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REVIEW OF BENQ 32" PD3220U MONITOR


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I took possession of a BenQ 32" 4k monitor a few days ago and have had a chance to become acclimatized to it. The monitor is well built with a stand that's adjustable for height, tilt and swivel and that is also VESA plate ready. The monitor screen is anti-glare and somewhat more pleasing to view than either the 2015 glass-screened iMac I was using or the shiny plastic of my 27" Qnix second monitor.  The Ben Q pairs nicely with the Mac Studio I bought to replace the iMac. Set up was simple using the Thunderbolt to Thunderbolt cable, one of a slew of cables that comes with the monitor. The built in speakers are poor and not something I could live with. This would be an added cost if I didn't already have Samson externals. Also the BenQ doesn't have a webcam which would be a further additional cost. I rarely FaceTime or Zoom and can use my iPad for that purpose but if I had to purchase a webcam as well, it would bring the cost of the monitor and accessories close to the cost of a base model 27" Apple Studio monitor. I would also note that the built in speakers in the Apple Mac Studio are poor, if a tad better than those in the monitor. 

 

My eyesight isn't great and I thought going to a larger screen would mean larger print but it's actually smaller, indicating that I was probably running my iMac on less than full resolution. Nonetheless small text and thin lines are both sharp on the BenQ, with no blurring at edges or discernible pixelation. Colour rendering is also good, with fine adjustment possible using standard Mac software and that built into the monitor. The iMac screen can certainly go brighter, although I can set the BenQ to about the same setting that I had adjusted my iMac and Qnix screens to. I don't game, but video on the monitor is good, with excellent colour rendering and no apparent strobe effect even on fast movement clips. 

 

It's visibly harder to take in the whole 32" display than with a 27", meaning more eye scanning. From that perspective the 27" is probably optimum. What is helpful is to be able to have more of a CAD drawing on screen at the same magnification than with 27", meaning less scrolling. 

 

The BenQ comes with a puck that allows quick and easy adjustment of the monitor's preferences. It's not something I use much but could be useful to those who need to change preferences or colour profiles fairly frequently. Those same preferences are also adjustable via a joystick at the rear of the monitor. 

 

Had Apple not announced they were discontinuing the 27" iMac I would have waited for a replacement. However,  after three days with the BenQ my conclusion is that this is a quality monitor that shares enough of the attributes I had with my 27"  iMac, plus some advantages. 

Edited by inveresk
To correct grammar.
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  • inveresk changed the title to REVIEW OF BENQ 32" PD3220U MONITOR

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