bezels on the top and side help keep the monitor’s dimensions small for its screen size.
The SB220Q employs a 21.5-inch (measured diagonally) in-plane switching (IPS) panel with a full HD native resolution (aka 1080p, or 1,920 by 1,080 pixels), at a 16:9 widescreen aspect ratio. Pixel density is 102 pixels per inch (ppi), which is more than enough for everyday use. At a given resolution, the smaller the screen size and the higher the pixel density should mean (in theory, at least) the sharper the image. For a 27-inch 1080p monitor, such as the Philips 272E1CA Curved Frameless Monitor, the pixel density is already down to 82ppi. You wouldn’t want to go any larger than 27 inches with a 1080p monitor.
The SB220Q has wide viewing angles—rated at 178 degrees for both vertical and horizontal. I looked at the screen from extreme off-center angles, and I noted little skewing or softening of colors. Sometimes, on budget displays, you see big color shifts or posterization of portions of the image at these far-off angles; not here.
The stand is simple, comprising a circular base and a vertical shaft that connects to the bottom of the monitor. The stand’s ergonomics are also basic, leaving the SB220Q to support only tilt adjustment. You can tilt the top of the screen as much as 5 degrees toward you, or 15 degrees away. Most low-cost monitors support only tilt adjustment; one recently tested exception is the HP 24mh, which supports height, tilt, and pivot movements. The SB220Q lacks holes for a VESA mounting bracket.
The SB220Q supports a pixel refresh rate of up to 75Hz over an HDMI connection. It includes support for AMD’s FreeSync adaptive sync technology, which can sync the frame rate at which your game is running with the monitor’s refresh rate, to eliminate screen tearing and stuttering. This monitor doesn’t have the wicked-fast refresh rate of a true gaming monitor, and it lacks built-in speakers, but it should be fine for low-impact, casual gaming with a game console or from a computer.
Like with many under-$200 monitors, ports are limited to HDMI and VGA. The VGA port, which supports analog video, lets the SB220Q connect to an older computer, many of which don’t have HDMI ports. Should you want a larger selection of ports, look to the previously mentioned HP 24mh, which adds a DisplayPort connector and costs little more than the SB220Q itself. The Editors’ Choice-award-winning LG 24MP88HV-S sports two HDMI ports, so you can keep that monitor connected to both a computer and a gaming console or other video source.
All of the SB220Q’s ports are in back, facing outward. This configuration is the same as on the LG 24MP88HV-S and the Samsung 24-Inch CF396 Curved LED Monitor, and preferable to the less convenient downward-facing rear ports found on the Dell SE2419HR and many, many other displays. The HP 24mh also has downward-facing ports in back, but its pivot-capable stand lets you be at the monitor’s side and rotate it into portrait mode, revealing the otherwise hard-to-access ports.
Near the ports is a slot for a Kensington cable lock, a good feature for such a small monitor, especially if you plan to use or deploy it in a non-secured public space.
On the bottom right edge of the SB220Q is the power button, and to its left are five small buttons to control the onscreen display (OSD). The available picture modes include standard, graphics, movie, and three gaming modes. In general, the OSD had a wide range of settings, and is easy to navigate.
Acer backs the SB220Q with a three-year warranty, which is generous because of the monitor’s ultra-low price and the fact that most budget monitor makers only cover their displays for a single year, as we have recently seen with the Samsung CF396 and the HP 24mh. On the other hand, Philips backs its 272E1CA for a full four years, so it’s possible to do even better.
Testing the SB220Q: A Capable IPS Panel
I measured the SB220Q’s brightness, contrast ratio, and color coverage using Portrait Displays’ Calman 5 color calibration software, a Klein K10-A colorimeter, and a Murideo Six-G signal generator. In standard mode, its luminance came to 240 nits (candelas per meter squared), just below its rated 250-nit brightness. I measured its contrast ratio at 1,206:1, which is above par—as a rule, the rated contrast ratio for IPS monitors is usually 1,000:1.
Below is a color-accuracy or chromaticity chart of the sRGB color space—the standard color space used on the web and in many other applications—which was generated when testing the SB220Q in its standard mode. (Click here to see how we test monitors.)
As you can see, it covered an impressive 98.6% of sRGB, similar to the results of several budget monitors with IPS screens that we have tested. The area within the triangle represents all the colors that can be made by mixing the primary colors (red, green, and blue). The circles, representing my measurements, are on or just outside of the triangle, and are fairly evenly spaced.
I also did my usual ad-hoc testing, viewing several PC Labs-standard video clips, as well as our test suite of photos that we use to evaluate consumer panels. Photos looked sharp, and colors seemed accurate. The panel handled our movie clips well, with pleasing color and contrast.
How Small Do You Want to Go?
Tiny, with a hyper-thin screen, the Acer SB220Q is a good choice for a second monitor. It’s fine for occasional portable use, small enough to fit in a tight space like a dormitory or shoebox apartment as a primary monitor, and the price is hard to beat. Features are basic, even for a budget monitor. The image quality is a plus, like that of other small IPS monitors we have reviewed. Its three-year warranty is surprisingly long for a monitor at its price.
The SB220Q’s main drawback is its screen size, which is small by the standards of today’s panels between $100 and $150. Unless you really need a compact screen, we suggest you pay a little extra for a 24-inch monitor. For not much more money, the Editors’ Choice-winning HP 24mh offers a more robust feature set, including the addition of a DisplayPort connector, built-in 2-watt speakers, and a stand that adds both height and pivot control. Also for about the same price as the 24mh, the Samsung CF396, another award-winning display, has a curved screen and a joystick-type OSD controller, and it is unusually bright for a budget monitor.
