Acer - SA230 23" IPS LED FHD Monitor - Black

Bottom line: The Acer SA230 is a great display that looks good at any angle. *** Note: the SA230 bi model does not include DVI input or speakers *** Pros: Thin and light design, excellent and immersive display Cons: AC power adapter, no VESA mounting option, round stand limits thin profile, settings menu a little clunky to operate Review: I was surprised how thin and light the monitor is when I pulled it out of the box. The screen is extremely thin, and even the bottom quarter of the display that houses the connectors isn’t much thicker. The frame around the display is also very thin, which creates an immersive experience for your content. The HD display itself is quite good. Colors are bright and vivid, and fast video motion looked particularly sharp. It’s also an IPS panel, so the images look great from a wide variety of viewing angles. The thin and light design does come with a few trade-offs. First, the power cable is divided into two parts: a grounded, 3 prong cord and an AC adapter (pretty much what you get to power a laptop). I suppose the power supply was moved outside of the display housing to reduce the size, but it also means the setup isn’t as clean as when you just plug the power cord into the display. Second, the display is so thin, it does not support VESA mounting. One design decision I found baffling is that the monitor has a round (circular) base. This requires much more depth on your desk than if the stand had been oval or wide-V shaped like some large screen televisions. In some ways, the stand negates the monitor’s thin profile. Setup was simple, but the Quick Start instructions were a bit confusing, since they were written and illustrated for a model with DVI input and speakers. Additionally, I found the on screen control menu (accessed via buttons under the front right bezel) difficult to use, as I kept pushing the wrong buttons.

I use this monitor as an external, larger HDMI monitor for laptop. It's perfect when you need lots of windows open.

There’s a lot to like about this desktop PC monitor. Two video inputs including HDMI and VGA. Tilt control, zero frame and fashionable, sturdy, round stand. Full HD 1080p display. 250 Nits. Size is ideal for folks who like two monitors side by side, on their desktop. This 23” monitor fits my small PC furniture well. Can’t use a 27” monitor because it’s too close to my face, which causes eye strain. I learned this by using 27” monitors at my local library. Full HD 1920x1080 is an improvement over what I was using. Very sharp and pleasing to my eyes. Love the thin, glossy black, light weight, modern profile. And a wide screen is preferred for productivity tasks. I do have to get used to such a thin profile. My old flat panel display is so thick and chunky looking. Also I wonder why Acer gives you a VGA monitor cable. Why not a HDMI one ? I do appreciate the three year warranty. Some monitors only have a one year warranty. Some Acer monitors are reported to have glare but this one doesn’t. Just so U know there is no direct sunlight where my two mini PC’s are. And the overhead light fixture has a diffuser cover. Noticed that when my Remix Mini PC is asleep, the monitor says “Cable Not Connected”. After I wake the PC, the display is normal and I see my desktop screen. So far I have connected a Remix Mini PC using HDMI to HDMI. Also currently using a HDMI to VGA video cable. On my Samsung S3 Chromebox (Celeron B840) I use a DVI to HDMI cable. All combinations work fine and add less than $15 to the cost of set up. Both mini PC’s sit on top of my PC furniture. Acer is a brand known for value and this monitor does not disappoint.

Bought this monitor to use in an arcade cabinet I was building. Quality monitor. Once is powered on initially it will turn on and off whenever you switch the power button on the cabinet making it ideal since you nice mounted inside the cabinet you won’t have access to the buttons on the monitor.

This monitor is full hd 1920 x 1080 which is acceptable resolution for those using it for basic tasks such as office and browsing.

The ACER SA230 is a 23" monitor that is a good value monitor for use as a secondary monitor or for a non-professional use monitor. The monitor itself is 23" and very thin and light. It's very basic and comes with one connector cord, a VGA connection but allows for use of HDMI and DVI as well if you supply the cable. It's very easy to setup with a non-adjustable stand that does not tilt or pan. The monitor is short and wide and will set that way on your table. If you don't like how it sits you will have to adjust it with a monitor stand just like in the earlier days of computing. Using the monitor itself reveals that it has a very vivid picture with really good color reproduction by default. The graphics on this monitor really pop and it does have a really nice display. The first thing I loaded up was some pictures of pumpkins in a Windows theme and the image really did look good. The text however on the monitor at the default resolution of 1920x1080 can sometimes, depending upon the website, appear somewhat fuzzy or blurry. It's nothing that is going to render any text unreadable but long periods of reading could mean you could end up with some eye fatigue and/or a slight headache. The menu system that the monitor uses is difficult to navigate and it took me quite a while to simply change some basic settings. I suppose I may have been spoiled by the excellent on-screen display of Viewsonic and Dell monitors but the entire process of just trying to change brightness on this monitor can be quite frustrating. One tip, keep a close eye on the screen near the bottom which will provide contextual help to navigation. There is also no explanation that I could find for some of the menu options or what they do. I could not find it in any onscreen help (there is none) nor could I find it in the sparse Acer manual which basically just tells you how to connect up the monitor and nothing else. Now the big question is would I recommend this monitor? Well, I would recommend this to anyone who is just looking for a cheap monitor that has excellent visuals of graphics for movies, light web surfing, picture viewing, etc. This is a good monitor for the kids room, a second computer or just an extra monitor on a multiple monitor setup (which is how I will use this monitor). If you plan to do much reading on your monitor I would look for something with a bit more clarity. I cannot recommend this monitor to anyone as a primary monitor because of the issues with the fuzzy text at the default resolution. Honestly there may be some menu setting or some way to adjust Windows to help alleviate this but I have yet to find it and do not plan to search for it as the monitor will suit my purposes just fine as a monitor to display videos and other background entertainment while I use my primary monitor for reading.

If you have the privilege to be working from home through this pandemic and you're lacking the equipment and you need 2 monitors then this is one of the best options. I've had these monitors since 2018 and they are still going strong. I purchased them when I started a new job at a private mortgage company as a processor and if you know anything about being a processor is that you need to use two screens for just about everything that you do. I purchased two of these monitors at Best Buy bc they were on sale for $90. I wanted something cheap and flat and wide enough so I can view everything I wanted to and these fit the bill. I chose these at the time bc I needed something cheap and something that was easy to s/u. Who knew 2 months and 13 days later I would be terminated by the mortgage company's president via text message. He originally told me that I could wfh and he would provide me with a laptop but he didn't so I went out and purchased these two monitors and the MS Surface Pro 2018. From the day I started, I did not take any time off. I would be asked to wfh bc I was salaried but he used that as a partial reason to terminate my employment. Fast forward two years and no jobs, I now work for one of the largest insurance company's in the Nation. I was hired as a processor for their Homeowner's Insurance Department. I just wanted a job that would provide me a solid career and stand the test of time during a pandemic like this one. I started in Feb 2020 and then on 3/30/20 we were all told to take our computers home- the Dell Optiplex 7050 which if you've worked for any corporations, you know this computer is a POC. The computer is about 6'x6" and didn't have anything but a whole bunch of USB, usb-c, display ports, and ethernet port. TBH, I thought the company was going to let me go since I was brand new to the company and they wouldn've lost that much money if they terminated me but they kept me on and I started working from home. I only had to bring home the computer itself which fit in my backpack along with my keyboard and mouse. I already had 2 monitors and wireless keyboard and mouse. I take it back, I was told to take home my headset. Most of my co-workers did not know what kind of internet they had, some did not even know how to connect to the internet, some had to pay for new service and everyone had to bring home their monitors from the office except for me since I already had two monitors and it was just too much trouble for me to bring home the company monitors bc they were big. I have to use a cheapo Logitech keyboard bc the computer didn't come with Bluetooth. I tried to buy a BT dongle for the work computer but it still did not work. It's ok. These monitors are better than my office monitors and just as wide and the resolution was just as clear. The only difference is that these monitors does not swivel and can't rotate to landscape. It also isn't compatible with the VESA mounts. I wished it did and I would be so happy with these monitors but I can't complain since I've been using them since 2018 on a daily basis. If you just need a monitor so that you can WFH and keep your job please consider these. It is well worth the money. I don't know if I would pay the current price but for $90/each I am more than happy. For 2yrs a computer or electric is considered to be obsolete or out of date but not this monitor. As you can see, they're still selling it and it costs more now then it did when I first bought them. Acer make good products and if you're on the fence, just go ahead and get it because if you're using it for work and you're just working with MS Word, Excel, PP and etc,. then this monitor will more than give you your money's worth. It's also got a 60mhz refresh rate and my son used to use one of my monitors when I wasn't using it to play on his XBOX 1S game and he said there was no lag. The only complaint is the fact it is missing the VESA mounting capabilities and speakers. Otherwise, these will be more than enough for any work related things you need to do. See below for photo's of both of the monitors that I purchased 2 yrs ago. I've been thinking about upgrading to an UW unit but since I have these two monitors and learned how to split the screens with my MX Master 3 mouse I really don't have a reason. These will continue to serve my needs and I will continue to use them as long as I can. You can barely notice the borders/chin and the branding is not overbearing. Good luck and stay safe!

I purchased this monitor recently when it was on sale for only $99 - screaming deal for the quality, performance, and features. And actually, I purchased 2 (two). After using it for a few days, I could recommend it for the original list price of $159 also. Out of the box, it was very easy to set up (VGA cord included, but not HDMI). Tools are not needed. It all snaps together and the main screw securing the base to the stand has a thumbscrew on it that was easy to use with my fingers. The monitors are very light but sturdy when set up. Pieces are good quality. Nothing jumped out at me as being too cheap or flimsy. It was all plug and play. The “frameless” screen looks good. The picture is great for what I need .... mostly email and spreadsheets. Everything is crisp and clear regardless of the resolution. I did watch a few videos and the picture was very good. There’s a ton of fine tune adjustments for color, warmth, position, etc... to get the picture perfect. I was impressed with how easy it was to use the built in controls. While the buttons are underneath the edge of the screen, the screen displays the buttons labels and lines them up with the buttons underneath making adjustments very easy. Definitely recommend this unit especially if you can find it on sale.