BenQ GW2785TC review: Bringing USB-C to a budget monitor

Price When Reviewed

$269.99

Best Prices Today: BenQ GW2785TC

$269.99

$269.99

There’s no scarcity of funds 27-inch screens with 1080p decision, which makes separating the very best from the worst tough. The variations usually come all the way down to very particular, minor options. BenQ’s GW2785TC is an instance of this in motion. It’s an earthly 1080p monitor in lots of respects, however a sturdy ergonomic stand and USB-C port make it a sensible selection.

Further studying: See our roundup of the best home office monitors to find out about competing merchandise.

What are the BenQ GW2785TC specs?

The BenQ GW2785TC is an entry-level house and workplace productiveness monitor, and its specs replicate that. It has an IPS LCD show with 1080p decision and a refresh price of 75Hz. There’s no adaptive sync, HDR, or fancy backlight know-how. 

• Display dimension: 27-inch
• Native decision: 1,920 x 1,080
• Panel kind: IPS LCD 
• Refresh price: 75Hz
• Adaptive-Sync: None
• HDR: No
• Ports: 1x HDMI 1.4, 1x DisplayPort 1.2, 1x DisplayPort-out (MST), 1x USB-C with 60 watts Power Delivery and DisplayPort Alternate Mode
• Stand adjustment: Height, swivel, tilt, pivot
• VESA mount: Yes, 100x100mm
• Speakers: 2x two-watt audio system
• Price: $269.99

Connectivity does stand out, nonetheless, because the monitor gives USB-C with Power Delivery and a uncommon DisplayPort-out port. These modest however helpful extras are key to the monitor’s attraction. 

BenQ GW2785TC design 

The BenQ GW2785TC is among the many most least-attractive screens that I’ve just lately examined. It pairs easy, matte-black entrance bezel plastics with a equally primary rear panel adorned with only a refined BenQ brand.

Matt Smith

What it lacks in aptitude, it makes up in perform. Build high quality is nice for a funds monitor, with stable plastic panels, no apparent flex, and a superb sense of heft. I notably respect the textured matte plastic on the rear panel. It obscures put on and gives some friction, which makes the monitor a tad simpler to maneuver and alter. 

Matt Smith

BenQ contains an ergonomic stand that gives peak, tilt, and swivel. It can even rotate 90 levels into portrait orientation, which is useful if you happen to plan to make use of the monitor as a second show. The stand has a small, flat base, which minimizes the monitor’s footprint in your desk. There’s additionally a built-in deal with, which is helpful if it’s essential to transfer the monitor.

While the bundled stand is great, a 100x100mm VESA mount is accessible for including a third-party monitor stand or arm. 

BenQ GW2785TC options and menus 

The GW2785TC is constructed for primary house productiveness however affords a number of options you received’t discover in inexpensive workplace screens. 

USB-C is the headliner. The monitor has USB-C energy with 60 watts of Power Delivery and DIsplayPort Alternate Mode. This permits a single-cable reference to a USB-C appropriate laptop computer or pill. The USB-C cable will deal with video and in addition cost the system. It’s an ideal function to have in a funds show. This isn’t a USB-C hub monitor, nonetheless, because it lacks USB-A ports for connecting a USB-A keyboard, mouse, or laborious drive. 

You will discover a DisplayPort-out port, nonetheless, which is extraordinarily uncommon for a monitor on this value bracket. DisplayPort-out allows “daisy-chain” video connections. You can join a video enter to the BenQ GW2785TC after which join a second monitor to the GW2785TC’s DIsplayPort-out. It’s a helpful function in case your laptop computer or desktop lacks a number of video outputs. 

Matt Smith

The monitor’s on-screen menu is quick, responsive, and straightforward to make use of. BenQ affords a number of image-quality options, together with a number of coloration temperature and gamma choices, however customization is in any other case restricted. However, the monitor does provide a variety of use modes that may be helpful for individuals who discover it tough to make use of a monitor for lengthy intervals of time. This features a Color Weakness mode meant to enhance picture high quality for these with coloration blindness. 

Strangely, the monitor additionally features a microphone. I’m a bit puzzled as to why that is included: BenQ advertises it as a productiveness function for video conferences, however almost all webcams have a built-in microphone of equal high quality, so it feels a bit pointless. Speakers are bundled as nicely, and as true of most funds screens, audio high quality is unimpressive. They’re wonderful if you wish to hearken to a podcast however sound scuffed when listening to music. 

BenQ GW2785TC SDR picture high quality

The GW2785TC is a primary monitor, and BenQ units primary expectations about picture high quality. Its advertising makes subsequent to no claims in regards to the show’s picture high quality, as an alternative focusing extra on its added options, ergonomics, and design. It’s not a shock, then, to see the GW2785TC ship modest scores in picture high quality assessments. 

Matt Smith

We begin with brightness which, I feel, is the monitor’s worst end result. BenQ claims a most of 250 nits, however I noticed solely 234 nits sustained. That’s not a lot even for an affordable monitor, and the monitor is not going to seem brilliant or vivid if utilized in a brilliant room. In brief, it’s finest to make use of the monitor in a room the place you may shut the shades and switch down the lights. 

Matt Smith

The monitor’s distinction ratio can also be restricted, although it scores equally to different entry-level IPS shows such because the Acer K242HYL. A distinction ratio of 620:1 is extraordinarily restricted and signifies the monitor will seem a bit flat and shallow in advanced content material, like streaming TV, video games, or high-quality pictures. It’s most noticeable in a really darkish room, as this reveals the widespread “IPS glow,” a hazy look casts a fog throughout darkish scenes. 

Matt Smith

Color gamut is typical for a funds monitor, spanning 99 p.c of the sRGB gamut however solely 76 p.c of DCI-P3. This will not be a “wide gamut” monitor, which suggests it may possibly’t show as many colours as dearer alternate options. However, given its value, the GW2785TC’s efficiency is affordable, and it may possibly ship engaging coloration in most content material. 

Matt Smith

The monitor’s coloration accuracy isn’t top-notch. This is a trait I’ve noticed with many BenQ screens as of late, and one thing I feel the corporate ought to look into. On the opposite hand, this degree of coloration accuracy is greater than sufficient for the type of day-to-day workplace productiveness this monitor targets. Images seem appropriate and lifelike. 

I recorded a gamma curve of two.1 and a coloration temperature of 6600Okay, which is in comparison with a goal gamma of two.2 and coloration temperature of 6500Okay. The GW2785TC may be very near the best in most conditions, which suggests the picture doesn’t seem too cool or too heat. That’s really moderately vital for an workplace monitor—an incorrect coloration temperature will be apparent if you happen to’re looking at Word or Excel all day. 

What about sharpness? This is a 27-inch 1080p monitor, which interprets to a pixel density of roughly 82 pixels per inch. That’s fairly low by fashionable requirements: a 24-inch 1080p monitor may have about 90 pixels per inch, and a 27-inch 1440p packs about 109 pixels per inch. The GW2785TC’s can look a bit delicate when viewing streaming content material, and pixelation will be apparent round wonderful fonts. These points aren’t overly distracting, nonetheless, and solely leap out in comparison on to a 1440p show. 

On steadiness, the BenQ GW2785TC delivers what I’d anticipate from an affordable productiveness monitor: a usable however unimpressive picture. It’s removed from top-notch in most respects but in addition avoids severe flaws that may maintain it again in real-world use. It’s wonderful. And, at this value, that’s about what I anticipate. 

Does the BenQ GW2785TC help HDR?

The GW2785TC doesn’t help HDR, which can appear disappointing on paper, as some rivals do declare HDR help. However, funds screens just like the GW2785TC lack the brightness and coloration gamut required to make HDR seem superior to SDR. BenQ’s resolution to maintain HDR off the field is an trustworthy illustration of what the monitor can deal with. 

How is the BenQ GW2785TC movement efficiency?

Motion readability will not be a spotlight of the BenW GW2785TC. It lacks adaptive-sync compatibility, together with AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync. It does provide a 75Hz refresh price, which is a bit increased than the usual 60Hz, however the distinction will be tough to note. Motion doesn’t all the time seem easy and important blur happens at any time when an object strikes rapidly throughout the display, however no totally different from different 60- to 75Hz screens on this value vary. 

Is the BenQ GW2785TC price it?

Matt Smith

It’s simple to really feel dissatisfied whereas shopping the BenQ GW2785TC’s image-quality outcomes. The monitor delivers merely satisfactory scores throughout most areas. It avoids main pitfalls but in addition fails to attain any victories. 

If you simply need an ideal productiveness monitor, nonetheless, its mediocre picture high quality is much less related than its wonderful function set. BenQ gives a stable ergonomic stand, USB-C, DisplayPort-out, and stable construct high quality at an inexpensive value. It’s a flexible, easy-to-use monitor—traits that rely for lots when your funds is round $250.