MSI Optix MAG241CR Curved Gaming Monitor '23.6 Inch, Full HD, VA, 144Hz, 1ms, 1920x1080, 1500R, RGB Mystic Light, DisplayPort, 2x HDMI, 2x USB, Adjustable Stand, AMD FreeSync, G-Sync Compatible'

This is a great monitor moving from a 5 year old AOC 24" 1080 144hz monitor to this was a great move as the higher resolution and Gsync compatibility make a significant difference. I would have given this 4.5 stars tbh because the LED lights are pointless, the only way you would see them at night is in a totally dark room with a black screen they are really seriously dull which is a great shame, but as other reviewers say they are totally pointless waste of time and the money would have been better spent on USB 3 or something. I have a phillips Ambilight 4K TV and those LED's are amazing and really add to the viewing experience these really are a total waste of time. I'm not a great fan of the headset holder either its flimsy and there should be one on both sides. I'm still giving this 5/5 though as the refresh rate, resolution, G-sync compatibility and excellent 1ms screen without faults, not a dodgy pixel in sight make this a great monitor in all the really important aspects. Plus I quite like the curved screen but tbh you don't really notice it when either playing or in windows but one advantage seems to be light and colour uniformity which is excellent. So if you can get one at a good price I would recommend but don't if the LED lights are important to you as you will be very disappointed. Update, One thing I forgot to mention is the OSD display control, it is the best ever that I have used in 30 years of computing or you can use the MSI OSD Gaming software for additional functions both are brilliant but the little joystick on the back and menu system are a joy to use (excuse pun) and super vast and logical.

I sit in front of a screen all day in my job, and then like to do a bit of gaming too in the evening, so a quality display is a must. Up until now I've stuck with full HD (1080p) screens, but I finally decided it was time the upgrade to 1440p. Having read many, many reviews and agonised over the different display types, I went for this 1440p screen from msi. I've owned a few msi components in the past and I've always been happy with the quality, and this monitor is no exception. For me, this VA panel is a perfect combination of display quality for productivity, and speed/refresh rate for gaming.Out of the box, it feels really well put together with a robust metal stand and smooth height/tilt adjustment - although it can be VESA mounted if you prefer. Then turn it on and 'wow' what a display! If you're accustomed to working in 1080p then the 2560x1440 resolution is a real step up and gives you appreciably more desktop space. And this thing can go insanely bright. Sitting here typing this, my brightness is set to 60% and it's still plenty bright. Screen quality doesn't suffer either. The colours are nice and vivid with good contrast and there's no apparent banding or light bleeding issues. On top of that there were no dreaded dead/stuck pixels! So it definitely ticks the box as a quality general day to day monitor for productivity.On the gaming side it's also excellent. The 1ms response time and 144Hz refresh rate make for smooth gameplay, although I haven't had the opportunity to use the adaptive sync feature as my GPU doesn't support it (my next upgrade!) There's a couple of nice gaming focused features too - you can enable an on screen cross-hair to help with aiming and there's a pop-out headset hanger on the left hand side of the monitor. You can enable LED lighting on the rear too if you wish, although I personally don't see the point.Display settings can be configured either on screen using a very well designed joystick driven menu system, or by a desktop application which you can download from msi.Overall I'm delighted with the purchase and can happily recommend it without reservation. Well done msi!

To start, I upgraded to the MAG271CQR from a 24" 1080p @60Hz with an 80M:1 contrast ratio.Screen size was a welcome upgrade, if not a little overwhelming at first for someone used to a 24" monitor, and the curve helps when adjusting, and is very helpful when looking at the corners of the screen; it makes a difference, which actually suprised me a little... refresh rate wise, it was showing on the system as a 120hz monitor, as apposed to 144hz for some reason, but after a lot of faffing around, it decided to stay at 144hz (for some reason, not sure what I did but...) and it is noticably smoother than 60hz. I instantly noticed a huge difference, to the extent that when i use it for something that it locked the 60fps, everything seems unbaribly slow... Again, 2560x1440 is noticably better than 1080p, everything is alot clearer (and I thought I was happy with 1080p, until i tried this, of course)Unfortunatly, there are negetives, albeit understandable why they are there, in all cases. Firstly, the screen is suprisingly heavy, and stands quite tall, meaning that the stand (3 pronged design) sticks out fairly far away from the monitor, but I would rather work around that, than have a heavy monitor falling over all the time... Secondly, its only minor, but as other reviewers have quite rightly said, even in a dark room the "Mystic Light" on the back is quite litterally invisible unless looking directly at it, even when on maximum brightlness (and lets be honest, you dont spend £300 on a screen to look at the back of it), so if like me, you were hoping for it to provde even the slightest glow on a wall behind, you will be disapointed with that aspect of it. Lastly, and by far the most important negetive this i have to say about this monitor, is the color. With no obvious option for dithering, it is aweful for colour banding when displaying dark scenes, meaning that if you are looking to watch alot of films on this, or play games that often use a very low light, I am afraid I must warn you away from this, as even 3(ish) months in, I still get fairly pissed off regarding the banding, mainly when I am watching films.Overall if you are looking to move up a tier from a smaller 1080p 60hz monitor, this is definatly a viable option, unless its trade of regarding the colour quality sounds like a deal breaker. It is worth mensioning that due to how screens work, it is possible to have 2/3 when it comes to resolution, refresh rate, and high quality colour display. you are very unlikely to get a monitor that can tick all 3 boxes for a reasonable amount of money, so unless you can afford not to be picky, ask which one of the 3 you can do without; if its colour quality, this is the one for you.