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BenQ XR3501: 35" 144hz Curved Ultrawide-Owners club

39K views 94 replies 21 participants last post by  BradleyW 
#1 ·
BenQ XR3501 impressions after a couple days-

pics-

COD AW-


Batman AK-


Black Screen-





+
+144hz
+Good VA Blacks
+Best and widest curve at the moment
+Minimal to zero back light bleed

-
-1080p looks like straight ass @35" (so much that if you're not going to use DSR, don't bother with buying this monitor, 1080p looks so rough at that size its painful with out DSR, text can be unreadable and fuzzy)
-Poor to average colors, whites aren't bright and nothing pops
-Matte screen
-Non ajustable stand
-VESA mounting requires separate adapter from BenQ
-Bad button placement and UI
-No Gsync/Freesync

Don't know if I am gonna keep this or return it. On one hand its the only 144hz Ultrawide at the moment, on the other this monitor is really a stop gap(when DP 1.3 comes out next year)
until we get a 1440p Gysnc version.

I would suggest anyone looking to buy this monitor see it in person first, or buy it somewhere with a good return policy. 1080p is a no go at this size if you're used to using a high res monitor. I use a Dell 5k and Macbook retina daily so maybe I am spoiled by high DPI, but I couldn't use this as my only daily monitor, the resolution is just too rough for me. As a 2nd "gaming only monitor" it can be pretty awesome(and really your only option) with Ultrawide+144hz.
 
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#5 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Martha Stewart View Post

Not really, most likely going to exchange it(if the rumored X34 Acer 21:9 Gsync hits 100hz)
Thanks. Very nice review BTW, sorry for not mentioning that earlier.

I have to say, I'm getting antsy in my pantsy for a new monitor. Been running my 24" 60hz since 24" was the new thing. I'm really behind in terms of monitor and now that I've got a GTX 980 Ti, I really have the urge to upgrade.

My hopes rest with the X34 as well; or the Asus one. 75hz and above and I think I'll jump. 100hz would be nice with some sort of ULMB.
 
#6 ·
Ok, so I have bought and evaluated the screen. Here is my opinion so far (most important points):

- The screen is designed specifically for racing games, and therefore not suitable for normal desktop use (you miss too much vertical resolution as this is only 2560x1080 instead of 2560x1600).
- You can only do 144 Hz @ 2560x1080 over displayport. Keep in mind that for HDMI you can do 2560x1080 @ 60 Hz or if you want to do 144 Hz over HDMI you have to lower the resolution to 1920x1080.
- The input latency measured with Leo Bodnar tester is 19.6, 23.4, 27.1 milliseconds for upper - middle - lower parts of the screen (+/- 1ms depending on some settings). This is high for a computer monitor, but low for a TV (as expected, because both the technology and size are "in between" a normal TN computer monitor and an IPS TV). Important note to make is that this input latency is measured using the HDMI connector, since my displayport to HDMI converter does not work with the Leo Bodnar tester with this screen..
- In terms of motionblur it is not as good as a TN panel making use of Lightboost / ULMB. However, it is much much better than any IPS TV I have seen in game modus without backlight strobing. The Sony KDL42W80x with backlight strobing (LED Motion Mode) has less motion blur, but you gain a lot of ghosting in exchange.

Overall: the BENQ XR3501 definitely has the best combination of input latency /motionblur / ghosting I have ever seen in a screen this big in size and therefore I would recommend using this when playing racing games. However, the monitor is not suitable for desktop use, so if you want to be able to do anything else than playing racing games, you need a second monitor for that.
 
#8 ·
Quote:
Nice!
smile.gif


They mention a 22.3 ms value for input latency. So I had another look at this with the Leo Bodnar tester, and found settings for AMA (Advanced Motion Accelerator, or BENQ's name for overdrive) in the OSD menu. In mode "Gamer1" (which is recommended for racing games by BENQ) AMA is normally set to "high". However, you have 3 options available: off, high, premium. Switching it off causes significant motionblur so I would not recommend that. I don't see much/any difference between "high" and "premium", except the input latency (I did the Leo Bodnar measurements more carefully this time).

Pre-set: Gamer1
Port used: HDMI1

AMA Off: 20.0, 23.7, 26.7ms
AMA High: 19.7, 23.4, 26.5ms
AMA Premium: 19.1, 22.8, 26.0ms

So on average I would say the input latency is approximately 23ms. I don't know how Hexus managed to get to 22.3ms, maybe some difference in other settings. But let's be honest, it doesn't matter that much.
tongue.gif
 
#9 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Uraniumz View Post

Thanks for the review. There is no strobe function correct? That is all I am waiting for in a 21:9 monitor.
VA panels are not fast enough to strobe at an acceptable level (talking about single strobe here). There would be far too many artifacts.

If I recall even the faster IPS panels can strobe (ULMB) at 120hz but the quality isn't as good as 85 or 100hz strobing (On the Acer XB270HU) which is very nice quality (better than the ROG Swift) with fewer RTA overshoot.

Yes the Eizo Foris (FG2421 and the satellite $$$ version) could strobe at limited refresh rates (officially 120hz, could strobe down to 105hz with custom refresh rate) but if I recall, it would double strobe, not single strobe, so although the screen was brighter (Double strobe has much higher luminance), it would not be as clear as single strobe ULMB/Lightboost or benq blur reduction at 120hz, for example.
 
#11 ·
#12 ·
The digitalversus review also measured 23ms middle bar with Bodnar lag tester, so three sources getting same results
http://www.lesnumeriques.com/moniteur-ecran-lcd/benq-xr3501-p26133/test.html
so far its only Tom's that didn't measure any significant lag with their method, especially compared to the XB270HU which has a signal processing lag <1ms
but 23ms on middle bar comes down to ~12-15ms signal processing lag
 
#13 ·
I have a Samsung S34e790C Ultrawide Monitor which is 60 Hz!
I was able to overclock it via Nvidia panel to 85 HZ!!! It seems these Panel are originally made for 75HZ (This one has VA Panel, so no bleeding).
Now I am happy that i bought an Ultrawide Monitor instead of a 16;9 one with highe refresh rate.

 
#14 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by MelvinGimp View Post

I have a Samsung S34e790C Ultrawide Monitor which is 60 Hz!
I was able to overclock it via Nvidia panel to 85 HZ!!! It seems these Panel are originally made for 75HZ (This one has VA Panel, so no bleeding).
Now I am happy that i bought an Ultrawide Monitor instead of a 16;9 one with highe refresh rate.

Have you checked for dropped frames at 85 Hz?

Link: http://www.testufo.com/#test=frameskipping
 
#15 ·
Can this monitor do 2560x1200p @ 100 hz via AMD's VSR?

Thank you.
 
#16 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by BradleyW View Post

Can this monitor do 2560x1200p @ 100 hz via AMD's VSR?

Thank you.
2560 x 1200 is a bizarre resolution. You can't scale vertically only and not horizontally using VSR, that would cause ridiculous distortion (and is not possible anyway). And as far as I'm aware AMD doesn't support 21:9 resolutions in VSR. I haven't tried for a while though, that might have changed now.
 
#17 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by PCM2 View Post

2560 x 1200 is a bizarre resolution. You can't scale vertically only and not horizontally using VSR, that would cause ridiculous distortion (and is not possible anyway). And as far as I'm aware AMD doesn't support 21:9 resolutions in VSR. I haven't tried for a while though, that might have changed now.
Are you in a position to try/have a look for me?

Thank you.
 
#19 ·
Damn. So 2560 x 1080 is that bad? Not that it's surprising, I just wanted to replace my XB270HU with a high refresh rate G-SYNC VA monitor, the Acer Z35 which uses the same panel as this. If it was 29" and performed like the XR3501 did in Tomshardware's review, then I'd get the Z35 without hesitation. But hey, between DSR and GeDoSaTo I should be able to use downsampling in every game.
 
#20 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by boredgunner View Post

Damn. So 2560 x 1080 is that bad? Not that it's surprising, I just wanted to replace my XB270HU with a high refresh rate G-SYNC VA monitor, the Acer Z35 which uses the same panel as this. If it was 29" and performed like the XR3501 did in Tomshardware's review, then I'd get the Z35 without hesitation. But hey, between DSR and GeDoSaTo I should be able to use downsampling in every game.
If you can handle a 27 inch 1080p monitor, the ppi on the Z35 and XR3501 is virtually the same. Combine that with the fact that these VA panels are much better than TN panels both color and contrast wise, IMHO they're a good choice for FPS gamers.
 
#21 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sheyster View Post

If you can handle a 27 inch 1080p monitor, the ppi on the Z35 and XR3501 is virtually the same. Combine that with the fact that these VA panels are much better than TN panels both color and contrast wise, IMHO they're a good choice for FPS gamers.
Yeah I'll probably get the Z35 from Amazon so I can return it if I don't like it. Still, it makes me wonder why AUO made this panel so large compared to the resolution.
 
#22 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by boredgunner View Post

Yeah I'll probably get the Z35 from Amazon so I can return it if I don't like it. Still, it makes me wonder why AUO made this panel so large compared to the resolution.
Not sure why, the trend started with the 29 inch panel at this res. One nice thing about the 35" panel is the 2000r curvature. That's ideal IMHO.
 
#24 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by boredgunner View Post

Yeah I'll probably get the Z35 from Amazon so I can return it if I don't like it. Still, it makes me wonder why AUO made this panel so large compared to the resolution.
A smaller 30'' version is going into production Q1 2016.
Same specs, same curvature and maybe 3000:1 contrast this time (the 35'' originally targeted 3000:1 but were downcorrected to 2000:1 shortly after they went into mass production)
 
#25 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sedolf View Post

A smaller 30'' version is going into production Q1 2016.
Same specs, same curvature and maybe 3000:1 contrast this time (the 35'' originally targeted 3000:1 but were downcorrected to 2000:1 shortly after they went into mass production)
Interesting, thanks for the info. Then there's also a 3440 x 1440 100 Hz VA panel in the works from Samsung apparently, which I suspect will have better contrast than 2000:1 (I'd need a new GPU for 1440p ultrawide though). I guess I'll try to be patient and wait it out. Hopefully that bias light I ordered will help in the meantime.
 
#26 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sheyster View Post

If you can handle a 27 inch 1080p monitor, the ppi on the Z35 and XR3501 is virtually the same. Combine that with the fact that these VA panels are much better than TN panels both color and contrast wise, IMHO they're a good choice for FPS gamers.
Hmmm... I never considered that. I have been using a 27 1080p monitor for the past two years and it's ok... but I still feel short handed at almost $1000.
 
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