The BenQ ZOWIE XL2546K is an excellent gaming monitor that delivers exceptional motion handling. It has a quick response time and a 240Hz refresh rate that result in clear images in fast-moving scenes, and it has both FreeSync support and G-SYNC compatibility to reduce screen tearing. Its 25 inch screen and 1080p resolution should satisfy most people; however, it might feel a bit cramped if you're using it for work. Its excellent ergonomics let you place the screen at your optimal viewing position, but its TN panel has poor viewing angles, causing images to look inaccurate from the sides. Also, it has a low contrast ratio that makes blacks appear gray, and it doesn't support HDR.
The BenQ ZOWIE XL2546K is a decent monitor overall. It's excellent for gaming due to its low input lag, fast response time, and high refresh rate. The 25 inch screen size and 1080p resolution should be satisfactory for most people, but it might be too small for productivity, especially if you have multiple windows opened side-by-side. Sadly, it doesn't support HDR.
The BenQ ZOWIE XL2546K is decent for office use. It has a 25 inch screen that should be big enough for most people, but it might feel a bit cramped if you have multiple windows side-by-side. You can adjust the screen easily thanks to its excellent ergonomics; however, it has a TN panel with poor viewing angles, so it isn't the best choice if you want to share your work. Visibility shouldn't be an issue in most lighting conditions, but it may not get bright enough to overcome intense glare.
The BenQ ZOWIE XL2546K is an excellent gaming monitor. It has an exceptionally low input lag and a high refresh rate to deliver a fluid and responsive gaming experience. Its fast response time results in clear images in fast-moving scenes, and it supports variable refresh rate technology to reduce screen tearing. Unfortunately, it's not the best for gaming in the dark due to its low contrast ratio, and its poor viewing angles aren't ideal for playing co-op games.
The BenQ ZOWIE XL2546K is decent for media consumption. Most people should be satisfied with its 25 inch screen and 1080p resolution, and it has excellent ergonomics so that you can adjust the screen for the best viewing experience. However, images look washed out from the sides due to its narrow viewing angles, which isn't ideal for sharing content. Additionally, it has a low contrast ratio that makes blacks look gray in the dark.
The BenQ ZOWIE XL2546K is decent for content creation. It has an excellent SDR color gamut with near full sRGB coverage and decent accuracy out of the box. However, the 25 inch screen might not be big enough for some people, and the pixel density is a bit low, resulting in a less detailed and blurrier image. Also, it has a TN panel with a low contrast ratio, and its poor viewing angles aren't ideal if you want to share your work.
The BenQ ZOWIE XL2546K doesn't support HDR.
The BenQ Zowie XL2546K has a plain and simple design that isn't too heavy on the gamer aesthetic, so it should fit easily into most office environments. The borders are a little on the thicker side compared to other recent monitors. Like the BenQ Zowie XL2540, anti-glare shields are included in the box.
The back is plain except for the branding and the headphone hook on the right. There's a cutout on the stand for cable management and a quick-release feature to remove the stand for VESA-mounting.
The build quality is okay as it's entirely made out of plastic and feels a bit cheap. The stand isn't particularly stable, and the monitor wobbles a lot. The adjustment hinges are sturdy, but adjusting the display doesn't feel smooth and causes the whole monitor to move. Also, you can easily separate the bezels from the screen.
The Benq XL2546K doesn't have a local dimming feature. The video above is provided for reference only.
The BenQ ZOWIE XL2546K has decent SDR peak brightness, a bit lower than the advertised 320 cd/m². It's remarkably consistent when displaying different scenes, but it might not be bright enough to overcome glare in well-lit environments.
We measured the SDR peak brightness after calibration in the 'Standard' Picture Mode with Brightness set to max. Calibration seems to reduce the screen's overall peak brightness, as we were able to reach 335.2 cd/m² before calibration, which is much closer to the advertised brightness.
This monitor doesn't support HDR.
The BenQ XL2546K has mediocre horizontal viewing angles. You lose image accuracy almost as soon as you move off-center, which isn't ideal if you want to share content or play co-op games.
Poor vertical viewing angles. This makes the image look inaccurate if you have the monitor mounted above eye level.
Gray uniformity is good; however, this can vary between units. The upper edge of the screen is darker, and although it's better in near-dark scenes, you can still see the difference in shade between the top and bottom half of the screen. Thankfully, dirty screen effect is pretty minimal.
The BenQ ZOWIE XL2546K has decent accuracy out of the box. Most colors and shades of gray are slightly inaccurate, and the cold color temperature gives the image a slight blueish tint. Gamma doesn't follow the sRGB curve all that well, resulting in most scenes appearing brighter than they should. Note that accuracy can vary between units.
Accuracy is exceptional after calibration. The remaining color inaccuracies shouldn't be visible with the naked eye. White balance is nearly perfect, and the color temperature is much closer to our 6500k target. Gamma is much improved, but some dark and bright scenes are over-brightened.
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 due to manufacturing tolerances, even for the same model.
The BenQ ZOWIE XL2546K doesn't support HDR.
This monitor doesn't support HDR.
Great reflection handling. The matte anti-reflective coating works very well at reducing the intensity of reflected lights. However, visibility can still be an issue as the screen might not get bright enough to overcome intense glare. That said, there are anti-glare panels included if glare is a problem.
Overdrive Setting | Response Time Chart | Response Time Tables | Motion Blur Photo |
Off | Chart | Table | Photo |
High | Chart | Table | Photo |
Premium | Chart | Table | Photo |
The BenQ ZOWIE XL2546K has exceptional response time at its max refresh rate. Images are clear in fast-moving scenes, but there are some dark artifacts, most notably on the moving object's leading edge. It's recommended to leave the overdrive setting at 'Off' because the other options add too much overshoot.
Overdrive Setting | Response Time Chart | Response Time Tables | Motion Blur Photo |
Off | Chart | Table | Photo |
High | Chart | Table | Photo |
Premium | Chart | Table | Photo |
The response time at 60Hz is great. The image is blurrier than at max refresh rate, but there are less dark artifacts. The recommended overdrive setting is 'High' because it provides the best performance with an acceptable overshoot level. This means you have to change the overdrive setting if your game's frame rate drops to 60Hz.
The BenQ ZOWIE XL2546K has an optional Black Frame Insertion feature that can improve motion clarity called DyAc+. It can be enabled at any refresh rate, but the flickering doesn't match the refresh rate below 100Hz, which results in visible image duplication due to crosstalk. Also, it isn't usable while VRR is active.
The BenQ ZOWIE XL2546K has a high refresh rate to deliver smooth gameplay and supports FreeSync to reduce screen tearing. It's compatible with G-SYNC as well, but it only works over a DisplayPort connection.
The BenQ ZOWIE XL2546K has remarkably low input lag. It's higher at 60Hz, but it shouldn't be noticeable for most people.