Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.
Packaging, Physical Layout And Accessories
BenQ packs its gaming monitors in substantial lay down-style boxes with lots of protective foam to protect the contents. The top tray contains everything you need to run at 144Hz and use G-Sync. You get a USB cable, DVI and DisplayPort connectivity, a nice vinyl dust cover, a headphone hook for the upright and the S-Switch OSD controller. The upright snaps onto the panel and the base is attached with a captive bolt.
Product 360
The panel is protected by an anti-glare layer just like BenQ's other screens. Displaying test patterns and finely-detailed content shows excellent clarity without any graininess or other unwanted textures. The bezel contains touch-sensitive controls along the lower-right edge that light up when your finger comes close. They respond to light pressure with a beep and aren’t too finicky.
You can also control the OSD with the S-Switch, which plugs into its own dedicated port. The switch can be attached to either side of the base magnetically, or it can sit freely on your desk like a mouse. One quirk we hadn’t seen before – the S-Switch doesn’t work in G-Sync mode.
BenQ includes a solid stand with the XL2420G offering a full range of tilt, height, swivel and portrait adjustments. All of the movements exude quality, including ideal resistance and zero wobble. This is a high-end monitor for sure, and it demonstrates the construction to match.
The USB ports and headphone jack are on the left side panel. We’re disappointed to see only second-gen connectivity when so many other vendors enable USB 3.0. At least the headphone jack is easily accessible.
From the back you can see a racy red trim around the cable management cut-out and the headphone hook, which arrives already installed. If you don’t want to use it, snap it off. The handle on the upright’s top is metal and very solid. It easily supports the weight of the XL2420G. If you want to use your own 100mm VESA-compatible bracket, simply unsnap the upright to expose the bolt holes.
Inputs are exclusively digital, including a single DVI, two HDMI and one DisplayPort connector. G-Sync works only over DP, and you need to use that or DVI for 144Hz operation. The HDMI inputs support 60Hz-only. At the far left is the S-Switch's dedicated connection. We recommend hooking your computer up via DisplayPort and HDMI simultaneously for reasons we’ll get into on the next page.
