BenQ E2420HD LCD monitor

BenQ's latest Full HD monitor has a whopping 11 ports, including two HDMI and four USB connections

PC World Australia (online)

BenQ's E2420HD is a 24in, Full HD LCD monitor with dual HDMI ports, a 2ms response time and a stylish design.

Pros

  • Full HD, two HDMI ports, attractive bezel design, handles fast motion well, sharp and clear text

Cons

  • Stand isn't height adjustable, reflective bezel, controls are awkwardly positioned, a little pricey

Bottom Line

BenQ's E2420HD offers an impressive array of ports, as well as excellent motion performance and decent picture quality for both office and home use. However, it has awkward controls and a steep price tag.

Would you buy this?

  • Where to buy

    Priced from: $ 240.00
    Selling at 4 stores
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Previous Full HD monitors from BenQ didn't have terribly exciting designs and weren't particularly stylish. It's refreshing to see an all-new bezel design on the E2420HD, with an attractive silver "chin" at the bottom that looks like a small scroll. It houses the power button and conceals the monitor's dual speakers.

The rest of the bezel is glossy black plastic with silver edging, and the monitor has a dome-shaped base. The display can tilt vertically, but the stand isn’t height adjustable and doesn’t tilt horizontally. The BenQ E2420HD is wall mountable using a standard VESA mount. The glossy surface is quite attractive, but unfortunately it reflects fluorescent lights. Thankfully, the screen itself has a matte finish.

The BenQ E2420HD's controls are located on the right side of the monitor and the placement of the buttons isn't ideal. They are awkwardly situated behind the silver edging, so you have to wrap your fingers around the E2420HD's bezel to press them. They aren’t backlit either, so it's difficult to adjust settings at night.

The BenQ E2420HD has a whopping 11 ports: two HDMI, four USB, D-Sub, DVI and three audio connectors. This means you can minimise cable swapping. The monitor also includes two built-in speakers, but predictably they lack any sort of bass and aren't recommended for serious multimedia use. Annoyingly, BenQ doesn't include a DVI or HDMI cable in the sales package.

As it's a Full HD monitor, the BenQ E2420HD has a native resolution of 1920x1080. Combined with its 16:9 aspect ratio, a response time of 2ms and the HDMI inputs, it means this monitor is an ideal choice for watching Blu-ray movies or hooking up an Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3.

We connected the E2420HD to a PlayStation 3 via HDMI and tested a Blu-ray movie and the latest Colin McRae DiRT 2 game. Performance was impressive, with smooth motion and no visible ghosting. Unlike previous BenQ models, image noise is barely noticeable. Slight backlight bleeding is evident towards the top and bottom of the screen, but it's such a minor issue that it doesn't detract from the overall package. In addition to the four picture presets (standard, movie, game and photo), the BenQ E2420HD has a power-saving eco setting.

For office use over DVI or D-Sub the E2420HD provides decent image quality. Text is clear and sharp with no visible aberrations and the standard Windows Desktop looks vibrant. Our DisplayMate tests revealed below-average brightness levels and a lack of detail in dark areas, however. The E2420HD doesn’t have great viewing angles either — there is noticeable colour shift and a loss of detail when viewing the screen from off-centre.

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