BenQ's new display doesn't invite peeking from outsiders

By Jon Martindale November 10, 2016

If you don’t mind looking like you’re a bit paranoid about others peeking at what’s on your display screen, BenQ’s new ZOWIE XL2540 24.5-inch display has a lot going for it. Apart from its 1080p resolution, it has rather advanced specifications, with a 240Hz refresh rate, a very fast response time, and even some additional tweaks to give you the edge in an eSports environment.

This TN panel display has rather a unique look, with light-shielding screens on the left and right to prevent outside lighting from impacting game visuals — perhaps of particular use in public play situations where spotlights may be in use. Physically it’s rather angular, but has a solid base and an unremarkable bezel. It certainly isn’t an uber-lean display, but is instead a bit chunky.

BenQ’s big eSports features are certainly a little different. Its Black eQualizer technology increases brightness in dark areas, without over-saturating the brighter ones. That feels a little like cheating to us and would surely affect immersion in certain non-competitive environments, but to each their own.

It also comes with a small external controller puck which has a number of built-in settings. With it you can quickly activate different screen settings, to improve contrast or color depth.

Its raw specifications are pretty strong for gaming, too. Although it may only feature a 1080p resolution display, it can operate at up to 240Hz refresh rate and the response time is as low as 1ms. Brightness is rated at 400 cd/m2 and it has a 1,000:1 contrast ratio. One feature it does lack, however, is any form of frame syncing technology — so it’s no good for fans of G-Sync, FreeSync or Adaptive Sync.

In terms of connectivity, it offers a single DisplayPort 1.2, an HDMI and DVI-DL, and a trio of USB ports in a built-in hub.

As it stands BenQ hasn’t let on when we might see this monitor on digital store shelves, nor do we know what the price will be. However we’re told (thanks Anandtech) that we’ll see the first demo units at trade shows towards the end of November, so it may not be too far from release.

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