# Asus or BenQ



## dlee13 (Aug 13, 2014)

I'm due for a monitor upgrade and I'm deciding between the Asus PB278Q and the newly released BenQ GW2765HT. 

Both are fairly similar specs wise and I can get the BenQ for nearly $100 cheaper ($499 for the BenQ, $597 for the Asus). I have ordered a Datacolor Spyder4pro to calibrate my monitor once I get one. 

Has anyone had a chance to check out the BenQ? On a few forums people have said they're pretty good but they were more focused on a gaming angle and not a photographic sense. Here's the specs for the monitor if anyone wants to see.

http://www.benq.com.au/product/monitor/gw2765ht/


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## RustyTheGeek (Aug 13, 2014)

As an IT guy, I've seen ASUS grow as a company and appears to be shooting for Samsung level status. Benq is a smaller company. Benq monitors over the years have been value based choices to save money. That's my opinion and I'm sure Benq makes great monitors that cost more. But keep in mind that ASUS and Benq are not necessarily shooting for the stars in the photography / graphics design market. They are shooting for the mass market and the gamers. They are making monitors that scream fast refresh rates.

While the statement above says nothing about the actual quality of the particular models you are considering, if you are dead set on buying from those brand names, I would go with ASUS. ASUS has a pretty good reputation in the market for most of their products including LCDs.

Of course, for a high end graphics quality display like you are shopping for, I wouldn't consider either company. I would stick with the higher end products. HP, DELL, EIZO, NEC, etc. One way to get a high quality display without breaking the bank is to buy a refurbished (or not) *DELL U2410* IPS display. It's a bit older but it's a very well respected display that can be obtained for around $200 - $300 now. When you get it, you'll understand what a true quality display is. It was about $1200 back when it came out in 2009. The newer version of it is the *U2711* which is around $500 - $700.

Most of the web comparisons are biased but here is a decent list of better options.
http://reviews.squidoo.com/photo-editing-monitors


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## Mt Spokane Photography (Aug 13, 2014)

Does either one build monitors? Very few build the panels, and only a few more assemble them into monitors. Most are built under contract by a very few manufacturers. 

Asus used to rebadge Samsung monitors, but now they are big enough to just be buying the LCD panels and making their own.

Ben Q has grown as well, but I think they buy contract from the lowest cost supplier. They have a very troubled history trying to stay in business.


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## DominoDude (Aug 13, 2014)

I haven't seen that particular model from BenQ, but I have a hard time connecting that brand with quality, and reliability. Asus has become better over the years, so I would say that is a safer bet for your money.
BTW have you considered DELL's U2713? It should set you back roughly the same amount of dollars.

Edit: I have the DELL U2713HM (cheaper), which is a slightly older version than U2713H (not so cheap).


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## RustyTheGeek (Aug 13, 2014)

DominoDude said:


> I haven't seen that particular model from BenQ, but I have a hard time connecting that brand with quality, and reliability. Asus has become better over the years, so I would say that is a safer bet for your money.
> BTW have you considered DELL's U2713? It should set you back roughly the same amount of dollars.
> 
> Edit: I have the DELL U2713HM (cheaper), which is a slightly older version than U2713H (not so cheap).



I would pick the DELL U2713 models over ASUS or BenQ but the DELL U2711 has a wider color gamut and better AG coating. And since it's older, it might be less expensive too.


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## Otter (Aug 13, 2014)

dlee13 said:


> I'm due for a monitor upgrade and I'm deciding between the Asus PB278Q and the newly released BenQ GW2765HT.
> 
> Both are fairly similar specs wise and I can get the BenQ for nearly $100 cheaper ($499 for the BenQ, $597 for the Asus). I have ordered a Datacolor Spyder4pro to calibrate my monitor once I get one.
> 
> ...



I bought a ASUS PA246Q 2 weeks ago and love it. I cannot believe how much better the colors are when compared to my old monitors. It is really cheap as well. I know it's not 27" but I can say the color reproduction is great. Especially when used with a Macbeth chart. I highly recommend it. I have mine calibrated with an x-ride iDisplay. One thing I love is the joystick on the frame which allows you to adjust your levels very fast. Not that I bought it for this, but it has 4 USB 3.0 ports which some may like and 2 programmable hot key buttons.
One note, they say it comes factory calibrated and give you this piece of paper showing you all the results. It doesn't mean anything and you will get a much better calibration if you do it on your own(as I'm sure you know).


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## lilmsmaggie (Aug 13, 2014)

+1 for ASUS --- ASUS IPS or a Dell IPS. My nephew bought an ASUS IPS monitor from Fry's Electronics for photo editing and he loves it.





RustyTheGeek said:


> As an IT guy, I've seen ASUS grow as a company and appears to be shooting for Samsung level status. Benq is a smaller company. Benq monitors over the years have been value based choices to save money. That's my opinion and I'm sure Benq makes great monitors that cost more. But keep in mind that ASUS and Benq are not necessarily shooting for the stars in the photography / graphics design market. They are shooting for the mass market and the gamers. They are making monitors that scream fast refresh rates.
> 
> While the statement above says nothing about the actual quality of the particular models you are considering, if you are dead set on buying from those brand names, I would go with ASUS. ASUS has a pretty good reputation in the market for most of their products including LCDs.
> 
> ...


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## DominoDude (Aug 13, 2014)

RustyTheGeek said:


> DominoDude said:
> 
> 
> > I haven't seen that particular model from BenQ, but I have a hard time connecting that brand with quality, and reliability. Asus has become better over the years, so I would say that is a safer bet for your money.
> ...



The U2713H (which was released only 2 weeks after I bought my U2713HM) is supposed to have the same wide colour gamut as the older U2711. You're right U2711 should be even more of a bargain, but I would say that even if that AG coating is better on paper, it glares like h*ll if you have any light sources near the screen, and it uses more juice. Gets hot even - I don't want my precious Watts to heat up the room, I want them to give me a crisp displaying of pixels.

Should I add any negative at all about the later DELL monitors then it would be that some of them can start to "vignette" a bit near the corners after a year or so.


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## 9VIII (Aug 14, 2014)

I haven't seen any really good ones yet, but the market is just on the opening phase of exploding with 4K products (of which the primary application is media production). I'm planning on something along those lines sometime in the next year, maybe even a home theater display if someone can make one that is both accurate and good far games (has Displayport).


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## dlee13 (Aug 14, 2014)

Thanks for the responses guys. 

It might be good to note that I live in Australia and everything here is severely overpriced. For example the Asus PB278Q is under $500 from some places in the US but over here the cheapest I can get it is $600. The Dell U2713HM is around $650-800 which is why I haven't been considering it. 

I read an article about monitors that have the best color reproduction so I do understand that Eizo and NEC produce the best monitors in that sense. Funny enough they said BenQ was becoming the third best for color reproduction. No stores near me or even local online stores sell NEC or Eizo monitors which is why I haven't considered those either. 

My current monitor is a BenQ and although it doesn't have an IPS screen, it has been very reliable and I've had no problems with it for the past 5 years. The Asus model does have some very solid reviews and I've spoken to people who have it and highly recommend it which is making me lean more towards it. A few articles have said the BenQ just started shipping a few days ago and is a brand new monitor from their lineup so there hasn't been any reviews yet, although the few people who have it said it produces great colors and seems to be working great.


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## pwp (Aug 14, 2014)

dlee13 said:


> Thanks for the responses guys.
> It might be good to note that I live in Australia and everything here is severely overpriced.


Hi dlee13,

I'm in Australia too, I can't really agree with "severely overpriced". On a global scale I think we do rather well on pricing of most goods.

You've had some good advice there pointing you toward Dell. Don't look at their cheapo range, tick the box for a U-Series panel and you can't go wrong. I've had Dell panels in my studio for over ten years and couldn't be happier. Currently we have two Ultrasharp U3011 panels and two U2711 panels. They calibrate beautifully and scarcely shift over years. 

Dell Australia frequently have specials that run for a week. Just keep checking the website. Right now the U3014 is over $500 off http://accessories.ap.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=au&cs=aubsd1&l=en&sku=210-41434 and the price of the UZ2715H looks pretty sharp too. http://accessories.ap.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=au&cs=aubsd1&l=en&s=bsd&sku=210-ACTN&redirect=1

For office work or gaming, the Asus or BenQ are unlikely to disappoint, but if you want bang for your buck for photo post-production work, keep an eye on Dell.

-pw


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## dlee13 (Aug 14, 2014)

pwp said:


> dlee13 said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks for the responses guys.
> ...



Hi pwp

Well considering we pay usually more than $100 more for most items I consider it severely overpriced  I think the better thing to say would be here in Perth items are more overpriced. I know the Eastern States sell items for pretty close to overseas but they usually charge quite a bit to ship here to Perth so I end up paying a lot more than it would cost to buy it from Amazon in the US. Sadly most of the cheap stores in Sydney/Melbourne do pickup which makes the items even cheaper. 

Yes I've seen some specials on OzBargin for the U2713HM for less than $600 so if I see one for that price I may get it, although the Asus does seem the most tempting at the moment. Thanks for the links and advice, I appreciate it.


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## cliffwang (Aug 14, 2014)

Both Asus and BenQ are really good. BenQ was part of Acer group and makes very good computer accessories. As an IT people from Taiwan(both Asus and BenQ are Taiwan companies), I will say there is no big different between the two monitors.


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## dlee13 (Aug 14, 2014)

cliffwang said:


> Both Asus and BenQ are really good. BenQ was part of Acer group and makes very good computer accessories. As an IT people from Taiwan(both Asus and BenQ are Taiwan companies), I will say there is no big different between the two monitors.



In that case I am now leaning back towards the BenQ. I have been doing a lot of reading on both brands and many people are more than happy with their BenQ monitors. Since I haven't got the money for it yet, I'll keep my eye out for reviews but unless I read something different I may go with the BenQ.


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