The BenQ EW2430 is the latest affordable VA panel LCD monitor, looking to replace one of our favourite PC screens ever, the BenQ EW2420.
Any LCD panel you want so long as it's TN. With a small handful of exceptions, that's been the depressingly familiar refrain when it comes to affordable PC monitors. But a few screens do bust through the TN barrier, and the latest is the BenQ EW2430.
BenQ has form when it comes to sensibly-priced screens with decent panel technology. The BenQ EW2420 is definitely an old favourite. For less than £200 you got a 24-inch full HD panel sporting vertical alignment (VA) technology and an LED backlight to boot.
That mattered because VA panels offer much richer, more vibrant colours than the TN norm for LCDs, along with deeper blacks and better viewing angles. Typically the only downside is response times. But VA technology has been catching up, and the pixel response gap is often negligable.
With all that in mind, we have high hopes for the new BenQ EW2430. It picks up where its progenitor left off, with a VA panel and LED backlight in return for relatively little cost.
Verdict
On paper and at first acquaintence, the BenQ EW2430 really socks it to you. The spec list is frankly to die for. First there's that VA panel packing an LED backlight and 1920 x 1080 pixels. Of course, full HD is nothing special in 2011. But dig a little deeper and some outrageously good numbers emerge.
Most impressive is the 3000:1 static contrast – among the best we've seen. Next up are 178 degree viewing angles in both planes, and pixel response of 8ms. The latter may be ordinary rather than revolutionary but, overall, it's an awfully promising package.
The BenQ EW2430 is an imposing physical specimen, of a PC monitor too. OK, the stand offers only tilt adjustment. But the combination of glossly black bezel with brushed and anodised surfaces communicates quality in a manner that few, if any, competing sub-£200 screens manage. The feature set, which includes two HDMI ports, DVI and VGA along with a four-port USB header, is solid, too.
All of this makes it all the more disappointing to report that the image quality isn't what we were expecting. Out of the box, it's immediately apparent that the BenQ EW2430 is short on visual punch. The LED backlight is rated at 250cd/m2. That's pretty modest, but if anything maximum brightness feels nearer 200cd/m2.
The result is a slightly dingy overall feel, along with dull white tones. The viewing angles are relatively poor for a VA panel monitor, too. But the real killer involves pixel response. We've not seen a screen with blurring and smearing this bad for several years.
We liked
BenQ's use of VA panel technology for this PC monitor has plenty of benefits. Black tones are far deeper and inkier than any TN screen could possibly hope to achieve. The colours are much more realistic and detailed, too.
BenQ has also bequeathed the EW2430 a lovely chassis and plenty of video input options.
We disliked
After the glories of the older EW2420, the EW2430 is a crushing disappointment. The LED backlight is dull, the viewing angles ordinary and the pixel response frankly shonky. We hope BenQ addresses these issues rapidly, or the risk is that all cheap VA screens will get a bad name.
Final verdict
The VA panel in this LED monitor promised so much, but the reality is a distinct disappointment.
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