Rapid Review: BenQ EW3270U 4K Display

As panel technology has improved, larger and better displays have become increasingly affordable for home and business users. And while there’s still a place for low cost screens limited to just HD output – it wasn’t long ago when HD was the benchmark – the ability to display 4K and HDR (high dynamic range) content is becoming increasingly important to many users. That’s where the BenQ EW3270U display fits in. It’s a 4K and HDR capable screen that’s good for business, gaming and catching up on the latest movies and TV shows.

What Is It?

BenQ touts the EW3270U as a 32-inch display but it’s really 31.5 inches from corner to diagonally-opposite corner. It delivers all the modern connectivity options you expect but if you’re stuck with older DVI or D-SUB connectors you’ll either need an adaptor or new system. But I can’t imagine that’s going to be an issue for anyone with a computer that’s less than three years old.

Although the EW3270U doesn’t out-spec lots of other other large displays out there, BenQ has managed to find a balance between a decent display size with high resolution, an attractive form factor and reasonable price.

What’s Good?

I tested the BenQ EW3270U with a couple of different systems, using the HDMI and USB-C connections. I didn’t have a system handy with DisplayPort. The display comes in three parts with some simple assembly required. And it’s worth spending some time tweaking the settings in order to optimise the output for your specific work environment.

My usual desktop display is a 23-inch Samsung unit so the jump to 32-inches was quite significant. And the move from a HD-capable panel to 4K also took some getting used to. But the ability to have three or four windows displayed together without everything feeling cramped is a great boon for productivity. I’m at the point now when I find it hard to recommend a dual-display set up as once larger display is easier to connect and offers most of the same benefits.

Watching 4K content on this display, from Netflix, reveals how much of a difference the higher spec makes when compared to their regular HD content. I watched APEX: The Story of the Hypercar and the image quality, when compared to a HD movie like one of the recent Jack Reacher films is quite astounding. If you’re into watching or producing 4K content then this is a solid choice if you’re shopping for a display.

[referenced url=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2018/10/life-with-a-massive-monitor-the-lg-38wk95c-w-38-inch-behemoth/” thumb=”https://www.lifehacker.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2018/10/lg-38WK95C-W-monitor-workspace-410×231.jpg” title=”My Life With A Monster 38-Inch Monitor” excerpt=”My current workstation set up has a 13-inch MacBook Pro perched on a stand adjacent to a curved 24-inch display I pic ned up on sale as it was the display stock at a local store. But when LG offered me the chance to review its 38-inch 38WK95C-W monitor I jumped at the opportunity- once I checked that I had enough space on my desk for it. Here’s what I thought.”]

Similarly, images shot with HDR enabled look excellent. The level of detail that’s visible on the EW3270U is excellent. Colours are faithfully reproduced and you could almost count the whiskers on my unshaven face in some of the shots I looked at.

With work, text was crystal clear although I did find I needed to zoom things in a little as the high resolution made text pretty small. But that’s an easily solved problem.

What’s Bad?

I’m left wondering why BenQ bothered integrating a pair of speakers into this display. The sound quality from them is terrible. The speakers are barely passable for system alerts and terrible for anything else. It seems to me that leaving them out would have been a better option than including them.

Other than that, I didn’t find any major issues with the display.

Should You Buy It

At $899, the BenQ EW3270U represents very good value in my view. Although the internal speakers are rubbish, the image quality and performance is great and isn’t all that far off other, far more expensive units. This is one review unit that I’ll find challenging to uninstall.