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You are spoilt; spoilt for choice that is. Not long ago buying a 24 inch monitor meant spending upwards of £400, but now there are any number of models available for less than £300. We've reviewed quite a few of them, too, including the Samsung SyncMaster 245B, the Iiyama ProLite B2403WS and the recent HP w2408h, all of which acquitted themselves adequately and offered excellent value.

Upping the ante, though, is BenQ with its latest offering, the G2400W, which is available for just under £250 with D-SUB, DVI and HDMI inputs. You'll guess by the emphasis that this is significant, but why? Well, 99.9 per cent of the time any budget monitor will either have DVI or HDMI, not both at the same time and given that this monitor manages this as well as being £50 or so cheaper than the competition, it's a pretty significant selling point - particularly if you want to connect a PC, Xbox 360 and PS3 simultaneously. There's also a headphone output, so you can plug in some headphones and enjoy the audio from the HDMI input.

Predictably there are some immediate trade-offs because, unlike any of the monitors mentioned above, the G2400W doesn't feature much in the way of stand adjustment. As such, you get just a standard level of tilt adjustment, with not even swivel being available. Ordinarily we'd be moaning profusely about this, but given the price and connectivity it gains some leniency. We'd still sooner see some adjustment in there and if it's a concern for you then you might want to look elsewhere, but many won't be bothered and the combination of price and connection options is very tempting.

It's quite a pleasant looking monitor, too. Similar in many respects to the BenQ X2200W we looked at recently, it features a nice slim bezel finished in graphite grey plastic with speakers set into the bottom edge. There are some subtle differences, though, such as the OSD control buttons on the under edge instead of on the side, while the speaker grill on the front isn't set back as on the X2200W. Overall, however, they both share a similarly low profile appeal that's pleasing to behold.

Similarly, the OSD is also excellent. Having the buttons on the front, albeit on the under edge, actually makes navigation easier, while the menu system itself is identically well laid out. Options available are sufficient, with sRGB colour space support and all the usual adjustments available. You can also choose between different picture modes, with Movie, Dynamics and Photo modes on offer, though there are no game modes on this model - no great loss if you ask me.

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