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Note that there is always some disparity between how emissive objects (monitor) and non-emissive objects (printed sheet) appear. The representation of shades in this image depends on the camera and your own screen, it’s not designed to show exactly how the shades appear in person. It still helps demonstrate some of the relative differences between the original intended sRGB shade and what the monitor outputs, however. Full profiling and appropriate colour management on the application would provide a tighter match, our intention here is to show what can be expected in a non colour-managed environment.
Pixel density isn't particularly impressive on paper, but moving even from my usual QHD display wasn't difficult. Games look great on this monitor, especially once you begin tweaking the myriad built-in settings. Color and contrast are good for gaming, but I wouldn't recommend the monitor for any sort of specialized work that requires better AdobeRGB and DCI color reproduction. The video below shows the monitor in action. The camera, processing done and your own screen all affect the output – so it doesn’t accurately represent what you’d see when viewing the monitor in person. It still provides useful visual demonstrations and explanations which help reinforce some of the key points raised in the written piece. A small utility called SMTT 2.0 was used alongside a sensitive camera to analyse the latency of the EX2710, with over 30 repeat readings taken to help maximise accuracy. Using this method, we calculated 3.41ms (~1/2 a frame at 144Hz) of input lag. We measured a slightly higher but still low latency at 60Hz, 4.50ms. The input lag measured here is influenced by both the element you ‘see’ (pixel responsiveness) and the main element you ‘feel’ (signal delay). It indicates a low signal delay which most users should find acceptable. Note that we don’t have the means to accurately measure input lag with Adaptive-Sync active in a variable refresh rate environment or with HDR active in an HDR environment. A look we like to describe as ‘rich and natural’, with a somewhat cool tint. A touch of extra depth and saturation for sRGB content due to the gamma handling and gamut, nothing dramatic. It’s important to note that strobe crosstalk varies at different areas of the screen. Not all areas refresh simultaneously, so its appearance can differ depending on how high up or low down on the screen movement is being observed. The images below show pursuit photographs running from the top to bottom regions of the screen, with the screen set to 144Hz and ‘AMA = 2’ with Blur Reduction active. Strobe crosstalk variation at different points was also observed at 120Hz and 100Hz and with different AMA settings, but the relative variability in strobe crosstalk at different sections of the screen remained the same. So we didn’t feel it was worthwhile documenting these observations.As above but a significant reduction in depth and less saturated overall due to significant gamma reduction gamma. Overall we feel this is a well-rounded monitor, for those who like a good mixture of responsiveness and colour quality. And who prefer things to look rich and natural with a touch of extra saturation and vibrancy, rather than things being taken to the extreme in that respect. The screen size and resolution combination won’t be for everyone, although we’d caution people that we’ve seen a lot of exaggerated claims in that respect as well. “Pixels the size of golf balls” or “huge pixels” is not an appropriate description for what are still very small pixels on the screen. As with many things it’s all very subjective. But if you like the sound of this model but prefer a tighter pixel density and can live with a smaller screen. The we’d also recommend considering the 24.5” EX2510.
We made similar observations on Shadow of the Tomb Raider. This title demands a strong contrast performance to look its atmospheric best, with plenty of dimly lit caves and passageways illuminated by a few point sources of light. That isn’t what this model delivered, although it isn’t something we’d expect from an IPS-type panel either. And this model still edges out weaker IPS-type performers. ‘IPS glow’ was again a feature, particularly noticeable if the room is dim or moderately dim. The strong gamma consistency was a key strength, keeping dark detail more consistent without the clear shifts observed on VA and moreover TN models. The light matte screen surface with reasonably smooth finish helped with the representation of brighter shades, too. There's no rotation available, so you can't use the monitor in a vertical position. The display is best employed as a primary gaming screen, so this isn't a huge deal. And as mentioned, it would be nice to have a higher possible height adjustment to avoid having to use a riser. There are nine color mode presets available, 10 if you include the Custom profile that you can set up yourself. Two HDRi and a standard HDR preset are present, as well as modes for FPS, RPG, Racing, sRGB, MacBook, and Epaper. If you prefer to not have to set things up yourself, these presets should be enough. However, setting up a custom profile for color, brightness, contrast, sharpness, gamma, and more should please those who want things looking perfect. Fans of good audio will find BenQ has paid attention to the EX2710Q’s built-in speakers. Not only is the sound tuned with multiple DSP modes, but there’s also an extra driver billed as a subwoofer integrated into the panel. Realistically, you won’t be hearing room-shaking frequencies from this monitor, but it does provide more bass than just about anything else I’ve experienced in this class.We made further observations using various episodes of the animated TV series Futurama. This series has large areas of individual shade and is therefore a particularly brutal test for colour consistency. The monitor performed well in that respect. There were some slight shifts for some shades, such as the red of Dr Zoidberg, but only minor and towards the very extreme edges. This isn’t unusual to see for IPS-type panels, with this one performing better than some IPS-types in that respect. There were no clear saturation shifts as you’d see on VA and moreover TN models. A good range of subtly different pastel shades were displayed, with an appropriately muted appearance overall. Bright and neon shades such as bright pink and green appeared fairly eye-catching, although not to the extent observed on models with a more generous gamut. Deep oranges, purples and dark greens were also represented well. Finally, note that the refresh rate displayed in the OSD reflected the frame rate of the content when it was within the main VRR window (38 – 144Hz), updated when you first enter the section of the OSD where it’s displayed. And as with AMD FreeSync, HDR can be used at the same time as ‘G-SYNC Compatible Mode’.
As illustrated above the standard RGB (Red, Green and Blue) stripe subpixel layout is used. This is the default expected by modern operating systems such as Microsoft Windows. Apple’s MacOS no longer uses subpixel rendering and therefore doesn’t optimise text for one particular subpixel layout to the detriment of another. You needn’t worry about text fringing from non-standard subpixel layouts and won’t need to change the defaults in the ‘ClearType Text Tuner’ as a Windows user. You may still wish to run through the ClearType wizard and adjust according to preferences, however. The subpixel layout and arrangement is normal and we had no subpixel-related concerns related to sharpness or text clarity on this model. SDR games look just as rich and impactful thanks to that large color gamut. With solid accuracy, there is balance and smooth tonality with all the detail intended by the original material. Again, I wish contrast were better, but it is enough to provide a good gaming experience and reasonably satisfying video quality when streaming movies or YouTube. The ‘S’ variant also includes a ‘Sharpness’ control as illustrated in the manual (PDF), whereas the original variant shown in the video doesn’t include this. Note: The EX2710S is very similar to the base model reviewed here with a boost in maximum refresh rate from 144Hz to 165Hz.
A 27-inch QHD gaming monitor with 165 Hz, Adaptive-Sync, HDR and extended color.
The monitor reproduced most shades faithfully here. Gamboge (23) appeared a touch too yellow without quite enough of a rich golden quality to it. Some green-biased shades such as dark lime green (18) and yellow green (19) appeared just a touch towards the neon end, whilst candy apple red (14) appeared just a touch too vivid and warm with a bit of an orange-red quality to it. This is due to a bit of extension beyond sRGB in the gamut for green and in the yellow-red region. But this was not strong oversaturation and the representation of these and indeed other shades was more appropriate than they would be on an unprofiled wide gamut monitor. The monitor shows strong consistency as well, without strong deviations when comparing the two on-screen shade sets. Some deviations can occur due to uniformity issues rather than viewing angle related issues. Things certainly appear more consistent than the VA and moreover TN references shown in our panel types article. The image below shows show things appear using the sRGB emulation setting (‘Color Mode = sRGB’) and factory default colour channel settings. Good ergonomic flexibility, a feature-rich OSD with some useful additions and appropriate pricing in many regions
Decent static contrast for an IPS-type panel, whilst the light and relatively smooth screen surface kept the image free from obvious layering or graininess The average contrast ratio with only brightness adjusted was 1078:1, just slightly above the specified 1000:1 and fairly typical for an IPS-type model. The peak contrast recorded was 1221:1, with ‘Color Temperature = User Define) – this puts all colour channels in their neutral position to maximise contrast. We recorded 1164:1 under our ‘Test Settings’, which is respectable and beyond what some some IPS-type models will achieve. The lowest contrast recorded was 761:1, with ‘Low Blue Light = 20’ which is the strongest setting. As we noted earlier this makes changes to the colour channels which come at the expense of contrast, but with better balance to the image than many settings of this sort. The highest white luminance recorded under SDR was 342 cd/m², whilst the minimum white luminance recorded on the table (Blur Reduction disabled) was 56 cd/m². This gives a luminance adjustment range of 286 cd/m², with a reasonably low minimum and fairly bright maximum luminance. Where frame rate kept pace with the 144Hz refresh rate, the monitor provided a fluid experience on Battlefield V. The monitor outputs over twice as much visual information per second as a 60Hz monitor (or this monitor running at 60Hz). This brings with it two core advantages, the first of which is a better ‘connected feel’. This describes the precision and fluidity that’s felt as you interact with the game, something that the low input lag of the monitor certainly helps with. But that low input lag alone won’t provide. The second core advantage is a significant reduction in perceived blur due to eye movement from the increased refresh rate and frame rate in combination, shown earlier using Test UFO. This test also highlighted the relatively strong pixel response performance of the monitor, with only minor weaknesses for some transitions.
The image below is a macro photograph taken on Notepad with ClearType disabled. The letters ‘PCM’ are typed out to help highlight any potential text rendering issues related to unusual subpixel structure, whilst the white space more clearly shows the actual subpixel layout alongside a rough indication of screen surface. This model uses a light matte anti-glare screen surface with a relatively smooth surface texture. This surface offers relatively good glare handling, avoiding the sort of distinct reflections you’d see on a glossy or much lighter screen surface. It also preserves clarity and vibrancy better than ‘stronger’ matte screen surfaces. It offers more direct emission of light with lower diffusion, giving it less of a layered appearance in comparison. When observing lighter shades there was a light misty graininess rather than a heavy or ‘smeary’ graininess. This surface is slightly lighter and has a somewhat smoother surface texture than the 24.5” models, such as the EX2510 and XB253Q GP.
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