LG 24GM77 24-Inch 144Hz Gaming Monitor Review

Introduction

With many gamers waiting for AMD's FreeSync initiative to bear fruit or cheaper G-Sync-capable monitors to show up, it’s easy to forget that the prices for high-speed screens without those features are dropping to saner levels. A year ago, 144Hz displays in the 24-inch form factor were selling around $400. That was quite a premium when 60Hz panels went for $200 or less.

Today we’re looking at one such display – LG’s 24GM77. It won't sync to the output of your graphics card, but it does have many other features that will be of interest to gamers. In addition to a maximum refresh of 144Hz, you get an excellent blur-reduction option called Motion 240. There’s also a Black Stabilizer gamma control to aid in shadow detail rendering. If you like to change your picture to suit particular titles, there are six gaming modes that do just that. Finally, there’s a Dynamic Action Sync (DAS) option purported to cut input lag in half.

Like almost every other high-speed screen out there, the 24GM77 employs a TN-based panel. Naturally, this one uses a part manufactured by LG. It offers high brightness, an 8-bit color depth and again, refresh rates as high as 144Hz. The only capabilities gamers will miss are Nvidia's G-Sync and AMD's FreeSync technologies. We’ve already seen several monitors with G-Sync, and are starting to receive FreeSync-capable displays.

The white LED backlight dispenses with PWM (pulse-width modulation), which can cause flicker for some users, and exposes an excellent blur-reduction feature called Motion 240. We’re usually guarded in our opinions of backlight strobing because it can significantly reduce light output. Here, LG chooses to omit any sort of pulse-width adjustment, but it isn't missed. Our contrast tests show a mere 15-percent reduction in peak white level when Motion 240 is turned on.

Of course, the main reason to buy a monitor like this one is speed. Running at 120 or 144Hz means there is very little motion blur, even without backlight strobing. Also, you're able to enjoy the full performance of your high-end graphics hardware with v-sync turned on. Variable refresh technologies are great, but at the very least you need a monitor that won't limit your frame rates.

The 24GM77’s most attractive feature, in our opinion, is its price tag. Selling for around $300, it represents a good deal when G-Sync adds at least $100 to the cost of a 24-inch monitor. All we need to see now is good color accuracy, and that’s where our benchmark tests do the talking.

Correction: This article was updated at 2:15 pm ET to include the proper proper size of the monitor — 24-inches, not 27.