ViewSonic VX1755 Review

About the ViewSonic VX1755 gaming monitor

Here are the specs of the monitor we tested:

• Display size: 17.2 inches
• Resolution: 1920 x 1080pixels
• Refresh rate: 144Hz
• Peak brightness: 250 nits (rated), 282.1 nits (tested)
• HDR support: No
• Color depth: 8-bit (6-bit + FRC)
• Contrast ratio: 800:1 (rated), 1,110:1 (tested)
• Pixel response time (GtG): 4.5ms
• Ports: 1 x Mini HDMI 2.0, 1 x USB-C video/data/power, 1 x USB-C data/power
• VRR Support: Yes, FreeSync Premium
• Other features: Built-in speakers, adjustable kickstand, USB pass-through

The ViewSonic VX1755 is fairly well kitted for a portable monitor. It’s especially handy that both the mini HDMI port and USB-C connection can support the display at its full 144Hz refresh rate in 1080p. Perhaps most surprising is that ViewSonic included speakers on the monitor, even if each puts out less than a watt and sounds somewhat tinny.

The monitor has a somewhat flexible stand, but it’s the kind you’d find on the back of a tablet or 2-in-1 laptop, not the kind you’d attach to a monitor. It keeps the display very low but provides a huge range of angle adjustments. The kickstand’s adjustability is limited to a landscape orientation, though. The monitor can be flipped into a portrait orientation, but it’ll lose angle adjustment and a good amount of stability.

What we like

Smooth visuals

The ViewSonic VX1755’s big delivery is its 144Hz refresh rate. That turns into dependably smooth gameplay visuals that make action games that much more enjoyable. The pixel response time is a bit slow, which caused some ghosting, or a trail of blurry pixels behind moving objects, in the games we tested, but you don’t find a lot of monitors even on high-end gaming laptops that can keep up with the response times of desktop monitors. ViewSonic bringing this level of smoothness to a portable display is a rare treat, though not an entirely unique one.

Good connectivity options

Nearly everything with a screen supports HDMI today, which makes HDMI a truly dependable standard for transfering audio and video. But a lot of portable devices favor USB-C ports and lack built-in HDMI ports because USB-C can output to HDMI and DisplayPort, depending on the type. ViewSonic’s inclusion of both types of ports and support for the full refresh rate and resolution on both is a solid move.

You can connect the display to a gaming PC at home with a USB-C power cable and an HDMI cable coming from a graphics card. Out and about, the monitor can connect to and get power from a single USB-C port on your laptop. HDMI doesn't carry any power, so it needs auxiliary power via USB-C. The monitor always needs a USB-C connection in any setup, but clearly, ViewSonic thought this through.

Perfectly portable

ViewSonic did a good job keeping this 17-inch display from taking up more room than it needed to. The bezels on the top and sides of the display are quite narrow at about a quarter of an inch, and the whole unit is only 0.7 inches thick, making it easy to slide into a medium-to-large backpack. It’s lighter than most laptops at just 2.2 pounds, which definitely helps. ViewSonic also included a folio cover to protect the screen when it's packed up.

What we don’t like

Drab color quality

The ViewSonic VX1755 benefits from being an IPS panel that provides decent viewing angles and manages a respectable 282-nit peak brightness with an anti-glare finish. But ViewSonic’s display leaves a lot to be desired from its colors.

ViewSonic misses out on a whole third of the sRGB color space and doesn’t even hit 50% of the AdobeRGB or DCI-P3 color spaces in our testing This results in duller colors and a lot on the table when a portable competitor like the $399 Asus ROG Strix XG16AHPE that covers 100% of the sRGB space.

Long ghosting trails

A 144Hz refresh rate helps create a responsive picture that flows through action in games, but another piece of the performance puzzle is a fast response time. It’s here that the ViewSonic VX1755 is a bit lacking; depending on the content on screen, fast-moving content can leave a long trail of ghosting behind it.

This kind of smearing may not be so distracting when most of what’s on the screen is still, as in some 2D games, but it can make it hard to keep up with everything happening in 3D games where a quick camera pan can result in a lot of ghosting as everything shifts across the screen. That ghosting doesn’t entirely undermine the benefits of the 144Hz refresh rate, but it reduces its usefulness compared to a monitor with a faster response time.

Should you buy it?

Maybe, only if you absolutely need a portable gaming monitor

The ViewSonic VX1755 may be better suited for gaming compared to a lot of other portable monitors on the market, but those who want a portable monitor for work first and play second may benefit the most—especially if you’d like to connect your tablet to a second display. This 17.2-inch ViewSonic handles spreadsheets just fine, but color-critical work like photo editing is an absolute no-go for this display. There are cheaper portable monitors, but they wouldn’t serve as a gaming monitor quite as well as the ViewSonic VX1755.

However, even if you plan on using the ViewSonic for gaming, a desktop monitor might still be the better option. Take this $229 Monoprice Dark Matter 24 gaming monitor—a cheaper, bigger monitor that goes just as fast, shines brighter, improves contrast, and delivers significantly better color. But if you need a portable monitor, the Asus ROG Strix XG16AHPE is a great alternative if you have room in your budget. It performs just as fast as the ViewSonic and has a similar selection of ports, an internal battery, and tripod mounting support, which can elevate the monitor to an ergonomic height and hopefully save your neck from cramping.

But again, if you’re looking for a portable monitor solely for gaming, many modern gaming laptops support the same 144Hz refresh rate as the ViewSonic VX1755, so there might not be many benefits for you to have a second portable monitor when you already have a great gaming display. If you want a portable monitor to use with your Nintendo Switch, you won’t see the full benefits of the display since the Switch doesn’t output 144fps or even 60fps in many instances—and most cloud gaming platforms support up to 60fps only. Maybe users would want to travel with a PS5 or a new Xbox and this monitor, but those consoles aren’t exactly portable like the ViewSonic.

The ViewSonic VX1755 is a nice option for a few, niche applications, but if you’re not entirely sure if it would be an added benefit to your work or leisure time, you probably want to go with another option.