What’s this? A display screen that isn’t prefaced by the phrases ‘best monitor for Final Fantasy XII‘? Well, I by no means. Yes, I’m having a small break from my 21:9 check quest to check out one thing altogether extra inexpensive: the BenQ GL2580HM.
While not a ‘gaming monitor’ as such, this slimline 24.5in 1920×1080 TN show prices simply £140 within the UK (or round $150 if you will discover it within the US) and is arguably one of the vital fashionable screens I’ve seen in a while. Let’s see if it’s any cop.
Before I get into the monitor’s picture high quality, let’s take a second to understand simply how good it appears. With teeny bezels measuring only a millimetre thick alongside the highest and sides, the design of the GL2580HM makes it an important candidate for multi-monitor setups the place you wish to maintain immersion-breaking black strains to a minimal. There’s nonetheless a black hole of round 5mm between the place the display screen really begins and the bezel begins, however the lack of cumbersome plastic remains to be a welcome sight certainly on a monitor that prices so little. It additionally has the peculiar impact of constructing the display screen seem larger than it really is – helpful, when it’s so small to start with.
The stand, alas, is fastened and solely affords a small quantity of tilt (5-20 levels) that can assist you get a great angle. It was nearly the fitting top for me sitting down at my desk, however I believe anybody taller than my 5ft and 6in (or 167cm) would in all probability have to prop it up with just a few books to keep away from towering over it.
You may at all times tilt the display screen upwards, in fact, however it is a monitor that’s finest checked out face on, as the viewing angles on its TN panel aren’t significantly nice. Looking at it above and under doesn’t produce an excessive amount of of a noticeable color shift, however peering at it from the aspect turns the farthest a part of the display screen a noticeable shade of orange. As a consequence, anybody interested by utilizing the GL2580HM as a part of a multi-monitor setup would wish to verify they didn’t angle it too steeply when arranging every little thing on their desk.
For essentially the most half, although, the GL2580HM’s TN panel isn’t too dangerous in the case of general color replica. You in all probability wouldn’t wish to use it for photograph or video enhancing or something that requires a excessive degree of color accuracy, however that is nonetheless a superbly acceptable display screen for on a regular basis computing.
According to my i1 DisplayPro calibrator, its Standard image mode and Normal color temperature lined 85.9% of the usual sRGB color gamut, however I managed to boost this a bit of larger to 87.6% by switching to the User Define color temperature. This places it in the identical ballpark because the AOC E2470SWH. Decent, however not sensible. In reality, if I didn’t have my reference AOC Q2770PQU monitor to match it to, I’d have stated the GL2580HM appears completely nice at first look. Colours could lack a little bit of depth and vibrancy, however general, it’s the type of factor I’d be completely pleased with at this type of value.
That is, till you get to something involving even the vaguest trace of shadow, as a result of the GL2580HM’s black ranges are fairly grim. According to my calibrator, it got here in at a whopping 1.15cd/m2. That’s not black (zero.00cd/m2), that’s a darkish shade of gray, and it confirmed in each single one among my check photographs.
When black ranges are this excessive, shadows begin to lose all sense of depth, making photographs and video games seem flat and lifeless. Try taking part in spook-fest Little Nightmares on this monitor, as an illustration, and also you’ll not solely should whack the brightness slider up fairly excessive earlier than you get what the sport considers to be the ‘correct’ steadiness between mild and darkish, however you’ll additionally solely get shadows that appear like a brownish haze in your bother. My reference monitor, however, was capable of go a lot decrease on the sport’s brightness slider and produced a cooler, extra natural-looking type of gloom.
Then once more, it in all probability doesn’t assist that the monitor’s distinction ranges are equally appalling. I re-ran my assessments a number of occasions to verify my calibrator hadn’t gone haywire, however every time I obtained a tough distinction ratio of simply 200:1. I’d usually count on this to be nearer 1000:1 on an honest TN panel, however even the £105 AOC E2470SWH managed to outshine it and that solely had a measly distinction ratio of 540:1. Unsurprisingly, 200:1 is decidedly under common, to say the least.
A low distinction ratio additionally makes it exceedingly tough to see any type of nice picture element, no matter whether or not it’s darkish or mild. A white sunburst, as an illustration, will begin to get crushed a lot sooner than it could on a monitor with larger distinction, whereas shadows begin to seem as distinct chunks of gray as a substitute of a easy gradient from darkish to mild.
Going again to Little Nightmares, the opening cutscene of swirling fog appeared like a cross-section of an onion on the GL2580HM, with half a dozen seen bands of gray swarming round one another. When I ran it once more on my reference monitor, these circles disappeared, making a easy, clear picture that really appeared, because it was supposed, like correct mist.
As a consequence, I don’t really feel like I can advocate the BenQ GL2580HM for gaming, particularly not when the AOC G2460VQ6 affords a lot extra for the same amount of money. It won’t look fairly as good in your desk, however the G2460VQ6 offers you FreeSync help (and by extension a DisplayPort enter) and a 75Hz refresh price for prime body price gaming. The 60Hz GL2580HM, in the meantime, solely nets you HDMI, DVI and VGA inputs plus headphone and microphone jacks.
The GL2580HM would make a nice workplace monitor, particularly with its low blue mild choices and flicker-free display screen for lowered eye pressure and first rate built-in audio system, however for video games there are much better screens available elsewhere.
