BenQ FP241W 24" screen Review

Lo all!

I've had my Dell 2007WFP for several years now, revision A04 after a replacement or 2 and have for the past month or 2 been looking for a worthy 24" replacement. I read reviews of every suitable model out from the big brands and the one I wanted (The Hazro 24" IPS) was not available for sale anywhere online, the Hazro site says they are looking for resellers....ah well.

The Dell 2408WFP and 2407 reviews were great but left a bad taste after hundreds of threads all over the net about inverse ghosting, mouse tracking ghosting - as a gamer, photo editor and movie watcher I need a screen just like the 2007WFP, something that doesn't have the issues the 2408/2407-HC have.

Couple weeks back I bit the bullet and bought the Hyundai VA panel 24" monitor for a decent price from Novatech, it was "ok" in the flesh, not what I was expecting, had blurry text and monitors with fat bezels now put me off seriously, makes my desk look...odd and makes me feel like it's just...wrong! so I returned it the next day and since then have continued the search.

So today OCUK delivered me the BenQ for 410 notes, I read many reviews of this screen and virtually all of them praised it for colour accuracy, performance and connectivity/features.

http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/7...rontmu4.th.jpg


Out of the box the BenQ reminds me of my Dell, if only the bezel was black then I'd be 100% complete, I have a plan for this though, once the warranty is up I will spray the bezel matt black and be happy again :)

http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/8...ll20ov7.th.jpg


I also bought a Spyder2Express calibrator for £50+postage as I read one review where the owner got excellent colour accuracy after a calibration. The 2007WFP was pretty accurate out the box so I never bothered with that but the BenQ really did need it but you wouldn't be able to tell unless you did a before/after check and it's only critical for photo work so don't be put off if you don't have a Spyder!

So far I've watched a movie, watched some DVB TV, Played some R6 Vegas2, TF2 and Assassins Creed and all have shown excellent performance, no ghosting, no issues.

Photo editing saw similar performance but I will note the viewing angles are not as good as the 2007WFP even though the figures are the same (178/178) - this is down to the VA panel being used as the 2007WFP uses IPS and is 100% from all angles. Not really a huge issue again as the difference is small and the screen so huge...
http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/4...nglezk6.th.jpg

Backlight bleeding is also pretty good with a fairly faint bleed from each corner, nothing distracting when watching a movie or playing a dark game, I have emphasised it in the below photo a bit by using a low exposure and high ISO:
http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/8...lighma2.th.jpg


One thing about the Dell was that out of the box the brightness was way too bright, the same stands for the BenQ with a value of 90 after a factory reset, I have this set to 75 after calibration and seems very good now, not too bright or dark, just right.

Connectivity wise it has every connection you need inc HDMI and the 1:1 pixel mapping works nicely too. One thing I do like is the top mounted USB port which can be used for various devices and BenQ has a USB webcam just perfect for it:
http://img137.imageshack.us/img137/3...sbweph1.th.jpg

It's worth noting the FP241W comes with the following cables: DVI, VGA, Power, USB upstream. No HDMI cable is included.


The screen coating is similar to the Dell's matt screen finish, it is not glossy like the HP 22" monitors or the NEC 20WGX2 but is semi glossy at an angle:
http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/1...ectytb9.th.jpg

After a few hours of usage the monitor generates a fair amount of warmth, putting you palm in front of the 24" screen you can feel the warm air surround your hand. I also found an issue where if you set the brightness below 70 then there is a very slightly audible hum that comes from the monitor's power connector area, obviously a power regulation noise. My Dell 2007WFP had a similar hum but only when the screen was filled with black text on white backgrounds. I think nothing of this really as it's common on many screens but most people don't notice due to the the fan noise of most systems.

I give this screen a 95% rating, less 5% for the humming that is very slightly audible in certain brightness settings.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mrk

So today OCUK delivered me the BenQ for 410 notes

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For that I hope they also brought you off and made you coffee!

Good review though. I'm tempted by this screen but I can't help but think that in a few more months, when blu-ray etc hits in a big way, I can get better for less.

I actually ended up returning it and getting a Hazro instead as the Benq developed bad backlight bleed after a few days!


The Hazro is much nicer, will paste my review here to update in a new thread!

nice review - thanks

Quote:

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Originally Posted by mrk

I actually ended up returning it and getting a Hazro instead as the Benq developed bad backlight bleed after a few days!


The Hazro is much nicer, will paste my review here to update in a new thread!

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Where'd you get the new one from?

Do you find the increase in quality is worth the price increase over a TN film screen?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Turbotab

Do you find the increase in quality is worth the price increase over a TN film screen?

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If you're keen on colour accuracy, picture quality and viewing angles, then yes. Definitely. IPS panels in particular are in a different league to TN panels, there's no comparison.

But if all you care about is an ok picture and you'll only ever look at it when its right infront of you, then TN will suit fine.