Is BenQ a good brand for monitors?

[donline]

Hi folks, are BenQ monitors any good?

Specifically, I was looking at these two:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/BenQ-GL2250HM-Multimedia-Monitor-Speakers/dp/B00B7ZE0G2/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1462652159&sr=8-2&keywords=monitor

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00CFFFGUM/ref=psdc_428652031_t1_B005OPLG0O

Is it worth paying extra for the second choice above^ ? And are monitor speakers generally better than basic laptop speakers? (If not, is it easy to disable the monitor speakers and switch to external?).

Thanks!

 

[sam1275tom]

Benq is a good Taiwan brand, but I noticed one of your choice is a TN panel, that's not very good, you can get a IPS for less than $100...

 

[makkem]

Hi
I have 3 BenQ monitors in the house and my daughter has 2 in her house and all have been problem free with no dead pixels and good image quality,so in my opinion ,yes they are good.
The speakers are pretty poor on the 24" monitor I have that has them,so I do not use them .
There is a volume control in the menu or simply don't enable HDMI audio on your laptop.
Personally I would pay the extra and go for the 24" .

 

[donline]

Benq is a good Taiwan brand, but I noticed one of your choice is a TN panel, that's not very good, you can get a IPS for less than $100...

Thanks sam1275tom!

I didn't realise that with the TN panel... are there any good IPS monitors you can suggest (for around £100 / $150)? I was looking at ordering from amazon.co.uk

 

[donline]

Hi
I have 3 BenQ monitors in the house and my daughter has 2 in her house and all have been problem free with no dead pixels and good image quality,so in my opinion ,yes they are good.
The speakers are pretty poor on the 24" monitor I have that has them,so I do not use them .
There is a volume control in the menu or simply don't enable HDMI audio on your laptop.
Personally I would pay the extra and go for the 24" .

Thanks makkem! I'll go for the 24". Do you use IPS monitors? Are they more shiny/glossy than TN monitors (usually matte)? Any monitor you can recommend on amazon?

 

[sam1275tom]

Benq is a good Taiwan brand, but I noticed one of your choice is a TN panel, that's not very good, you can get a IPS for less than $100...

Thanks sam1275tom!

I didn't realise that with the TN panel... are there any good IPS monitors you can suggest (for around £100 / $150)? I was looking at ordering from amazon.co.uk

Hello, just search "ips monitor" in amazon and you get a lot of them, just choose one you like, be careful do not choose a bad brand, you can ask again if you chose one, we can check it for you.

 

[madmatt30]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00BDBVCCK/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?qid=1463031845&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=aoc+ips&dpPl=1&dpID=51y13B-U0tL&ref=plSrch


These 21 & 23.6inch aoc ips models (both selectable from that link for £100/£120) are IMO the best monitors you can get at that price , excellent panels, loads of connection inputs.
The speakers are in all honesty cack but they are on all monitors apart from the expensive Asus MX range with their b&o setups.

They have audio pass through meaning if you use HDMI in on the monitor you can plug an external speaker set into the monitor itself rather than in your PC.

 

[donline]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B00BDBVCCK/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?qid=1463031845&sr=8-4&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=aoc+ips&dpPl=1&dpID=51y13B-U0tL&ref=plSrch


These 21 & 23.6inch aoc ips models (both selectable from that link for £100/£120) are IMO the best monitors you can get at that price , excellent panels, loads of connection inputs.
The speakers are in all honesty cack but they are on all monitors apart from the expensive Asus MX range with their b&o setups.

They have audio pass through meaning if you use HDMI in on the monitor you can plug an external speaker set into the monitor itself rather than in your PC.

Thanks madmatt30

The only thing I wasn't too keen on with that monitor was the 5ms response time, otherwise looks nice.

How about this one?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/ViewSonic-VX2263SMHL-W-SuperClear-Monitor-White/dp/B00K7CMY8C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1463075414&sr=8-1&keywords=VX2263SMHL-W

By the way, what connection would I need to buy (I assume cables are not included)? Would it just connect with an HDMI cable into my laptop?

Cheers

 

[donline]

Benq is a good Taiwan brand, but I noticed one of your choice is a TN panel, that's not very good, you can get a IPS for less than $100...

Thanks sam1275tom!

I didn't realise that with the TN panel... are there any good IPS monitors you can suggest (for around £100 / $150)? I was looking at ordering from amazon.co.uk

Hello, just search "ips monitor" in amazon and you get a lot of them, just choose one you like, be careful do not choose a bad brand, you can ask again if you chose one, we can check it for you.

Thanks sam1275tom

I'm kind of new to comparing monitors, but from what I can see this looks like a good one (especially with the 2ms reponse time):

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ViewSonic-VX2263SMHL-22-Inch-SuperClear-Monitor/dp/B00WY71U2O/ref=sr_1_7?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1463075813&sr=1-7&keywords=ips+monitor

What do you think of that one? And would you choose the white or black version?

Otherwise, there's the one that madmatt30 suggested (well, 23" version):
https://www.amazon.co.uk/AOC-I2369VM-inch-HDMI-Monitor/dp/B00BDBWE0Y/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1463075813&sr=1-2&keywords=ips+monitor
But this only has a 5ms response time...

What do you reckon? Thanks

 

[madmatt30]

The aoc monitors are hands-down better mate.

Any IPS based monitor that states less than a 5ms response time is 100% lying.

By the very nature IPS has a minimum response time of 5ms.

The aoc's really do 12-14ms as do most budget related tn/vs/vs panels at best.

Only your £200+ gaming model get close to 5ms or lower.

Its a compete non-entity for the majority of buyers.

 

[madmatt30]

If you have a Curry's/PC world anywhere near you they normally gave the aoc 23inch in stock & on display for £120.

The last 5 people I recommended it to all walked out the store with one under their arm after using it for 5 minutes.

 

[donline]

The aoc monitors are hands-down better mate.

Any IPS based monitor that states less than a 5ms response time is 100% lying.

By the very nature IPS has a minimum response time of 5ms.

The aoc's really do 12-14ms as do most budget related tn/vs/vs panels at best.

Only your £200+ gaming model get close to 5ms or lower.

Its a compete non-entity for the majority of buyers.

If you have a Curry's/PC world anywhere near you they normally gave the aoc 23inch in stock & on display for £120.

The last 5 people I recommended it to all walked out the store with one under their arm after using it for 5 minutes.

Thanks madmatt30

It looks like I can get it from amazon for the same price (I'm not in the UK).

That's interesting with the response times not being accurate... I knew about the marketing trick of referring to grey-grey instead of black-white (I think that's right?!) but not that the response times were so way off. How can they say 2 or 5ms response time?

I was also wondering if it's true that the monitor is flicker-free?

My concern with the AOC was from this review:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A1QJ1CG7E01037/ref=pdp_new_read_full_review_link?ie=UTF8&page=1&sort_by=MostRecentReview#R1Q0F3SEWTVQKR

But it sounds like you're had a lot of experience with monitors... (I haven't bought one for 7 years so I'm a bit behind).

Oh one last questions, why is this monitor (in the following link) much more popular on amazon when it's only TN and the IPS monitors are mostly the same price? https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B005OPLG0O/ref=psdc_428652031_t3_B00WY71U2O

Cheers

 

[madmatt30]

^ IPS at 50 or 60 htz will always be flicker-free anyway.

The review above relates to the 21.5inch screen - I assumed quality would be similar but my comments expressly concern the 23 inch model though which I have used.

I think at its price point its THE best general 23 inch IPS monitor around , there's nothing outstanding because its a fairly budget model but everything about it is 100% rock solid.

 

[sam1275tom]

Benq is a good Taiwan brand, but I noticed one of your choice is a TN panel, that's not very good, you can get a IPS for less than $100...

Thanks sam1275tom!

I didn't realise that with the TN panel... are there any good IPS monitors you can suggest (for around £100 / $150)? I was looking at ordering from amazon.co.uk

Hello, just search "ips monitor" in amazon and you get a lot of them, just choose one you like, be careful do not choose a bad brand, you can ask again if you chose one, we can check it for you.

Thanks sam1275tom

I'm kind of new to comparing monitors, but from what I can see this looks like a good one (especially with the 2ms reponse time):

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ViewSonic-VX2263SMHL-22-Inch-SuperClear-Monitor/dp/B00WY71U2O/ref=sr_1_7?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1463075813&sr=1-7&keywords=ips+monitor

What do you think of that one? And would you choose the white or black version?

Otherwise, there's the one that madmatt30 suggested (well, 23" version):
https://www.amazon.co.uk/AOC-I2369VM-inch-HDMI-Monitor/dp/B00BDBWE0Y/ref=sr_1_2?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1463075813&sr=1-2&keywords=ips+monitor
But this only has a 5ms response time...

What do you reckon? Thanks

Hi, both AOC and viewsonic are worth-trusted brand, and I don;t think you will really notice the difference between 2ms and 5ms, so just pick one you like...
And the color is a pure personally prefer so I cannot recommend either, that's the same reason why I don't just recommend one to you, as long as you choose a good brand and IPS panel, you'll be fine, what left is depend on you.

 

[donline]

^ IPS at 50 or 60 htz will always be flicker-free anyway.

The review above relates to the 21.5inch screen - I assumed quality would be similar but my comments expressly concern the 23 inch model though which I have used.

I think at its price point its THE best general 23 inch IPS monitor around , there's nothing outstanding because its a fairly budget model but everything about it is 100% rock solid.

Thanks madmatt30

I'll go with that one then I actually really like the look/design of it.

Perhaps a 'noob' question, but what connection lead do I need to buy for that monitor (I assume it doesn't come with it)? Is there one you might recommend on amazon? I plan to connect it with my ASUS laptop (which has HDMI connection).

Thanks again mate and have a good weekend

 

[Suzuki@1473780084@1473780163]

TN's at that price are 6 bit, that's 16 million colors short of the same price of a 8 bit IPS. Moving up in price, you get 8 bit TN, and 8 bit + dither (10 bit) IPS. Moving up again, you get 10 bit IPS (~1.5k usd)

That's interesting with the response times not being accurate... I knew about the marketing trick of referring to grey-grey instead of black-white (I think that's right?!) but not that the response times were so way off. How can they say 2 or 5ms response time?"

Following are all fake when listed by any brand:

Color
Contrast
Viewing angles
Pictures (almost always fake if they're marketing a "thin bezel" monitor)
Response time

Input lag they don't even list, and it's often confused with response time, which is a completely different spec.



All the best!

 

[madmatt30]

^ everything Suzuki said is true - these firms get away with their spec sheets becausectheyll to a number of tests & pick the best result from each one so they're not strictly lying.
All those specs will be a 'best case scenario' in a single test that is cherry picked for each spec listing

In the UK the aoc comes with an HDMI cable, a VGA cable, a dvi cable & a 3.5mm to 3.5mm headphone/audio jack - pretty much every cable you should need.
There's no reason yours shouldn't come with the same.

Are you sure your laptop has a full size HDMI jack??
A lot have a smaller HDMI mini output.

 

[donline]

TN's at that price are 6 bit, that's 16 million colors short of the same price of a 8 bit IPS. Moving up in price, you get 8 bit TN, and 8 bit + dither (10 bit) IPS. Moving up again, you get 10 bit IPS (~1.5k usd)

That's interesting with the response times not being accurate... I knew about the marketing trick of referring to grey-grey instead of black-white (I think that's right?!) but not that the response times were so way off. How can they say 2 or 5ms response time?"

Following are all fake when listed by any brand:

Color
Contrast
Viewing angles
Pictures (almost always fake if they're marketing a "thin bezel" monitor)
Response time

Input lag they don't even list, and it's often confused with response time, which is a completely different spec.

All the best!

Thanks very much Suzuki for all the info, very interesting!

 

[donline]

^ everything Suzuki said is true - these firms get away with their spec sheets becausectheyll to a number of tests & pick the best result from each one so they're not strictly lying.
All those specs will be a 'best case scenario' in a single test that is cherry picked for each spec listing

In the UK the aoc comes with an HDMI cable, a VGA cable, a dvi cable & a 3.5mm to 3.5mm headphone/audio jack - pretty much every cable you should need.
There's no reason yours shouldn't come with the same.

Are you sure your laptop has a full size HDMI jack??
A lot have a smaller HDMI mini output.

Hmm, on Amazon it just says "Box Contains - This monitor comes with Manual, Support Disc and UK Power Lead"...

Yep, my laptop has a full size HDMI jack so that's fine.

I was in a shop today and they suggested this monitor:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Samsung-S24E390HL-Inch-HDMI-Monitor/dp/B00UHAX95G?tag=duckduckgo-ffsb-uk-21

What do you think? How does it compare with the AOC?

The staff in the shop were saying that PLS-IPS (which the one above has) is better than AH-IPS (which the AOC has)... is this true?

Cheers

 

[madmatt30]

Well shop staff will say anything for a sale - or they generally gave no idea what they're talking about.

Pls is Samsung's technology, ah is lg's.

If you see a monitor specced AH-IPS then the panel is manufactured by LG.
If you see it specced as PLS the panel is a Samsung one.

Neithe tech is better than the other , they're virtually the same.
Both Samsung & LG make panels of varying quality, whether that actual monitor is better than the aoc one panel wise I have no idea.
I've used the aoc one its a good panel for sure , the Sammy may be excellent , it may be crap , personally I can't say.
The AOC has a lot lot better feature set though & a lot more component inputs.

 

[Suzuki@1473780084@1473780163]

To be honest with you OP, I don't think there's a big difference at all. The bigger difference would be between PLS and IPS, but noticeable? Doubt it. The brands buy the displays and come up with their own design for a monitor, and try to stand out next to the competition, but in reality probably the same monitor inside.

 

[madmatt30]

Donline - the European & uk aoc 100% comes with the cables I mentioned mate.I guarantee it.

 

[donline]

Donline - the European & uk aoc 100% comes with the cables I mentioned mate.I guarantee it.

Thanks madmatt30, that's great with the cables.

I'll go with the AOC as you sound experienced with monitors.

Is the AOC easily adjustable for height (up and down) and angle? And the screen is matte right (not shiny/glossy)?

Cheers!

 

[madmatt30]

Its a matte screen yes (although with a very slight sheen).

There is no height adjustment mate , not many 23/24 inch model have any at all.
Tilt forwards/backwards - yes , its an IPS remember so up to around 30 degress angle from centre there is no degradation of the image, that's the major benefit of IPS.

 

[donline]

Its a matte screen yes (although with a very slight sheen).

There is no height adjustment mate , not many 23/24 inch model have any at all.
Tilt forwards/backwards - yes , its an IPS remember so up to around 30 degress angle from centre there is no degradation of the image, that's the major benefit of IPS.

All sounds good, thanks madmatt30

When it comes to spec with monitors, what things weigh up as most important out of these?

-Brightness (cd/m2)
-(Dynamic) Contrast ratio
-Response time
-Colours (x million)
-Scanning frequency

And what are generally good values/spec for those specific things above?
For example, the Samsung monitor had 300 cd/m2 brightness (compared with 250 cd/m2 for the AOC).

Cheers