ViewSonic VX2882-4KP monitor review

There are about six gazillion different kinds of monitor on the market, all potentially having around double the features you want to look out for. It's easily the most confusing market for monitors I've ever seen with so much slight variation and just so many damn acronyms. Most gamers are just trying to get the best option within budget, which is why I've taken a look at this ViewSonic VX2882-4KP gaming monitor.

The spec sheet on this monitor is fairly complete for the price. It boasts a 4K resolution with a 150Hz refresh rate on an IPS display that's HDR10 certified. All for $1,099 AUD. That's a lot of boxes ticked for a monitor in this price range.

The 28-inch panel is a good size for most desks, and the ViewSonic VX2882-4KP keeps in the brand's tradition of making a fairly modest looking screen. The bezels are fairly thin, with a larger one along the bottom of the screen where the control buttons sit. The stand has a relatively small footprint but a good range of movement including height adjustment, swivel, and tilt, and the screen also supports VESA mounts if an exotic mounting solution is more your vibe.

It certainly feels like a monitor that would be at home on any desk without taking up too much space or feeling a bit too outlandish. It even has a blue light filter for eye health. You'd be easily forgiven for not realising this thing is designed for gaming at first glance. But then why would it bother having things like 150Hz and AMD FreeSync Premium.

Thankfully, gaming on this monitor takes full advantage of these features. It provides a nice buttery smooth screen for gaming without any tearing or stutter. The high frame rate is especially good for not giving me an excuse to blame my poor aim in FPS along with the 1ms response time. Luckily I still live with Australian internet so I've always got my ping to fall back on.

As a 4K monitor, however, you will need a fairly powerful and modern graphics card to make the most of its full native resolution at a high refresh rate. Easier said than done.

The HDR10 capabilities are also very nice for games that support it. The difference with the deeper blacks and vivid lights is immediately noticeable over non HDR screens. I played some Sea of Thieves and compared to my other non HDR10 screen at the time. The increased richness of the darker colours against the torchlit wooden finish of my boat was actually kind of magical. Then I died and went to the Ferryman's ship with the ghostly green glow. Who knew dying was so much better with HDR?

It's worth noting that it's not an OLED panel, and you wouldn't expect one for these prices. It means the blacks do get some light bleed from the backlights, especially in the corners of the screen. It's by no means egregious, and only noticeable in particularly dark scenes but you can get smoother lit back panels from more costly machines. There's no flicker, so it's not distracting and I probably wouldn't have noticed it if I wasn't comparing it to my OLED TV.

The VX2882-4KP also has pithy speakers that aren't really even worth using, which is fine if all you want is a screen. Overall a few minor whinge points on an otherwise very nice looking panel.

And thanks to the HDMI 2.1 port it should work with just about anything. Of course, you hope that all monitors will plug into most devices that should be compatible, but with the ViewSonic VX2882-4KP you should get the full features of the supported device. This means plugging in your next-gen gaming console like the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X will also deliver the higher 120Hz console frame rate. It makes this monitor a great choice for a gaming room, where you can run a DisplayPort or HDMI from multiple devices.

The ViewSonic VX2882-4KP is a monitor that delivers what it says on the box at a very reasonable price. If you're running a monitor that doesn't have either HDR10, a high refresh rate, or good VRR support like this one it's likely you'll be very pleased with the difference this panel can hold. It's not likely to blow any minds, but all of these things work together to make quite the formidable little upgrade without breaking the bank.