- Overall
The MSI Optix Mag24C is one of the brand’s latest 144Hz monitors for E-Sports fanatics who want a high refresh rate mated with the advantages of a VA panel. This new variant now sports a brand new aesthetic and series of functionalities which makes it more competitive in the market than its somewhat bland predecessors. MSI is flexing its muscles to conquer a category of the gaming component market it has yet to master with its latest creation: the MSI Optix Mag24C.
MSI Optix Mag24C Specifications
- Screen Size: 24 Inches
- Resolution: 1080p FHD
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Panel Technology: Vertical Alignment (VA)
- Refresh Rate: 144Hz
- Response Time: 4ms
- Contrast Ratio:3000:1
- Brightness: 250 cd/m²
- Connectivity: DisplayPort 1.2 x 1, HDMI 1.4 x 1, DVI x 1, 3.5mm Jack x 1
- Stand: Height – Yes
- Stand: Tilt – Yes (-5°/+15°)
- Stand: Swivel – Yes
- VESA Compatibility – Yes 75 x 75
- Dimensions (WxHxD): 21.1” x 15.3″ x 8.1”
Design and Features
I must say that the all-new MSI Optix MAG24C is looking meaner than the firm’s previous generation of gaming monitors. The sleek, matte black design with clean lines somehow resembles the Asus MG series of monitors, although MSI tweaked the aesthetics to match their branding. The 1800r curve is less noticeable than on a larger model, but at least you get to enjoy most of the screen that only has super thin borders.
The rear of the MSI Optix MAG24C’s chassis has a hint of subtle aggressiveness with its clean, angular lines and red LED strips. The light is bright enough to provide bias lighting effects for users, although we wish that you could change the LED color to match different builds. At least MSI was thoughtful enough to add this finishing touch to a reasonably priced model, unlike with other brands where extras add a hefty premium.
One of the most significant upgrades for the MSI Optix MAG24C and the rest of the MAG monitors is the addition of a fully-ergonomic stand. The previous variants only offered tilt, but the MAG monitors now come with height, tilt, and swivel. The Y-shaped base provides superb stability and robustness to the display, but it can also be removed in favor of VESA mounting solutions.
Connectivity features on the MSI Optix MAG24C are reasonable at best since there are no valuable extras such as USB slots. You do get DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI 1.4, and DVI-DL for video inputs so that you can connect multiple devices such as a gaming PC and a console like the PS4 Slim. All of the monitors in this series feature the same layouts, except for the 1440p variant since it utilizes HDMI 2.0 to support its full refresh rate.
With that being said, we can safely say that the MSI Optix MAG24C is one of the best options if you want an affordable gaming monitor for a triple monitor setup. The curvature, flexibility, and design of the product are ideally suited for arrangements like this, plus they won’t cost an arm and a leg. It’s also worth noting that the product feels light and not as solid as other 24-inch monitors, but the quality is there despite the budget-friendly nature.
Display and Performance
The MSI Optix MAG24C sports a 24-inch curved VA panel with a 1920 x 1080 resolution, 144Hz refresh rate, and a boosted 1ms response time boosted by MPRT. A high contrast ratio which is specified at 3000:1 can also be expected, along with a 250cd/m2 backlight which is acceptable for a monitor of this size. VA screens have become popular in recent times due to the extra vibrancy, deep blacks, and excellent grayscale performance.
Testing the MSI Optix MAG24C with our Datacolor Spyder Elite 5 reveals that there is some merit to the statement above. The sRGB coverage exceeds 100%, equating to more or less 84% Adobe RGB and easily reaching the 110% representation MSI promised on the packaging. This aspect produces the right amount of color-pop gamers love, especially for cartoony titles like Overwatch and Fortnite.
One downside of the extra vibrancy is its effect on accuracy, where the MSI Optix MAG24C scored a Delta E of 3.0. Professionals or color grading fanatics should look elsewhere, but for casual uses, the difference is mostly unnoticeable. The deviances deepen some colors in the red and green ranges, essentially pumping up the eye candy in some circumstances.
Contrast isn’t as high as we expected at 1300:1 which is a bit low from the claimed 3000:1. Gamma is also limited to 2.3 after calibration, although that isn’t detrimental to the primary purpose of the monitor. The effects it applies deepens the vibrancy and the noire effect in titles such as Vermintide 2 which relies on such qualities to portray a gritty story.
Panel uniformity for both brightness and color are superb as well for a curved display. The brightness uniformity on the corners of the screen maxed out at 15% at reasonable settings, while color uniformity is steady at Delta E 2.1 from the ideal D65 setting. For the most part, it was difficult to notice flaws during the gaming part of our testing.
The MSI Optix MAG24C felt good and comfortable to play on for several hours which is probably due to the eye-popping visual candy and the low blue light emission. We had no way to test this capability, but it was easy on the eyes to stare at the screen for an extended period. Most monitors are tuned to lessen strain since gamers tend to use them for four hours or more.
There was also less blurring and ghosting on the MSI Optix MAG24C’s VA screen, and you had to look harder to find any. We noticed some slow pixel transitions when the action started to pick up, but otherwise, there were little to no disturbances to annoy the nerds. MPRT does have a tangible benefit for VA panels meant for gaming, but it still doesn’t appear as fast as a solid TN panel.
AMD GPU users get more mileage with the MSI Optix MAG24C since it is FreeSync-compatible with a functional range of 30Hz to 144Hz. Adaptive-Sync isn’t extremely necessary at 1080p gaming, but stabilizing frames to avoid tearing and stuttering when dips happen is always a valuable capability. Users also get crosshair overlays and MSI gaming center integration for better gaming and functionality control of the brand’s gaming peripherals.
Finally, the MSI Optix MAG24C posted an input lag average of 6ms which is brilliant for a product made for competitive gaming. Motion and control input to screen transitions felt fluid all the time, so the delays in reaction times were caused by our mechanical skills.
Thoughts on MSI Optix MAG24C
The MSI Optix MAG24C is an excellent monitor due to its reasonable pricing and superb performance. The monitor isn’t as accurate or as fast as similar models which cost fifty to a hundred more, but it remains competitive due to its practicality and attractive design. The curved screen isn’t as beneficial as it would be on a larger model, but it makes this gaming display perfect for a surround setup that doesn’t rip your budget apart.
The aesthetics on the MSI Optix MAG24C is another upgrade if you look at the previous variants which were too dull and less functional. The company is quickly catching up to its established competition, and we cannot wait for the next products they come up with it. If you are on the market for an affordable 144Hz monitor, the MSI Optix MAG24C should at least make it to your shortlist.
Yasin says
Would there be any screen tear issues with this monitor if it was used for PS4 gaming?
Yasin says
Has anyone used this monitor to play PS4 games – single player and competitive, and experienced any issues or is the gameplay smooth?
Paolo Reva says
Hi, Yasin! Our experience with monitors suggest that there is a possibility that tearing will occur, unless the PS4 can keep frames stable enough for your chosen titles. You can always set the monitor to 60Hz if problems happen, especially since the PS4 is capped at 60Hz anyway.
Kaledtarek says
I don’t have an option called anti motion blur in OSD, all I got is Response Time off, normal and Extreme. and I get some ghosting in ufo test and I wanna reduce some of that ghosting any help?
Paolo Reva says
Hi, Kaledtarek! Try playing around with the response time settings to get your desired output. Cheers!
Kevin Degrace Lauzon says
Any recommendation for the best gaming calibration been 4 day trying to decide the color brightness etc and nothing seem to be satisfied lol
Paolo Reva says
Hi, Kevin! Try setting color temps to Red 50, Green 49, and Blue 47. Make sure your Gamma setting is at 2.2, and brightness staying at 30% or below.
Kevin Degrace Lauzon says
thanks is there any setting I should change in nividia control pannel?
Paolo Reva says
Hi, Kevin! You have to activate FreeSync in your monitor’s OSD and then go to Nvidia control panel and activate the G-Sync. If the option to turn it on doesn’t appear, your monitor is not supported. Good luck!
Raiyan Muhtaseem says
Hello!
I was wondering if the monitor shows any kind of ghosting, specially when set to MPRT for 1ms.
Thanks in advance!
Paolo Reva says
Hi, Raiyan! We’ve received comments that the MSI MAG24C isn’t totally blur-free, but that is a natural downside of VA panels. The visibility of blurs and trailing are also dependent on your visual sensitivity. Most users cannot even notice these minuscule flaws. Cheers!
Red says
By the monitor not being “as accurate or as fast” what do you mean? The response time is 4ms and the refresh is 144; if I got an upper-end, Nvidia Gsynch, IPS monitor with those same specs, would it really be more accurate and faster because of another factor that just isn’t listed here?
Paolo Reva says
Hi, Red! We are describing the pixel transition speed of the monitor. We cannot put this into numbers yet, but our descriptions describe the monitor’s smoothness and levels of blurring or ghosting.
Heinrich says
Hey, I just have a quick question, because I couldn’t find an answer on the web: does this monitor support freesync over HDMI? I intend to use it with my PC and Xbox and I am not sure, if I can benefit from freesync when connecting it with my Xbox oder the HDMI input.
Thanks in advance!
Paolo Reva says
Hi, Heinrich! The MSI MAG24C is not listed in AMD’s database as compatible with FreeSync over HDMI. You need to use its DisplayPort for that feature.
Thomas Lendal says
Hi Cristi
I might buy this monitor, but your review kind of put a hold on that.
Could you clarify:
“the MSI Optix MAG24C scored a Delta E of 3.0. Professionals or color grading fanatics should look elsewhere, but for casual uses, the difference is mostly unnoticeable”
Which “professionals”, gamers? graphic design people?
Graphic design people shouldn’t buy a gaming monitor and vice versa.
“casual uses”, Who? I think most gamers that play pvp or hardcore/permadeath pve, think of them selves as competitive gamers, so this screen isn’t for pvp, even if it says “for E-Sports”?
Its a gaming monitor, but it sounds like some of the review are more relevant for a graphic design monitor.
Its like criticising Usain Bolt for being bad in a marathon 🙂
Its on sale until 09.09.2018, so if you could reply before that it would be greatly appreciated.
brdgs
Thomas
Paolo Reva says
Hi, Thomas! We have quite a few readers who might disagree with you saying that graphic designers shouldn’t buy a gaming monitor. There are a few who would prefer a color accurate gaming display so they can use it for work and play. It’s also a uniform way to rate monitors on how good or bad they are. a DeltaE score of 3.0 isn’t great, but normally that’s the absolute threshold before color errors become immediately noticeable. For example, a DeltaE of 2.2 will look no different than a 2.8 or 3.0 unless you have them sitting together with the same image and source or input. As mentioned, if your purpose isn’t color grading or anything that specific, the MSI Optix MAG24C should be sufficient for your purpose.
Joey Herrebout says
What are the best color settings for this monitor?
Cristi says
Hello im looking to buy this monitor for all type of games such as fps and rpg Overwatch and Shadow of war. And waiting to drop prices for an msi rx 580 8gb or to wait for a new generation. This monitor has Color Banding problems? Thank you!
Paolo Reva says
Hello, Cristi! The MSI Optix MAG24C is an excellent pair for an AMD RX 580. During our time with the monitor, we did not notice any color banding issues, although this could vary from unit to unit. Good luck!
Cristi says
Thank you , i was so unlucky on monitors so far and now i really want a good one. Hope to come with no dead pixels i made a lot of research and people complain about a lot of units with dead pixels.
Paolo Reva says
We wish you luck on your next monitor purchase!
MLima23 says
Hi,
Between this monitor and the Samsung C24FG70 VA what would you say would be the best choice? Is MSI on par with Samsung in respect to the image quality and colour depth?
Paolo Reva says
Hey, MLima23! The Samsung C24FG70 and the MSI Optix Mag24C are more or less equal in all aspects, so making a choice will come down to design. Good luck!
Gh says
In spec sheet it says response time is 4ms, but description it say 1ms, which is it?
Paolo Reva says
Hi, GH! It is classified natively as 4ms since the Mag24C has a VA panel, but the product carries a MPRT 1ms feature that is supposed to boost the monitor to become as fast as a TN model when it comes to pixel transition.
Help me says
what do you mean this monitor VA 4ms supposed to boost as TN (1ms) ?
does this mean the monitor is actually not 1ms but 4ms?
Paolo Reva says
Hi, Help me! No, VA monitors like the MSI MAG24C are not natively 1ms like TN panels. Manufacturers are only using the 1ms for the MPRT feature found on their latest models which claim to boost pixel response time to be on par with TN panels. 1ms MPRT is just another name for blur reduction features packaged into these products.
tim says
to use this 1ms MPRT, i assume we have to change the response time to extreme in OSD? that will make the brighness to be dimmer… i tested out on testufo…motion blur looks the same on the UFO…not sure what it does..
setting response time to OFF allows us to edit the colors.
Paolo Reva says
Hi, Tim! Yes, using the 1ms MPRT feature will dim the backlight since its a form of backlight strobing. It doesn’t activate by setting the Overdrive feature (response time modes) in the OSD. You need to turn a feature called Anti Motion Blur to utilize the 1ms MPRT spec instead.