ASUS ROG Strix Black / 17.3"

The XG17AHP slaps a 240Hz panel into a crazy-light 17-inch portable monitor. It's the best-in-class for travel gaming, but the 1080p resolution softens text and the battery life barely clears a long lunch meeting. If you need a big, high-refresh screen on the go, it's worth a look, just shop around for a good price.

This monitor is aimed squarely at gamers who need a big screen that slips into a backpack. ASUS managed to cram a 17.3" IPS display into a body that weighs just over two pounds, making it one of the absolute lightest and most compact ways to get 240Hz outside your house. The adaptive-sync support and built-in battery mean you can literally play a few rounds of Apex at a coffee shop, which is pretty wild.

Of course, there are trade-offs. You're looking at 1080p stretched across 17.3 inches, so pixel density takes a hit. The included tripod stand is clever but not exactly rock-solid, and the speakers are so weak you'll almost always reach for headphones. It's a premium piece of kit with a price tag to match, but it's one of a kind.

The 240Hz refresh rate is the star here, and it feels buttery smooth in fast shooters and MOBAs. Response times are quick enough to avoid ghosting, and adaptive-sync keeps tearing at bay with both AMD and NVIDIA cards. But that 1080p resolution at this size gives you roughly 127 pixels per inch, so desktop text looks a little fuzzy and games lose some fine detail. Color coverage is solid at 100% sRGB, and brightness hits a respectable 300 nits, though the glossy coating can be a mirror under direct light. The real drag is battery life: you'll get about three hours if you're lucky, and the display sips power unevenly depending on your refresh rate settings.

Pricing is all over the map, from $399 to over a grand, so your experience will hinge on where you buy. Snagging it around $400 on Newegg feels like a fair deal for the unique portability and high refresh rate. But when the cost creeps higher, you're flirting with the price of a stellar 27-inch 1440p OLED that would destroy this thing in picture quality. You're paying for the form factor here, and if you don't travel with a gaming rig, that premium is hard to justify.

Stack this against anything in its price range like the Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 or MSI MAG 272UP QD-OLED and you'll instantly see the trade-off: those are desktop-bound, superior in every visual metric, and often cheaper. Even the Alienware AW3423DWF ultrawide costs less and delivers a far richer HDR experience. The ASUS only makes sense over those if you routinely pack a monitor in a suitcase. If you're stationary, a standard 1440p gaming screen will be sharper, louder, and more color-accurate for less money.

If you're a desktop gamer with a permanent setup, hard pass. A 27-inch 1440p 165Hz monitor will cost less, look sharper, and give you proper audio. Likewise, if you need a productivity screen for spreadsheet work, the 1080p real estate is limiting. And if you hate wearing headphones, those speakers will drive you up a wall.

This is for the traveling esport enthusiast or the SFF PC builder who needs a big screen at a LAN party. It's also a solid second screen for a console when you're away from home. If 240Hz outside your bedroom sounds like a dream, it delivers. For everyone else, it's overkill.