BenQ XL2720Z vs ASUS VG248QE - 27" Worth the price?

Ransome

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I want to know if the extra inches are worth the money.
Other than that, I found their specs to be nearly identical.

BenQ XL2720Z:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GWFNMJS/ref=s9_psimh_gw_p147_d0_i1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=159G0FX88ZQ5VMGTZ8GM&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846
Total cost in USD including shipping to Israel and TAX import fees deposit: $696.40

ASUS VG248QE:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00B2HH7G0/ref=s9_psimh_gw_p147_d0_i3?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=159G0FX88ZQ5VMGTZ8GM&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846
Total cost in USD including shipping to Israel and TAX import fees deposit: $449.10

Now here is the thing - in Israel the difference is 1700 ILS (Asus) to 2650 ILS (BenQ).

The BenQ benfits - as I see them:
The flicker free technology - that supposedly reduces eye strain, and make the display looks more pleasant and clean. Very important to me, especially considering I had 2 laser surgeries performed in both my eyes (medical reasons as well).
BenQ is the same 1920 X 1080 resolution - but at 27" - instead of 24". And it is still 144Hz and 1ms gtg. This is extremely rare quality, in fact no other monitor is like that on the market. Also have the Lightboost/Blur Reduction Feature - that supposedly works pretty damn well - according to Linus.

Asus has a 27" version of 144hz monitor, but its not a gaming monitor specifically, and its 2ms instead of 1ms. So it is not an option for me.


I am replacing a broken LG led 23" monitor, that gave me more trouble than it's worth, and recently gone pink and flickery (IPS 237 LG).
I am willing to make a serious investment, if that mean a quality, long term, fast and fluid 144hz gaming monitor.
What's important to me?
Good sharp colors.
Great contrast.
1 ms response time.
Good brightness.
144 Hz.
Good size.
Low to no eye fatigue.
Low to zero ghosting and blur.

Also a question: Linus is praising the BenQ BLUR REDUCTION feature - is that something that always works? IS it only for 3D vision (which I won't use) - or should I keep it on for games in general ?
Here is a video review from Linus tech tips: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oCQfKlCkL0c
He seems to be very impressed and favors the BenQ XL2720Z.

Other than that - I need your opinions, to help me make that decision.
Please help quickly, because Amazon tends to remove items like this from shipping to my country, so I plan to buy this in the next 24 hours or less.


My rig specs:
Core i5-3570K (running @ 4.2 Ghz - slight auto voltage OC).
Asus Sabertooth Z77 Motherboard
Asus 670 GTX DC2T
16 GB of G.Skill ripjaw-X DDR3 1600Mhz
SSD 256GB Crucial M4.
HD Western Digital Black 2TB
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D14
Case: Corsair CC600T Graphite White Special Edition
Running Win 8.1 64bit. Pro
 

Mouldread

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Hello,

paying the extra $250 would have been worth it only if the 27" monitor had also higher resolution and not only physically bigger size. The larger the screen gets the lower the pixel density is if keeping the same resolution.

About the 2 ms vs 1 ms that's more like of a gimmick than anything else. When tested and measured the actual response rate is much higher than the stated 1 or 2 ms on the box anyway.

If I was to go to a 27" monitor from my 24" I would want it to be at least 1440 p resolution.
So I were to choose between the 2 monitors listed I would pick the 24".
 

Ransome

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You know I thought about it. But the way Linus (and others talked about it) they were really impressed about the BenQ models.
They also have the 24" counterpart: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00ITORITU/ref=s9_psimh_gw_p147_d0_i3?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=179EERMHR3WE193D81DG&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1688200382&pf_rd_i=507846
Which cost pretty much the same as the 24" Asus VG248QE.

Also, Asus has a more competitive 27" counterpart:
http://www.amazon.com/PB278Q-27-Inch-LED-lit-Professional-Graphics/dp/B009C3M7H0/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1409789105&sr=1-1&keywords=rog+swift+pg278q
But I found it's specs to be not as good for the money as the Asus VG248QE.

The thing is, I was really looking forward to buy the Asus VG248QE for a long time.
When I saw it was 1700 ILS (449.10$) - even though it sounds like a ton for US buyers, and it is very expansive for me, it is still a great chance to aquire a quality monitors.

I am not making these purchases very frequently, so I think the extra size, better blur reduction and no flickering might worth the extra $. Besides 27 does look huge for PC monitor, and it is a newer model too (released in 2014) so maybe the tech is better.

@Mouldread, about the bigger Res thing - 1440p is more demanding, so maybe 1080p at 27" isn't that bad.

I know Linus isn't "god of gaming", but he seems to be very adamantant about the BenQ's I mentioned.
But I still highly consider the Asus VG248QE.
 

Ransome

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There is also the Gsync new Asus monitor:
ROG SWIFT PG278Q
http://www.amazon.com/PG278Q-27-Inch-Screen-LED-Lit-Monitor/dp/B00MSOND8C/ref=sr_1_2?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1409789565&sr=1-2&keywords=ROG+SWIFT+PG278Q
But a) its significantly more expansive at the moment and b) Amazon won't ship it to Israel. Worth mentioning: it sells like hot buns - I saw it go from 14 to 2 in one F5.

Also worth mentioning, I figured I will replace the bad monitor in my main gaming rig, and then maybe one day, replace the monitor in my 2nd rig/work rig with it, and buy a Gsync monitor like the one I mentioned.

Also worth mentioning, and I only say that so you feel sorry about me lol: not only price for shipping to Israel makes each monitor extremely expansive, but I can forget about warranty. As it is impractical and nonresistant overseas, outside the US. But it is a risk I have to take, because the models in Israel are a loud of BULL. They just not importing good monitors in the past 10 or so years..
 

Mouldread

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Hey,

well I wasn't trying to persuade you to buy the 24" but rather saying what would I do. And I do realize 1440p are more demanding, what I meant is that if you got a 24" or 27" or 40" 1080 p it's still 1080 p and you are not gaining any real estate. You are only losing pixel density. Just from personal experience - I've got a 24" 1080 p and my wife's laptop has a 17" screen which is also 1080 p. Everything on her laptop looks amazing in compare because of the pixel density. To give another example it's in a way like when you take a non-vector graphic and resize it from let's say 640x480 to 1920x1080 in to "make it bigger" - everything looks pixelized.

A lot of people still game on even bigger screens with lower resolution (hello 720 p 40" TVs) and it doesn't seem to bother them. I guess it's down to personal preference.
 

Ransome

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Ok I see what you mean, what about the other options I have listed?
One is an Asus 27" with 1440p but higher response times etc.
The other is a 24" - BenQ from the same lineup if the 27" - and has the same tech of blur and flicker reduction + costs in the same range as the 24" Asus.

Size isn't everything: what about the brands, models, quality, colors, blacks, contrasts etc..
And have you looked at that article ?

The Asus 24" has a lot of bank for buck, not sure about the 27" 1440p of it though.
BenQ also have a 24"..
Need further advices to make a final decision please
 

Ransome

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So yeah at the moments the models I am trying to make my mind about are:
BenQ XL2420Z
http://www.amazon.com/BenQ-XL2420Z-24-Inch-LED-Lit-Professional/dp/B00HE61SOA/ref=pd_tcs_subst_pc_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=1GQ0CJ57W5580KF4GQV8

BenQ XL2720Z - Received best monitor by Linus and Smart Buy of Tom's Hardware
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GWFNMJS

And the Asus VG248QE:
http://www.amazon.com/VG248QE-24-inch-LED-lit-Monitor-response/dp/B00B2HH7G0/ref=pd_tcs_subst_pc_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=15TY5ET62VC50MTX2Y4T

There is also this http://www.amazon.com/PB278Q-27-Inch-LED-lit-Professional-Graphics/dp/B009C3M7H0/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1409789105&sr=1-1&keywords=rog+swift+pg278q for 27" 1440p but not sure if the specs are good (5ms for instance)
(Don't really think the Gsync ROG is a realistic option atm, for the reasons I mentioned above).