The BenQ EW2420: Too good to be true?

I am still waiting for the large sample of BL2400PTs from Datalol to be checked out. I have also brought this to the attention of BenQ through their PR firm but I think this monitor is really in the spotlight due to its price and offering something new and different. There is probably also a bit of 'negative or nothing' going on but I mentioned this as an example of inter-panel variability as I wanted people to be aware of the wider issue. And it does affect most consumer models to some degree but I am certainly following this one closely. :)

Oh cool smileys. :D:eek::rolleyes:;)
 
I just ordered one of these babies was going for the sammy but changed my mind due to PCM2 lol my main game i play is Arma2 Arrow Head at the moment and flight sims Black Shark + Flaming Cliffs so not to worried about ghost and trails and all that nonsense :D

Wish me luck.

jay.
 
I have a habbit of changing people's minds. ;) Since those are the kind of games I tested on the monitor and found perfectly playable that's probably quite a strong incentive for you.
 
after a couple of days here's some of my experiences using the BenQ EW2420 which is an ex-display model so may not be typical,

when you first boot into windows using this monitor, even during the windows POST screen you'll go WOW! so that's what blacks are supposed to look like. then at the desktop you set-up your preferences using the OSD, and once you've done that everything looks like a glossy magazine. viewing angles are brilliant, dead pixels there were no dead pixels, backlight bleed was ziltch and nothing to worry about. in gaming, specifically fps gaming, there was very little difference between this VA panel and my TN panel, the differences may be measurable but in practice lining up shots in MW2, MOH, & BlackOps just felt the same, you swerve the mouse and it feels exactly the same with no noticable lag. either way you're dead or you're not.

after the initial set-up I started to notice something that may or may not be significant regarding my particular BenQ EW2420, that is there is a feint green tinge in the colour balance, it didn't matter how I set the RGB values manually I could not get rid of it, now this ain't supposed to happen and maybe it's particular to my monitor, but the bottom line is that I could not correct it.

I have sent this BenQ back (regrets), and I don't know if I shall try another but I'm leery seeing as my 4 year old TN panel with it's terrible backlight bleed and horrible viewing angles has a better colour balance and better rendition of fleshtones than this VA panel

:)
 
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If you are worried about the possibility of tinting then your choice of the U2410 seems counterintuitive. ;) This is something that can affect any monitor and is another example of inter-panel variation. Sorry to hear that about your EW2420 though EDC.
 
But PCM2, would I not be correct in stating that the quality control of the DELL is superior to that of the Benq?

If I wanted a monitor which had good QC, I would definitely not by the Benq, as there are too many people returning these monitors due to QC issues. At least with DELL, their customer support is top notch, so that if you receive a monitor which falls fractionally below your expectations, DELL will more than likely replace it.
 
That only applies if the monitor is genuinely faulty. The DSR rules that govern the first week (which applies here) are universal regardless of manufacturer. The 'tinting' that has plagued some U2410s of all revisions is an issue that has been one of the most complained about monitor issues in recent times and it is something that puts a lot of people off. Although I didn't experience anything so pronounced with my revision A01 U2410 the white uniformity did leave a lot to be desired compared to the EW2420. Don't think the U2410 will give you a smooth ride - it is still one of my favourite gaming monitors but it is prudent to be aware of the issues.
 
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I don't want to put anyone off buying a BenQ EW2420, those were my experiences using it over three days, and also my first experience of using a VA panel. I'm about 20 quid out of pocket so far, being £10 for next day delivery on the monitor and £10 to arrange a courier return. And let me stress that this was not a faulty monitor RMA'd, I sent it back because I felt it wasn't suitable for me and so have no qualms over the return charge. My dilemma is I'm still looking for a decent 24" monitor that's under £200, has good colour reproduction, is OK on gaming, viewing angles not a priority because I'm sat dead center in front of the monitor, I'm even tolerent of backlight bleed to a degree, the main priority for me is colour reproduction with accurate fleshtones
 
EDC said:
I'm still looking for a decent 24" monitor that's under £200, has good colour reproduction, is OK on gaming, viewing angles not a priority because I'm sat dead center in front of the monitor, I'm even tolerent of backlight bleed to a degree, the main priority for me is colour reproduction with accurate fleshtones
Click to expand...

That about sums up what most people are after.

Unfortunately, manufacturers over the years, rather than concentrating on improving quality of mid-range monitors, they seems to have put all their efforts in bringing down the prices of the cheapest monitors available.

What this means is that we now have very cheap (large screen) monitors, which offer poor image quality.

Based on my own experiences of using good quality monitors, when I heard that the DELL U2311H was of good quality (reading many user opinions), I bought it, only to discover that compared to my other monitors, it is actually below average (by my own standards). The problem is that the general public have now been conditioned to accept poor quality monitors and if you are used to using a good (CRT or old LCD) monitor, you will be surprised just how bad the "good-ish" monitors are, in 2010.

Even if you spend more money on a Dell U24xx monitor, as PCM2 has stated, you may still not be satisfied.

I often wonder that if CRT monitors had been developed over the last 10 years (and not been discontinued), in terms of image quality, would CRT monitors be ahead of LCD monitors, in terms of text image quality (we already know that good CRT monitors are superior when it comes to video/graphics).
 
Monitors are the endgame to everyone's rig and probably the very last component that we upgrade in our systems, personally I've had about 4 different mobos, a couple of cpus, a couple of graphics cards, various memory upgrades, new sound card, a couple of hard drives and a new case, I even splurged 50 quid on a gaming mouse, never giving a second thought about the monitor which has always been put off to the last moment. It's been around 4 years since I bought my last monitor a Samsung 205BW, this thing is indestructible, it's an ecological terrorist, I can put burgers on top of it and they stay warm. So now 4 years on what's the deal, backlight LED monitors on crystal stands ... all very nice, but image quality remains static and these new monitors can't reheat a chinese take-away

.
 
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thanks PCM2, right now I'm using my Samsung 205BW to supplement this cold weather spell, leave it on overnight and the room is all warm & toasty come morning ... merry Xmas all!
 
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Hi guys,

I'm a long time reader of this thread and gratefully sucked in every piece of information about the new BenQs. Even though the thread resulted in me not buying one of these BenQs.

But I ended up buying a Samsung 2333T with VA Panel (according to Samsung's homepage with an incredible 4.000:1 static contrast ratio!) which is sold darn cheap (in Germany for less than 150 Euro including tax and shipping – for comparison: the VA BenQs cost about 240 Euro around here).

So, now I'm happy to give some information back to you guys – here is my review of this monitor (sorry for the heavily garbled google translation):

http://translate.google.de/translat...luxx.de/community/15803327-post1.html&prev=_t

As a teaser, here are two pictures (cell phone pictures - take them with a grain of salt) showing the shadow details and the overall picture impression in dark movies compared to a Dell 2209WA (- the Dell's aspect ratio looks messed up, because the PC is set to 1920x1080).





In a nutshell: The 2333T is far from perfect - but good enough for me (I use it mostly for office and as a TV/movie playback screen). Movies look particular awesome on this screen. But it is not a good screen for gamers.
 
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Nice black levels on the 2333T, particularly in that last shot, Grummel :)

I have the Dell U2311H (e-IPS) which is somewhat the successor to your 2209WA and I find the blacks not quite deep enough, exactly how it looks in that photo when viewed in the dark. That's probably my biggest complaint about my Dell.
 
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Thanks for the excellent review and moreover thanks for bringing the 2333T to my attention once more. I had used a 2333T a few months ago thinking it was a one of Samsungs new budget TN panels. After brief usage (far more brief than your usage unfortunately) it was clear to me that it was cPVA and similar in many ways to the F2380. I had completely forgotten to check its retail status and so much as mention it on my site. It had such a low-key release and slowly slipped into retail on some select places. Given that it is priced at about £130 in the UK it is a truly eye-popping bargain. It isn't quite as responsive as the EW2420 and indeed seems to share the RTC algorithms of the F2380 but it is a hell of a lot cheaper and has really excellent contrast. I could see it being a truly excellent choice for movie lovers.
 
So I bought an EW2420 last week and just thought I'd let you know my experience.

The monitor was for my bro as an xmas present to replace his 19" Hans.G from 2006. Knowing there might be issues I decided to test it in case of backlight bleed and dead pixels.

I have to say the backlight on the screen was very even with no LEDs shining through at the bottom. The contrast was good although in the dark room the black wasn't as deep/dark as I'd have hoped for.

Now given that I'm using a BenQ FP241W which is getting on for four years old and also uses an VA panel, I expected this new screen to perform on par with it regarding response times and ghosting. What greeted me when I went for a quick session on l4d was a smeary mess, panning around the walls seemed to melt like I was on drugs. Same with every other game I tried, mostly FPSes, which is what my brother spends his time playing. This was with AMA on, turned off thing became even worse, which I found hard to belive. Knowing that my FP241W is devoid of any overdrive, was I expecting too much? The screen behaved exactly like in the video which somebody posted earlier of them panning in WOW.

I'd also have to say that the colours on it were lacking any kind of punch, the backlight gave the screen a cold feel and I simply couldn't get the reds to look anything other than pink.

So I sent it packing.

What worries me is that the monitor box has clearly been opened as one layer of BenQ tape was cut. Then another layer of BenQ tape was applied over the top which was of course uncut. The monitor was manufactured in Sept so I have to wonder if someone had already sent it back. On this basis I hope it was a duff screen as the majority of people here seem to find thier ghosting minor or at least bearable.

At any rate I've gone for a 2333T to see what that like ( yes, yes it may ghost more, but I'm hoping the BenQ was a duffer :p )

If that turns out to be as bad then I guess its time to move onto IPS, the ViewSonic VP2365wb seems to be my next canidate.

Are we asking too much from these screens? Have I been spoilt by my trusty FP241W, not to mention the AMOLED on my phone :eek:...
 
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