This is a very good monitor for office applications. The contrast is good and office applications do benefit from the improved latency, if only when moving windows. Text is very clear and quite comparable to what the competition offers. Users will be able to use the broad range of brightness adjustment to adjust the monitor to lighting conditions in the office. Tests under Linux showed no problems. If you're into photo retouching and can't do a calibration, you'll need to work on the color adjustments a little, especially red.

Verdict

So is the BenQ FP71E+ the ultimate LCD monitor? No, it's not; but it is an excellent monitor - and perfect for games, there's no doubt about that. On the other hand, the increased reactivity is achieved at the expense of visual comfort in other applications, such as multimedia. The display has difficulties with dark areas and with certain shades. Color adjustment is not neutral. The viewing angle is reduced. Film buffs and graphics pros will surely be less impressed. On the other hand, where contrast and luminance are concerned, it performs very well.

So would we recommend this monitor? Yes, if you're a devoted gamer and you don't already have a Hydis 20ms panel. It's invariably the fastest screen available. However, the product still isn't revolutionary since the decrease in latency is only 10% to 20% less compared to the next fastest LCD monitors.

In any event, 8ms panels seem to have a bright future and we're impatiently awaiting the other new models, the market debuts of which are imminent.