BenQ GW2x50(HM) thread.

[mickyf]

Hi, I purchased a GW2750HM last week and I'm quite pleased with the display, I have a problem though, it takes quite a while, prob 5-7 seconds to wake up and power up, my previous benq was almost instant. Is this a fault?

 

[mattycarroll]

Mine took about 10 seconds.

 

[sureshot1234]

The important fact you mentioned is "$" So I assume you are in USA? Then dont buy anything Benq. A guy here had no end of trouble with RMA with them. Seems like Benq USA are ... not good.

I have the 24", an early one, dated March. It has motion blurr issues for red in certain conditions, that I have mentioned in earlier posts. ie a disproporionate red blurr of red against dark in films. Dont know if they solved it in the later versions. I have learnt to live with mine ( I did RMA and got a slightly better one ) as the effect only in special circumstances & in general very good for watching tv and dvds, and when I got mine was very cheap.

Ok we'll I ordered the Asus vs247h-p for 159.99 shipped and will get a mail in rebate that drops it down to like 139.99 so guess its good I didn't order the benq. And thanks for the reply

 

[chr1s]

Hi, I just bought a GW2250HM. Are there any recommended settings for this model?

Also, is there any chance I can get more than 60HZ without the risk of damaging the monitor?

Thanks.

 

[mattycarroll]

I think i owe this monitor an apology! I had a gw2750HM and sent it back as i was dissapointed with it. I now have a dell u2412m and have been dissapointed with that also for pretty much the same reasons. I have just put my old samsung 2232bw monitor next to the dell and the dell is better in every respect and i am now thinking the benq would have been also! I think the change from 1650x1050 resolution to 1980x1200/1080 is taking a lot more getting use to and also the fact the displays are so much larger they highlight everything and make blemishes more noticeable.
Anyway, sorry benq GW2750HM, i think you was actually a good monitor but maybe too big for my desktop in 27" size at 1980x1080 resolution.

 

[chr1s]

Is it normal for the power led to be yellow? I'm not sure but I think it was green at first.

 

[madmook]

Should be green when it is on and displaying an image. Turns yellow/amber when it can't detect any signal and goes into standby mode. At least that's what my 2750HM does.

 

[SnowHydra]

Hey everybody! So I got my RMA back from newegg after I was dissatisfied with my monitor. I THINK it was defective before, but not by much. The black levels and saturation were worse than what the monitor is now, but not by much. The largest difference is in contrast. I probably got a lemon as the contrast/vibrancy seemed worse than the TN I had! Also, the preset modes of color temperature were different from before! Before, "reddish" gave RGB of 100, 88, 85. Now, it's 100, 100, 92, and it looks much better.

Everyone who has one of these monitors should also install SoftMCCS and adjust the RGB black levels. The settings will be saved on the monitor itself, also, so it'd work with your consoles, Macs, and Linux boxes. I was worried about that at first, but not anymore.

Pretty good monitor. This has a bit more overshoot than the last one I had but really, it's not that noticeable on "high." It's not for super competitive FPS players, but I do a lot of gaming and it's fine for me. The contrast very nice, also. I recommend this monitor if you can get it at a good price, it doesn't get better than this under $160.

 

[mercalia]

Hi, I just bought a GW2250HM. Are there any recommended settings for this model?

Also, is there any chance I can get more than 60HZ without the risk of damaging the monitor?

Thanks.

I think an earlier post said that using anything other than the default 60hz undermines the AMA overdrive so you will get blurred motion. The only thing many ppl recommend is that as these monitors show a green bias, lower the green - but u also need to do that for the blacks/shadows thru a hidden menu and using a free tool, softMCCS. see #237 on page 12

Dont know if the 22" has this green bias or has been corrected in later models

 

[mercalia]

I think i owe this monitor an apology! I had a gw2750HM and sent it back as i was dissapointed with it. I now have a dell u2412m and have been dissapointed with that also for pretty much the same reasons. I have just put my old samsung 2232bw monitor next to the dell and the dell is better in every respect and i am now thinking the benq would have been also! I think the change from 1650x1050 resolution to 1980x1200/1080 is taking a lot more getting use to and also the fact the displays are so much larger they highlight everything and make blemishes more noticeable.
Anyway, sorry benq GW2750HM, i think you was actually a good monitor but maybe too big for my desktop in 27" size at 1980x1080 resolution.

Yes regarding the Benq - the low resolution 1920x 1080 doesnt help motion - much more ragged than with a small monitor I think. I cant imagine a 27" on a desk top - shows all its faults as u are so close up to it

 

[chr1s]

The only thing many ppl recommend is that as these monitors show a green bias, lower the green - but u also need to do that for the blacks/shadows thru a hidden menu and using a free tool, softMCCS. see #237 on page 12

Dont know if the 22" has this green bias or has been corrected in later models

Thanks for your answer. I installed softMCCS but I can't find those RGB video black levels. Under image adjustment this is what I got:

But I didn't notice any green bias. I'm using the settings found on this review for the 2450:

Brightness: 17

Contrast: 50

Gamma: 3

Picture Mode: Standard

Color Temperature: User Mode

RGB:100, 96, 98

 

[mercalia]

Thanks for your answer. I installed softMCCS but I can't find those RGB video black levels. Under image adjustment this is what I got:

should be further down in the same window called

Red Video Black level,
Green Video Black level ,
Blue Video Black level

just under

Auto Setup
Clock phase

I had to use the scroll bars at right edge of the window to see them
if u dont have that then maybe cant adjust the black level

In fact I was able to adjust these from my Intel ( G41) video driver setup menu under Monitor/Tv settings - called Video Black Level - R,G,B = 50,46,50

yes the green level u using about right. I use 94. But I boost the blue to 100

 

[acti0n]

Does anyone know if the GW2460 is PWM-free? On Benq's product page, it does not specify this like it does for the GW2760. If only the GW2760 is PWM-free, that's a disappointment considering 27" is way too big for only a 1920x1080 resolution.

 

[mtbvfr]

Does anyone know if the GW2460 is PWM-free? On Benq's product page, it does not specify this like it does for the GW2760. If only the GW2760 is PWM-free, that's a disappointment considering 27" is way too big for only a 1920x1080 resolution.

At present, only the GW2760HS can be confiemd as being PWM free.

I'm hoping they make a GW2460HS that is PWM free.

 

[CalinTM]

After two faulty IPS DELL monitors, i bought a price-premium TN samsung, and the colors are junk, want to sell him, and buy a GW2450HM. How is the monitor in gaming and movies, had ghosting or lag. And the 12ms ISO are an issue for games ?

 

[mercalia]

After two faulty IPS DELL monitors, i bought a price-premium TN samsung, and the colors are junk, want to sell him, and buy a GW2450HM. How is the monitor in gaming and movies, had ghosting or lag. And the 12ms ISO are an issue for games ?

I have an early 24", so what I say may not apply to later ones . I use mine only as a media screen for Windows Media Centre so have lots of experience with TV and films and DVDs. My version has in some special circumstances a noticeable red motion blurr, usually of a red based surface against a dark surface, eg a face against dark hair. The red blurr is out of proportion to the amount of red in the scene. I RMA-ed mine and the new one I got back( same series ) had the same effect but maybe a little less so. I have learnt to live with it, as the main feature that irritated me by my old tv was poor blacks esp when viewed in the dark. Its not as if the defect happens all the time. It may be that later series ( of firmware ) have sorted this out. Other people here havent noted the effect so maybe Benq has - but then maybe other owners here dont use it all the time as a video screen. By the way if you live in the USA prob not a good idea to buy anything Benq as their afterservice is abominable - a previous owner here had endless trouble with them to such an extent he issued a charge back. ( look for Medion's comments ). Dell I think have a VA based screen same size, prob uses the same panel and I think they give 3 years onsite warrenty. Not too expensive. Maybe look them up

 

[Glottiz]

My version has in some special circumstances a noticeable red motion blurr, usually of a red based surface against a dark surface, eg a face against dark hair. The red blurr is out of proportion to the amount of red in the scene. I RMA-ed mine and the new one I got back( same series ) had the same effect but maybe a little less so. I have learnt to live with it, as the main feature that irritated me by my old tv was poor blacks esp when viewed in the dark. Its not as if the defect happens all the time. It may be that later series ( of firmware ) have sorted this out. Other people here havent noted the effect so maybe Benq has - but then maybe other owners here dont use it all the time as a video screen

that's most likely not a defect, just how MVA panels are.

 

[CrabJuice]

that's most likely not a defect, just how MVA panels are.

Not that simple with these new generation MVA panels. They seem to vary quite heavily. Some have green tint. Wide black level variations between units. Overdrive behave differently in different units. On the other hand BLB, uniformity and such seems to be much more stable than IPS and TN.

 

[dhanson865]

fwiw I got the gw2450 and I'm liking it way better than my old TN 22" it replaced.

I went from 1680*1050 to 1920*1080 so I gained on both the horizontal and vertical even if the vertical was only 30 pixels more.

 

[Dallows]

So I should wait for the GW2460HM to hit the states right? Should be a worthwhile wait over the GW2450HM?

 

[Racer_J]

So I should wait for the GW2460HM to hit the states right? Should be a worthwhile wait over the GW2450HM?

I doubt it's going to be released in NA according to a conversation U53r had with BenQ about the GW2760HM recently. Given the complaints about BenQ's US division lately, it's not too surprising.

 

[Dallows]

I doubt it's going to be released in NA according to a conversation U53r had with BenQ about the GW2760HM recently. Given the complaints about BenQ's US division lately, it's not too surprising.

Oh hm. I missed that. Damn. Still feel like I should take a chance with the GW2450HM then.

 

[lapis]

Hi guys,
First, I saw GW2460HM and GW2260HM in a shop and I did pencil test to check the backlight flickering and I can confirm that these monitors HAVE PWM. If flickers in a similar way like GW2450HM so I suppose it will have a similar frequency, corresponding to the review at Czech extrahardware website.
I saw GW2460HM and GW2250HM next to each other and they look quite similar, except the thinner border in the new one, menu buttons in back and different OSD style. So I bought GW2450HM, which is by about 10% cheaper.

I have GW2450HM for a few days, manufactured in June 2012 in China, but I am quite disappointed from its response time. Benq says it has 4ms, but in fact it is slower than my 6 years old 19" Benq FP91GP with MVA panel. Moving dark objects leave a dark yellow ghosts behind (usually 1-2mm long trail) and even scrolling a text in browser causes letters to have yellowish borders. Then I found that it is related a lot to colors of moving object and background. When I set monitor to sRGB or standard colors, white color has warm (a bit red/yellowish) tone and yellow ghosting is very visible. When I set it to Movie/Photo/Game/Eco preset, white color is very cold (blue tone) and there is no yellow ghosting behind black moving objects. When I define custom colors, yellow ghosting starts to be visible when Blue is set to value lower than 97.
Here are photos from moving flag test in PixPerAn tool:
Moving flag with Standard color preset: http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/6581/flagstandard.jpg
Moving flag with custom R/G/B colors set to 100/95/97: http://img705.imageshack.us/img705/4338/flag1009597.jpg

If I set a bit warmer color tone using graphic card settings or ICC profile instead of OSD, it does the same thing. When white color has a bit warmer tone, moving black object always leaves yellow trail.

AMA setting doesn't help much here - High has a bit smaller ghosting than None and Premium just makes light-blue trail instead of yellow, but it is still noticeable and irritating.

My old 19" MVA Benq monitor doesn't leave any trails and in fact it seems to have a bit better response time than this one in most of the test from PixPerAn tool. This old monitor has also much better view angles - when I look to some yellow color tone from top of the monitor, GW2450HM changes this yellow to pink, but old FP91GP still shows good yellow.

I have also problem with gamma settings. When I check gamma test at http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/gamma_calibration.php, it results in Gamma 48% at about 2.8 instead of standard 2.2, using default Gamma value 3 in OSD. Using ICC profile from tftcentral doesn't help much - it just makes some dark tones looking a bit lighter.

Do you guys notice the same issues with your Benq MVA panels? A few weeks ago I bought Philips 235PQ2EB with e-IPS but returned it because of massive IPS glow in corners and I got eyes strain within 30 minutes of reading a text on it (probably because of 200 Hz PWM or FRC or hard coating or IPS matrix - I am not sure, Benq is somehow better in that). I am thinking about returning this one too, but then I don't know what to buy next...

 

[Racer_J]

All the BenQ GW2x50HM monitors are going to have the dark overshoot on moving objects. It's been pointed out in every major review. The overshoot is better than it is on the Dell S2440L but, it will always be there. Premium is usually the best overdrive setting on the BenQ GW2x50HM line.

It's not too surprising TFT Central's ".icc" profile did little to help as their GW2450HM had a gamma average of around 2.1 out of the box and your's obviously had a very different gamma. It was the same way with my Dell S2440L as TFT Central had around 2.3 on average and I had around 2.6 @ 48% and around 2.9 at 25% and 10% out of the box. Panels and monitors can have a great deal of variance out of the box which is why individual calibration is almost always recommended.

The 4ms response time quoted is gTg and overdriven and, that's the common practice. In addition to that, everyone uses whatever method they can to get the lowest number they can use for advertising purposes. There is no standard test procedure used for response time so, you can't really trust the claim until it's been verified by a 3rd party. The panel in the GW2450HM is rated by AUO (the manufacturer) as 12ms ISO response time bWb (black > white > black). TFT Central didn't measure the actual response time of the GW2450HM and it looks like PRAD didn't review it.

 

[Dallows]

Hmm. I ordered two from Newegg because the price was right. They arrive today so we'll see what happens. I also have a SpectraCal C3 meter that I'll be calibrating it with.

 

[Namelessme]

Is ghosting actually so bad that it shows up when simply scrolling text, or moving windows around? I assumed it was just an issue when gaming, not doing normal computer tasks.

 

[Racer_J]

Is ghosting actually so bad that it shows up when simply scrolling text, or moving windows around? I assumed it was just an issue when gaming, not doing normal computer tasks.

It depends. The Dell S2440L has overshoot on the mouse pointer as does the Dell U2311HM and I've read that the GW2450HM does as well. Some of that is attributed to LCDs being sample & hold but, the light and dark overshoot and streaking is most likely the result of the overdrive/RTC being too aggressive. Stuff like that can be obtrusive in day to day tasks as well but, it depends on how noticeable it is to each individual and, what colours are involved.

 

[Namelessme]

I recall reading about the mouse overshoot, but wasn't sure if that was an overdrive issue, or just an issue with all AMVA panels. Based on some other comments here, it seems like ghosting may affect simple stuff, like text and dark windows.

If you minimize say... this hard forum window, and move it about on the screen fast, does it cause any ghosting, either with text or outline of the window?

I am curious, as I also own an older PVA and S-PVA (as secondary monitors), and the PVA does especially bad with blacks and reds, so moving windows too fast does cause some ghosting. Overdrive helps some in my case, but causes some other problems of its own. The S-PVA is better than PVA as far as ghosting, but isn't perfect either. I can see some ghosting if I look for it, outside of gaming.

Does anyone here own a S-PVA (or older PVA) and compared ghosting to modern day AMVAs? Which is better ghosting-wise?

 

[lapis]

Is ghosting actually so bad that it shows up when simply scrolling text, or moving windows around? I assumed it was just an issue when gaming, not doing normal computer tasks.

Yes, actually on my monitor, for example when I am scrolling text on this forum, white text on gray background gets a bit yellow tone, with some parts more yellow than others, and red heather lines leave a bit red-gray trails behind in this dark grey background. Also the same effect appears when moving the browser window around. Some colors leave bigger trail and some less...For example black text doesn't leave trails in cold white background, but it leaves dark yellow trails in warm white tones...

 

[Namelessme]

Huh... that is worse than I expected. It sounds like the ghosting I see on my old PVA (w/ overdrive on) and it's probably worse than my S-PVA.

Thanks for the info though, as that probably excludes any AMVAs for me in the future then (at least as a primary monitor). One of my pet peeves is when I see significant ghosting just doing normal PC stuff.

 

[Racer_J]

I recall reading about the mouse overshoot, but wasn't sure if that was an overdrive issue, or just an issue with all AMVA panels.

It depends on the panel, monitor hardware, etc. I've seen panels were everything starts to "lighten" when you start moving the camera in game (even very slowly) and I've seen others not exhibit that trait at all. VA panels tend the "ghost" but with the recent discovery of the lightboost (which is only on TN panels), it's brought into question how much of that is related to response time and how much of it is related to sample and hold.

Does anyone here own a S-PVA (or older PVA) and compared ghosting to modern day AMVAs? Which is better ghosting-wise?

The Samsung UN32EH5000 is S-PVA (I know it's a TV, hear me out) and the Dell S2440L is an A-MVA. The Dell S2440L looks great in the PixPerAn readability test if it has PWM, you overclock it to 72Hz and, drop the brightness on it to 0 as that will allow you to read from a tempo of 16 to 23. If you don't do that, both the Dell S2440L and the Samsung UN32EH5000 have a similar performance in PixPerAn where you can read to around a tempo of 6 to 7 but WoW looked better on the Samsung UN32EH5000 while 360 games are a blurred mess on the Dell S2440L and looked great on the Samsung UN32EH5000 (especially if it was in PC mode).

I don't believe this was because of the panel technology though. I think the Samsung UN32EH5000 just had a good combination of hardware and firmware. It's sort of like how the PWM on a Dell S2440L just happens to "sync" really well with an overclock to 72Hz and dropping the brightness to 0. These really showcases two extremes though where a S-PVA happens to do really well at console games (and being able to re-render some stuff in them) and an A-MVA panel does really well at a specific PC test with neither being perfect at everything. In case anyone is wondering, I didn't try to overclock the Samsung UN32EhH000 when I had it but I really wish I would have given how the PWM looked at a brightness of 0.

The only thing an A-MVA panel will do better than an S-PVA panel is possibly have a lower perceived black level depth (I've seen some that can match piano black bezels with no ambient lighting) and better text since the pixels aren't split. The only thing a S-PVA panel will do better than an A-MVA panel is the "viewing cone" and possibly the viewing angles. Everything else is going to be a variable based on the actual panel specs, the other hardware used, firmware, overdrive, etc.

 

[Namelessme]

Thanks for the info comparing it to a SPVA. I would think AMVA would have significantly better blacks, not just perceived, though. Although that viewing cone thing comes into play there too, which explains why some people here commented that blacks were only good in the center of their screens, while the sides were washed out a bit.

I sometimes wonder how AMVA would do if if a higher end model was produced. For whatever reason it seems AMVAs are used in cheaper models, and frequently with so-so (or faulty) overdrive. If NEC, etc. put one together with a really good overdrive, 10-12 bit LUT, and decent electronics, it could be interesting. But I guess marketing such a monitor would be problematic.

 

[lapis]

Is it possible to overclock GW2450HM to 72 Hz too? I have read somewhere that its AMA works well only at 60 Hz...

Namelessme: You can try Philips 241P4QPYE (or some other Philips AMVA), from what I have read, it has relatively good response time for AMVA and good ergonomy. However PWM is at 200 MHz there.

 

[Racer_J]

It was hard to tell on the Dell S2440L because, it's a "mirror" and even at a brightness of 0 there is enough light to bounce back off the wall it is facing which will ultimately cause a very mild reflection on the glass and alteration as a result. It is possible that the perceived black level depth may be lower than it looked but even with no ambient lighting it simply couldn't match the piano black bezel like the Dynex DX-32L230A12 did. It could have also been a panel variation as well where it didn't live up to its full potential. Comparing the Samsung Un32EH5000 to the Dynex DX-32L230A12 though, yes, A-MVA would have superior perceived black level depth. At the same time though, the "viewing cone" on an A-MVA panel can require you to get your gamma into the 2.1 to 2.0 range because of how the "viewing cone" intensifies everything which can result in a crush that shouldn't be there. To be fair, an actual calibration may render that situation moot. The "viewing cone" an a S=PVA apparently isn't as bad because the pixels are split and, that's why they are split in the first place.

When it comes to monitor usage, viewing angles are probably a much larger concern than the perceived black level depth matching the bezel is. If they weren't IPS wouldn't be dominating the marketplace like it is. To be fair though, I'm sure there is a fairly large chunk of IPS users that would prefer a lower perceived black depth or at least a much higher contrast ratio to create the illusion of one. I think there are a couple of higher end monitors that use A-MVA but, they generally have some other glaring flaw like poor movement clarity or 28ms of input lag. In the end we all want an actual all-in-one solution but, nothing is actually designed for it and if it were the price would likely be outrageous and thus considered a "failure".

Perhaps someone will get more adventurous with strobing/scanning backlights for VA, IPS, PLS panels in the near future so that people only have to chose between perceived black level depth and viewing angles rather than motion clarity . . .

 

[Racer_J]

Is it possible to overclock GW2450HM to 72 Hz too? I have read somewhere that its AMA works well only at 60 Hz...

Overdrive/RTC tends to only work well at the default refresh rate as that's what it was designed to work with. I have read in the past that overclocking bypasses the overdrive/RTC but, that's not true on the Dell U23H11HM or the Dell S2440L. It doesn't get any worse on either of those when overclocking though and, it certainly doesn't bypass it on the Dell U2311HM.

I'm not sure if the BenQ GW2450HM can be overclocked but, at least it has the option to adjust or disable the overdrive built into the menu. If it could be overclocked, you could have the ability to see which of the settings works best on it. It's also possible that lowering the brightness on it could increase the PWN strobe effect resulting in a "sync" with the refresh rate to clean up motion clarity. I have only seen that on the Dell S2440L though and, I honestly think it was a fluke that the PWM strobe at a brightness of 0 and the 72Hz overclock somewhat "synced". I would love to see someone try it on their GW2450L though or anything else with PWM. Keep in mind that you may not find a refresh rate that "syncs" well with the PWM as I couldn't find one on the ViewSonic VX2770SMH-LED but, I also didn't have a dual link DVI-D cable to try and push it past 74Hz. Also keep in mind that the "sync" is not the same as lightboost or a CRT. You will absolutely see the "multi edge effect/ghosts" in PiXPerAn but the clarity increase is unmistakable. It also will not get rid of any overshoot but it can "soften" it on the car and text in PixPerAn.

 

[Dallows]

Oye. Received my two GW2450's today and right off the bat I can say that this non-adjustable stand might be an issue. I like to sit a little lower and it's kinda high. You can tilt, but that's about it.

Also seems like the text in some cases has a "sheen" to it. Not sure what's that's about.

I might just return all this nonsense and go back to a plain TN LCD. Ugh.

 

[Outbreaker]

Do you also buy an non-adjustable Office Chair and complain afterwards because it isn't adjustable?

 

[Dallows]

Do you also buy an non-adjustable Office Chair and complain afterwards because it isn't adjustable?

No, but that's not really the point. Maybe I should've elaborated. My previous fixed Asus was a little bit shorter. I expected about the same height level, that's all.

 

[Outbreaker]

I have a own Monitor Arm and i don't want to play 20€ more for something that i already have.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_n...011,n:490624011&page=2&ie=UTF8&qid=1360892427

 

[Namelessme]

Do you also buy an non-adjustable Office Chair and complain afterwards because it isn't adjustable?

If you miscalculated and are now sitting 2 feet beneath your desk, I guess you probably would.