BenQ EL2870U Reviewed – Affordable 4K HDR Gaming

Intro

BenQ has a massive product assortment of monitors and beyond. The EL2870U is not their least expensive monitor, nor is it the most expensive. To me, the EL2870U fills a critical role in being affordable while giving you some features that are too good to pass up in today’s world.

With an MSRP of $399.99, there are many choices from many brands available. As of September 2019, Best Buy and Amazon are both selling this monitor closer to $300 which is an absolute steal. Not only does it have 4K with HDR10 (Xbox One X owners rejoice!) but it also features AMD FreeSync, multiple inputs (2x HDMI 2.0, 1x DP 1.4), and a ridiculously good response time of 1ms. This monitor has extremely low input lag which is critical in first person shooters and competitive gaming. Check out the video for the full review, and read on for our final thoughts!

Important Features

The EL2870U is a simple looking monitor with no fancy curves or ultra-thin bezels. The bezels are still respectable and there’s no nonsense in the rear when it comes to the standard VESA 100 mount and power cord. The native 1000:1 contrast panel isn’t the best in class but it’s good enough when calibrated correctly. The brightness of this monitor is remarkable, without adding too much of that nasty gray tinge many value oriented monitors exhibit.

The EL2870 also has the ability to emulate HDR and packs a nifty feature called BI+ (Brightness Intelligence). Both can be enabled and disabled. With BI+ enabled, sensors on the bottom of the monitor will tell the display what level of brightness and color tone to display. This greatly reduces eye strain for long hours of gaming or office work. In same cases, the dimmer screen may reduce contrast in darker scenes, so it’s not always beneficial with certain games. If you don’t purchase specialized eyeware from companies like Gunnar, this is a great alternative to reduce eye fatigue and provide a more enjoyable user experience.

Conclusion:

What we found is that when compared to an LG UHD television, also with HDR 10, the BenQ EL2870U is a game changer. You can see so much more detail in the dark areas which is a make-or-break capability when it comes to winning in game types such as Battle Royale. Simply put, I can no longer use a UHDTV for gaming. I now feel like I am at a disadvantage when I’m not playing on my BenQ monitor. Love it or hate it, the value 4K HDR segment is important for the consumer. Not everyone can swing $500-2000 on a monitor. Thankfully that doesn’t mean getting 4K HDR gaming is out of reach though because with the BenQ EL2870U, you’ll know you made a wise investment.

Specs: