[phie]

@ PCM2

I tested both monitor, the Samsung 27E390HL and the HP 27CW.

According to me you cannot compare the Samsung and the HP: The Samsung is according to me just superior https://www.flickr.com/photos/137591141@N07/ (left: HP, right: Samsung).

Again: Thank you very much for this!

[PCM2]

That’s interesting to hear, thanks for testing this out and sharing your observations. I’m sure some people will tell you you’re mad for thinking a matte monitor looks ‘better’ than an otherwise (on paper) similar glossy monitor, but don’t listen to them! It’s good to hear you’re happy with the Samsung and really highlights the importance of subjectivity with monitors.

[phie]

People say that the Samsung is oversaturated and has unnaturally colors in favor of the pop effect and vibrancy. At my noob-eyes the first thing I thought as I saw many pics on both monitors was: “wow, the samsung is definitely better!!”. It’s not just the saturation but also that the fonts of the system are just… shaper, “more black”. And because I need the monitor for to play games I like this more.
I tested the HP for one hour. I wanted to keep it because of the glossy panel, of the price (249€ for the samsung, 219€ for the HP), because I didn’t want to refund 10€ more for the return and because I like the HP more than the Samsung. But I found no way to convince me to keep it, unfortunately.

[PCM2]

People say that who don’t have the monitor in front of them and most won’t have seen the Samsung first hand. You can definitely see in your comparison that it has deeper saturation to colours, but you can’t accurately gauge the image representation from photos. So ignore the comments people are giving you, trust your own eyes and go with the one you’re happiest with. That seems to be the Samsung. There is no reason to keep the HP or to try to convince yourself to keep that over the Samsung if you prefer the Samsung.

[phie]

You’re absolutely right!

Because I’m paranoid and I have nothing to do, I wanted to give to HP another chance and I compared again both monitors.
Colors of the Samsung compared to the HP just appear to me more pop, vibrant, alive and sharper. For me there is no way that the HP is “better”.

People: Just buy the Samsung E390HL and you will never regret your choice!

[bikey420]

Hello PCM, first time poster here, been reading yours and TFTcentral reviews a lot lately as I am trying to replace my old BenQ FP241W which is running on fumes. So far I have narrowed my choices down to a few BenQ models which you have reviewed, and one which is not reviewed but mentioned in your website.

I am using it mainly for playing RPG games (nothing fast paced) and watching films and general browsing as well.

BenQ EW2750zl :179.15
BenQ BL2700ht : 190
BenQ GW2760HM : 169 (the model without a DVI connection)

From what i gathered, all 3 of these monitors use the same screen. is there any glaring difference which justifies the price increase? Also, looking at the “recommended monitors” link, i notice that the EW benq is not listed as a primarily gaming friendly monitor…have I been using the wrong type of monitor? I quite like the VA screens, as i just realized today that my current monitor is one. I was tempted by the Dell IPS screen at the top of the recommended screens page but i would generally prefer one that requires less fiddling out the box and is ready to use.

sorry for rambling lol

[PCM2]

Hi bikey420 and welcome,

You are correct to assume that those monitors are quite similar. Although the EW2750ZL actually uses a slightly newer and marginally better panel than the others. This improves the colour gamut and viewing angle perfromance slightly, allowing it to produce slightly more consistent and richer colours. The difference in that respect is really quite minor, though, it must be said. As I haven’t tested the BL2700HT and GW2760HM, I can’t guarantee that the pixel overdrive (grey to grey acceleration) is as well-tuned as on the EW2750ZL. There is certainly room for improvement on the EW2750ZL when it comes to pixel responsiveness, but it provided a nice balance between the slower GW2760HS and faster but artifact (overshoot/invese ghosting) prone EW2740L. I can’t say where the other BenQ models sit on that spectrum.

And these weaknesses in responsiveness are the reason why the recommendation for ‘gaming’ isn’t as strong in the recommendations section: “a bit of gaming” rather than simply listing gaming. Having said that, this thread highlights just how important subjectivity is. And if you’ve been using a VA model (quite a slow one at that) quite happily all this time, then it seems like a natural progression. I fear as you’re used to the strong contrast and overall image characteristics of VA, moving to an IPS panel may not make so much sense.

And not to make the choice more confusing or anything, but the Dell P2416D doesn’t really require any more tweaking than the BenQ VA models. In fact it requires less if anything. You don’t need to concern yourself with gamma modes and most users would find it quite nice after simply reducing the brightness. As per the review, whacking it into the ‘Warm’ preset would be a good idea if you find it has a cool tint as well. It’s defintely astounding value for money, but as above I’m not sure how readily you’d adapt to IPS as a long-time VA user.

[Subzero11]

I’m going to buy the BenQ GW2470H from amazon and will go through this site to get it, but wanted to to ask a couple questions first.

I looked quickly through the forum here but did not see posts from people who bought it already.
I currently have the GW2760HS and I really like it and it’s fine for gaming for me. The only flaw about it is that I find it too big. I’ve been waiting for another 24″ VA monitor from Benq and it has finally come out. I just wanted to ask performance wise would you say it will be as good as the GW2760HS I currently have ? Also the colors and contrast should also be as good ? Hopefully the stand is sturdy too. I realize you have not tested it I’m just asking in your opinion if it should measure up just as good as the the one I currently have. Thanks

[PCM2]

I am quite confident that the GW2470H will feel very much like a smaller version of the GW2760HS that you currently have. So if you’re happy with the GW2760HS for gaming I’m sure you’ll feel right at home with the GW2470H. I’d also love to hear your thoughts on it if you do go for it – and I appreciate the support. 🙂

[Subzero11]

Originally I was going to buy the EW2440L but didn’t cause I heard it wasn’t really good. If I remember correctly I think you even said the EW2440L wasn’t really desirable.

[bikey420]

hello PCM2, thank you for the quick response and the welcome!

I may have misrepresented myself somewhat in my original post, I have been using the VA screen for the past few months only, I was a laptop/console gamer before I built my current PC. I think because the games I play are quite slow to begin with (mainly guild wars 2 and soon I will buy dragon age and witcher 3) I havent really noticed many issues with ghosting and the like. I got assassins creed syndicate for free with my gpu so as soon as that comes out i might play it a bit as well. But generally for the games I play, the screen has responded quite well so i guess I might as well progress on to a more modern VA screen.

edit, just checked amazon via your link and its not in stock!!!!!!!! ARGHHHHHHH

any other screens you can recommend now knowing the games I intend to play on it, perhaps an IPS? or should i just be more patient?

[PCM2]

@ Subzero11

That’s right. The EW2440L has a worse colour gamut and screen surface than the 27″ models, whereas the GW2470H is more like a smaller version of the 27″ models.

@ bikey420

Understood. The EW2750ZL usually comes back in stock quite quickly on Amazon. It’s fairly popular at the moment. You might also want to consider the GW2470H as Subzero11 is considering for himself above. It’s basically like a smaller version of the EW2750ZL, so if you’re happy enough with the 24″ screen size that might be a decent choice.

Even though you aren’t a hardened VA user (i.e. you haven’t been using that VA model for a long time) it does sound like you’re happy with the experience it provides. So to me that seems like the natural choice. I personally find the image that decent VA models give to be rewarding enough so that I actually tend to prefer them over IPS models of the same resolution when gaming (it’s subjective of course). It’s really just the responsiveness that lets them down for some users, including me, when gaming. But if you don’t have an issue with that aspect then you’re lucky and should find the experience enjoyable!

Having said that I also personally enjoy gaming at higher resolutions. What GPU do you have and also what budget did you have in mind for the monitor?

[Subzero11]

In my opinion if it ain’t VA forget about it. IPS blacks are just not good enough. I tested a DELL and a Samsung this year that were both praised high. Once I got into dark scenes I was like I couldn’t get them back to the store fast we enough. Once you go VA you can’t go back. Also in my opinion I think that GTG specs are no where as important as some people make it out to be. The only way I’m leaving VA if they come out with a whole new panel tech for monitors.

Also my opinion 1080p is not good for 27″, but honestly I find anything over 24″ to big at any resolution but that’s just me though. That’s why I’m probably going to switch to the GW2470H.

[bikey420]

Currently I am running the gtx970. I am willing to go up to 220 or so. Anything else above that really does need to wow me since i have gone over budget already on the pc build as it is hahaha.

One thing I just realized, would the screen still look ok at 1080 with 27inch? I read on r/monitors that its horrible apparently to look at especially when playing games. its put some doubts in my mind

[PCM2]

I personally don’t find the difference between 24″ and 27″ Full HD monitors to be particularly noteworthy. If you note the comments from Subzero11 just above, though, it’s clearly quite subjective. It’s just for me that 24″ Full HD also gives a much poorer pixel density than I’m used to. So in your position I would definitely consider the GW2470H if you’re concerned about the pixel density of 27″ Full HD, but with your GPU you could make a decent go of a WQHD IPS-type model like the P2416D as well.

[JonFX01]

“In my opinion if it ain’t VA forget about it. IPS blacks are just not good enough. I tested a DELL and a Samsung this year that were both praised high. Once I got into dark scenes I was like I couldn’t get them back to the store fast we enough. Once you go VA you can’t go back. Also in my opinion I think that GTG specs are no where as important as some people make it out to be. The only way I’m leaving VA if they come out with a whole new panel tech for monitors.”

I share the same experience with IPS display, this is from the Samsung S24E390HL review here on PCMonitors:

“Whilst observing a black screen in a dark room we could see no obvious backlight bleed. There was just a little hint of it here and there, for example towards the top left corner
https://pcmonitors.info/reviews/samsung-s24e390hl/”

It seems that TN are getting better colours, VA better responsiveness and IPS better blacks.

Having tried one VA monitor recently (Philips 273V5QHAB), I must say that ghosting was quite apparent when gaming in certain situations. For example, there is a map called ‘Ministry’ in Insurgency on which there are walls with a pattern of black dots on a white backround. Sadly, they didn’t look anything like dots while I was moving.

I also wanted to buy the BenQ EW2750ZL, but after seeing people reporting ghosting, I’m considering other options, including IPS.

[Subzero11]

I would say the consensus is most will tell you that bigger then 24″ 1080p is really stretching it, 23-24″ @1080p is the sweet spot.

[PCM2]

Much as I agree with 24″ being something of an optimal size for the resolution, relatively few of those people who are critical of 27″ Full HD models have actually had experience with them. They generally compare to higher resolution 27″ models or have only used 24″ Full HD models and simply assume that 27″ Full HD models provide an ugly experience. The reality is that the difference isn’t really that huge. And some people simply prefer larger screens but have good reason to want to such to FHD.

[JonFX01]

I think if you put a 27″ monitor further away from you so that the image size is identical to a 24″, 27″ feels better for a number of reasons and the whole “huge ugly pixels” argument goes out the window.

[Subzero11]

For me putting a 27″ monitor further back than arms length felt like gaming is less immersive and defeats the point of getting a larger monitor. For me the rule is as big as I can get and be comfortable with at arms length and for me that’s 24″. But everybody is different though.

[Author]

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