BenQ Zowie XL2746S 27 inch 240Hz Gaming Monitor | 1080p 0.5ms | Dynamic Accuracy Plus & Black Equalizer for Competitive Edge

[TL;DR Pros and Cons]Pros:***VERY Fast Response TimeNo Screen TearingOkay Viewing Angles (For a TN Panel)Really Smooth GameplayAmazing Customer SupportCan technically run the Xbox Series X at 1080p 120FPSCons:Color Reproduction Inaccurate (As With All TN Panels)(Resolved Through BenQ Customer Service) Dead PixelsConsole Set-Up (at least from my experience) has to be brute force to run 120FPS at 1080p.[General Thoughts]This monitor is for the PC gamers who are serious about competitive gaming. This monitor and the XL2546K are the best in class monitors for almost instant response time at a 0.5ms average; you just have to think about what size is better. If you want everything in your vision I would go with the XL2546K, though if you're more like me and want a bigger screen that's a little more immersive the XL2746S is perfect. If tearing in games or motion blur is a problem for you this monitor or any of the Zowie monitors with DyAc+ should do the trick for any games and remedy these problems.[Next Gen Consoles]The Xbox Series X does run at 120 FPS at 1080p on this monitor through it's HDMI 2.0 port though from my experience you have to brute force your way into the settings and activate it manually through the override menu. I'm not too sure on the PS5 though I can check soon and update this review.[Problems and How They Were Resolved]So I just want to mention in my review that the monitor I originally got from Amazon later had a dead pixel problem down the line. Though the customer service at Zowie/BenQ was really good and they were able to trade in the monitor for a replacement. Later on the monitor they gave me in return had stuck pixels though the customer service was still kind enough to provide me with replacements until I got a good model.Hopefully this problem doesn't happen to any of you but if it does just be aware that for this specific product, new monitors come in the red boxes, the refurbished monitors come in normal cardboard brown.[Color Reproduction and TN Panels]The color reproduction on TN Panels aren't that good and this monitor is a TN. Since the fastest refresh rates and response times are the easiest to achieve with a TN Panel this was the right choice overall. Though just be aware that doing any sort of color accurate work on this monitor isn't recommended.[Conclusion]This is in my honest opinion one of the best 27-inch gaming monitors for competitors. Playing games like Valorant, Call of Duty, Quake give you a good bump up in FPS and response time from most TVs/monitors and even games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Splatoon 2, Guilty Gear Xrd, Under Night In-Birth, and other 60FPS locked games feel really good also due to DyAc+ and the quick response time. Though if you want to have a single-monitor set-up that can both game and do freelance work that require accurate colors or a high resolution you might want to look elsewhere. This monitor works great for competitive gamers who need practice, competitive streamers who have secondary monitors to monitor their stream, or the ones who want to be very serious about their gaming equipment and have the space and money for secondary monitors for different works. I've personally had a dead pixel problem with this model though the customer service at BenQ/Zowie is so good with these kinds of problems that I didn't mind that much in the end.All in All, if competitive gaming is a huge priority to you and you can fit this monitor in your budget. I would say go for this, or any of the other high end Zowie XL S or K Series monitors.

I've been using the display since April of 2020 so I've had plenty of time now to get used to it and give it a fair shake.Brightness: If you enable DyAc+ and leave it on, the brightness can be adjusted as high as 400+ nits. However, if you turn off DyAc+, then it drops to roughly 320 nits. I personally leave DyAc+ on all the time.2D Picture Quality at 27": So a lot of people think they'll see pixelation at 1080p/27" and in my case I don't really notice it since I sit about 2 feet away from the monitor and i have it mounted on my wall. I previously had the 25" KD25F and found it too small for my liking so right now, this 27" hits the sweet spot. Remember, there is an 8 pixel per inch difference between 25" at 1080p vs 27" so all you have to do is move the 27" back a bit and you get the same view.3D Gaming at 27": I got an FPS jump of >30% going from 1440p back to 1080p with this display which was nice. As soon as I started playing CoD: Warzone I noticed the input lag and motion was far better than my old Asus PG278Q which is a 1 ms TN panel but from 2014. With DyAc+ enabled and the ultra low input lag of this display, my K/D shifted upwards and I've been averaging 5-15 kills per match in Warzone since I bought this monitor. With my old Asus PG279Q, I had peaked and could feel the input lag.S Switch: Man what a handy little tool! I setup 2 profiles so far, one for desktop with the black equalizer set to 5 and vibrance set to 12 and DyAC turned off. When I want to game, I choose the other profile which turns DyAC to Premium while boosting vibrance and black equalizer. Very handy little tool that a lot of other manufacturers should think about copying.Colors/Sharpness: Out of the box they're a bit dull so I just set it to user define + standard and gamma at 3 and now it looks pretty good. I also had to increase the Sharpness to 8/10. You should download the color profile for this display and then calibrate it. Since it is a true 8 bit display with near 100% sRGB, you will get very nice colors from it that matches a lot of IPS displays.DyAc+: So this is the entire reason I bought this display, to have BFI that doesn't lose brightness when turned on. I can confirm that this monitor does not lose any brightness with DyAC enabled and infact gets MUCH BRIGHTER (up to ~480 nits peak) unlike every other competing display which tend to cut their brightness in half with BFI enabled. I briefly read about changing the vertical totals on these forums and since I likely won't hit 240 FPS even with a 9900k@5 Ghz and 2080 Ti in the games I play (Warzone/Apex Legends), I settled on 182 Hz with VT of 1350. I tested many different vertical total values out and 1350 just seemed to work best as the top/bottom of the screen had minimal blurring and the middle was great. It also works perfectly at 240 Hz with no VT adjustments needed.Additionally, you can enter the service menu of this display and calibrate the area/intensity using the UFO Ghost page found on blurbusters or their utility. I did this for my display by setting a custom area/intensity in the service menu and have virtually NO ghosting (see attached image of UFOs).Negatives:------------Yes there are unfortunately negatives with this display as there would be any display on the market.TN: Because this is a TN display, it will have limited viewing angles and you should be prepared to sit in front of the monitor with at least 1.5-2 feet distance between you and it. I have my monitor mounted and sit back about 2 feet from it which is ideal.Color: While the color is fantastic with it being a true 8 bit display, a lot of high end IPS have gone 10 bit and have better sRGB coverage than this one does so it doesn't match top tier IPS panels. If you want to do professional work, I would recommend having a separate IPS monitor for that or if you absolutely cannot afford two monitors, then buy an IPS monitor instead of this one.Overdrive: This monitor does not have dynamic overdrive which is unfortunate. What this means is if you lower your refresh rate, AMA (what Zowie calls their overdrive) only has 3 settings and so you end up with more double images at refresh rates below 240 Hz because the overdrive doesn't compensate. Some new displays (namely an AOC one) has dynamic overdrive which accounts for this and so you end up with no double images/ghosting while gaming at lower refresh rates. While not a deal breaker by any stretch, I would have loved to see Zowie include this.Price: Let's face it, this is an expensive panel for 1080p and being TN. $650 is asking a lot but if you are a serious gamer that wants the best technology, you gotta pay. Other panels offer similar performance but they lack DyAc+ which is the ultimate differentiator. I'd say if you don't care about DyAc+, then you could get a panel from say Asus that costs $200 less and will give similar performance--just be aware that Asus displays BFI is <200 nits which is pretty dark.That's it, hope you found this review helpful. If I had to, I'd buy this monitor all over again and am highly satisfied with my purchase and you will be too.

Best 1080p monitor I've ever used. My only complaints are the aesthetic choices they made.Pros:1. Great specs.2. No dead pixels.3. Super fast response time.4. Crystal clear display.5. Good viewing angles.6. Sturdy stand that doesn't take up much desk space.7. I like the power button because it matches the button on my PC.8. Easy setup.9. Intuitive interface.10. Wakes up from sleep fast. My G7 takes like 10 seconds to wake up from sleep.Cons:1. The circular depression in the stand and the little remote that goes in it. The remote is a good idea but I don't switch between presets so often that I need it right there. I think they should have put a spot to mount it on the back of the monitor, out of sight, and get rid of the divot in the stand. It looks like a cupholder.2. The headphone holder thing that pops out on the side is flimsy and looks awkward when you hang a headset on it. They should have just put a headphone hook on the back of the monitor like Samsung did with the G7.3. The red color on the stand clashes with the paint theme in my room. I would have preferred a version that is all black.

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