I'm so happy I finally ordered this monitor after doing some research. (Some quick history) I was playing my Xbox 360/One console's on my regular HDTV, a big old 47" Vizio "Smart TV" at 120hz with all that smooth motion stuff and while it had "Game Mode" it just made the games I played "not quite so awful" when on Game Mode, haha.... After my research I discovered my TV is up there in the top 5-10 worse possible LED HDTV's amount of input lag on many, many sites. Sad thing is it has beautiful picture, but now it's just for TV and occasional Xbox One blu-rays...... the lag was 350-650ms purely on HDMI input lag (with Game Mode on and all settings off, etc). It looked nice, but I had tons of issues playing NBA 2k14 online without serious lag issues and it nearly made shooting the ball impossible. Titanfall online was cool but so hard to get a kill... I'd totally see the guy first and lock on and shoot him first yet the weird lag would literally take at least 1 full second, maybe 1.5-2 full seconds from when I tapped shoot to when it actually shot (that 1-2 second lag was when playing online, with about 0.5 seconds lag offline... to the point I stopped enjoying it.
I got this monitor the other day after deciding I wanted something easy, simple, cheap, but solid and meant for what I need. And I was a bit weary at the start, when something says it has 1ms response GTG it makes you think "impossible", and while I'm not sure if it's gone from 450ms on my big screen to 1ms on this BenQ monitor, it sure does feel like it's a brand new system, no joke. Now I'm coming from a big screen Vizio that had so much processing video and audio via HDMI my online record was like 33% wins, basically winning 1 for every 2 losses.... It was nearly impossible to play defense on the Vizio because of lag, as well as getting players shot timing release correct being nearly impossible online.
The box came quick, score, and I was really impressed with the packaging and actual monitor itself. At this price I felt it would be cheap/flimsy plastic or something, but its a well constructed monitor. It's got a great base, a stand that snaps into the base and then the monitor slips right on top of that, all really secure. The buttons on the side are very intuitive and easy to use, being able to set and save your gaming profile or your PC profile (monitor settings). It also came with a solid RGB cord as well as a nice DVI cord as well. So I put it together and was ready to go, already impressed with what I had bought.
I turned on my 360 with HDMI and launched the system on...... and WOW. Seriously. The games and operating system run so much faster than I ever realized on the 360, and the picture is very very clear and colorful and sharp. My first game I played I was literally laughing loud, realizing that I just dropped 400ms in lag give or take, maybe more. It feels instantaneous, and the game plays so fluid no. NBA 2K14 is a complex and fast, competitive game and being able to use dribble moves now without worrying about running into an opponent on some weird random animation is just amazing. I have some friends that are like superfreaks on this game who will play me and beat me by 20 at the minimum always in the past. 3 of those guys I've played since and either beat by a few points or barely lost... all a result of the amazing monitor doing what it's supposed to do.
Even with HDMI video and audio at 1080p it runs flawlessly, and I've become this defensive stopper the past 3 days and I am in love with this monitor forever now. 6 minute quarters online, I am shooting about 10% better overall (from 40% to 50%+), as you can use the shot stick to create the spin shot and release the stick when the player flashes for 0.1 seconds, and I can actually use that function now, working perfectly! I used to be awful at free throws (like 65% bad average) and now I am hitting every FT basically. I always used to get out-rebounded because my timing was always off and what I understand now is it was always late jumping. Right when I played my first game I was actually doing really bad in the 1st quarter because everything is so extremely responsive and amazing. I was hopping for rebounds like 1-2 seconds early now, as it actually hops each time you tap Y.
But by the 2nd half I was dominating the computer on the hardest level, and doing combo dribble moves combined with change of pace/speed I feel like I'm in full control of the guy and as a result I am getting way more dribble drives that finish with dunks, and running the fast break is just crisper. Everything is so responsive, I just can't say that enough.
Then opened up TitanFall and my Xbox One and to my surprise I wasn't as bad as the big HDTV made me think I was, especially with the smart pisol (I'm not a huge FPS guy but most sports games have become so advanced that one tap of a trigger or button can result in getting dunked on. But all the sudden, I load the game (having not played it for a month or so) and it felt like a solid game actually with beautiful graphics and the ability to jump and fire and run, without weird lag. My first match was ok, adjusting, but no joke my second match online was the best game I'd ever played on it totally destroying people with that smart pistol auto aim thing. It's no different than what I did before on the other TV, it's just responsive so as a result I've greatly improved on it.
For console gaming, this gen and next gen, this monitor is great. I like to keep things simple, since most all games run at 720p or 1080p now and at 60hz/60 frames per second. The underrated part of this monitor is the picture quality. I was expecting stuff to sorta be washed out like RGB Xbox 360 Cord/Output that use to run nice on monitors, but was really greyish and washed out. Not this baby. It seems like the image is printed on the screen its so clear, crisp, beautiful range of colors, and with no slow down. I can't believe I didn't find out about this monitor a year ago, haha.
If you have a Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, or PS4 and you are playing on a big screen with lag (or something with lag that's just too obvious and can not get over the difference. If you already use a monitor for console gaming then it won't be a huge different probably, but if you are using a LED HDTV that's bigger than 32"/37" (especially the 40-60" range) and experience a lot of issues and input lag for gaming on your consoles, this is the perfect answer.
Speakers are meh, but it has a line in as well as a headphone/line out which is nice. That's the only weakness, weak speakers, haha. I haven't really tested it on PC much, though I hooked it up to my laptop via RGB (not DVI the higher quality) and set the desktop on the BenQ to 1920 X 1080 as that's its native resolution. It looks beautiful, and I watched the movie "Gravity" on it (a blu ray) and I felt like I was watching it on a high end amazing brand TV. For movies you want to set it to "MOvie" setting and turn on some of the picture features or raise the black equalizer and stuff, but 24'' is a lot bigger than I was thinking and it was superb.
The monitor does exactly what you think it does and I'm just another satisfied customer. I recommend this to anyone looking for a gaming monitor for their console, last gen or next gen... the picture is beautiful with colors and crisp smooth images, like no blur, great contrast, and lightning fast response time that I still can't get over!
It's already stepped up my game, it's amazing when you realize you've spent almost a year playing with 1.0 - 2.0 full seconds of input lag when playing online, making things insane (on a cheap old Vizio 47"). This thing could of cost $280 and I'd be satisfied.
5/5
| Standing screen display size | 24 Inches |
|---|---|
| Screen Resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
| Max Screen Resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
