Asus PA246Q ProArt 24-Inch LCD Monitor Review

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The PA246Q is not only Asus' only professional series monitor, it's also one of the company's largest panels. That sounds funny to say given that this isn't a 30-inch, 28-inch, or even a 27-inch panel (of which, Asus sells one), though at 24-inches, Asus hit what's traditionally been the sweet spot for plentiful real estate without putting the squeeze on your PayPal account.

Another benefit to owning a 24-inch monitor is that you can typically lug it around without throwing out your back. The PA246Q weighs just over 16 pounds, which isn't LAN-party light, but you won't be out of breath moving it from one room to another or positioning it on a desk. Once you have it where you want it, you can then align the panel to your optimal viewing angle with tilt (+20 degrees to around 5 degrees), swivel, pivot, and height adjustment.

Even though it's light, the PA246Q is also thick with a depth measuring 1.87 inches to 2.25 inches around the frame, and up to just under 3 inches if you include the backside protrusion. Around the actual display, the bezel measures 0.75 inches on the sides and top, and around 1.38 inches on the bottom, leaving a little extra room for the onscreen controls and racing stripe.

Critical to any professional series monitor is the ability to view documents, webpages, and photos in both portrait and landscape mode. The PA246Q rotates effortlessly between these two orientations. This can be especially useful when combined with the display's Picture-in-Picture functionality, which allows you to view images from two different signals/sources.

We don't recommend laying your monitor face down like this, not unless it leaked fluid on the floor and you're trying to rub its nose in it. For our purposes, putting the PA246Q in a face-plant position gives a great view of the connectivity ports, which includes HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI-D, D-Sub, and Kensington lock. This angle also shows how thick the monitor is, though it's not as bulky as some other IPS displays we've seen.

Asus doesn't just provide all the connections you might need, but throws in the appropriate cables, too. The PA246Q comes with a DVI cable, USB cable, D-Sub cable, and DisplayPort cable, saving you more than a few bucks if you don't already own whichever one you plan to use. And if you do, toss them into your spare parts tackle box.

Getting back to the Picture-in-Picture functionality, the various display ports provide plenty of flexibility in how you choose to use the PA246Q. You could, for example, mix work and play by hooking up a Blu-ray player or game console via HDMI and have it run in a window when you need a quick break from all that CAD work.

Asus includes a pair of USB ports located conveniently on the left side, along with an upstream USB port on the panel's underbelly. But that isn't all. There's also a memory card reader located on the side, which means you can jam your digital/video camera's memory card right into the PA246Q's kidney area and shuttle those awesome photos and videos to your PC with little fuss. This is a feature that's not found on many monitors, but should be on every one of them, especially professional grade panels.

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