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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dcollins - Thursday, October 13, 2011 - link
That makes absolutely no sense. How could less resolution in the same size possibly be worse for working? You get more vertical and horizontal space.mi1stormilst - Thursday, October 13, 2011 - link
It seems to me that it is really hard to make choices about which monitors are the best for gaming and photo editing below $400.00. What I want is a good IPS or VA based monitor that is great on color reproduction, but fast enough to game with and then pair it with two decent TN based panels (sides) for some fun eyefinity stuff. I need to replay Deus Ex in triple portrait mode soon or I am going to go crazy ;-PLordSojar - Thursday, October 13, 2011 - link
The choice is actually very easy....The ASUS PA246Q is by far the best gaming and photo editing monitor available, period. Turn off trace completely for gaming and you've got one wicked gaming monitor... and it's 98% Adobe RBG space. I own one, and will NEVER go back to any TN garbage nor will I ever "upgrade" to a 16:9 monitor that has an IPS panel. Blasphemy!
Death666Angel - Thursday, October 13, 2011 - link
That monitor should be a few bucks over $400 though.mobutu - Thursday, October 13, 2011 - link
People really should educate themselves and never ever buy crappy TN.In notebooks/laptops/nettops/ultrabooks too. Crappy TN with crappy Glossy ... yuck!
dcollins - Thursday, October 13, 2011 - link
I don't do print or serious color work, don't play first person shooters, and only use my monitor sitting in the same spot at my desk.I can get a 23" Acer TN panel monitor for $150 that serves my needs. Why waste $200 on features I do not need?
cactusdog - Thursday, October 13, 2011 - link
People should educate themselves about changes in the computer industry and changes in technology, instead of regurgitating old out of date information from 2004.120Hz is the new must have for gamers and will be standard kit within the next year or so. Only people who never tried a 120Hz say they will only use 60Hz IPS.
I know guys selling their U2711's for SA950's thats how good they are.
Death666Angel - Thursday, October 13, 2011 - link
"The BenQ EW2420 has LED backlighting but still only covers the standard sRGB colorspace"That reads a bit strange (though not wrong). As far as I know, normal LED backlighting has inferior color range than CCFL (which is used in most wide-gamut and professional monitors). The only way for LED to offer competitive color range is to use RGB LEDs. Your statement above makes it sound as though LED generally has superior color range, but just this one monitor doesn't make use of it. :-) Or am I wrong?
Otherwise, I don't see the appeal in 1080p @ 24". But good review!
cheinonen - Thursday, October 13, 2011 - link
Correct. I know many people that see LED backlighting and think "Oh, it has a wider color spectrum then!" since many of the initial LED displays did use RGB LEDs to have that larger spectrum, or at least promoted it as a major feature of being LED based. I just wanted to be clear that it wasn't the case here. It's always a fine line between assuming too much or too little when you try to figure out how detailed to be on every point.dingetje - Thursday, October 13, 2011 - link
no thanks BENQ....16:9 panels are crap