Zardon

It isn't often I "pimp" hardware in the news forum, however as we have never reviewed any BenQ products or have any association with them I felt I should bring this to the attention of our readers.

I have used the BenQ G2400 24inch screen, and the quality is top class. I noticed today that Komplett UK are selling it for £257 (inc vat)

This is for 5ms, 1920x1200 resolution, 1000:1 image contrast with HDMI, DVI-D and VGA connectors. 1:1 scaling and even has a 3.5 audio jack for HDMI line out to speakers. Also has a 3 year warranty.

I found this independent review of the screen which might interest some of our readers on limited budgets wanting to get into the big real estate league, although having seen it first hand I can highly recommend it, and it certainly belies the budget price.

The Amazing HD Gaming Monitor Shootout!

LeanWolf

I love my BenQ, it's a whole different game with a quality monitor. specially for someone like me who does alot of photography/art/image processing

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Zardon

Which model do you have?

Zelig

How does it compare to the higher end PVA/MVA 24" screens?

I've used the cheaper Dell and Acer TN models, and wasn't particularly impressed with them compared to the more expensive Dell and BenQ S-PVA and MVA models.


Actually, checking prices, this the cheapest 24" I can find, so even if it only outperforms other TN models, that's already a heck of a deal.

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|2A|N

Thanks for the heads up on this!
It has some great reviews on Newegg as well.

Judas

I'm itching for a dell 2408WFP..... but atm... it's not looking good form the comments stacking up around the globe.

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LeanWolf

in my sys specs: BenQ FP241W

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Zardon

yeah thats a great screen too. rather more costly (and better obviously).

Zardon

For the price it really is hard to beat. best screen in that price range, thats for sure. I think its a brilliant introduction for a lot of people into the big screen sizes.

Zardon

Don't touch it, the 7 is better.

Judas

i've heard even worse things about the 2407WFP even with rev A04...lol

frankly i'm sitting still..

meanwhile at home i'm gaming on the benq 19" DVI monitor i got my hands one..... i'd rather have a great little 19" then a POS 28" hanns.g up that monitor is.. holy crap i didn't think shit could excist in the form such as a monitor...

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dipstick

The monitor is the most important part of our PC's, imho at least. Always try to get the best you can afford even if it means going a little longer with a crappy one. Z knows his shit though and that does look really nice for the price.

Zardon

Well I think for guys like you dipstick you would go for a high end model, something like a EIZO.

You have to remember for the majority of people, they have a certain budget for components and I think this is a viable choice for someone who is budgeting £300 for a screen. I mean until recently for that price in the UK a 22inch at 1680x1050 was the only option. Now you can get a decent quality 1920x1200 screen with HDMI, DVI and a 5ms refresh for gaming.

I think its fabulous personally, great for dual screen, a second machine, or for a kid who has always only had enough money for a 19/20 inch.

dipstick

Oh no I didn't mean it like that -i suck at typing I'm thinking. That monitor seems like a fine standard to set for ones self. It was more meant on avoiding all the crappy TN models out there that are horrendous imo. No reason to drop $1k on an LCD but you should save up a little more than $200 as it would benefit you in the long run.
And please don't think of me as one of those guys you see walking into an Apple store with his 740IL bmw waiting in the lot. I'm up to my eyeballs in bills and barely make it check by check. Hell, my car is a 2001

CDsDontBurn

this does seem to be an awesome monitor! and i would get full support from my 360 through the HDMI rather than the VGA adapter i'm currently using for my samsung syncmaster 226bw. it makes it run at some horrible stretched resolution.

720p or 1080i would be much better to run my 360 games

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Vampyromaniac

Aquí están unos fotos:
Review BenQ G2400W. - Comunidad N3D

Yes, it's in Spanish, but there are some useful pictures. The backlight supression seems pretty good, but the screen uniformity doesn't look that great.

I'll wait for a professional review for more info, but I fear the banding/dithering and poor viewing angles that can come with TN panels.

I'm personally more inclined to just wait for a real good monitor to come out and spend more money, rather than take the entry-level step first and have something not so great in the meantime. But I can understand how some people would want at least some kind of upgrade to start with. And of course not everyone's wants/needs/standards are the same

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Zardon

Well i don't really like to argue, but I actually received one today (bought it for a second PC in another room based on seeing my colleagues) to check out from benq and after spending time with the screen I am absolutely stunned. The image is comparible with a Dell 2407 except that the BenQ blacks are richer. I am stunned that a screen almost half the price is this good.

Well I think it might be sometimes a common misconception to just dismiss something merely on the fact it costs £$xxx less than something else.

I mean ill give you an example, a 8800 Ultra compared to a 8800 GTS. The ultra is faster, but by how much? id say 5-10% max and they cost £450 here (if you can get them) compared to £200 for a GTS.

So I guess the point im making is, not to always dismiss something totally because of the price range, otherwise we would all have saved up £1000/$2000 for an Eizo 24" LCD FlexScan HD2441W-TS. I mean of course the Benq screen isn't "the best" i have seen, but it costs £260 from komplett and those screen are twice or three times the price (the Eizo is 4 times the price!). So for general use? I'd rather have £300-£700 quid in my wallet.

It is the law of diminishing returns at times, and I certainly wouldn't stick my neck out and recommend something I thought was even average. Especially as I have spent many hours today testing the monitor with some high end apps, games and photo/design tools.

If anyone buys this screen based on my recommend and thinks its crap, feel free to come in here and flame me, but I stand by this thread, for the money there is nothing to beat it, not even the Samsung 245B which has weaker black definition.

Judas

if i was spending another 2k on a monitor.. i'd be looking at the 30" 3008.....

i know the 3007wfp still has top notch unbeleiveable color reproduction and the blacks are great.... no banding, no oddities to speak of aside from if you crank the contrast up to the max... you may get a bit of a buzz from the backlight... (and it definitely gets warmer)......

It's my benchmark atm, if i want to see how another lcd looks .. i sit it beside this sucker.....

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Zardon

great to see we are having another sensible discussion on the merits of budget screens.

Judas

no i was refering to that insanely priced eizo... never heard of it.

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YAYitsAndrew

Haha go back to the budget screen discussion, I'm trying to piece together a new system for when my card comes and getting a real monitor (I'm on a 17" viewsonic) is one of my upgrades.

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"It is because the resistance to paying for copyrighted material, although often characterized as arising from a supposed technical burden or principled concern for the public interest, arises rather from exactly the same segment of the brain that is dominant in shoplifters."
- Mark Helprin, Digital Barbarism
In other words, it's never okay to steal even if you think you have a good reason!

www.yayitsandrew.com

Zardon

Have you worked out a budget for the system yet?

YAYitsAndrew

I haven't built a pc since like 2004..so much has changed! I'm thinking my upper limit is $1000 USD, probably broken up at 650 for parts (motherboard, cpu, and ram) and 350 for a nice monitor.

High on my list is upgrade potential....my 939 system is dead in the water, can't go anywhere with the cpu socket or with the ram.

BenQ really impressed me a few years back with an innovative wireless laptop mouse, I have this monitor on my "to investigate" list.

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"It is because the resistance to paying for copyrighted material, although often characterized as arising from a supposed technical burden or principled concern for the public interest, arises rather from exactly the same segment of the brain that is dominant in shoplifters."
- Mark Helprin, Digital Barbarism
In other words, it's never okay to steal even if you think you have a good reason!

www.yayitsandrew.com

Vampyromaniac

Since you just got one, post some pics of your new baby! Hey, maybe even a DH review in the future? You might even have the very first real review of this monitor! With some good photos of colour gradients and everything.

I certainly didn't mean to say it's too "cheap" a monitor, just that like you said it's not "the best" or more accurately not quite what I'd be looking for in a final purchase. I never dismiss anything on price, only on features. What I meant to say was that I'd rather stick with what I have now, and wait for the prices to drop on the better monitors, so I can get almost everything I want in one upgrade (I know I'll never find the "perfect" buy.)

I am actually a budget shopper . . . I don't spend money for years at a time, but when i do I make sure it's just what I want, or at least as close as I can get. (and obviously from my past, I never buy things like $1000 CPU's)

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Lowfat

I've been using a G2400 since the were just available back in October'ish. I could find no reviews, but it was the cheapest 24" you could buy then. Yes it is a TN panel but it isn't all that bad of a display. So it has been 4ish months since I have it and I really have no complaints except for it being to small . No banding, no bleeding.

EDIT: There are two things that do bother me about the monitor which I forgot about. First, lets say you have your monitor set to shut off after 5 minutes. Quite often the monitor will not power on if you move the mouse (happened on both my mac and PC). You have to physically shut the display off, then turn it on.

Second the VGA looked absolutely awful when hooked up to my Mac. DVI and HDMI looked perfectly fine though.

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Zardon

A review might happen but we are so backlogged right now with companies sending us hardware and struggling with the manpower to review it.

However here is a picture of my study, this is the heart of DH.

The benQ 24inch is on the far left.

Lowfat

What size is that Sharp Aquos? 37" ? Isn't that a bit big when sitting at the desk?

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swimtech

Same reason billboards are easy to read! Y'all have to wear glasses yet?

That setup looks very, um, practical - yeah, that's the ticket!

Thanks for the heads up on that BenQ model - noticed the brightness spec on that unit is lower than most (250nits) but the static (not one of those dynamic 3000:1 ratings ) contrast rating looks good - they probably have tweaked that backlight for good quality blacks, which of course enhances color perception.

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It's not so much getting your way that matters or not - what matters is how you go about getting it.

Zardon

we need to get you doing monitor reviews for us Swimtech, as its your job you know more than most reviewers thats for sure.

The blacks really are a strong point of the screen, normally as you know you end up with a dark grey for blacks which can look awful watching movies.

I would that particular aspect of the monitor is its strong point, HD movies (and gaming).

Zardon

52inch. no, its great, I love it. best screen ive ever used.