BenQ Zowie XL2411P Gaming Monitor Review: 144Hz but no Adaptive-Sync

The XL2411P delivers 144Hz and motion blur reduction in a solidly built chassis at a low price. A TN panel at 1080p promises responsive gameplay and fast frame rates.

Reviews
By Christian Eberle
last updated
(Image: © BenQ)

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Uncalibrated – Maximum Backlight Level

We mined our database for value-oriented displays and came up with the Acer XFA240, Pixio’ PXC273 and ViewSonic Elite XG240R. At a higher price point, running at 240Hz are the Aorus KD25F and Acer Predator XN253Q.

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(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

The XL2411P is rated for 350 nits, and it easily surpassed that. That’s plenty of light for any application or environment, but since a backlight strobe is available, we’d rather see something north of 400 nits to compensate. If you choose to engage blur reduction, there will be a 50% drop in brightness. If you max the backlight, that works out to 184 nits.

Black levels are right in the middle of the TN screens here and, not surprisingly higher than the lone VA panel from Pixio. At at 984.6:1, the XL2411P's contrast is just under our preferred 1,000:1 threshold . This is average performance for TN. 

After Calibration to 200 nits

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Calibration didn't change anything contrast-wise, only reducing the score by an invisible amount of 3%. Black levels are good for a TN panel and should provide ample shadow detail. We saw no need for the Black eQualizer feature during our gameplay sessions.

We were pleasantly surprised to see the XL2411P post an intra-image contrast score over 1,000:1, which is excellent performance, especially for a TN display. 

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Christian Eberle
Christian Eberle
Contributing Editor

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.