BenQ XR3501: 35" 21:9 2560x1080 144Hz CURVED (Q2 2015)

JMFitzy85 said:
Stock on these hasn't been great, but unfortunately I have to wait for them to come in stock at a best buy to pull the trigger as I have a decent sized credit.

These were out already though, correct? See ownership in the thread obviously, any idea on a new release date for them?
Click to expand...

You lost me.

This monitor is out.

There is no "new release date." Newegg has them in stock right now, for example.
 
Thought newegg was selling from a marketplace or third party. BenQ has them for preorder for August I guess, I thought maybe they were widely out of stock with major retailers.

EDIT: Yeah, it's not marketplace on newegg. My mistake.
 
JMFitzy85 said:
Thought newegg was selling from a marketplace or third party. BenQ has them for preorder for August I guess, I thought maybe they were widely out of stock with major retailers.

EDIT: Yeah, it's not marketplace on newegg. My mistake.
Click to expand...

You going to be our guinea pig? ;)
 
Q-BZ said:
You going to be our guinea pig? ;)
Click to expand...

I think I'm gonna bite the bullet. Unfortunately, the amount of credit I have with best buy at the moment is way too large to snag it off newegg. Thing has been out of stock there since I found it though, hoping they will come in with the new month.
 
JMFitzy85 said:
I think I'm gonna bite the bullet. Unfortunately, the amount of credit I have with best buy at the moment is way too large to snag it off newegg. Thing has been out of stock there since I found it though, hoping they will come in with the new month.
Click to expand...

I'm in the exact same boat as you. Even have the page bookmarked on Best Buy's website. I'm thinking I'm just going to hold out and see what the Acer Z35 (same panel but with Gsync) will be priced at. Plus I need VESA mount support and apparently you need to buy some sort of kit for the BenQ, and who knows if or when it will ever actually show up. The Acer will have a standard VESA mount from the get go. Damn, why do monitor manufacturers miss out on the mounting options so often?
 
Here I snagged the full panel spec sheet

http://www.mediafire.com/?h25m045py9jt35o

They downgraded contrast from their 3000:1 target for revision 0.6 in March that explains why there was some initial confusion and a different spec in the flyer posted on p1.
The vertical frequency range the panel is capable of is 30-145hz and I expect to see that in the upcoming G-sync version.
Note 3-3 is strange "The optimal Vertical Frequency is 119~145 Hz for best picture quality" I wonder what is meant by that.
 
For anyone that might care: These are definitely out in the wild now. Amazon has some in stock. Newegg still has some in stock along with some of the other outlets so we shouldn't have wait too much longer to start getting some real intel on these both from user feedback and more importantly the review outlets like TFT and so forth.
 
Q-BZ said:
For anyone that might care: These are definitely out in the wild now. Amazon has some in stock. Newegg still has some in stock along with some of the other outlets so we shouldn't have wait too much longer to start getting some real intel on these both from user feedback and more importantly the review outlets like TFT and so forth.
Click to expand...

This article was on Guru3d today.

http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/benq-releases-xr3501-curved-monitor.html

Saying that they released it in the US today. I thought something was up with the stock levels, why the confusion on release dates? Newegg had them early, obviously and some people here seemingly purchased them.

Anyway, not that it's relevant but I went the route of the 40 inch 4k Samsung TV and put the money I saved with this towards a 980 TI and I absolutely do not regret it so far, but would sure like to hear how people enjoy these as they start to become more readily available.
 
JMFitzy85 said:
This article was on Guru3d today.

http://www.guru3d.com/news-story/benq-releases-xr3501-curved-monitor.html

Saying that they released it in the US today. I thought something was up with the stock levels, why the confusion on release dates? Newegg had them early, obviously and some people here seemingly purchased them.

Anyway, not that it's relevant but I went the route of the 40 inch 4k Samsung TV and put the money I saved with this towards a 980 TI and I absolutely do not regret it so far, but would sure like to hear how people enjoy these as they start to become more readily available.
Click to expand...


You go for the 6 or 7 series? I've looked in that direction myself.
 
Q-BZ said:
You go for the 6 or 7 series? I've looked in that direction myself.
Click to expand...

I went with the 6 series. 40 inch JU6500.. I know it was the plainest option but it's incredible looking and I have yet to miss any speed difference.

That could certainly change as I open myself up to different types of games. Shooters and the like, but so far input lag and blur have yet to be an issue.

Think I have noticed some screen tear though in Witcher 3.
 
A new review. Finally starting to get some intel: http://hexus.net/tech/reviews/monitors/85469-benq-xr3501/

Long/short conclusion which I suspect will be far and away the consensus on this monitor:

BenQ could potentially increase the appeal of the XR3501 by deploying adaptive V-Sync technology, but as it stands the XR3501 delivers an incredibly immersive and fluid gaming experience, particularly for fans of racing simulators and any other games that benefit from an increased field of view. Prospective buyers of the BenQ XR3501 should note they are paying an early-adopter cost for the curved ultrawide panel though for any serious gamers the XR3501 is still a solid investment.


The Good


144Hz refresh rate
Plethora of inputs
Vibrant, high-quality panel

The Bad:

No G-Sync or FreeSync
Steep pricing
Panel uniformity could be better
Click to expand...
 
At least monitors are heading in the right direction. Give it a year or two and we'll see higher resolution versions of this monitor with G/Freesync.
 
Display industry currently experiences obesity problem ("ultrashort" fad). It is far from "... heading in the right direction".
 
Last edited:
I don't understand the obsession with having more vertical pixels, especially if it's just 160 vertical pixels found in 1600p monitors as opposed to having 880 more horizontal pixels in the ultra wides. If you need extra vertical workspace so bad there are plenty of ways to get more, you just need to accept that 1600p is basically dead and never coming back.
 
The 1600p (together with 1440p aka QHD) train has left the station long time ago. 4k aka UHD is commodity now. These displays have more pixels in both horizontal and vertical dimensions compard to 1440 ultrawides. With 40" UHD you have IMAX experience at your desk.

Every week youtube features 1000+ new fantastic drone footage and other 4k material. There is only a handful of cases where people still insist on cropping top and bottom of otherwise fine 16:9 material into ugly framed "ultrawide" aspect ratio. Witness Jetman Dubai footage
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Czy0pXRRZcs
They were compelled to crop the top and the bottom of the image when filming the tallest building on earth, how moronic is that?

To summarize, aside from couple exceptions, the "cinematic" aspect ratio is dead.
 
4k is also the way to go but I won't consider it for any serious gaming until it gets past the 60Hz refresh rate.
 
Well, I never understood that argument. With increased resolution you can and see enemies earlier and aim better, even at 30 fps. Now, consider how cost inefficient ultrawide proposition is, how is it wise to waste money on niche product (which would always be relatively expensive), instead of channeling these money into graphics card? Crossover 404K run puny $500 on sale; AMH A399U is currently slightly above $500. This is twice lower than typical 1440 ultrawide. And this thingy discussed in the thread is not even 1440...
 
tegirinenashi said:
Well, I never understood that argument. With increased resolution you can and see enemies earlier and aim better, even at 30 fps.
Click to expand...

Most people don't play anything THAT competitively.. and even if they do, they would prefer a 24 inch 144hz panel. Something small where you can eyeball everything without moving your head..


There's also a reason pro's don't use 4k.. they'd rather have 144hz, it affects your ability to react alot more than having more detail on your screen.

This argument has been had a million and a half times on this forum. Some people prefer a clearer image with the most pixel density possible.. others prefer the smoothness that comes with high refresh rates. Its so subjective that it's not worth even discussing at this point. Use the search feature =p
 
If you can make it work for you then ok but as someone who has both a 1440p 144Hz and a 4k monitor, the 144Hz is much better for serious gaming. From my experience the resolution difference isn't so massive that it suddenly allows me to see things that were "hidden" on a 1440p monitor. Maybe this whole "seeing things better" is applied to large 4k displays instead of a 28 inch one, but then the problem with that is now I can't see the entire screen without moving my head around so it would end up doing the opposite and hiding more from me rather than revealing more since I can't see the whole screen.
 
Lol when people were upset about the pixel density I don't think they meant the display was too big but rather the resolution was too low....
 
really itching to pull the trigger on this monitor and be rid of my phillips 40". If its just slightly worse than a 1080p 27" I wouldnt mind it. Either this or upgrade to skylake from my current system, oh the joys of having a wife you have to negotiate with lol.
 
Mauler87 said:
If its just slightly worse than a 1080p 27" I wouldnt mind it.
Click to expand...

It's essentially equivalent.

It's just too damned expensive as is without gsync on it. $699 I'd buy it myself. $999 I think they're smoking meth.
 
Guys, I'm new to the world of high hz monitors and am thinking of getting this one. Just wondering if tearing etc is still present? Would I need to keep it above 60 to avoid it?

thanks
 
Tearing would work the same as with any regular non-Gsync monitor. Vsync on = no tearing, Vsync off = tearing. However at 144hz, tearing is MUCH harder to notice if you have Vsync off. Almost imperceptible.
 
I've used couple high refresh rate monitors over the years and tearing doesn't seem to be a problem at 120/144hz w/ vsync off so crank up those framerates! I've noticed bits of tearing at 96-100hz but nothing absolutely game breaking.
 
Mauler87 said:
really itching to pull the trigger on this monitor and be rid of my phillips 40". If its just slightly worse than a 1080p 27" I wouldnt mind it. Either this or upgrade to skylake from my current system, oh the joys of having a wife you have to negotiate with lol.
Click to expand...

To be fair Mauler, the switch would make it more cost effective in the gfx dept ;)

Your 290X's would last you another couple of years at this res at least! I'm in the same boat, the Philips is sweet but SUCH a bitch to drive at max settings! If I made the switch then I could sell one of my 980Ti's and easily manage. Hmmmmmm :D
 
[jF];1041819172 said:
To be fair Mauler, the switch would make it more cost effective in the gfx dept ;)

Your 290X's would last you another couple of years at this res at least! I'm in the same boat, the Philips is sweet but SUCH a bitch to drive at max settings! If I made the switch then I could sell one of my 980Ti's and easily manage. Hmmmmmm :D
Click to expand...

Yeah I agree but also ditching the 290x's next year when nvidia ship pascal, hopefully they will have async by then (probably will to sink amd's battleship :p).

Thank you for your input, now to find someone to buy my monitor locally...shipping anywhere inside my country is easily over $600 :( .
 
More details on the Acer Z35 with same panel:
http://www.cnet.com/products/acer-predator-z35/
http://www.pcper.com/news/Displays/IFA-2015-Acer-Predator-Z35-and-XB1-G-SYNC-Gaming-Monitors
http://www.windowscentral.com/acers-new-predator-series-monitors-pack-g-sync-4k-and-curves

Acer now claims they overclocked to 200hz refresh rate, and it also has G-Sync + ULMB.
RRP 1200$ ugh

A 200$ markup over the BenQ for these features is not too serious but the XR3501 base price is still too high for this resolution.

Press Release said:

Curved Gaming at Full Throttle: Predator Z35

The Predator Z35 is the first product of Acer's Predator Z Series curved gaming monitors with NVIDIA® G-SYNC™.
Its 35-inch 21:9 UltraWide Full HD (2560x1080) panel features a curvature of 2000R for immersive, wraparound gaming.
The Predator Z35 incorporates NVIDIA® ULMB™ (Ultra Low Motion Blur) technology , reducing motion blur by delivering sharp edges in fastpaced gaming environments.
It also supports overclocking to a lightning-fast 200Hz refresh rate, so gamers can find their enemies before they spot them and enjoy crystal clear turns on the racetrack, and features powerful audio with DTS® Sound, 9Wx2 speakers and Acer TrueHarmony technology.

Pricing and Availability

The Predator Z35 will be available in North America in December with prices starting at US$1199.99, in EMEA in December with prices starting at €1,099.
Click to expand...

Acer Conference Announcement Video (lol)
 
Last edited:
Ouch that's some super aggressive matte coating.

And the panel looks slow even at 144Hz.

After seeing X34 and this review I'll pass on ultrawides and go with classic 27".
 
Yeah the coating seems rather matte, ~20% Haze I would guess from these pics - but both Pcmonitors and Martha have confirmed it is more of the light AG type.
Transitions are indeed a bit slower than usual, but Prad mentioned that they didnt notice any ghosting or overshoot during their subjective tests (Dirt 3)
The Color to Color and full Black to White transitions are slower than on my AMVA+, even though it's just a 60hz (76hz) panel.
The dark G2G transitions should be faster on the BenQ though, looking forward to seeing some pursuit pics once PCM, TFTcentral or sweclockers review it.
 
igluk said:
Yeah the coating seems rather matte, ~20% Haze I would guess from these pics - but both Pcmonitors and Martha have confirmed it is more of the light AG type.
Transitions are indeed a bit slower than usual, but Prad mentioned that they didnt notice any ghosting or overshoot during their subjective tests (Dirt 3)
The Color to Color and full Black to White transitions are slower than on my AMVA+, even though it's just a 60hz (76hz) panel.
The dark G2G transitions should be faster on the BenQ though, looking forward to seeing some pursuit pics once PCM, TFTcentral or sweclockers review it.
Click to expand...

Yeah I'm really looking forward to TFT and PCM reviewing it. I own a BDM4065UC for the office and considered bringing it home for some gaming. But I am really liking the sound of this BenQ to be honest. The PRAD review didn't actually put me off, I think it sounds good in areas that are important to me and should be much better than 60Hz VA panels without this horrendous IPS glow that I can't stand. The steep curve also has me curious. I trust PCMs opinion and other users who confirm the matte surface isn't grainy. It might look like it could be on pictures of the pixels, but it's the end result I am interested in.
 
shit contrast ratio for va, shit black point on par with ips, mediocre response times, no motion blur reduction or f/gsync, disgusting matte coating and 79 ppi for $1000. WTF?
 
Well I can't see any IPS models out there with 1664:1 contrast and I'd much rather than glow-free 1664:1 than any IPS. The screen surface is probably fine, as above. And responsiveness seems fine by me, much better than having loads of overshoot. Will really have to wait for a TFT or PCM review to be honest.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top