LC-Power LC-M24-FHD-165 review: Low-priced monitor with good price-performance ratio

The LC-Power LC-M24-FHD-144-C-V2 curved gaming monitor is still one of the manufacturer’s most popular models. Now, they offer a very similar display that also comes with a Full HD resolution and a diagonal of 24 inches. However, this new monitor uses a flat IPS panel. With an even faster refresh rate of 165 hertz. And that for considerably less than 200 Euros. A strong price-performance ratio, then, as our LC-Power LC-M24-FHD-165 review proves.

Technical data

LC-Power LC-M24-FHD-165 review: the scope of delivery

• All mounting accessories included
• HDMI and DisplayPort cables included

The LC-Power LC-M24-FHD-165 comes, like the LC-M34-UWQHD-100-C-V3 (our review) last time, in a predominantly black and white cardboard box. The box is hardly bigger than the monitor itself.

Inside you’ll find everything you need for installation and use. Once again, the manual deserves special praise, as it describes every little detail, every assembly step and every menu setting.

In addition to the display itself, the manufacturer includes the two-piece stand, the required mounting screws and a screwdriver, four screws for potential wall mounting, and one DisplayPort and one HDMI cable each.

Assembly and commissioning

The LC-Power LC-M24-FHD-165 must first be assembled with the help of the included screwdriver. But don’t worry: this is child’s play and done in just a few steps. What is once again noticeable in direct comparison to the already mentioned M34 monitor is that the base of the stand on this model has minimal protrusions for the screws.

While it was still tricky with the M34 to sink the screws into the deep hole with pinpoint accuracy, it works much better in this case. So, connect the base and stand with two screws and screw the unit to the back of the monitor with the four larger screws. Power and preferred display cable in and the monitor is ready for use.

Design and workmanship

• • Flat IPS panel
  • Three-sided frameless design
  • Connectors and controls on the back

In terms of design, the LC-Power LC-M24-FHD-165 presents itself rather plainly. The monitor comes in a matte black tone and presents itself largely frameless on three sides at the front. The display edges are only around 3 millimeters thick on the top and sides. Only the lower bezel, which features the manufacturer’s logo in the center, is considerably wider at just under 18 mm.

Things get quite interesting on the back, because we find the display’s ports pretty much in the center here. These are easily accessible, but this model doesn’t have a cable guide.

The stand mount and ports are framed by a rectangle, which houses the exclusively red LED illumination. You can adjust this in the on-screen display and either let it glow statically or pulsate quickly and even turn it off completely if desired. On the lower right edge on the back you’ll also find the controls in the form of four elongated, pill-shaped buttons and a slightly offset round power button.

The stand isn’t quite as massive as some other monitors from LC-Power. It protrudes about 10 centimeters above the display at the front. Overall, the two feet arranged in a V-from are 26.5 cm long.

Workmanship of the LC-Power LC-M24-FHD-165

The build quality of the monitor is absolutely fine, considering the price. The monitor creaks a bit under pressure, but that’s all absolutely within reason. The transition between the display and the frame looks a bit vulnerable, especially since dust or dirt can quickly collect here.

However, this is also within the range of what can be expected, measured against the price. With a weight of around 4.70 kg, the monitor also turns out pleasantly light.

Features and ergonomics

• 2x HDMI, 1x DisplayPort, 1x 3.5 mm jack
• Full HD resolution with 165 hertz
• Display only tiltable

The monitor’s port selection is okay, but could also be a bit better positioned. Two HDMI ports are available, but they only use the 1.4 standard. There is also a DisplayPort 1.2 port and a 3.5 mm jack for connecting headphones or headsets.

You can adjust the volume via the OSD if you use the jack. However, the LC-Power LC-M24-FHD-165 does not have integrated speakers. As the name suggests, the display has a maximum refresh rate of 165 hertz and a maximum resolution of Full HD, i.e. 1,920 x 1,080 pixels.

That this is a gaming monitor is evident from the support for AdaptiveSync, which reduces tearing, and the optional Overdrive mode, called “overdrive” in the OSD, which reduces response time from 1 millisecond. Normally, the monitor gets to 2-3 seconds when changing from gray to gray.

Annoyingly, however, there seems to be a bug regarding the refresh rate. When using it on my notebook, only a frame rate of 75 Hz could be set after waking up from sleep mode. However, after turning the display off and on again, the full spectrum of 164.97 Hertz was available again.

The M24’s ergonomics options are severely limited. You can only tilt the display up or down between -5 degrees and +15 degrees. Rotating, adjusting the height or even rotating by 90 degrees (pivot function) are not offered.

Image quality of the LC-Power LC-M24-FHD-165

• Matt Fast IPS panel with 250 cd/m²
• 1 ms response time in overdrive mode

Let’s move on to the most important criterion for a monitor: how good is the image of the LC-Power LC-M24-FHD-165? As always, we put the display through our lab test with the help of the Datacolor SpyderX Elite measurement device and then naturally put the monitor through its paces in gaming.

As already mentioned, it is a matte, 24-inch (60.45 cm) Fast IPS panel in 16:9 format. It has a rather average maximum brightness of 250 cd/m² and offers a typical contrast ratio of 1,000:1.

LC-Power also promises 120 percent sRGB color space coverage. AdobeRGB, NTSC and DCI-P3, on the other hand, are covered to a maximum of 85 percent. Thus, the monitor is only suitable for image and video editing to a limited extent.

Lab test of the M24-FHD-165

The first positive surprise is immediately apparent in the color gamut, as the M24 comes in with a DCI-P3 color space coverage of 91 percent – six percentage points more than promised by the manufacturer.

Point two: The tonal value display, i.e. the luminance of the individual pixels at each brightness level from 0-100 percent. Here, the monitor reveals its first weaknesses and moves close to the gamma 1.8 curve and thus clearly below the standard of 2.2, which makes the image look a bit washed out – even in practice.

However, the maximum brightness of 292.8 cd/m² is then again above the promised values, just like the contrast of 1,100:1 with a good white point on 6200.

The M24-FHD-165 is really weak in terms of color homogeneity. Especially the left side and the upper third are problematic. Especially at maximum brightness, the upper left corner deviates too much with a deviation of 8.4. If you reduce the brightness, all areas come closer to the ideal value, but the upper left corner remains the problem case.

A similar picture can be seen with the luminance homogeneity, i.e. the balance of the illumination. Again, it is especially the upper left corner that weakens. This time, however, at 50 percent brightness more than at a full 100 percent – but here, too, the deviation of 13 percent is too high.

The color fidelity, on the other hand, is convincing. With an average value of DeltaE 3.39, the LC-Power M24-FHD-165 is on a good level. All in all, a rather mediocre lab result.

Practical test: Gaming and office use

• Convincing gaming performance thanks to 165 Hz and AdaptiveSync
• Slightly blurry text display

I was not completely convinced by the LC-Power M24-FHD-165 in gaming and office mode. Especially in the text display, the sharpness of the font is too low and makes reading a bit difficult.

However, things look better again in the gaming test. Here, the monitor scores with a very fast response time and can show its full potential. 1080p with 165 Hz is still considered the sweet spot in the PC sector and offers the best middle ground between performance and requirements, especially in fast games like shooters or racing games.

Thanks to AdaptiveSync, there is no tearing whatsoever and I could not detect any ghosting or display errors in the test. The lab rates, especially in terms of homogeneity, are also noticeable in gaming. Especially in the upper left corner, the brightness differs quite a bit from the rest of the picture.

We’ve seen LC-Power do this much better. On the other hand, you have to keep in mind that the monitor costs just about 150 Euros. For this price range, the image quality can be described as good to very good.

The power consumption of 21 kWh / 1000h is moderate to good. The monitor consumes less than 0.5 watts in standby mode.

OSD setting

In the on-screen display, you can also make various fine adjustments to the display. Among them, for example, a reduction or increase of brightness and contrast, as well as the activation or deactivation of AdaptiveSync and Overdrive.

The OSD is clearly laid out and navigation via the rear buttons is precise. However, I find a few labels unfortunate. Under the “Eco” option, for example, you’ll find different picture modes for shooters, movies or texts. Overdrive, for reducing the response time, is called “Overdrive”.

LC-Power M24-FHD-165 review: conclusion

With the LC-Power M24-FHD-165, the manufacturer delivers a gaming monitor that primarily convinces with its excellent price-performance ratio. For the MSRP of just under 150 euros, you get quite a lot here.

Two HDMI ports and one DisplayPort are offered, even if not in the latest standards. In gaming mode, the picture quality is largely convincing, especially thanks to the fast refresh rate of 165 Hz.

However, the picture quality is by no means free of weaknesses and has several rough patches, especially in terms of balance. I also find that the sharpness – especially in the area of the fonts – should be higher. Unlike other models from the manufacturer, there is no option to increase this in the OSD.

Especially the combination of an IPS panel and 165 hertz is almost impossible to find in the price range of under 170 Euros. Normally, cheaper VA panels with a maximum of 144 Hz are more popular here, which makes the LC-Power M24-FHD-165 look even better in terms of price-performance ratio. So if you’re strong on watching your money, the M24 from LC-Power is a real price tip that you can’t go far wrong with.