Expert’s Rating
Pros
- Attractive and practical design
- Wide vary of connectivity together with Thunderbolt 4
- Bundled distant is useful
- Excellent SDR picture high quality
Cons
- No Ethernet connectivity
- HDR is on the market however underwhelming
- Only a 60Hz refresh price
Our Verdict
The BenQ PD2730S will name to artistic professionals with its 5K show, however some will discover its connectivity and particular options simply as alluring as its razor-sharp picture.
Price When Reviewed
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Best Pricing Today
Price When Reviewed
$1,199.99
Best Prices Today: BenQ PD2730S
5K screens are having a little bit of a second. Although hardly new (Apple first launched a 5K iMac all the way in which again in 2024), 5K decision was accessible from just some screens exterior Apple’s ecosystem. That is altering, nonetheless, due to screens just like the BenQ PD27230S. It’s a feature-packed show that pairs 5K decision with Thunderbolt 4 connectivity and a bundled distant.
BenQ PD2730S specs and options
The BenQ PD2730S is a 5K monitor widescreen, which suggests it has a decision of 5120×2880. It’s a part of a brand new breed of extra inexpensive 5K screens simply now hitting retailer cabinets. Unlike earlier 5K shows, this monitor has new IPS expertise which roughly doubles the distinction ratio in comparison with most prior IPS screens.
- Display dimension: 27-inch 16:9 widescreen
- Native decision: 5120×2880
- Panel sort: In-Plane Switching (with enhanced distinction), 10-bit panel
- Refresh price: 60Hz
- Adaptive sync: None
- HDR: Yes, HDR 10
- Ports: 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x Thunderbolt 4 with DisplayPort Alternate Mode and 90 watts of Power Delivery, 1x Thunderbolt 4-out with daisy-chain show help, 1x USB-C upstream, 1x USB-C downstream, 4x USB-A downstream
- VESA mount: 100x100mm
- Speakers: 2x 3-watt audio system
- Remote management: Included
- Price: $1199.99
Resolution apart, the BenQ PD2730S can also be notable for its connectivity. It helps Thunderbolt 4 in addition to USB-C and features a complete of 4 USB-A downstream ports. The Thunderbolt 4 output additionally helps daisy-chain connections, which means it’s potential to attach two screens to a single video output in your PC.
Further studying: See our roundup of the best monitors to find out about competing merchandise.
BenQ PD2730S design
The BenQ PD2730S is a part of the corporate’s designer sub-brand so, unsurprisingly, it boasts knowledgeable and enticing design. It has slim black bezels across the sides and high and a modestly sized chin beneath. Around again, BenQ depends on “powdered white” matte plastics which look clear and really feel strong. Overall, the design is easy however purposeful.
A sturdy silver-gray stand retains the monitor upright and gives a variety of ergonomic adjustment together with tilt, swivel, pivot, and top adjustment. The swivel and top changes supply extra room to regulate than with many different screens, at 60 levels of swivel and as much as 150mm of top adjustment.
I additionally just like the broad but skinny stand base, which retains the monitor steady whereas permitting house owners to make use of the desk house that it occupies. If you don’t need to use it, nonetheless, the show panel has a 100x100mm VESA mount to be used with third-party monitor arms and stands.
Matthew Smith / Foundry
BenQ PD2730S connectivity
The BenQ PD2730S is a 5K monitor, however that’s not the one factor notable about it. It’s additionally a Thunderbolt 4 monitor that gives a ton of connectivity.
Video connectivity consists of HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4, and Thunderbolt 4 with DisplayPort Alternate Mode, for a complete of three video inputs. This is one space the place connectivity is a tad weak, as I’d choose to see a second DisplayPort. Still, the accessible video connectivity is ok for most individuals.
The monitor’s Thunderbolt 4 port additionally helps USB-C, in fact, and as much as 90 watts of Power Delivery for charging a related pill or laptop computer. There’s additionally a Thunderbolt 4/USB-C downstream port with as much as 15 watts of Power Delivery and help for daisy-chain video connections (which means the monitor’s Thunderbolt 4 output might be handed to a second monitor’s enter, which permits for cleaner, easier monitor connections).
In addition to that, the monitor has a data-only USB-C upstream port that handles information charges as much as 10Gbps, in addition to a USB-C downstream port with 10Gbps of knowledge and 7.5 watts of energy.
USB-A connectivity is powerful, too. The monitor has a complete of 4 USB-A downstream ports. One presents 10Gbps of knowledge, whereas the remaining deal with as much as 5Gbps of knowledge.
A KVM change operate is included and organized in order that the Thunderbolt 4 port gives one supply, whereas a USB-C port gives the opposite. A 3.5mm audio-jack rounds out that monitor’s connectivity.
That’s quite a bit, and it needs to be well-suited for the monitor’s meant use. This is a monitor constructed for skilled use, in spite of everything, and {many professional} customers need to join many exterior gadgets. The solely necessary port lacking is Ethernet. That’s one thing a number of rivals like the Dell U3224KB provide (although, in that case, at the next worth).
BenQ PD2730S options
The BenQ PD2730S will not be brief on options, particularly with regards to shade administration and calibration. The firm gives a number of software program utilities together with ColorTalk (a shade matching utility for individuals missing a colorimeter for calibration) and Palette Master Ultimate (for many who do have a colorimeter). It’s additionally appropriate with Display Pilot 2, a utility that gives entry to most monitor choices and settings in Windows.
Matthew Smith / Foundry
Alternatively, the monitor’s choices might be modified with a joystick on the decrease proper bezel or BenQ’s distinctive puck-style rotary distant. The puck is wi-fi and gives a faster, extra intuitive method to change settings. Not everybody will want it, however house owners who make frequent changes to their monitor will recognize it.
The monitor additionally contains a pair of 3-watt audio system. As with most bundled audio system, they undergo from a scarcity of bass (as there’s no subwoofer), which causes audio to sound tinny and muddy at larger volumes. Still, the audio system are acceptable for listening to a podcast or enjoying ambient music at decrease volumes.
BenQ PD2730S SDR picture high quality
The BenQ PD2730S is supposed for artistic professionals, so picture high quality is a excessive precedence, and the monitor doesn’t disappoint. Though it’s not good, the PD2730S delivers an correct, sharp high quality that’s nice for each artistic work and common productiveness.
Matthew Smith / Foundry
First up is SDR brightness, and right here the BenQ PD2730S gives a powerful rating of 485 nits. While the Asus ProArt Display 5K PA27JCV scored better, the BenQ PD2730S in any other case runs forward of the competitors, together with the Philips Creator Series 27E2F7901, one other strong monitor for artistic work.
Many individuals will use the PD2730S at some small fraction of its most potential brightness. However, its capability to succeed in a excessive brightness may very well be useful should you work in a sunlit room or brightly lit open workplace.
Matthew Smith / Foundry
Contrast is a powerful level for the BenQ PD2730S, although it does rely in your wants. I measured a most distinction ratio of 2070:1 which, because the graph exhibits, is an effective end result in keeping with different screens which have an IPS Black show panel. The distinction enchancment is noticeable when in comparison with screens with a standard IPS panel, such because the Asus ProArt PA278CFRV.
However, buyers ought to know that OLED screens can obtain an successfully infinite distinction ratio that gives a deeper and extra immersive picture with higher element in shadowy scenes. On the opposite hand, most OLED screens are inferior in brightness in sharpness.
Matthew Smith / Foundry
The BenQ PD2730S has a large shade gamut that meet or exceeds 100 % of sRGB and DCI-P3. It additionally reaches as much as 89 % of AdobeRGB. As the graph exhibits, these are glorious outcomes that put the PD2730S within the higher echelon of screens offered at the moment. A large shade gamut is necessary for artistic work, because it permits house owners to see refined gradations of shade that may not seem on much less succesful shows. But it additionally gives a vibrant, saturated look generally day-to-day use.
Matthew Smith / Foundry
BenQ scores an enormous win in shade accuracy with an especially low common shade error that beats related rivals. In addition to that, I seen the PD2730S achieved this end result with persistently low shade error throughout all colours (as a substitute of a excessive error in a single or two colours and really low error elsewhere, which might occur). The end result will not be solely a practical picture, however one that ought to please creatives who must know that the colours displayed by a monitor are correct to how they’ll seem on different calibrated shows.
The BenQ PD2730S scored a tad off our gamma and shade temperature targets, nonetheless. It hit a gamma curve of two.1 (as a substitute of two.2) and shade temperature of 6700Ok (as a substitute of 6500Ok). These are minor deviations, and I doubt most would discover, however keen-eyed customers might see a variance. I like to recommend benefiting from the monitor’s calibration options, which incorporates the calibration software program talked about earlier and a variety of gamma, shade temperature, and shade hue/saturation changes.
Sharpness, in fact, is a power. A decision of 5120×2880 throughout a 27-inch panel interprets to a pixel density of 218 pixels per inch, which is superb for any PC monitor. You’ll solely see a sharper picture from the uncommon few 6K and 8K screens, such because the Dell Ultrasharp U3224KB. The additional sharpness is efficacious for anybody who works with high-resolution photographs and movies. It additionally seems to be nice in all places else, from Microsoft Excel to Civilization VI.
The BenQ PD2730S additionally has the corporate’s Nano Matte Panel, a particular show coat marketed by BenQ. It’s meant to cut back reflections and supply a extra paper-like expertise. The PD2730S isn’t BenQ’s greatest monitor for printed work, as BenQ presents a Photographer Monitor line-up which incorporates shows just like the BenQ SW272Q. Still, I usually choose a matte end on my screens, and I believe BenQ’s Nano Matte Panel end is superb.
Overall, the BenQ PD2730S is a superb general-purpose monitor for artistic professionals. It may even enchantment to buyers who desire a high-quality, color-accurate show with even higher sharpness than a 4K different. If I’ve any grievance, it’s that the BenQ PD2730S doesn’t look a lot better than Asus’ cheaper ProArt 5K Display PA27JCV. But BenQ tosses in connectivity and options the Asus lacks, so it is sensible that BenQ asks extra for its monitor.
BenQ’s Nano Matte Panel end is superb — it reduces reflections and gives a extra paper-like end.
BenQ PD2730S HDR picture high quality
The BenQ PD2730S helps HDR indicators and is VESA DisplayHDR400 Certified. That, nonetheless, is a modest stage of certification, and the data BenQ offered on the PD2730S made it clear HDR isn’t the monitor’s precedence. The monitor is “suitable for users previewing HDR content,” however SDR is the main target.
If you do view HDR, the monitor’s restricted brightness and distinction are limitations. The monitor lacks the brightness to disclose luminous particulars in HDR content material, and it lacks the distinction to correctly protect shadow depth and element when displaying small, brilliant HDR particulars in an in any other case darkish scene.
So, as BenQ mentioned: You would possibly need to flip on HDR to preview HDR content material, but it surely’s not excellent should you view, or work with, HDR extra usually than SDR.
BenQ PD2730S movement efficiency
Motion efficiency, like HDR, isn’t a precedence for the BenQ PD2730S. It has a normal 60Hz refresh price and doesn’t present help for Adaptive Sync. Because of that, the monitor isn’t a good selection for fast-paced PC video games, because it lacks the movement readability and easy frame-pacing aggressive players require.
To be truthful, that is at present typical for a 5K monitor. Acer revealed a 5K monitor with a 144Hz refresh rate at CES 2025 but it surely’s not but accessible.
Should you purchase the BenQ PD2730S?
The BenQ PD2730S is a superb monitor, although one focused at a particular viewers. Its correct SDR picture, big selection of connectivity, and practical design with many picture high quality choices make it a fantastic selection for professionals, together with digital artists and photographers, who need to work with high-resolution photographs.
Compared to Asus’ extra inexpensive and related ProArt Display 5K PA27JCV, the BenQ has extra options for dialing within the picture high quality and higher connectivity. I’d advocate the ProArt to most individuals inquisitive about a 5K show because it’s usually almost pretty much as good because the BenQ and extra inexpensive, however artistic professionals shouldn’t be shy about paying extra for the BenQ PD2730S, as its additional options add worth.