As an Olympics worldwide computing partner, Acer has the opportunity to release some branded tech with the Olympics themed P238HL LCD display being one of these. But is it worth a gold medal?

This 23" display measures in at 551 x 361 x 17.5 mm (42.9 mm if you include the kickstand) and boasts a full HD (1080p; 1920 x 1080) screen resolution. Additionally, this screen sports a response time of 5 ms (milliseconds) and a 100 million:1 contrast ratio, which results in some beautiful looking photos, web pages and full HD movies.

Entertainment epicentre  

There is no base stand,instead one utilises the P238HL's pull-out kickstand to allow it to rest comfortably upon an office desk or entertainment area at home. Like a notebook’s screen, this display is tilted back with users viewing content at an angle of around 110°, making it easy to employ the Olympics display as a secondary screen for your notebook or ultrabook. You are also able to tilt the display up to 170° (almost flat) for whatever reason. 

Acer’s Olympics monitor is solidly built, and thanks to its glossy piano-black plastic frame, it will not stick out as an unstylish sore thumb in your tech-filled man cave, next to the gaming PC case and Xbox 360.     

The Acer Olympics P238HL comes with a kickstand, great for use as a second monitor for a notebook.

This display features a myriad of connectivity options such as a VGA and DVI port, and dual HDMI connections. The latter means you are able to use the Olympics monitor as the display of your PC and connect your PlayStation 3 to it as well, and then simply switch between the two sources for intermittent gaming sessions in between episodes of your favourite TV series. You do not have to bother with connecting your console to a sound source, since the P238HL includes onboard speakers. These managed to fill the room with sound, whilst the quality was on par with your average pair of standard desktop speakers.

Unfortunately, when plugging in connections at the back of the display you have to go through the process of closing the kickstand, plugging in the cables and then placing the display back on your desk. A bit of a hassle. 

To the point

Acer’s Olympics P238HL LCD monitor sports a good-looking design that will draw as many admiring gazes as those well-toned Olympic gymnasts and swimmers. It features an excellent screen resolution and refresh rate that delivers high levels of detail as well as clarity, whether you are watching the latest blockbuster, blasting away enemy combatants within your favourite FPS title or viewing a corporate presentation.

This monitor goes for a recommended retail price of R3 000, which is on the expensive side considering that there are a lot of less costlier conventional HD flatscreens like the 23" LG Flatron IPS236V-PN (R2 000) or even desktop productivity stations such as Samsung’s Central Station C23A550U (R2 500).

Pros:

Stands flat on your desk enabling it to more easily function as secondary notebook display; great resolution and styling; adjustable viewing angles; high contrast ratio and in-vogue Olympics branding.

Cons:

Placement of the input ports is not the most convenient; average response time; expensive asking price.