BenQ BL3201PH 32" 4k

skuko · 2 Jul 2015 at 13:36

PCM2 said:
I know. It was for the benefit of others so they may join you.

please include a 1440p downscale test in there. i'm looking to go 32" but not 4k at the moment.

PCM2 · 2 Jul 2015 at 13:39

skuko said:
please include a 1440p downscale test in there. i'm looking to go 32" but not 4k at the moment.

I always do comment on the handling of non-native resolutions on monitors with this sort of resolution.

Greebo · 2 Jul 2015 at 13:42

groove200 said:
Hopefully the refund from my returned Danny will be back in the bank tomorrow and I can pull the trigger....especially if there is a review due , and if it's as awesome as I hope they might start getting hard to get hold of

Feels like a secret only a few people know about at the moment !

Could do with OCUK getting them back in stock as well

I took a gamble with one of the B stock. Its perfect and saved me a third so well chuffed

groove200 · 2 Jul 2015 at 17:11

ok just noticed I typed Danny instead of Sammy.......really need to check when I post on my phone

groove200 · 3 Jul 2015 at 07:54

Let us know when the review is up PCM2 ....eagerly awaiting your thoughts

I have two concerns....just how readable is desktop text , how broken do windows and apps become when using scaling ,and are games played in 1440p as good as a native 1440p monitor ?

Ok maybe that's 3

skuko · 3 Jul 2015 at 08:10

groove200 said:
Let us know when the review is up PCM2 ....eagerly awaiting your thoughts

I have two concerns....just how readable is desktop text , how broken do windows and apps become when using scaling ,and are games played in 1440p as good as a native 1440p monitor ?

Ok maybe that's 3

seconded

PCM2 · 3 Jul 2015 at 08:10

Well I can tell you already that I don't specifically look at scaling in the review, because I don't need to use it on this monitor and it is explored in detail in my '4K experience' article. I find the text clarity without scaling superb, but it will depend on your eyesight, viewing distance and preferences. I find application-specific zoom better than overall scaling in Windows 8.1, too.

If you use Twitter, Facebook or G+ you can always follow the site on there and will know straight away when the review is published. But I will post here to notify as well, if I remember.

Greebo · 3 Jul 2015 at 08:35

Games in 1440p look just as stunning from my experience and I came from a 1440p Apple cinema monitor.

I am fine with reading text at 4k but I am close to the screen but I can why some people might suffer and need to scale.

And on scaling why is it so bad on windows compared to say an ipad? I have an ipad air 2 with a much higher dpi than this screen and use it about the same distance but scaling works so much better. Perhaps windows 10 will fix this?

Patrickman · 3 Jul 2015 at 15:34

PCM2 said:
It is called the BL3201PT over here and I'm currently reviewing it.

Any luck with the review?

Greebo · 3 Jul 2015 at 15:55

Patrickman said:
Any luck with the review?

He says it should be done and up on his website today

PCM2 · 3 Jul 2015 at 17:20

Patrickman · 3 Jul 2015 at 20:04

Love the work PCM2. Thanks

Do you mind me asking what would you prefer the BL3201PT or the Samsung S34E790C?

PCM2 · 3 Jul 2015 at 20:25

Patrickman said:
Love the work PCM2. Thanks

Do you mind me asking what would you prefer the BL3201PT or the Samsung S34E790C?

An excellent question. And a difficult one to answer. I personally really like the 21:9 aspect ratio and the increased FOV that brings to many games. I also find the UHD resolution a little too demanding on my current system.

On the other hand the extra height of the BenQ is good for the sake of immersion and the extra detail that the pixel density brings is really nice. I also prefer the screen surface on the BenQ as I'm really sensitive to this and found the Samsung just a little bit too grainy for my personal taste. Most people probably wouldn't take issue with this, however.

On balance I feel that for me the Samsung would be my preferred option, but I'd be quite happy with the BenQ if I had a more powerful GPU (or multiple GPUs). I really do enjoy both screens for different reasons.

Patrickman · 3 Jul 2015 at 20:40

Thanks a lot PCM2

Greebo · 3 Jul 2015 at 20:52

Great review as always and just reinforced that I made the right choice esp concerning backlight and response times.

You dont have your icc profile for it available do you please?

PCM2 · 3 Jul 2015 at 21:01

Greebo said:
Great review as always and just reinforced that I made the right choice esp concerning backlight and response times.

You dont have your icc profile for it available do you please?

Indeed, good choice!

But given the strong gamma tracking and inter-unit variation ICC profiles are unnecessary and possibly counter-productive. So no.

VEGACORTEZ · 4 Jul 2015 at 11:51

@PCM2

Thanks for another great review. It was a choice for me between this Benq or the Asus PA328Q and I went with the more expensive latter a month back. Comparing them it thankfully seems i'm not missing out on anything performance wise etc and other things, only gaining stuff as you would expect from paying more money. At least your in depth review has not highlighted anything i would have prefered and will help others make a great choice. Thanks again!

tipes · 4 Jul 2015 at 15:22

VEGACORTEZ said:
@PCM2

Thanks for another great review. It was a choice for me between this Benq or the Asus PA328Q and I went with the more expensive latter a month back. Comparing them it thankfully seems i'm not missing out on anything performance wise etc and other things, only gaining stuff as you would expect from paying more money. At least your in depth review has not highlighted anything i would have prefered and will help others make a great choice. Thanks again!

Just curious - what did you gain by getting the Asus?

Greebo · 4 Jul 2015 at 17:15

He gained nothing lol. Same panel and in reviews both the same. Suspect he just couldn't wait for the benq. The asus is a lot more money though

VEGACORTEZ · 4 Jul 2015 at 18:55

tipes said:
Just curious - what did you gain by getting the Asus?

I really love the styling for one and the super thin bezel not very keen on benq styling. It has hdmi 2.0, more adjustable overdrive settings (for no overdrive issues if you want) and comes with a factory calibrated sRGB mode which is very accurate with a document showing the calibration graphs and is not too bright in this mode either and the colours are not oversaturated like the benq. It also has a setting that enhances the otherwise great scaling by reducing the jaggies and helping the image stay sharp without any side effects. I am very happy with it's 720p, 1080p and 1440p scaling with this switched onto it's lowest setting. Also their is a thread about the benq having random artifact flashes on occasion on screen which sounded worrying. I'm not saying the benq is not great though but i'm happy i got the asus personally.