Our Verdict
The BenQ EX2780Q is a good monitor for most uses. Its 1440p resolution delivers a detailed picture, and it has exceptionally low response time and input lag to provide a responsive gaming and desktop experience. Unfortunately, its bad ergonomics make it difficult to adjust to your optimal viewing position, and dark room viewing isn't ideal due to its mediocre contrast ratio.
- High refresh rate.
- FreeSync support.
- Great viewing angles.
- Bad ergonomics.
- Mediocre black uniformity.
The BenQ EX2780Q is a good office monitor. Its 27 inch screen lets you multitask comfortably, and text remains sharp and legible. It has an IPS panel that provides great viewing angles so you can share your work easily, but the monitor's lack of adjustability is disappointing for those who need to work in portrait mode. The monitor has good reflection handling and it can get bright enough to overcome glare in a well-lit room.
The BenQ EX2780Q is an impressive monitor for gaming. It has nearly everything that gamers ask for: low response time, low input lag, high refresh rate, and support for FreeSync. Its size and resolution provide great immersion in RPGs or atmospheric games, but sadly, it's not well-suited for dark room gaming, as it has a low contrast ratio and mediocre black uniformity.
The BenQ EX2780Q is good for media consumption. It has a great 1440p resolution that delivers a detailed image, and its 27 inch screen doesn't feel cramped. Viewing angles are good if you want to share content, and it has excellent gray uniformity with no visible dirty screen effect. However, its mediocre contrast ratio and black uniformity make it less suitable for viewing in a dark room.
The BenQ EX2780Q is a good monitor for media creation. It has a good size and resolution to let you work comfortably, and its viewing angles allow you to share your work easily. However, it has bad ergonomics, and the monitor can't display dark colors due to its mediocre contrast ratio.
The BenQ EX2780Q is decent for HDR gaming. Although it can get bright enough to provide a decent HDR gaming experience, it's limited by the monitor's mediocre contrast ratio. Its middling black uniformity can be distracting in dark scenes, and it doesn't have a local dimming feature. On the upside, it has a high refresh rate, low response time, and low input lag.
Changelog
- Updated Jan 20, 2021: For consistency, we've changed the height adjustment from N/A to '0.0'. The score has been adjusted accordingly.
- Updated Jan 15, 2021: The weight with stand was mistakenly set to 6 lbs instead of 6 kg. It has been fixed.
- Updated Feb 19, 2020: Review published.
- Updated Feb 17, 2020: Early access published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the BenQ EX2780Q and it's only available in this size and resolution.
If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their BenQ EX2780Q doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we'll update the review. Note that some tests, such as the gray uniformity, may vary between individual units.
Our unit of the BenQ EX2780Q was manufactured in November 2019, and you can see the label here.
Popular Monitor Comparisons
The BenQ EX2780Q is a great gaming monitor. Its performance is on-par with a lot of other 27 inch, 1440p, high refresh rate gaming monitors, but it doesn't have as many extra features as a monitor like the Gigabyte Aorus FI27Q. However, it's one of the very few that comes with a remote control.
You can also see our recommendations for the best gaming monitors, the best 144Hz monitors, and the best 27 inch monitors.
The BenQ EX2780Q is much better than the BenQ EL2870U. The EX2780Q's IPS panel has much better viewing angles, contrast ratio, and black uniformity. It also has a much higher refresh rate, as well as a lower input lag. On the other hand, the EL2870U has a 4k resolution, which is better for productivity, and better color accuracy out of the box.
The LG 27GL850-B/27GL83A-B is slightly better than the BenQ EX2780Q in mixed usage. Ergonomics are significantly better on the LG, as well as gradient performance. There's less color bleeding on the LG, but its black uniformity and contrast ratio are much worse than the BenQ.
The ASUS ROG Swift PG279Q is marginally better than the BenQ EX2780Q. The ASUS has a slightly higher refresh rate, and its ergonomics are significantly better. Build quality is better on the ASUS, and it has a more accurate color reproduction out-of-the-box. On the other hand, the BenQ supports HDR, but it doesn't have a black frame insertion feature, which the ASUS has.
The Gigabyte AORUS AD27QD is a bit better than the BenQ EX2780Q. The AORUS has significantly better ergonomics, out-of-box color accuracy, and gradient performance. The AORUS also has an optional black frame insertion feature to help reduce motion blur and a host of extra features for gaming and productivity. However, black uniformity is much worse on the AORUS, as there's noticeable clouding and backlight bleed through the screen.
We buy and test more than 30 monitors each year, all of which we purchase ourselves, without cherry-picked units or samples. We put a lot into each unbiased, straight-to-the-point review, and there's a whole process from purchasing to publishing, involving multiple teams and people. We do more than just use the monitor for a week; we use specialized, custom tools to measure various aspects and deliver objective, data-driven results. We also consider multiple factors before making any recommendations, including the monitor's cost, its performance compared to the competition, and whether it's easy to find.
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