BenQ Announces the ZOWIE XL2540: 24-Inch 240 Hz Full-HD Display 'for e-Sports'
by Anton Shilov on November 10, 2016 10:00 AM EST
BenQ this week introduced its new display aimed specifically at professional gamers. The new monitor belongs to the ZOWIE family of BenQ’s products designed for e-Sports and features Full-HD (1920x1080) resolution as well as a refresh rate as high as 240 Hz. In addition to support for ultra-high refresh rates, the display also has other features developed specifically for gamers.
The BenQ ZOWIE XL2540 monitor has a 24.5” TN panel with a typical resolution for this size (1920×1080), support for 16.7 million (6-bit + FRC) colors as well as a typical contrast ratio for mainstream screens (1000:1). The monitor stands out when it comes to its brightness - 400 cd/m2 (400 nits) is a bit higher compared to what we usually see on TN-based devices and a refresh rate of 240 Hz to ensure as fast gameplay as possible. It is noteworthy that despite positioning, the ZOWIE ZL2540 does not support any dynamic refresh rate technology (either G-Sync, FreeSync or Adaptive-Sync).
When it comes to connectivity, the ZOWIE XL2540 excels many products on the market as it can use DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI and DVI-DL (naturally, DVI does not support 240 Hz refresh rate) to connect to host PCs (nowadays many monitors are only equipped with DP and HDMI inputs). Also, it has a three-port USB hub. The display also has a built-in 55 W power supply.
| BenQ ZOWIE XL2540 | ||
| ZOWIE XL2540 | ||
| Panel | 24.5" TN | |
| Native Resolution | 1920 × 1080 | |
| Maximum Refresh Rate | 240 Hz | |
| Response Time | 1 ms (gray-to-gray) | |
| Brightness | 400 cd/m² | |
| Contrast | 1000:1 | |
| Viewing Angles | 160°/160° horizontal/vertical | |
| Inputs | 1 × DP 1.2 1 × HDMI 2.0 1 × DVI-D DL |
|
| USB Hub | 3-port USB hub | |
| Audio | audio in/out ports | |
| Power Consumption | Typical | unknown |
| Maximum | 55 W | |
In addition to ultra-high refresh rates as well as improved brightness, the ZOWIE XL2540 supports several features specifically for e-Sports professionals: the Black eQualizer that increases brightness of dark areas without oversaturating the bright areas, an option to quickly increase color vibrancies, a special external controller to rapidly activate different settings and profiles as well as a light-shielding hood (which BenQ calls a way to help gamers to focus on their games).
The manufacturer does not announce pricing as well as availability timeframe for its ZOWIE XL2540 just yet. The only thing that BenQ tells us at the moment is that the display will be demonstrated at trade shows from late November. Since BenQ does not produce its own panels, the ETA of the ZOWIE XL2540 depends completely on the company’s suppliers. Moreover, when the panels are available, the display will have to compete against similar products by other makers, such as the ASUS PG258Q (which has G-Sync) which has similar specifications, perhaps indicating it is the same panel.
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Source: BenQ
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saratoga4 - Thursday, November 10, 2016 - link
It seems like adaptive sync would be unnecessary in this market. The latency gain from it would be incredibly small, and most likely people are running without VSYNC anyway.JoeyJoJo123 - Thursday, November 10, 2016 - link
Yes, there's very little noticeable tearing at 144hz as compared to seeing it all the time on my 60hz screen. When I upgraded to a freesync capable GPU (on my already freesync capable monitor) I didn't notice much of a difference.Freesync really matters most when you happen to prefer to play a not-fast-paced-action game, such as Skyrim, and would prefer to increase graphical sliders for scenery, over increasing FPS past a certain point.
zodiacfml - Friday, November 11, 2016 - link
Yes it is but there could still be a use because we are seeing even higher resolution display these days. Reaching 120 fps on a high end machine will be difficult, probably through lowered effects/detail.rocky12345 - Thursday, November 10, 2016 - link
As others have said about the name Zowie I was also going WTF were they thinking and for esports as well..wow...lollimitedaccess - Thursday, November 10, 2016 - link
Zowie is actually an existing brand that was acquired by Benq. Zowie already has presence in that e-sports hardware demographic due to their mice.Flunk - Thursday, November 10, 2016 - link
Doesn't sound like that was money well spent seeing the lack of name recognition around here. I remember their mice, but not fondly. I remember them as "that knockoff brand that people who can't afford Logitech or Razer mice buy".Demi9OD - Thursday, November 10, 2016 - link
Zowie is the most popular brand of mouse in pro LAN competitions of CS:GO, Overwatch etc. I don't think they are the best either, but a lot of those guys get familiar with a shape/feel and don't want to change.BrokenCrayons - Thursday, November 10, 2016 - link
That's like being the most popular person at a party where there's only two guests.JoeyJoJo123 - Thursday, November 10, 2016 - link
That's like thinking the party with the most guests (ie: Logitech/Razer) is the only party worth paying attention to.Yes, even a party with only two guests can be one of the best parties you've ever had if it's something meaningful to you. Such as your own birthday party after a dozen other friends decided they couldn't make it for your special day, at least the two guests that showed up really cared.
Zowie doesn't have the marketing budget of giants like Logitech and Razer, yet somehow they're one of the few that knows how to use flawless sensors in mice with familiar and standard shapes and sizes, without obtrustive drivers, with the flawless sensor performance gamers want. And they sell these mice at a fraction of the cost (and weight) that Logitech and Razer sell their mice at.
http://mousearea.com/best-csgo-gaming-mouse-2016/
Has multiple Zowies near the top of the list. Just because you haven't heard of them before doesn't make it a terrible brand, dude.
Dug - Monday, November 14, 2016 - link
Point wasn't that it's a terrible brand. It's a terrible name.