BenQ EW2420 Monitor Review
by Chris Heinonen on October 13, 2011 12:00 AM ESTBenQ EW2420 Introduction
The EW2420 from BenQ is designed for use as a multi-purpose display. While it has the standard DVI and HDMI port you would expect on a current monitor, it also has an additional HDMI port for another video source like a video game system or Blu-ray player, as well as speakers for the audio from these sources. Of course, if the panel doesn’t perform well then it doesn’t matter how many inputs it has, but the BenQ looks promising with both a VA panel and an LED backlight.
Hardware Impressions
Out of the box, the mounting system for the BenQ was easy to install, but not very robust. It does have the ability to tilt the monitor, but lacks any swivel or height adjustment. There is a small clip for routing your cables through, but to fit a cable through you have to remove it and then reattach it. An HDMI cable or a headphone cable should fit through but it would have been far more useful had they allowed a way to slip a cable in there instead of needing to remove the whole clip to add one. There is an optional headphone holder for the top of the monitor included as well. If you wish to wall mount, or use a different mount than the included one, there is a standard 100mm x 100mm VESA mounting pattern on the back of the display.
The bezel around the display itself is a shiny black plastic, a look that I’m not a big fan of. To me the shiny edge of the screen just attracts fingerprints and can produce a distracting glare in bright lighting conditions, which a matte finish manages to avoid. The controls for the display are set to the right side of the screen and labeled with light gray text on the bezel.
| BenQ EW2420 | |
| Video Inputs | DVI-D, D-sub, 2x HDMI 1.3 |
| Panel Type | VA |
| Pixel Pitch | 0.276 mm |
| Colors | 16.7 Million |
| Brightness | 250 nits (typical) |
| Contrast Ratio | 3000:1 (typical) |
| Response Time | 8 ms (GTG) |
| Viewable Size | 24" |
| Resolution | 1920x1080 at 60 Hz |
| Viewing Angle | 178 degrees horizontal and vertical |
| Backlight | LED |
| Power Consumption (operation) | 53 watts (maximum) |
| Power Consumption (standby) | Less than 1W |
| Screen Treatment | Antiglare with hard-coating 3H |
| Height-Adjustable | No |
| Tilt | -5 degrees to +20 degrees |
| Pivot | No |
| Swivel | No |
| VESA Wall Mounting | Yes: 100 mm x 100 mm |
| Dimensions w/ Base (WxHxD) | 17.32" x 21.91" x 7.05" |
| Weight | 11.24 lbs with stand |
| Additional Features |
USB 2.0 Hi-Speed Hub (1 upstream and 4 downstream ports) 2 x 1.5 watt speakers Headphone and line-in jacks |
| Warranty | 1-Year Limited |
| Accessories |
D-Sub cable 3.5mm audio cable USB cable Power cable Manual and driver CD |
| Price |
Starting at $263 Online $229 from BenQ after Coupon Code: ew2420oct$ |
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cz - Thursday, October 13, 2011 - link
This is one of my two 24" 1900x1200 monitors on my desk. It has DVI and HDMI inputs also it has mic array, speakers and Webcam. I am watching Comcast cable on this monitor in 1080 mode right now.vailr - Thursday, October 13, 2011 - link
The BenQ XL2410T monitorhttp://promotions.benq.us/gaming/xl2410t-monitor.h...
has a $75 off coupon available via Benq's facebook page.
Features:
120 MHz refresh rate
LED backlit
nVidia 3D ready
2 ms GTG
FPS "Shooting Game mode settings are co-developed by HeatoN, SpawN & BenQ engineers."
Picture-by-picture, for displaying two side-by-side screens within a single monitor, from 2 different video sources.
vailr - Thursday, October 13, 2011 - link
Shopping link: http://shop.benq.us/ProductDetail.aspx?id=56elevants - Thursday, October 13, 2011 - link
I need 120hz. Does anybody know any PVA/IPS 120hz lcd's?rickon66 - Friday, October 14, 2011 - link
After using several 24" and a 26" 1920 x 1200 monitors for the past few years, I added a 27" 1080p to my stable and it lasted about a week. I could not stand the loss of 120 lines of resolution so it went back to the store and was replaced by a U3011. If I was going to consider 1080, I would just as soon get a quality 32" TV and use it as a monitor. Computer monitors need to be at 16:10 and no less!!svojoe - Saturday, October 15, 2011 - link
I didn't think my needs were bleeding edge. I've been looking for a16x10
LED
IPS (or VA)
2x HDMI (DVI is fine, but I like simplicity)
Thats it, I don't really care about the resolution, anything between 21-27" is fine.
It looks like there is a half dozen or less choices out there, most of which are crazy expensive. I figured this would be on its way to being fairly standard!
Any recommendations?
jah1subs - Monday, October 17, 2011 - link
Reality check. 16x10 ratio is going away because manufacturers can cut more panels out of a single sheet of glass with 16x9 than with 16x10. This information is now 2-3 years old. I saw it on Digitimes that long ago. IIRC, 16:9 enables manufacturers to get about 5% more panels more sheet than 16:10. It is only about money.That said, I recently started using a 5 year old Dell Latitude D810, which has a 1280x800, i.e. 16x10 display. The extra height of the display, in this case 80 pixels, makes a real difference when dealing with a laptop. Because of the vertical space consumed at the top and bottom of the screen, this extra 80 pixels is more than the arithmetic 11.1% of the usable area.
Yes, 16x10 is better for working, but it loses out to economics and movie standards.
That is the end of this repeat of the reality check.