Unless you're a professional gamer, competing at the highest level, you really don't need a response time of 1ms on your gaming monitor. In other words, you really don't need a TN panel often found in BenQ monitors (not all their models but definitely their most popular). Don't get me wrong, BenQ makes phenomenal monitors, but if you're like me and the picture quality/color matters, I recommend purchasing an IPS monitor. This is a newer technology which provides better color and quality. The knock on IPS monitors is that getting a response time lower than 5ms is very difficult. Like I mentioned above, unless you're a professional gamer, it's very likely you wont even notice the difference. I do YouTube and pretty competitive gaming and I could not notice a difference between a 1ms BenQ and 6ms Acer playing a flinch reaction game (COD). Now, if we're talking about a 55" flat screen TV compared to a 27" monitor, you'll definitely notice the difference in the response time because the large TV will likely have a response time closer to 45ms. Believe me when I tell you, you will absolutely notice the difference between a quality IPS compared to a quality TN monitor, the TN panel's color will look washed out 10/10 times. Of course, resolution plays a factor here but when we're talking about console gaming (which I am), 1080p 60fps is the max you're going to get at the time of this review.
Now that we have that out of the way, here's my review for the actual monitor. Let's be clear, this is a PREMIUM monitor. A few years ago when this monitor released, it cost about $700 (yes, this monitor is a few years old). $700 for a gaming monitor or second display is a lot of money, no question about it. Now that this monitor is a few years old and Asus has newer models (for much more money), this monitor is a steal at $400.
Asus monitors, at least in my experience, are on the thicker side as far as physical dimensions. It's not because it's older technology as Asus still makes monitors that are thicker. That being said, this is a thicker monitor so keep that in mind before you purchase it. Not thick to the point its annoying or a deal breaker, but it isn't as thin as say, some Acer models that are on the market. And that's perhaps the end of the negative part of this review.
I'm reviewing this monitor from a gaming AND second monitor perspective - I use this monitor for both. Let's talk about the most important part, the picture. This monitor looks GOOD. The picture is very clear and crisp, the colors pop and it's a really enjoyable visual experience. It's going to be a huge upgrade to just about all TN panels and entry level IPS monitors. I truly enjoy a nice picture and am willing to sacrifice a little response time, this monitor is well worth it, I promise you. If picture quality/color is important to you, then stop reading and add this monitor to your cart; you wont regret it. After all, that really is the most important part when it comes to a monitor provided you're not a professional gamer.
The adjustable stand on this monitor received a lot of hate when I was reading reviews before I decided to purchase it. I have to say, I don't agree with the negative reviews about the stand. I find the adjustable stand to be quite convenient and work well. It has all the adjustments you'll need to get the screen in the perfect position for you. The base of the stand is kind of huge and I'm not sure it's completely necessary. But again, not really all that important.
One of my favorite features of the monitor is the built in speaker. This is no lousy speaker, it is actually quite loud and pretty clear! When I'm tired of using my headset for FPS, I appreciate the fact it has a reliable speaker. This may not matter to many of you because you use external speakers, but for those that don't, or don't want to spend the extra money on external speakers, this is another win for you.
Bottom line, this is a phenomenal monitor for gaming and as a second monitor for your PC/Mac. Spend the money on something you're going to spend a lot of time using, you'll really appreciate it in the end. By the way, 2K is a really nice touch as well when it comes to a nice picture.
| Standing screen display size | 27 Inches |
|---|---|
| Screen Resolution | 2560x1440 |
| Max Screen Resolution | 2560 x 1440 |
