BenQ GW2780 27 inch Full HD Eye-care IPS Monitor
BenQ GW2780 27 inch frameless monitor combines ultra slim bezels with hidden cable management. Complementing BenQ exclusive Eye-Care Technology with Low Blue Light and Flicker-Free performance for extended viewing comfort, industry-leading Brightness Intelligence Technology delivers exquisite details in any ambient lighting environment. With the ideal combination of LED and IPS technologies, GW2780 delivers a new level of visual enjoyment with truly authentic colors, deeper blacks, higher contrast, and sharper details. On the other hand; it has FHD (1920x1080) resolution. Expansive 178° horizontal and vertical viewing angles ensure uniform viewing for multiple people in the room. BenQ Eye-Care Monitors are certified by TUV Rheinland, global leader of technical and safety certification, for Flicker-Free, and Low Blue Light performance truly benefitting human vision. The first brand of Eye-Care monitors in the world, BenQ is committed to safeguard vision health at the forefront of viewing comfort and enjoyment with this permanent addition to its monitor product line. It also has variety of connectivity like HDMI & Display port.The BenQ GW2780 is a sleek and stylish IPS monitor that’s perfect for everyday tasks such as gaming or productivity. This model isn’t a high-refresh or color accurate variant, but its combination of reasonable specifications and a price that doesn’t burn holes in pockets make it a popular choice. The BenQ GW2780 comes from a company with fantastic variants for every application or use, and we’re curious to see how this budget monitor stacks up.
BenQ GW2780 Monitor Review
The Benq GW2780 is a 27-inch FHD LED monitor (1920 x 1080 resolution) that has been designed to look minimal and “stylish” according to their website. Not being a monitor aimed directly at gamers, it focuses on the use case for being slim and also tidy with a hidden cable management system.
It boasts its Low Blue Light and Flicker-Free technology which is known to cause eye strain and increase problems with sleep as it stimulates the natural daylight for the brain. Being the main sell for the monitor the initial impression is this monitor is aimed more at the casual computer users rather than a gamer. The panel being an IPS looks to have better colour performance than it does speed, this is noticeable in the specs which tells a 5ms response time and 60Hz refresh rate.
Not being a gaming specific monitor, the design is a lot more traditional for the GW2780 design with the all black matte bezel and stand. Benq has been able to reduce the bezel quite a significant amount compared to other monitors but being the selling point it’s quite important. Plus, it does just look really nice being so much screen and less plastic around the edges. The stand resembles the others that Benq produces similar to their gaming range with a flat rectangular design made from plastic.
It is a little shallower than I’d have liked, it stands up alright but moving the monitor it did like to tilt a little bit causing it to feel a bit unbalanced. It should not cause too many issues as monitors don’t move around that much but stability wise it could be better when compared to other monitors I’ve tried. It would also help when tilting the display between the -5 and 20 degrees of tilt forward and backwards as it makes you want to hold the base while adjusting it.
Realistically though, this monitor is quite well suited to be mounted on a multi-monitor arm with the 100×100 VESA mount on the back. As the bezel is so slim, a lot of PC users will like being able to put multiples together with very little between each screen. Gamers are aware of multi-monitor setups but even casual users are becoming more dependant on dual monitors and the GW2780 slim frame is great for this.
There’s a standard number of ports on the monitor; 1 HDMI, 1 Displayport, 1 VGA port which is probably enough for the standard user. Inside the frame, you’ll also find a couple small 2w speakers. Speakers that small work but don’t expect them to be anything mind-blowing, they sound a little tinny at higher levels and don’t really have any bass at all. Let’s be honest though, who really ever uses monitor speakers? They are a nice to have but not a necessity to your viewing experience.
Brightness on the monitor is stated at 250 cd/m2 but through testing we found it to be a bit lower at around 220 cd/m2 out of the box. You can tweak the settings and up the brightness but it causes some of the colour performance to degrade a little bit. Overall colour performance is alright thanks to the IPS panel but it can be a bit washed out when the brightness is turned up.
Although not a gaming monitor, we tried Overwatch, Fallout 4 and Battlefield 1 to see how it faired. For being a “low” refresh rate when compared to gaming version, it was not as bad as I assumed it would be. Don’t get me wrong, I could tell that the refresh rate was lower seeing tearing but as a casual gamer who has never been above 60Hz this will be the norm for them. It’s just worth mentioning that if you are looking for a gaming monitor, this is not the one to choose.
Performance
The BenQ GW2780 includes a 27-inch IPS panel with a 1920 x 1080 resolution, 60Hz refresh rate, and 5ms response time. The screen is supported by a 250cd/m2 WLED backlight and rated with a 1000:1 contrast ratio. The immediate thing you will notice is that the display looks less crisp than usual due to the pixel pitch.
inch monitors definitely look better with a higher resolution such as 1440p or 4K, but we can’t dismiss the GW2780 just yet. The details are still cleaner than on a TV or a larger 1080p display, so for everyday purposes, this shouldn’t disappoint. Small objects in a game also appear larger, so getting that clutch headshot will be a bit easier.
The colors on the BenQ GW2780 look fairly good as well, but the IPS panel’s gamut performance is a bit underwhelming. The monitor only reached 92% sRGB coverage, but accuracy is excellent by default at Delta E 2.3. These scores aren’t sufficient for color-critical use, but the display looked satisfying enough for casual gaming needs.
The contrast could be a bit better since the blacks and low-lit images appeared a bit lighter than what we are used to. Of course, you can’t expect oily blacks from a budget IPS panel whose emphasis lies more in good viewing angles and reasonable color performance. The screen looked decently saturated despite this limitation and wanting something better will cost considerably more.
The BenQ GW2780 is a mixed-use monitor for the budget-conscious, so it does not include gaming features such as ULMB or FreeSync. The screen’s 60Hz refresh rate and 5ms response time become apparent when you play fast-paced games like PUBG or Call of Duty. There were some blurs and retention on the pixels from time to time, but you have to be actively looking for them.
During our review-slash-gaming sesh with the BenQ GW2780, we did not notice any delays or disconnected inputs in controls. The monitor felt responsive enough thanks to its sub-10ms input lag which is common and expected from modern 1080p displays. You can use this device for competitive play, but we still recommend spending a few extra bucks for a 144Hz model.
