The basic requirement of a good monitor choice for gaming or any other task, such as content creation, streaming, or general use, would be finding a balance in performance and versatility. Most gamers should want high refresh rates combined with low response times, ideally features such as G-Sync or FreeSync, for any form of great game experience. For other things, though, you may care about screen size, resolution, color accuracy-things that make a real difference in multitasking, playing your media, or working through edit and other creative task. Whether it’s fast-paced gaming, something intended to be used for various purposes, or just something you use rarely, the secret is finding one which exactly fits your needs and budget.

With this in mind, let’s review one of the best budget gaming monitors from ASUS, the ASUS TUF GAMING VG249Q3A Gaming Monitor, if it provides excellent specifications but also offers a solid build quality and an attractive design, that will make it an ideal choice for both gamers and professionals alike.

Specifications:

Display	Panel Size (inch) : 23.8 Aspect Ratio : 16:9 Display Viewing Area (H x V) : 527.04 x 296.46 mm Display Surface : Non-Glare Backlight Type : LED Panel Type : IPS Viewing Angle (CR≧10, H/V) : 178°/ 178° Pixel Pitch : 0.2745mm Resolution : 1920×1080 Color Space (sRGB) : 99% Brightness (Typ.) : 250cd/㎡ Contrast Ratio (Typ.) : 1000:1 Display Colors : 16.7M Response Time : 1ms(GTG) Refresh Rate (Max) : 180Hz Flicker-free : Yes
Video Feature	Trace Free Technology : Yes GameVisual : Yes Color Temp. Selection : Yes(4 modes) GamePlus : Yes HDCP : Yes, 2.2 Extreme Low Motion Blur : Yes VRR Technology : Yes (Adaptive-Sync) GameFast Input technology : Yes Shadow Boost : Yes DisplayWidget : Yes, DisplayWidget Center Low Blue Light : Yes
Audio Feature	Speaker : Yes(2Wx2)
I/O Ports	DisplayPort 1.2 x 1 HDMI(v2.0) x 2 Earphone Jack : Yes
Signal Frequency	Digital Signal Frequency : DisplayPort: 250~250 KHz(H) / 48~180 Hz (V) HDMI: 30~225 KHz (H) / 48~180 Hz (V)
Power Consumption	Power Consumption : <18W Power Saving Mode : <0.5W Power Off Mode : <0.3W Voltage : 100-240V, 50/60Hz
Mechanical Design	Tilt : Yes (+23° ~ -5°) Height Adjustment : No VESA Wall Mounting : 100x100mm Kensington Lock : Yes
Dimensions (Esti.)	Phys. Dimension (W x H x D) : 54.10 x 39.40 x 17.40 cm (21.30″ x 15.51″ x 6.85″) Phys. Dimension without Stand (W x H x D) : 54.10 x 32.30 x 5.80 cm (21.30″ x 12.72″ x 2.28″) Box Dimension (W x H x D) : 60.00 x 40.50 x 16.80 cm (23.62″ x 15.94″ x 6.61″)
Weight (Esti.)	Net Weight : 3.5 kg (7.72 lbs) Net Weight without Stand : 2.9 kg (6.39 lbs) Gross Weight : 5.5 kg (12.13 lbs)
Accessories (vary by regions)	DisplayPort cable HDMI cable Power cord Quick start guide Warranty Card
Certificate	TÜV Flicker-free TÜV Low Blue Light AMD FreeSync Premium FSC MIX

Closer Look

The packaging arrives in a minimalist cardboard box that emphasizes functionality over flashy designs. It shows key specifications and features.

Inside the box you will find the following; Power Cable, Display Port Cable, and HDMI Cable.

You will have the ASUS VIP Member Notice and Quick Start Guide.

The monitor arm, 4 monitor screws and the monitor stand.

Lastly, the Monitor itself.

There is also a sticker on the top right corner of the monitor that shows the model and some features.

The monitor is mostly black with some edgy design to have the modern look. It also has the ASUS and TUF GAMING branding.

Near the TUF GAMING logo is the VESA Mounting (100x100mm) holes if you have plans to use a monitor arm.

For the input ports it has 2 HDMI 2.0 Ports, 1 Display Port and 1 Audio Port.

At the left side of the monitor, you will find the Power Port.

On the left most part of the monitor (if you are facing the back) you will find the OSD Joystick and Buttons.

The monitor’s tilting angle is limited to 23° (as shown in the pictures), restricting its usability at different positions. I recommend using a monitor arm for better positioning.

OSD

The TUF Gaming color scheme is followed for the On-Screen Display of the monitor. A various choice of options in the OSD enables the use of different options by users to tailor their preferences according to preferred convenience. Options include Gaming Options, Image Adjustments, Input Selection, and Favorites.

The Gaming option provides you with customized settings to help you in achieving the very best performance for your desired gaming scenario, where your views are not just beautiful but also silky smooth while in that intense gaming and turning On or Off ELMB. On the other hand, the Image Color control gives you a chance to focus on hue, saturation, and brightness levels, which will allow you to get the most pleasing image quality suited for both game playing and media consumption.

Input Selection makes it effortless to switch between multiple devices that are connected, so it transitions pretty easily from a gaming console to a PC and any other kind of input source. Plus, Favorites saves your most-used settings so you’re ready to dive right in and can save you a lot of time when setting up and fine-tuning.

All these options are fully customizable, so you can easily tweak and change settings to meet your specific requirements. It is designed to improve your experience on this particular monitor with OSD user-friendly and efficient for making the necessary adjustments.

User Experience

Viewing angles are still good, so you’ll have a satisfactorily nice experience with this monitor from different positions. Even if you’re the type of person who looks to the left or to the right of the screen, the colors won’t be distorted but a bit dark. So it is well-suited for group viewing, where several persons will look at the monitor from different points with rather identical qualities of display.

This monitor is really just an IPS Display. IPS technology boasts great color reproduction and consistency. However, when speaking of producing true blacks, it is a negative characteristic. The blacks are not fully black because of the inherent limitations of the IPS panels, and thus, there is a very minimal amount of backlight bleeding. This means that in darker scenes or during late-night usage, there may be a light bleed around the edges.

It comes with built-in speakers, handy as they are for casual use like streaming videos or playing games without having to worry about separate audio equipment. In my experience, this monitor however brings in a lesser max volume output compared to that of the ASUS VP249QGR Monitor.

ELMB Option

For those who doesn’t know what’s ELMB. ELMB stands for Extreme Low Motion Blur an ASUS’ proprietary technology made to reduce eye tracking motion blur. It is a form of backlight strobing technology. The key idea behind ELMB is to provide smoother and clearer motion during rapid movements in games, improving visual clarity for gamers.

One of the downsides of this monitor is the low brightness of 250 nits. So, when you turned on ELMB then it will be darker. As shown on the image above.

Conclusion

My gaming experience with this monitor has been pretty positive overall. I can say that, for me, there isn’t a drastic difference between a 144Hz and a 180Hz monitor, though I do appreciate the advantage that the higher refresh rate can provide in certain scenarios. The image quality of the monitor stands out—especially in a dark room—where the colors appear vivid, and contrasts are excellent. This is complemented by minimal reflections, which enhances the immersion in darker game environments.

I don’t really feel that the difference between 144Hz and 180Hz is significant in my personal gaming needs, but it’s nice to have that native 180Hz monitor for sure. Given the fact that I don’t need to overclock my monitor to achieve a refresh rate and be away from the drawbacks of it like overheating and frame skipping which can affect my experience.

More importantly, the native capability to run at 180Hz with no extra tweaking or adjusting gives a feeling of reliability and peace of mind. It makes me believe that, most of the times, I can expect smooth performance from the monitor-among every gamer’s wishes. Putting all things together, though the 180Hz does not really feel so much different with my style of gaming, the quality and consistency it offers are certainly commendable and beneficial in the long run.

Overall, the ASUS TUF Gaming VG249Q3A is really a good budget monitor that for me it can replace my current monitor, the ASUS VP249QGR. It may have a subtle upgrade from my current monitor, but the higher native refresh rate, with good quality of colors and vibrance this is a good deal. You can buy the ASUS TUF Gaming VG249Q3A around the price of P9,200.00 Pesos.

With this, the ASUS TUF Gaming VG249Q3A receives a Recommendation Award as gaming monitor that I would likely recommend to those who are looking for a good budget gaming monitor with an IPS Panel.