BenQ ZOWIE XL2720 Review

👤by Tony Le Bourne Comments 📅11-07-17
Conclusion
The BenQ XL2720 is an attractive monitor that performs beautifully for gaming and has a whole load of connectivity options enabling versatile use across various media sources. In our time spent with this display, we also watched some movies, did some photo editing and word processing, and the reality is, if you focus more on creativity (photo/video) than you do gaming, you will want to look at an alternative display featuring an IPS panel. That being said, we were impressed with the smooth and rich display, and for gamers that also enjoy dabbling in the creative side, it will do the job fine.



Adding to the comfort of the display, not only is the stand solid, versatile and easy to use, features such as the low blue light mode will help you protect your eyes from the harsh LCD light in the evening. Having selectable settings that can be changed at an instant using the S-Switch also helps make life much easier. Though the standout feature, besides the ultra-responsive screen itself, for us, is the Black eQualizer. Maybe not a function you will want to use in certain games or movies, but if you are fanatic about competitive FPS gaming, you might actually be surprised at how awesome it is.

Of the things we noted that kinda put a downer on our experience with the XL2720, the unresponsive power button did become a little frustrating as it was rather difficult to tell if it was even responding. Aside from that, our biggest complaint would be the pricing. Sitting at around £370 (+-£10 + cost for a recommended dead pixel test) we would have preferred this display to be QHD resolution (2560x1440).

Overall, the XL2720 is a stark reminder of the experience gamers are missing out on. Sure it isn't 4K (the wallet hurts just thinking about the cost of a 60Hz 4K panel, let alone a 120Hz+), but gaming on a sharp, 1920 x 1080 display at 144Hz unleashes those wasted graphics card horses. Sure, we kinda are complaining that we aren't getting the QHD version at this price point, but for £80 more, you can get the next in the series (XL2730) which does. Considering the fact that the current top line gaming panels (QHD/165Hz, 4K/60Hz) still cost £800+, BenQ-ZOWIE have certainly provided a strong case. We are sure that those whom jumped on 'affordable' 4K monitors, but are now stuck at 24-30Hz, with just 60Hz @ 1920x1080, are slapping themselves after realising the awesomeness of the XL2720.

Do you have a powerful gaming system but you are stuck on a 22" monitor with a 60Hz refresh? Then the BenQ ZOWIE XL2720 e-Sports could very well be the upgrade you need.

Pros.
+ Attractive design (non-distraction frame)
+ Adjustable tilt/swivel/height stand
+ Vivid, Flicker free display
+ S-Controller (easy menu navigation + profile selector)
+ Large selection of connections
+ 144Hz refresh, 1ms response
+ Black equaliser (reveals detail in dark areas)
+ Motion Blur Reduction

Neutral
+- Slow responding power on/off
+- Strange bright spot/ light bleed (could be a one-off issue)
+- Not certified FreeSync/G-Sync (might be more important to some)

Cons.
- Price (would have expected QHD (2560x1440) at this price point)

Click here for an explanation of our awards at Vortez.net.


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