In the age of mega-back GPUs, $200 seems like a pathetic amount for, well, pretty much anything. But BenQ is here to tell you that his BenQ Mobiuz EX240, a pretty good gaming monitor, is enough.
On paper, this 24-inch panel ticks many boxes in entry-level esports. This is a 1080p model, predictable, hits 165 Hz and offers IPS panel technology with a response time of 1 ms.
1080p and 165Hz refresh are clearly relatively low-end on today’s top gaming monitors. (opens in new tab) standard. But it’s a combination that makes a lot of sense. After all, if your monitor budget is $200, you are unlikely to scale to a $1,000 GPU.
In other words, you may not be able to reach 240Hz or 360Hz in many games anyway. Obviously, older titles like CS: Go can run just fine with less graphics cards at such frame rates. But the latest Call of Duty release with enhanced settings? Not really.
Anyway, if the core specs are right, what about the details? This certainly doesn’t look like a budget product, aside from its relatively small 24-inch proportions. Despite being made entirely of plastic, it exudes sophistication and quality.
BenQ Mobiuz EX240 Specs
Screen size: 24 inch
Resolution: 1,920×1,080
Luminance: 350 nits
Reaction time: 1ms MPRT
Refresh rate: 165Hz
Viewing angle: 178° horizontal & vertical
Contrast ratio: 1,000:1 (panel native)
feature: IPS Panel, 99% sRGB, Adaptive Sync, 1x DisplayPort 1.2, 2x HDMI 2.0, 2x USB-A, HDR10
price: $200 | £200
The stand also has height, tilt and swivel capabilities, connectivity includes both DisplayPort and HDMI, and both inputs support full 165Hz refresh of the monitor. So this is a good candidate for sharing with a console, going to 120Hz over HDMI.
Elsewhere, there are few surprises hidden in the spec sheet: BenQ rates the Mobiuz EX240 at 350 nits of brightness and supports HDR10. No VESA certification or local dimming. So it’s not a remotely serious attempt at an HDR panel, but it does handle HDR signals correctly.
The panel has a native contrast of 1,000:1 and BenQ does not cite DCI-P3 coverage. This is often the case when coverage is limited. Not that the last word in color fidelity is crucial for this kind of game panel. That’s not it. Don’t expect professional level content creation as a side job.
This is a pretty lively, punchy panel.
You also get a pair of feeble 2.5W speakers, though I wouldn’t recommend using them except in a pinch anyway. Integrated power and desktop connectivity ideal for less clutter. There’s no USB-C support at all, which seemed unlikely at this price point.
As for the actual image quality, the first impressions out of the box are good. This is a pretty lively, punchy panel. Viewing angles are good, and the default color calibration doesn’t betray any real annoyance. But in general, this monitor is set pretty well.
The good news continues as we head in-game. BenQ claims a 1 ms response with the MPRT metric. Broadly speaking, MPRT response numbers tend to be lower than gray-to-gray for a given monitor, and this panel places his GtG response in the ~2 ms region.
And 2ms feels so good. This is a nice little panel. Subjectively, it looks little different than the best 1ms GtG IPS monitor. Sure, you can spot the difference in high-speed photography, but when it comes to actual gameplay, the motion blur is perfectly acceptable and minimal.
Speaking of response, you can choose from 3 levels of overdrive. The fastest setting introduces some overshoot and reverse ghosting, but the intermediate options are a good overall compromise.
Sticking to speed issues, latency is well throttled. Obviously the absolute last word for low latency would be an even higher refresh than 165hz but the latency on this panel before he feels his performance is hampering it’s going to be a good deal in esports should do the trick.
As for the less impressive ones, the first problem is the OSD menu and the options within it. It’s chock-full of weird and confusing opinions on different color presets for games and movies, HDR modes, and even backlight levels.
Most of these options are pretty useless, and BenQ would do well to stop showing off and simplify their menu dramatically. In that regard, it’s no big surprise that the EX240’s “HDR” performance is overwhelming.
Running something like Cyberpunk 2077 with HDR enabled doesn’t look any better than in SDR mode.Still, at least you can’t see it bad You can also use Windows’ built-in configuration tools to properly display SDR content in HDR mode. This is not the case with many monitors.
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To be honest, the BenQ Mobiuz EX240’s HDR support has little to do with gaming. You can, however, watch HDR video content without all the colors being washed out.
Anyway, there are many things I like here. Admittedly, this monitor has many limitations. 1080p feels pretty stingy these days as native resolutions go, but on a smaller 24″ monitor the pixel density is acceptable and the main advantage is the cryptocurrency ponzi scheme to pay for this monitor. is that you don’t have to run
For just $200 you can get a decent IPS gaming panel running at 165Hz with good pixel response, reasonable overall calibration, generally punchy and comfortable image quality and excellent low latency. It’s all packed into a nice looking chassis. His 2023 year of inflation. We have to thank BenQ for that. well done.
