- Table of Contents
- Intro
- Design
- Picture Quality
- Motion
- Inputs
- Features
- Sizes and Variants
- Compared
- Conclusion
- Discussions
| Design | 7.0 |
| Picture Quality | 5.9 |
| Motion | 8.4 |
| Inputs | 8.5 |
- Excellent response time.
- Outstanding low input lag.
- Good peak brightness and good reflection handling.
- Terrible black uniformity.
- Image degrades at an angle.
- Doesn't support any advanced gaming features, like FreeSync.
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Design
The BenQ Zowie XL2411P has a decent design. The bezels are noticeably thicker than most dedicated gaming monitors, but the stand supports the display well and there's very little wobble. The stand has a great range of motion, so it's easy to place it in an ideal viewing position. This monitor has decent build quality, but the exterior panels are all made of plastic, and it feels a bit cheap in places.
The stand is bulky, but supports the monitor well and there is very little wobble.
The Zowie XL2411P has great ergonomics, and the stand can easily be placed in the ideal viewing position or turned to share your screen with someone.
The back is plain, with no quick release for the stand, and no RGB bias-lighting feature. There's a clip on the back of the stand for cable management, but it's pretty basic.
The borders are thicker than most 24 inch monitors we've tested. This isn't a great choice for a multi-display setup.
The BenQ Zowie XL2411P has decent build quality. The exterior panels are all made of plastic, and the plastic itself feels easily breakable.
Picture Quality
Unfortunately, the BenQ Zowie XL2411P has disappointing picture quality. Like all TN monitors, it has a low contrast ratio, so blacks look gray in a dark room. It has good peak brightness and good reflection handling, so glare shouldn't be an issue in most rooms. It has decent gray uniformity, but unfortunately it has terrible black uniformity, so it isn't a great choice for use in a dark room. This monitor doesn't support HDR, and like all TN and VA monitors the image degrades when viewed at an angle.
Like most TN monitors, the BenQ Zowie XL2411P has a disappointing contrast ratio. This causes blacks to look gray, and it's especially noticeable in a dark room.
The Zowie XL2411P doesn't have a local dimming feature. The above video is provided for reference only.
Very good peak brightness. There shouldn't be any issues using this monitor in a bright room.
This monitor doesn't support HDR.
Like all TN monitors, the image degrades when viewed from the side. This shouldn't cause any issues for most people, though.
Like all TN monitors, the image degrades when viewed from above or below. From below, the image inverts at wider angles, and at one point the display can't be seen at all.
Decent gray uniformity. There is some dirty screen effect in the center of the screen, but this shouldn't be very noticeable with most content. The top of the screen is noticeably darker due to the mediocre vertical viewing angle.
Unfortunately, the Zowie XL2411P has terrible black uniformity. There is noticeable clouding in dark scenes, and this may be distracting in dark scenes in a dark room.
Out of the box, the BenQ Zowie XL2411P has mediocre accuracy. There are some noticeable inaccuracies in most colors and in brighter shades of gray, and the color temperature is a bit cool. The biggest issue is gamma, which doesn't follow the sRGB target curve at all, so most scenes aren't displayed at the correct brightness.
After calibration, the Zowie XL2411P has much better accuracy, but there are still a few issues. It wasn't possible to completely correct the color inaccuracies, but gamma is much closer to the target curve, and the white balance is almost perfect.
You can download our ICC profile calibration here. This is provided for reference only and shouldn't be used, as the calibration values vary per individual unit even for the same model due to manufacturing tolerances.
s.RGB Picture Mode: Standard (calibrated)Adobe RGB Picture Mode: Standard
The Zowie XL2411P has an excellent SDR color gamut. It has nearly perfect coverage of the standard sRGB color gamut used by the majority of desktop content, but limited coverage of the wider Adobe RGB color gamut.
s.RGB Picture Mode: StandardAdobe RGB Picture Mode: Standard
Great SDR color volume. Due to the low contrast ratio, it can't display dark, saturated colors very well, and colors aren't quite as bright as pure white.
The XL2411P can't display an HDR color gamut.
There are no signs of temporary image retention on this monitor, even immediately after displaying our high-contrast, static test image for 10 minutes. This can vary between units, though, so let us know in the discussions below if your unit shows signs of image retention.
Great gradient handling. As it can only display 8-bit colors, there is some noticeable 8-bit banding.
There is no noticeable color bleed on this monitor.
Good reflection handling, similar to the ASUS VG248QE and the Acer GN246HL, so glare shouldn't be an issue in most rooms.
Motion
The BenQ Zowie XL2411P has great motion handling, with an excellent response time and a flicker-free backlight. It has a few options to improve the appearance of motion, including a black frame insertion feature, but disappointingly it doesn't support any variable refresh rate technologies, like AMD FreeSync or NVIDIA G-SYNC.
Response Time AMA HighResponse Time AMA Premium
The Zowie XL2411P has an excellent response time, resulting in clear motion with only a short blur trail behind fast-moving objects. The level of overdrive can be adjusted by changing the AMA setting. We recommend the 'Off' setting. 'High' has a noticeably faster response time, but there is significant overshoot in most transitions, and 'Premium' is even worse.
The backlight is completely flicker-free, even at low brightness levels, which is great. There's an optional black frame insertion feature, known as Blur Reduction, and it's available even at low refresh rates, such as when gaming on a console.
The Zowie XL2411P has an excellent native refresh rate, but it doesn't support any of the variable refresh rate technologies, like AMD's FreeSync.
Inputs
The BenQ Zowie XL2411P has outstanding low input lag, even when gaming at 60Hz, which is great for console gamers. The 1080p resolution and 24 inch screen delivers a sharp image for gaming, but it's probably too small for multitasking or office use for most people. It has a good selection of inputs, including a DVI-D port, great if you have an older graphics card.
The Zowie XL2411P has outstanding low input lag, even at 60Hz. For the lowest lag possible, it's recommended to enable the Instant Mode setting from the 'Picture' menu.
The low 1080p resolution and small screen isn't great for multitasking, but delivers a sharp enough image for gaming.
Features
The BenQ Zowie XL2411P has very few additional features. The OSD is easy to navigate, and the physical controls work well but aren't as easy to use as the newer directional controls found on higher-end monitors.
This monitor has very few additional features. There are a few gaming features, including a black equalizer feature that adjusts gamma to make it easier to spot objects in dark scenes.
The controls are easy to use, but there's no directional control, so it can be a bit more difficult to navigate the OSD.
Differences between Sizes and Variants
We tested the 24" BenQ Zowie XL2411P, which is part of BenQ's Zowie lineup, but is the only size available. The XL2411 (non "P") is a different monitor, with slightly different connectors. We don't expect our review to be valid for it.
If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their Zowie XL2411P doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we will update the review. Note that some tests such as gray uniformity may vary between individual units.
| Model | Size | Resolution | Refresh Rate | Notes |
| XL2411P | 24" | 1080p | 144Hz | |
| XL2411 | 24" | 1080p | 144Hz | |
| XL2430 | 24" | 1080p | 144Hz | |
| XL2540 | 24.5" | 1080p | 240Hz |
The XL2411P we reviewed was manufactured in July 2019.
Compared to other Monitors
The XL2411P is a great budget gaming monitor. It has very few of the additional features found on most gaming monitors, but still delivers a great gaming experience. See also our recommendations for the best gaming monitors, the best budget gaming monitors, and the best 1080p monitors.
The ASUS VG248QE and the BenQ Zowie XL2411P are very similar overall. the XL2411P has a more versatile black frame insertion feature that is supported over a wider range of refresh rates, but the VG248QE has a faster response time.
The ViewSonic XG2402 is better than the BenQ Zowie XL2411P. The XG2402 has a faster response time, resulting in clearer motion with almost no noticeable blur behind fast-moving objects. The XL2411P has an optional black frame insertion feature, though, but motion still looks better on the ViewSonic. The XG2402 supports FreeSync variable refresh rate technology, for a nearly tear-free gaming experience.
The Dell S2419HGF is slightly better than the BenQ Zowie XL2411P. Both monitors have an excellent refresh rate of 144Hz, even though the Dell has to be overclocked to get there. The Dell, however, also supports AMD's FreeSync variable refresh rate for an almost tear-free gaming experience. Both monitors are flicker-free, which is great, but the BenQ offers an optional black frame insertion feature to help make motion crisper.
The BenQ Zowie XL2411P is much better than the Acer GN246HL. The XL2411P has much better ergonomics, and a flicker-free backlight. The GN246HL has a faster response time, but there is noticeable overshoot, causing distracting ghosting artifacts behind fast-moving objects. The XL2411P has lower input lag, ensuring a responsive gaming experience, even when gaming at 60Hz, great for console gamers.
The BenQ Zowie XL2411P is a bit better than the ASUS VG245H. The XL2411P has a faster refresh rate, resulting in smoother overall motion, even though the VG245H has a slightly faster response time. The XL2411P also has an optional black frame insertion feature, resulting in even clearer motion. The VG245H, on the other hand, supports AMD's FreeSync variable refresh rate technology, resulting in a nearly tear-free gaming experience.
Conclusion
The BenQ Zowie XL2411P is a decent monitor for most uses. It's a great gaming monitor, with low input lag and a fast response time. The screen is a bit small, though, and the 1080p native resolution isn't great for multitasking in an office or for media creation. It doesn't support HDR, the image degrades when viewed at an angle, and it has terrible black uniformity.
This is a decent monitor for office use. It has great ergonomics, so it's easy to place it in an ideal viewing position. It also has good reflection handling and good peak brightness, so glare shouldn't be an issue in a bright room. Unfortunately, the image degrades when viewed at an angle, and the screen is too small and too low resolution to multitask comfortably.
The Zowie XL2411P is a great monitor for gaming. It has an excellent response time, resulting in clear motion with very little blur, and it has outstanding low input lag, for a responsive gaming experience. Unfortunately, it doesn't support any variable refresh rate technologies, and the 1080p resolution might disappoint some gamers.
Decent monitor for multimedia. It has outstanding low input lag, for a responsive experience, and good reflection handling. The 24 inch, 1080p screen might be too small for some people, though, and like all TN monitors the image degrades when viewed at an angle.
This is an okay monitor for media creation. It has great ergonomics, so you can easily place it in an ideal viewing position or turn it to share your screen, but unfortunately, the image degrades at an angle. The low resolution, relatively small screen isn't great for multitasking.
This monitor doesn't support HDR.
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