BenQ Mobiuz OLED Gaming Monitor Review: Just Too Much Leave a comment

It is not precisely simple for a gaming monitor to face out. When you hit a number of key specs—at the least 1440p, 120 Hz, 0.1-ms response time, and some others—nearly any show will do. Some corporations fight this by bettering their coloration replica or cranking these specs even larger. Then there’s BenQ, which determined to make this ludicrously giant 48-inch mannequin I’ve spent a number of weeks testing.

As a show, the BenQ Mobiuz OLED gaming monitor—particularly mannequin EX480UZ—is spectacular. On a spec sheet, it ticks all of the packing containers you’d need whereas taking part in video games. It has a 4K OLED panel, a 120-Hz refresh fee (we’d wish to see 144-Hz, but it surely’s not unhealthy), and even HDR help.

The one downside is that it’s big. Common laptop displays are sometimes within the 22- to 24-inch vary. This one is 48 inches. That isn’t simply twice as massive as a typical monitor. As a consequence of how math works, doubling the diagonal dimension means quadrupling the realm. So when you’re studying this text on a 24-inch monitor, think about three extra of them stitched collectively. All sitting in your desk.

It’s quite a bit to soak up.

(Big) Image High quality

Earlier than we fixate on this behemoth’s measurement, let’s discuss the way it performs. On the whole, gaming displays typically forego some options that you simply would possibly come to count on from, say, a tv. Excessive dynamic vary (HDR), a color-enhancing function that’s current on this BenQ show, is typically absent from gaming displays. However it’s one of the best upgrades you can make to get higher image high quality, so it’s good seeing it right here.

BenQ’s implementation can be significantly good. In contrast to most LED displays, which depend on an LED backlighting system to light up the display above, OLED shows are a single layer of pixel-sized natural LEDs able to solely lighting up the pixels a picture wants. This implies a lot deeper black ranges. The place a normal monitor nonetheless appears to be like a bit grey when exhibiting a black display, an OLED is totally darkish; the pixels are literally black. This higher distinction between mild and darkish already improves the image on non-HDR video games, however after I performed video games that supported HDR, the picture was about as crisp because it may get. 

The monitor additionally helps AMD FreeSync, which helps an AMD graphics card sync as much as the display for no dropped frames as much as 120 Hz, which is extraordinarily welcome—if anticipated at this level, provided that this function is in most TVs and displays—after I play Overwatch. Any sport that has fast-paced motion goes to profit from a super-high body fee.

However once we discuss image high quality, we’re not speaking purely about pixels. Numerous different elements have an effect on the viewing expertise, like how far-off you’re sitting from the show. That is why loads of gaming displays can get away with a mere 1440p show. Regardless of 1440p being lower-res than 4K, it’s often sufficient for particular person pixels to be almost invisible on smaller shows, when sitting at a standard distance out of your desk.

However this BenQ show is not any customary gaming monitor.

The Burden of Breadth

The primary time I arrange this monitor, I attempted to fireside up a sport of Overwatch and nearly instantly needed to cease. I don’t precisely have a small desk—its floor space is about 2.5 ft deep by 5 ft extensive—however I needed to take away each of my 27-inch displays to make room for it. Regardless of this, and irrespective of how far again I sat in my chair, the display was overwhelming.

Overwatch’s killfeed—a operating feed of which gamers have died within the upper-right nook of the display—was now towering over me. What I may beforehand examine by glancing with my eyeballs all of the sudden required me to maneuver my total head to see. If I wished to see my very own well being degree within the sport, properly that’s all the way in which down within the lower-left nook. My neck started getting sore as I attempted to catch essential data.

The colourful show additionally began to develop into a critical detriment. The vivid OLED display was nice for blasting out mild to create a compelling image. The one downside is that this image was a few ft from my face. And it was filling my peripheral imaginative and prescient. I began to really feel a robust sensory overload the longer I sat in entrance of it. It was simply an excessive amount of of factor.

“That’s a TV”

It didn’t take lengthy earlier than I merely couldn’t stand having this factor on my desk anymore. After a few video games, I unplugged it and put my outdated displays again. However possibly I’m utilizing it incorrect, I assumed. I imply, this factor is mainly a TV—which, notably, can be what everybody who noticed it in my dwelling mentioned. “That factor is mainly a TV.”

So, I moved it from my desk to the lounge. And it felt much more at dwelling there. Instantly, the 4K panel didn’t really feel fairly so pointless. After I was sitting 10 ft or so from the monitor, it was not as overwhelming, and I may admire how detailed the image seemed. It wasn’t the very best TV I’ve ever seen, but it surely offered a extremely good image as I performed by means of a few of my PS5 video games.