Monitors
AOC 24B3HA2 review: a 120 Hz 24 inch IPS monitor for a home office or a second screen
1080p, IPS, 120 Hz, built-in speakers, thin bezels. Nothing fancy, and that is the appeal. I bought this as a second screen for a laptop and it has been on my desk every working day since.
7/10
A no-fuss screen that is faster than it needs to be for office work. One HDMI port is the catch.
What you get
A 24 inch 1080p IPS panel is the sweet spot for a desk where you sit an arm's length away. Text is sharp enough, the viewing angles mean the colours do not shift when I lean back, and IPS at this size has been cheap for years. AOC has put a 120 Hz panel in here rather than the usual 75 Hz, and after a week of scrolling web pages at 120 Hz my laptop's own screen looks juddery.
The 4 ms response is fine for the casual gaming I do on it. Nobody is buying this for competitive shooters and nobody should. The three-side thin bezel means it sits neatly next to the laptop with no fat border between them.
The ports are the compromise
One HDMI 1.4 and a VGA port. That is it. HDMI 1.4 does 1080p at 120 Hz, so the refresh rate is not wasted, but when I wanted a desktop plugged in as well as the laptop, I ended up swapping the cable. No USB-C, no DisplayPort. For a single-machine desk that does not matter. It caught me out.
The built-in speakers are the usual monitor speakers. I use them for Teams calls and nothing else.
Who this suits
Someone setting up a home office, a student, a parent kitting out a kid's first PC, or anyone like me who wants a second screen next to a laptop. It does the job, costs little, and the 120 Hz is a nice surprise at the price. If you edit photos for a living, buy something with a wider colour gamut. If you just work and browse, this is plenty.
Images from the Amazon listing.
Good
- 120 Hz IPS at a budget price
- Thin bezels, easy to pair up
- Speakers built in for calls
- Light and simple to set up
Not so good
- Only one HDMI input, plus VGA
- No DisplayPort or USB-C
- 1080p, so not for large or colour-critical work
Should you buy it?
Buy it if you need a reliable 24 inch screen for work, study or a second display and want it smooth.
Skip it if you need to plug in two modern machines, or you do colour work.