BenQ SW2700PT 27-inch QHD Pro Monitor Review
If you need the ultimate in color accuracy, BenQ can deliver with its 27-inch SW2700PT. Professionals seeking a precise QHD resolution screen may rejoice when they see its low price. Today we check it out in our labs.
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Viewing Angles, Uniformity, Response & Lag
To learn how we measure screen uniformity, please click here.
AHVA and IPS are similar technologies but the former improves off-axis image quality through tighter tolerances between the backlight, TFT and LC layers. The result is far less brightness reduction and gamma shift as you move to the sides. And as you can see from the photo there’s no color shift either. From the top you can still see plenty of detail but brightness has gone down considerably and there is an obvious red tint present.
Screen Uniformity: Luminance
Many professional monitors offer uniformity compensation which we’ve found to be of little value since it reduces contrast and light output. BenQ has simply provided a quality panel with no light bleed or hotspots in evidence. Our measurements show a slight brightness increase in the lower right corner but we couldn’t see it with our eyes. The top-finishing PA272W has five levels of compensation available but it wins with the feature turned off.
Here’s the white field measurement.
All the screens do well in our white field test except for the PA322UHD. That monitor suffers from a slight center hotspot. The SW2700PT has no visible issues at 100 percent or any other brightness level.
Screen Uniformity: Color
We could see the slightest green shift on the sides of our review sample. It’s not significant and you won’t see it in content unless it contains a lot of bright white areas. In all our real-world use of the monitor it didn’t present a problem.
Pixel Response And Input Lag
Please click here to read up on our pixel response and input lag testing procedures.
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We don’t expect gamers to shop the SW2700PT but if you are in need of a professional screen and you like to frag, it’s a decent choice. Obviously there’s no G-Sync, FreeSync or high refresh rate but the AU Optronics panel used here has decent response that’s a tad quicker than most IPS monitors. Motion blur is minimal in our moving object tests and BenQ’s AMA (overdrive) feature is there if you want it.
Here are the lag results.
BenQ makes some impressive gaming monitors so it’s not too surprising to see some of that performance leak over into the professional line. While not as fast as a 144Hz display, a 61ms input lag score is more than quick enough for most of us.
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Christian Eberle is a Contributing Editor for Tom's Hardware US. He's a veteran reviewer of A/V equipment, specializing in monitors. Christian began his obsession with tech when he built his first PC in 1991, a 286 running DOS 3.0 at a blazing 12MHz. In 2006, he undertook training from the Imaging Science Foundation in video calibration and testing and thus started a passion for precise imaging that persists to this day. He is also a professional musician with a degree from the New England Conservatory as a classical bassoonist which he used to good effect as a performer with the West Point Army Band from 1987 to 2013. He enjoys watching movies and listening to high-end audio in his custom-built home theater and can be seen riding trails near his home on a race-ready ICE VTX recumbent trike. Christian enjoys the endless summer in Florida where he lives with his wife and Chihuahua and plays with orchestras around the state.