Sceptre C248B-144R Monitor Review – An Affordable 1080p Monitor for daily use and Gaming

The Sceptre C248B-144R is a brilliant monitor for entertainment, handling everyday tasks such as browsing and gaming. Its performance is backed up 5ms response time, 144Hz refresh rate, Full HD display, and AMD FreeSync technology. It doesn’t nab our Editor’s Choice award but is good stead for people who love gaming but don’t want to invest heavily in hardware.

Pros

• Simple curved design (1800R curvature)
• Affordable price point
• Ample ports
• Full HD display
• AMD FreeSync
• 144Hz refresh rate
• Great everyday performance

Cons

• Lacks futuristic ports

While the best monitors aren’t going to speed up your computer, they can make your experience much better by choosing one that will serve you well. Enter the Sceptre C248B-144R Monitor, a modestly curved gaming monitor made to boost your productivity and start you into the gaming world.

With its 144Hz refresh rate, 5ms response time, Full HD 24-inch display, and AMD FreeSync technology the Sceptre C248B-144R is a modern monitor capable of carrying its own weight. It uses the Adaptive-Sync technology to deliver smooth gaming performance which is an aspect most users yearn for.

In this review, we break down why the Sceptre C248B-144R is really worth it, how it performs and whether there are other alternatives out there.

Sceptre C248B-144R Specs

Display	24-inch Full HD (1920 x 1080)
Brightness	220cd/m2
Contrast Ratio	3000:1
Aspect Ratio	16:9
Refresh rate	144Hz
Response time	5ms
Ports	HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI, Audio out
Adaptive Sync	FreeSync
Panel Type	VA
Measurements/ weight	21.5 x 5.4 x 15.6 inches
Weight	6.32 pounds

Design and Features

The Sceptre C248B-144R Monitor comes dressed in an all-let’s-play attire which makes it more desirable to a wider audience. The chassis sports a soothing, matte-black finish as is common on Sceptre monitors. The surface is smooth and easy to maintain as it doesn’t attract dust or fingerprints easily.

Also, the monitor is curved with a 1800R curvature which provides a wide view and immersive viewing experience. I’d want to say the edges are bezel-free but they aren’t. The edge is reasonably slim and visible but nothing too big to give it an ancient look.

Right at the back, the black cabinet is supported by a metal V-shaped stand. The stand gives you a 5 degrees forward to 15 degrees backward tilt, but no height and swivel adjustments. There is no dedicated cable organizer but Sceptre made the stand hollow so you pass your cables through it to ensure a bit of order is achieved.

This monitor doesn’t take that much of space so you won’t have to clear a lot of space on your work desk. It measures 21.5 x 5.4 x 15.6 inches which by most standards is average. At 6.32 pounds, it’s pretty portable and you can transfer it from your office to bedroom without breaking a sweat. The base is also very stable for a two-legged stand.

But if you prefer flush mounting your setup to the wall, the VESA ready mount shouldn’t give you any trouble. It comes with a 75mm x 75mm standard wall mount.

Display

The display flaunts a Full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution screen with 1800R curvature. That means that if you were to put several of this monitor edge to edge to complete a circle, the circle’s radius would be 1800mm. The curve is more or less the baseline for most Sceptre monitors we’ve reviewed. For instance, Sceptre C248W-1920RN which we reviewed recently (has 1800R curvature).

Moving on, the display is based on a vertical alignment (VA) panel which is widely known for its deep blacks, relatively high contrast ratio, great viewing angles, and color reproduction. Normally, VA panels have a somewhat lower response time compared to their TN counterparts. The Sceptre C248B-144R comes with a 5ms response time which is rather low especially for tasks such as hardcore gaming.

If you’re, however, not gaming with this monitor 5ms is considered pretty decent. Sceptre included the AMD FreeSync to ensure you enjoy the smooth video and seamless spot-on movement in games. The AMD FreeSync works in concert with your desktop or laptop GPU to provide smoother images by eliminating screen tearing.

As a result, the monitor maintains the pre-configured refresh rate of 144Hz. In essence, what I’m trying to say is that this PC can handle gaming with aplomb (especially on the average setting). It’s nothing close to what TN panels and 1ms displays can do, but pretty decent, especially for the price.

Ports and Controls

The Sceptre C248B-144R connectivity layout is just as good as it’s price considering it contains what you might need and more. You get a single DisplayPort 1.2, one HDMI 1.4, single VGA, and one DVI-D: for video inputs to external monitors. You can daisy-chain up to two monitors at once which is a great setup for both work and gaming.

All these ports face them away from the backside so for easy access.

Speaking of the rear side, the speakers are located at the back as well. They both are decently loud which at the end of the day adds great value to the monitor. Even so, compared to other monitors, the speakers are powerful enough for entertainment.

Behind the right side of the cabinet is the power button and four other buttons for accessing and navigating the menu option. Nowadays, most premium monitors come with a joystick for navigating the menu since it’s an easier way of setting up your settings. Even so, the lack of is not such a deal-breaker.

The rest of the buttons each have a specific role. One button activates the On-Screen Display (OSD). The second cycles between PRESET modes and double up as the upward movement button. The third button is both the downward movement button and activates a permanent crosshair for first-person shooting games. Finally, the fourth and last button acts as the EXIT button. Also, the button switches between all the different inputs of the display.

Performance

Sceptre pushed the envelope of what performance should be on a budget gaming monitor with the Sceptre C248B-144R. Thanks to the 144Hz refresh rate, the gameplay is smoother and nicer. We paced it on CS: GO and the monitor played it seamlessly without any screen tearing, jerking or uneven motion.

All this was made possible by the fast refresh rate, 5ms response time, but more importantly AMD’s FreeSync technology. The latter adjusts the panel refresh rate on the fly to match the frame-rate output of your card, that is,  if you have a full-fledged graphics card on your PC.

Our unit registered an 11.9 ms input lag which by most standards is average and isn’t too far from what competition offers. It would have been great if it was lower because lower input lag is good for a gaming monitor and gives that extra edge over the competition. But even with 11.9 ms, it should deliver respectable performance for daily tasks and watching movies.

Conclusion

The Sceptre C248B-144R doesn’t have a blazing-fast refresh rate, LED-lit cabinet, fast response time or many other features you’d find in a hardcore gaming monitor. But its AMD FreeSync technology gives it respectable performance for a good number of people who love gaming but don’t feel compelled to invest complete hardcore gaming monitor.

With its few features it makes an impression on budget consumers looking for a monitor for watching movies, web browsing and handling some home and office tasks. Also, it can be a great springboard for photo editors until they get a higher-end professional monitor.