Packaging, Physical Layout And Accessories
BenQ packs the XL2730Z in a large lay-down-style box with a generous amount of Styrofoam to protect the contents. It’ll take serious effort to damage one of these in shipping. In addition to a printed quick-start guide and CD-ROM with full manuals and drivers, you get DVI and DisplayPort cables along with a USB 3.0 connector. Lastly, there’s a nice thick vinyl dust cover to keep your screen clean when it's not in use.
Product 360
After attaching the base to the solid-aluminum upright, simply snap the assembly onto the panel for a nice tight fit. Movements are firm and solid with no play at all. The panel is of average weight and will stay precisely where you want it. A red indicator on the upright makes it easy to restore your height setting if it changes. Like all XL-series screens, this display has superb build quality.
The XL2730Z has a nice thin bezel of only 18mm, which makes it ideal for a two- or three-screen installation. It’s only broken up by a power button plus five control keys. They’re push-buttons rather than the more common touchpads. Once you plug in the OSD controller, however, you’ll never touch them again.
The screen’s front layer is a traditional 3H-rated anti-glare shield. The panel’s extra pixel density is shown with excellent clarity and no trace of graininess. It does a good job of preventing reflections as well.
We love BenQ’s OSD controllers. They come on all the XL-series screens either as a puck (like the one above) or a ramp-shaped S Switch. The wheel is what makes it work so well. You can zip through menus in no time at all when you want to change a setting. It plugs into a dedicated mini-USB port on the input panel. You can leave it in its little nest on the baseplate or put it close to your mouse like we did. The large numbered buttons are hotkeys for the three user-programmable settings memories.
From the side, the XL2730Z isn’t the thinnest panel. But at 2.5 inches thick, it still works well on the wall. Just unsnap the factory upright to expose a 100mm VESA mount. You can see the side input panel in this photo with its two USB ports, headphone and mic jacks. The red dot at the top is a retractable headphone hook made from anodized aluminum.
Here’s a better view of the headphone hook and red-trimmed cable management hole. You can also see red text labels over the inputs. Again, the upright is solid aluminum with an integrated handle at the top. It can be safely used to carry the XL2730Z if you wish.
The down-facing input panel includes both version 1.4 and 2.0 HDMI ports. The 2.0 port supports 144Hz operation if you have a compatible video card. Otherwise, you can use either DisplayPort or DVI. BenQ also includes a legacy VGA input. Of course, for FreeSync support, you must use DisplayPort along with a compatible Radeon graphics card. Finally, you get a USB 3.0 upstream port along with two side-mounted downstream connectors.
