Review: BenQ XL2720Z

by Tarinder Sandhu on 10 March 2016, 15:01

Tags: BenQ

Quick Link: HEXUS.net/qacyqu

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Conclusion

...the BenQ XL2720Z shows that, after some calibration, it can fulfill the wants of the gamer and creative type.

BenQ has an ever-expanding range of gaming-focused monitors in its arsenal. Chief amongst their traits is flicker-free performance at high resolutions. Exemplifying this line of thinking is the XL2720Z that ships with a full HD resolution inside a TN panel primed for gaming.

The colour fidelity and accuracy are merely average out of the box, but they can be tweaked to excellent through some basic calibration. Gaming performance, which is central to this screen's appeal, is very smooth if your graphics card can keep up with the refresh rate, and it's further augmented by BenQ's motion-blur technology.

Inputs are versatile, build quality is excellent, and a few distinctive touches, such as the red accents and the S-switch are nice additions to the package. Yet, of course, no monitor is perfect. The low resolution and poor viewing angles count against it becoming a real all-rounder, though BenQ does have a higher pixel count screen in the same range.

Gaming monitors needn't be one trick ponies, and the BenQ XL2720Z shows that, after some calibration, it can fulfil the wants of the gamer and creative type.

The Good
  
The Bad
Excellent image after calibration
High refresh rates work a treat
Good choice of inputs
Build quality is solid
  
Viewing angles are poor
Low resolution for 2016
Only USB 2.0 hub



BenQ XL2720Z

HEXUS.where2buy

The BenQ XL2720Z gaming monitor is available to purchase from Scan Computers.*

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At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.


*UK-based HEXUS community members are eligible for free delivery and priority customer service through the SCAN.care@HEXUS forum.


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Posted by Vorlon99 - Thu 10 Mar 2016 15:48
Nice looking monitor with some excellent features, but why are the screens still generally coming out with 1080 resolutions? Particularly at the higher price points
Posted by kalniel - Thu 10 Mar 2016 15:55
Vorlon99
Nice looking monitor with some excellent features, but why are the screens still generally coming out with 1080 resolutions? Particularly at the higher price points

It is a bit strange. Several colleagues like large yet only 1080p displays for coding work - they're crisper than non-native resolution scaling and you don't have icon/font scaling issues. But that's work, not really the target audience of this display.
Posted by Tunnah - Thu 10 Mar 2016 16:33
Vorlon99
Nice looking monitor with some excellent features, but why are the screens still generally coming out with 1080 resolutions? Particularly at the higher price points

These high-FPS capable panels would be pointless at higher resolutions for most users, as you'd need dual GTX 980TIs just to take advantage.
Posted by aniilv - Thu 10 Mar 2016 23:48
Vorlon99
Nice looking monitor with some excellent features, but why are the screens still generally coming out with 1080 resolutions? Particularly at the higher price points
because farcry primal struggles to get to 144fps with 980ti even on 1080p, never mind anything higher
Posted by Vorlon99 - Fri 11 Mar 2016 09:32
Tunnah
These high-FPS capable panels would be pointless at higher resolutions for most users, as you'd need dual GTX 980TIs just to take advantage.

aniilv
because farcry primal struggles to get to 144fps with 980ti even on 1080p, never mind anything higher

Fair points… I've got a fairly standard 27" Philips screen that is 1080 60hz, and an i7 with GTX980 and tbh, it looks great… I could probably have got a smaller 144hz screen (still 1080), but that would have cost a little more than I was prepared to spend, and I really wanted the larger screen for other uses besides games, but even then playing purely for fun and nothing more, I'm not too critical.