BenQ SW240 Review: 1920×1200 IPS Adobe RGB Professional Monitor

The BenQ SW240 is a 1920×1200 16:10 monitor which offers extra vertical screen space for your applications and spreadsheets, in comparison to the standard Full HD displays.

Due to its wide Adobe RGB color gamut, the monitor is aimed at professional photographers, designers, and alike.

Image Quality

The BenQ SW240 display is based on AU Optronics’ AHVA (IPS) panel with 10-bit color support via dithering (8-bit + FRC), a 250-nit peak brightness and a standard 1,000:1 static contrast ratio.

In addition, the panel offers wide 178-degree viewing angles, which will make sure that the colors stay consistent and accurate even when the screen is looked at from different angles.

Apart from that, the BenQ SW240 monitor is factory-calibrated for both sRGB (100%) and Adobe RGB (99%) color space at Delta E < 2, while the DCI-P3 color space is covered by 95%.

The exclusive ‘Palette Master Element’ calibration software is included for free, and the monitor is compatible with hardware calibrators as well as 14-bit 3D LUT (Look-Up Table).

Features

The ‘Color Mode’ hotkey allows you to easily toggle between the sRGB, Adobe RGB, and Black & White color presets, while the three other hotkeys can be used as shortcuts for Input, Brightness and Contrast adjustments.

You can also assign these hotkeys to different shortcuts in the OSD (On-Screen Display) menu and customize the Color Mode presets.

For instance, you can add Rec. 709, DCI-P3, or your own Calibration profiles made using the Palette Master Element software to the Color Mode hotkey presets.

Besides the standard settings, such as brightness and contrast, you will have access to three color temperature modes (5000K, 6500K, and 9300K), six gamma presets (from 1.6 to 2.6) and hue/saturation adjustments.

Performance

The BenQ SW240 color editing monitor delivers what it promises – precise and consistent colors for photographers, editors and digital artists.

We didn’t find any dead pixels nor excessive backlight bleeding and IPS glow on our model.

What’s more, the monitor has an excellent input lag performance of only 10ms, which along with its quick 5ms response time speed, makes it viable for gaming should you wish to let off some steam after working.

The low input lag ensures there’s no noticeable delay between your commands and the result on the display while the 5ms response time eliminates prominent ghosting or trailing behind fast-moving objects.

Design & Connectivity

The slim modern design consists of thin bezels making the BenQ SW240 ideal for a multi-monitor workstation.

Moreover, a wide range of ergonomics is available including -5°, 20° tilt, up to 140mm height adjustment, swivel by 45° to the left and right, pivot by 90°, and lastly, 100x100mm VESA mount compatibility.

On Amazon, you can also get the shading hood (BenQ SH240) for the monitor separately.

Connectivity options include DVI, HDMI 1.4, and DisplayPort 1.2, as well as an SD card reader, a headphone jack and a dual-USB 3.0 hub.

Price & Similar Monitors

The BenQ SW240 usually goes for around $400, which makes it one of the most affordable Adobe RGB displays.

However, for just $70 more, you can buy a 27″ 4K monitor with Adobe RGB color gamut, the ASUS PA279CRV.

Visit our always up-to-date best monitors for photo/video editing buyer’s guide for the best deals and more information.

Conclusion

The BenQ SW240 is a professional yet affordable monitor with a wide color gamut, plenty of useful features, and smooth performance.

Specifications

Screen Size	24.1-inch
Resolution	1920×1200
Panel Type	IPS
Aspect Ratio	16:10
Refresh Rate	60Hz
Response Time	5ms (GtG)
Ports	DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI 1.4, DVI
Other Ports	2x USB 3.0, Headphone Jack, SD Card Reader
Brightness	250 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio	1000:1 (static)
Colors	1.07 billion (8-bit + FRC)
VESA	Yes (100x100mm)