Amazon Basics 24-inch FHD Monitor Review UK 2026

I’ve spent over a decade staring at panels under controlled lighting, hunting for backlight inconsistencies and measuring colour drift. Some monitors surprise me. Others… well, they’re exactly what the price tag suggests. After about a month with this Amazon Basics 24-inch FHD 1080p 100Hz display, I can tell you which camp it falls into.

Look, when Amazon Basics entered the monitor market, I was sceptical. But they’ve actually been churning out decent budget displays that don’t completely embarrass themselves. This 24-inch IPS panel sits firmly in the budget bracket, and honestly? It knows what it is. No pretensions about HDR performance or esports-level response times. Just a straightforward 1080p display with a 100Hz refresh rate that costs less than a decent meal out for two.

The 100Hz refresh rate is a nice touch at this price point. Most budget monitors stick to 75Hz, so the extra 25Hz gives you slightly smoother motion in games and general desktop use. Is it transformative? No. But scrolling through websites and dragging windows feels noticeably better than a basic 60Hz panel.

Amazon doesn’t specify the exact panel manufacturer, but after testing dozens of budget IPS displays, this feels like an AUO or BOE panel. The giveaway? That characteristic IPS glow in the corners when viewing dark content. It’s not excessive, but it’s there. In a pitch-black room watching a film with letterbox bars, you’ll notice a faint greyish bloom at the edges.

The upside of IPS is colour consistency across the screen. Sit off to the side and colours barely shift – something you’d never get with a cheap TN panel. For office work where you’re sharing your screen with colleagues, this matters. For gaming solo at your desk? Less critical.

Contrast ratio sits around 900:1, which is standard for budget IPS. VA panels would give you 3000:1 or more, making blacks actually look black rather than dark grey. But VA comes with its own compromises (slower response times, worse viewing angles). At this price point, you pick your poison.

Here’s where we need to separate marketing nonsense from reality. Amazon doesn’t plaster a “1ms response time” claim all over this monitor, which is refreshing. They know what they’re selling.

In fast-paced games like Apex Legends or CS2, you’ll see trailing behind moving objects. It’s not egregious, but competitive players will notice. For single-player games and office work? Completely fine.

The overdrive implementation has three settings: Off, Medium, and Fast. Off is too slow and creates obvious smearing. Fast overshoots and creates inverse ghosting (that weird halo effect behind moving objects). Medium is the sweet spot, though it’s still not what I’d call “fast” by modern standards.

Input lag measured at around 10ms, which is excellent. You’re not losing frames between your mouse movement and screen response. The limitation here is purely the pixel transition speed, not processing delay.

Out of the box, colours lean slightly cool with a blueish tint. Nothing horrific, but whites don’t look perfectly neutral. The Standard picture mode gets you closest to accurate sRGB, though I’d still recommend adjusting the colour temperature to Warm if you’re sensitive to blue light.

sRGB coverage at 98% is solid. You’re seeing the full range of colours that most web content and games are mastered in. The 101% volume means colours are slightly oversaturated, which some people actually prefer (makes things look more vibrant), though it’s technically less accurate.

DCI-P3 at 72% tells you this isn’t a wide gamut display. Modern HDR content and some games use that extended colour space, and you’re missing out on those extra saturated reds and greens. But at this price point, that’s expected.

Honestly, I prefer no HDR to bad HDR. Those DisplayHDR 400 monitors with 300 nits and no local dimming? They just wash out the image and call it HDR. This monitor knows what it is.

Brightness at 250 nits is… sufficient. In a typical office or home environment with overhead lighting, it’s fine. Put this monitor in front of a window on a sunny day and you’ll be squinting. I typically run it at 70-80% brightness for comfortable viewing.

Black uniformity shows the classic IPS weakness. In a dark room with black content, the corners appear lighter than the centre (that’s the IPS glow). It’s not terrible – I’ve seen far worse on budget displays – but it’s there. VA panel fans will mock you for this, and they’re not entirely wrong.

Let’s be brutally honest: if you’re playing CS2 or Valorant at a competitive level, this isn’t your monitor. The 8-12ms response time creates visible trailing, and you’ll lose track of fast-moving targets. I tested Apex Legends at 100fps, and while playable, I could see smearing when quickly turning to track enemies.

But for slower-paced games? It’s absolutely fine. Baldur’s Gate 3 looked lovely, with decent colour reproduction making the environments pop. Forza Horizon 5 at 1080p high settings maintained 100fps easily on a mid-range GPU, and the FreeSync kept everything smooth.

The 100Hz refresh rate is the sweet spot for 1080p gaming. Most GPUs can hit that framerate at this resolution without breaking a sweat, so you’re actually using that higher refresh rate rather than having a 165Hz panel you can’t drive properly.

Console gaming works well. Both PS5 and Xbox Series consoles will output 1080p at 120Hz (though you’re capped at 100Hz here, which is fine). The FreeSync support means variable refresh rate works on Xbox, reducing screen tearing in demanding titles.

Build quality is what you’d expect in the budget bracket. The bezels are reasonably thin (about 8mm on three sides, slightly thicker at the bottom), and the panel sits in a plastic housing that feels… plasticky. It’s not offensive, but you’re not getting metal construction or premium materials here.

One nice touch: the power supply is internal, so no bulky power brick cluttering your desk. Just a standard kettle lead plugs into the back.

The built-in speakers are… there. They exist. They produce sound. But they’re 2W units that sound like you’re listening through a tin can. Fine for system notifications or emergency Teams calls, but you’ll want external speakers or headphones for anything else.

The 3.5mm audio jack is handy for passing through audio from your PC to headphones or speakers without running a separate cable to your computer.

If you’re willing to stretch your budget slightly, the Acer 24-inch 1080p 120Hz Monitor offers faster refresh rates, though you’ll pay extra for those additional 20Hz.

The Amazon Basics holds its own against these competitors primarily on price. It doesn’t excel at anything particular, but it doesn’t catastrophically fail either. If you specifically want 24 inches (which I think is the right size for 1080p), this offers better pixel density than the 27-inch Dell.

Against the Acer, you’re trading 20Hz of refresh rate for a lower price. For most casual users, that’s a worthwhile trade-off. Competitive gamers should stretch for the Acer (or better yet, a proper 144Hz+ panel).

Several buyers mention the protective film (with date code printed on it) that ships on the panel. Make sure you peel this off before panicking about image quality. I’ve seen multiple reviews where people forgot to remove it and complained about blurry text.

Here’s what you’re getting for your money: a competent IPS panel with decent colour accuracy, acceptable brightness for indoor use, and 100Hz refresh rate. The 24-inch size means proper pixel density at 1080p.

Here’s what you’re not getting: any ergonomic adjustability beyond tilt, fast response times for competitive gaming, HDR support, wide colour gamut, or premium build quality.

Is that trade-off worth it? If you’re working from home and need a second monitor, absolutely. If you’re a student on a tight budget who wants to do some casual gaming, yes. If you’re building a battlestation for competitive esports or professional content creation, look elsewhere.

The value proposition is straightforward: this is the cheapest way to get an IPS panel with 100Hz refresh rate at 24 inches from a brand with decent warranty support. You’re not paying for features you don’t need, which is refreshing in a market full of bloated spec sheets.

The limitations are obvious and expected. Response times won’t satisfy competitive gamers. The stand won’t win ergonomic awards. Brightness won’t overcome direct sunlight. But none of these are surprising at this price point.

What matters is whether the panel itself is any good, and yes, it is. The IPS technology delivers consistent colours across the screen, viewing angles that don’t shift when you move your head, and sRGB coverage that’s accurate enough for everyday use. That’s what you’re paying for.