BenQ GW2480 Review: 24″ 1080P IPS Monitor

Firstly, I’ve previously purchased and returned x2 PG279QR IPS ASUS monitors, and I’ve also returned a PG278QR TN Panel ASUS monitor because the quality control is so poor imo. They both cost well above £500. The IPS on those panels had terrible backlight bleeding, and the high refresh rate and G-Sync still didn’t justify the price. I decided to settle for this. A sub -£200 24 inch IPS monitor in the meantime, and I’m so glad I did. I’m so impressed! I’ve overclocked it to 84hz on my 1080ti to make things a little smoother, and the screen is beautiful to look at. For £119 it has the tiniest of back light bleed on the top left, it’s not even noticeable check my pictures. On previous expensive monitors back-light bleeding is a terrible eye sore it ruined everything good.I have 2 small cons, and they aren’t even big. The screen could be a tiny bit brighter, so that during bright summer days it stands out a bit more. But it’s perfect in the dark and again not even really an issue. And the speakers are quiet and tinny. But to be honest. I don’t care, I have speakers plugged in for that exact reason, but the fact it has them at all is still really nice. Dropping from 2k to 1080p I thought I’d notice too, but to be honest, after adjusting the picture and sharpness, I can honestly live with it. The colour depth is lovely and I’m just impressed. I’m tempted to get a second and have a dual monitor display. The stand can be a tiny bit wobbly, but as long as you’re not banging around again, it’s firmly supported and not a problem.Cable management is a nice after thought. Supports Displayport. Nice matte screen finish. Anti scratch surface (I have a pet hate of shiny surfaces).Screen tearing isn’t even that bad, maybe running at 84hz helps. But I’m enjoying gaming on this and I’ve tried 2 different gaming high refresh rate monitors before this!If you’re in doubt go for it.** Update 2 Weeks later **I’ve decided to sadly drop this to 4 stars. All the pros I’ve mentioned still stand strong. I ordered a 2nd monitor and now I have an excellent duel monitor setup. However viewing a black screen I have noticed the backlight bleed along the top and left hand side are considerably more noticeable now especially when warm – and I’m pretty picky. However, at this price, and since backlight bleed is obviously unavoidable when it comes to an IPS screen I feel it’s a good compromise. But just worth mentioning.** UPDATE AGAIN IN 2020 ** – I bought the first two a few years ago. I recently settled for a 3rd monitor to accommodate my gaming/multitasking and work. I’ve placed the new monitor in the middle and the two previous monitors either side, I have to say, I’m impressed. Over time the backlight bleed in the top left corner of my original two I would say got a tiny tiny bit worse, but not catastrophically, and it didn’t ruin the image for me at all (I nit-pick so I do seek it out when I’m presented with a black screen in some sort of weird hope that it’s rectified itself which of course is wishful thinking). But this new monitor has a definite improvement in BLB. It’s barely there at all. I notice the bottom bezel of the screen wasn’t as tight fitting to the panel (concerned me at first). But I suspect it’s in an attempt to put less stress on the panel and allow less light to leak. I’ve noticed as well this screen seems much richer in contrast and colour. The blacks are much, much improved showing almost no glow. Something I didn’t even notice on my previous monitors. So I’d say there’s been an improvement in quality/control since I bought my first two. The buttons are slightly less tactile but I barely use them. It’s almost a bit annoying now the main middle monitor is slightly better than the other two. However – I’m keeping an eye out for a Spyder 5 pro 2nd hand to try and match the colour profiles/look across all 3 screens anyway. So hopefully after that they’re all as close to each other in terms of picture as possible – Long story short, I still love these monitors. I’d bump it to 4.5 stars if I could, since the backlight bleed has been significantly reduced. My new monitor can clock to 77HZ, anything over that and it fails. I have them setup on a 3 monitor arm (which I’d highly recommend as the stand can be a tiny bit wobbly).