Despite the great efforts of manufacturers to popularize 4K and QHD resolutions, classic FullHD monitors still hold leading positions in STEAM statistics among ordinary gamers. And it’s not just because 1080p doesn’t require extremely powerful computer hardware. Today we have MSI MAG 255F E20 — a budget gaming IPS monitor that offers quite nice characteristics despite its low price.
Pluses:
brightness exceeds the declared brightness; response speed; anti-reflective coating; frequency; ergonomic control.
Minuses:
lack of full-fledged position adjustments; contrast does not correspond to the declared one.
Content
Technical specifications of MSI MAG 255F E20
| Diagonal | 24.5″ |
| Panel type | IPS, anti-reflective coating |
| Aspect ratio | 16:9 |
| Viewing angle | 178°/ 178° |
| Resolution | 1920 × 1080 (FullHD) |
| Pixel density | ≈ 90 ppi |
| Brightness (typical) | 300 cd/m² (declared by the manufacturer) |
| Interfaces |
DisplayPort v 1.2a (HBR2) 2 x HDMI 2.0 b (FullHD x 200 Hz) 3.5 mm jack |
| Static contrast | 1000 to 1 (declared by the manufacturer) |
| Color depth | 10 bit (8 bit + FRC) |
| Color coverage | AdobeRGB — 83%, DCI-P3 — 79%, sRGB — 100% (declared by the manufacturer) |
| Delta E, medium | <1 |
| Response time, GtG | 0.5 ms |
| Regulation | Tilt (-5-20°) |
| Other | FreeSync, HDR, Low Blue Light, AI Vision, HDMI CEC, HDCR |
| Power supply | Internal |
| Energy consumption | ≈ 23 W |
| Dimensions | 557 x 220 x 418 mm |
| VESA mounts | 100 x 100 mm |
| Weight (with stand) | 3.24 kg |
Package and packaging
MSI MAG 255F E20 arrived for editorial review in an eco-friendly cardboard box, with the monitor itself waiting to be turned on for the first time between two recycled cardboard molds. The package includes an HDMI 2.0 cable, a power cable, and related documentation along with a user manual.
The monitor is very easy to assemble and does not require any additional tools. The small leg is easily attached to the V-shaped stand, and a makeshift plastic organizer is fixed at the back, into which you can then slide the cables.
The panel itself can be easily fixed to the base with the help of a special mechanism. It takes five minutes to unpack and mount MSI MAG 255F E20, even without rushing.
Design and ergonomics of MSI MAG 255F E20
The monitor is very lightweight, weighing only 3,240 grams, with dimensions of 630 x 125 x 411 mm. V-shaped stands are not my favorite, because if you like to use them as a keyboard stand, then rectangular options are better. We attribute this to the design decision and the gamer style. The stand itself is made of ordinary plastic. There is no metal reinforcement here, and there is no great need for it, because the weight is small.
The low cost is primarily reflected in the ergonomics, because only the tilt angle is adjustable (from -5 to 20 degrees). There are no other features such as swivels or height adjustment. However, if you have a special shelf on your desk, then everything will be fine with the placement. In addition, no one prevents you from simply putting something under the monitor. It will be most convenient for those who have purchased a third-party bracket. It will require a VESA mount (100 x 100 millimeters).
RGB backlighting is not provided here. For those who cannot live without this interior design element, you can think about third-party solutions for gaming aesthetics. The rear wall combines various design elements and textures. There’s plain textured plastic, stylized as unpolished metal, and glossy corner inserts. And of course, we couldn’t do without the branded dragon on the back wall.
On the right side of MSI MAG 255F E20 we have a five-way controller. As for me, this is the most convenient solution for interacting with the settings of your monitor. It is very ergonomic and will appeal to most users.
As for the front side of the monitor, there is a healthy minimalism and laconicism: neat black bezels, nice plastic and MSI inscription in the center of the bottom panel.
Interfaces and sound
On the back of the monitor, there are two HDMI 2.0b (200 Hz) and one DisplayPort 1.2a (HBR2) on the interface panel. In addition, a 3.5 mm jack is provided for connecting additional speakers or a microphone.
For this purpose, HDMI CEC synchronizes work with output devices and controls the dynamic frame rate, eliminating tearing in the image.
The manufacturer claims that the response time reaches 0.5 ms (GTG) thanks to the fast Rapid IPS matrix. This will add additional advantages in dynamic games, primarily in first-person shooters, fighting games, and hardcore soulslike RPGs that require precise timing. And, of course, high FPS has always been a favorite among racing fans.
The monitor turned out to be very convenient for working in a brightly lit room thanks to a special anti-reflective coating. The brightness was also a good surprise, as it turned out to be higher than the declared — 392 cd/m².
There are several response time settings available: normal, fast, and fastest. But in the latter mode, you can see the artifacts of matrix overclocking in the picture with a shutter speed of 1/320 s. This is not the case in normal mode.
MSI MAG 255F E20 has a typical glow effect, which is found in all IPS panels, when looking at the image at an angle in the dark. Viewing angles are at a good level of — 178 degrees. At the same time, the monitor almost does not lose brightness and color saturation.
The best performance is recorded in Normal mode. However, the actual measured color gamut falls a little short of the manufacturer’s claims. The colorimeter measured 97% — sRGB, 76% — Adobe RGB and 78% — DCI-E3.
MSI MAG 255F E20 displays more than 1 billion colors thanks to a “pseudo” 10-bit matrix (8-bit + FRC). The color gamut is 2.2. At the minimum brightness preset, we see 52 cd/m² with a contrast ratio of 510 to 1.
Starting at 50% brightness, we get the best contrast ratio of — 890 to 1. Although it falls a little short of the manufacturer’s claimed 1000 to 1.
The default color temperature is a bit cold — 7200K. By turning on the “warm preset”, we go down to 5700K.
The maximum deviation of the color temperature uniformity in the upper central sector is 5.1. With a decrease in brightness, ΔE drops to 3.2.
The maximum white field uniformity discrepancy at maximum brightness reaches 17% at 100% brightness. At 50%, it drops to 13%.
The monitor boasts good color accuracy. The average value of ΔE is 0.63. Although for some reason one of the shades fell out of the general cohort of good results.
MSI MAG 255F E20 can be suitable even for office work, undemanding work with graphics or unprofessional photo processing. Although, of course, everything will be limited to FullHD resolution.
But in games, it shows its best side. If FullHD is enough for you, then the high frequency (200 Hz) will add an extra zest to your gaming experience. Relatively undemanding esports games operate on the principle of “the more the merrier”. The Counter-Strike 2 tournament table will be filled with additional frags at once.
In my opinion, MSI’s setup interface is one of the most user-friendly on the monitor market. Fortunately, the budget price did not affect the typical convenience and variety of presets.
There are six separate sections available to us: Gaming, Professional, Image, Input Source, Navi Key, and Settings. In them, we can flexibly customize MSI MAG 255F E20 for ourselves.
In game mode, there are separate presets for different types of games: from FPS to RPG. A separate Night Vision mode is available, which allows you to see details where nothing seems to be visible. Of course, we haven’t forgotten about the proprietary sights, which some people consider cheating.
The frame rate is displayed separately. This is a useful feature in cases where the game deliberately blocks third-party overlays like MSI Afterburner or CapFrameX. Brightness, contrast, and color temperature settings are also available.
You can download the MSI Display Kit application from the MSI website. It offers some of the functions that essentially duplicate the native settings in a stripped-down form at the operating system level.
Power consumption of MSI MAG 255F E20
In standby mode, MSI MAG 255F E20 consumes only 0.2 watts. There are two ventilation grilles on the bottom of the monitor on the rear panel, which contribute to better cooling of the matrix itself.
Although it does not emit much heat even during hot gaming battles. The pyrometer shows that the temperature of the back cover of the monitor does not differ from the ambient temperature. On the front side, the monitor heats up to 31.5-32 degrees Celsius.
| Brightness, % | Power consumption, W |
| 100 | 23 |
| 75 | 20.7 |
| 50 | 17.5 |
| 30 | 14.6 |
| 0 | 10 |
At minimum brightness, the monitor consumes only 10 watts, and at maximum brightness, it consumes —23 watts.
Experience with MSI MAG 255F E20
The monitor left me with positive memories, although, as you can imagine, I’m already used to QuadHD and 4K options. You quickly get used to good things, so my impressions will differ from those users who constantly work and play in FullHD.
Nevertheless, I liked the color reproduction, which does not suffer from excessive saturation and unrealistic shades. I usually used Low Blue Light to reduce tension when working all day. For small text, I would like to see a slightly better PPI. 24.5″ — the upper limit, after which FullHD is not enough.
In games, paired with the people’s king of “classic rasterization” Gigabyte Radeon RX 9070 XT AORUS ELITE you could play your favorite games — Counter-Strike 2 and Remnant 2. Both of them require a great reaction and, of course, a high refresh rate and response. MSI MAG 255F E20 proved itself in this role. In addition, free time began to dissolve thanks to Mafia: The Old Country which supports FSR 4. That’s why the high hertz on MSI MAG 255F E20 added extra drive to the gameplay.
The only thing I missed the most was the height adjustment. Because it turned out that I was looking at the monitor from top to bottom and had to put the power supply box under the stand.
Price and competitors
MSI MAG 255F E20 can be purchased at a price starting at 5,199 UAH. While I was preparing this review, it was sold out almost everywhere (and for good reason), because there are not many worthy competitors.
Acer Nitro QG241YM3bmiipx offers a response time of — 1 ms and a refresh rate of — 180 Hz, just like the Asus TUF Gaming VG249Q3A. However, their maximum brightness is lower. They belong to the model range of previous years. On the other hand, they have built-in speakers, which office workers may miss.
Gigabyte G24F 2 offers a USB hub and the largest declared color gamut: DCI-P3 — 95%, sRGB — 125, which is quite solid, but the 8-bit matrix without FRC may tip the user’s choice towards other competitors.
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