There's been some fairly significant developments in the World of LCD monitors in the last 18 months when it comes to gaming. We're not talking about changes in response time either. For years, this was the spec which everyone looked at and which was used to help determine whether a screen was a suitable model for fast paced gaming. People wanted images which were free of ghosting, trailing and motion blur, and response time was, for a long while, very important in determining this. TN Film was always the fastest, with VA and IPS panels struggling to keep up due to their different pixel structures and electronics. Then came Response Time Compensation (RTC) technology which significantly improved responsiveness of the panels across the board, and had an impact not only with TN Film panels, but with the previously slow VA and IPS offerings. Nowadays all panel technologies are capable of offering some fairly decent responsiveness but top-level response times have reached a fairly good point now. You can easily find models with 2ms G2G rated TN Film panels. In the middle of last year we even saw the World's first 1ms rated screen, the Viewsonic VX2739wm which we tested at the time. This 1ms response time isn't quite there yet and has some issues, and overall response times have remained fairly static for quite a while now.

What has changed in the last 18 months though are three things - the support of improved frame rates, increased frequencies and 3D stereoscopic gaming. We have seen the introduction of LCD monitors which support a true 120Hz refresh rate, one of the first being the Samsung 2233RZ which we tested back in September 09. This 120Hz allows for improved frame rates above the previously limits of 60 / 75fps from regular models. The 120Hz frequency also allows for the support of 3D gaming using NVIDIA's 3D Stereoscopic graphics cards, shutter glasses and a whole range of supporting games from many software companies. Gaming on LCD monitors has changed a lot and monitor manufacturers are becoming increasingly concious of the shift.

We have BenQ's latest offering with us at the moment for testing. The BenQ XL2410T is their first 120Hz monitor, offering a big 23.6" screen size and also being combined with the ever-popular (and somewhat over-hyped) W-LED backlighting technology. We'll talk about this more a little later on. BenQ's XL2410T is attracting a lot of attention in the gaming world for other reasons as well. It has been made for professional gamers with input from two famous Counter Strike (CS) players by the names of HeatoN and SpawN. BenQ's online material states that "BenQ � the world's leading LED monitor brand � has again successfully taken the lead to launch LED monitor for gaming! Such technological revolution is bound to bring a whole new visual experience and enjoyment to the world of gamers."

Above: front and rear views shown. click for larger versions.

The XL2410T is 23.6" in size and is in a 16:9 aspect ratio. The bezel and stand are a matte black finish all over. The bezel is reasonably thin at ~20mm top and bottom, and 23mm on the sides. There is a small silver BenQ logo in the bottom left hand corner. In the bottom right hand corner the bezel extends to be a little thicker at about 32mm.

This corner features the control buttons for the screen and OSD menu which are situated along the bottom edge of the screen. There are logos for LED, 120Hz and Senseye 3 located just above the buttons. In the far corner there is an elongated power light which glows a subtle green colour during normal operation, and an orange colour when in standby.

The back of the screen is an all-black finish as well and everything is tucked nicely out of the way. The back of the screen becomes ever so slightly warm after prolonged use, but nothing bad at all. There is a very faint electronic buzz if you listen very closely to the screen.

Above: side views of the screen.

From the side, the screen itself is pretty thin thanks to the use of W-LED backlighting. The overall profile of the monitor is fairly thick though since the stand is big and sturdy as you can see in the images above. You will notice the cable clip provided on the back of the stand for keeping all those cables nicely out of the way. The left hand edge of the screen also provides an easy access headphone jack (for HDMI audio). It would have been nice to see some USB ports available on this model as there are none at all. That's a bit of a shame.

  
Above: screen showing swivel and rotate adjustments

The screen offers a decent range of ergonomic adjustments thanks to the high end stand being used. The tilt adjustment between -5 / 20� is smooth and easy enough to use and offers a good range to find a comfortable viewing position. The height adjustment offers a 130mm range and although a little stiff, it is easy to operate. At the lowest setting the screen actually clicks and locks into place and you have to press a release button on the back of the stand to move it again.

There is a side to side swivel offering a -45 / 45� movement. This is quite stiff though and does result in the whole base being moved in many cases when you change the angle. The 90� portrait / landscape rotation feature is easy to use and not too stiff. The screen actually comes packaged in portrait mode so you will quickly get accustomed to this operation when you set up the screen. Materials are of a good standard and the screen feels pretty well built. There is a slight side to side wobble of the panel if you shake the screen on the stand but nothing severe.

Above: height range shown. Click for larger versions

Above: interface connection options shown

The back of the screen offers connections for power, Dual-link DVI (with HDCP support), D-sub and HDMI as shown above. As I've mentioned already it would have been nice perhaps to see some USB ports included. DisplayPort is also absent which might influence some buyers. The power supply is built in so you only need a kettle lead to power the screen.

Some background about the collaboration with other developers comes from BenQ's website:

"HeatoN and SpawN rocked the gaming world as the core of Ninjas in Pajamas (NiP) and SK Gaming teams that created a legend with their many triumphs at Cyberathlete Professional League (CPL) tournaments and the World Cyber Games (WCG). As two of the brightest stars in the Counter-Strike universe, they know what gamers really need and what they really crave in their gear. That�s why BenQ invited HeatoN and SpawN to join forces and develop an LED display just for hardcore gamers like themselves.

The aim was to create a display mode that provides gamers with a totally accurate representation of each scene in a virtual world so they're never put at a disadvantage in a key encounter with the enemy because of hardware shortcomings. There are also two user-configurable modes that let gamers set and save the exact brightness, contrast, sharpness, and : Red/Green/Blue color tint that they prefer and that let them be at their best in a pitched battle with a crafty enemy."

BenQ is also working with famed competitive gaming equipment manufacturer ZOWIE on gear like the ZOWIE EC Series Gaming Mouse and SWIFT Gaming Mouse Pad. This was provided in the package we received for review, although does vary by country. Check with the retailer if you want to be sure whether you will receive it.

The OSD menu is accessed using the 'menu' button control. The other controls do give you quick access to interface selection (the 'enter' button), display modes (aspect ratio control - via the 'right' arrow), and auto adjustment when in analogue mode.

Once in the menu there is a pretty decent range of options available. You navigate through each sub-section using the left/right arrows and enter into specific sections using the 'enter' button (and back out using the 'menu' button). The OSD is fairly easy to use although not as intuitive as some others we have used. You can sometimes find yourself pressing the wrong buttons or going into the wrong sections. The above 'picture' sub-menu gives you control over the brightness and contrast and also provides different gamma modes, access to the colour settings menu and control over the AMA (advanced motion accelerator) function which we will test a little later.

The colour menu alows you to choose between a series of preset colour temperatures or set into a mode where you can control the RGB settings yourself.

The 'picture advanced' sub-menu gives you access to some other features including the preset Senseye modes, dynamic contrast ratio, display mode (aspect ratio control), instant mode (for reducing input lag) and the Picture By Picture (PBP) setting. We'll take a look at some of these later on in the review.

The Picture-by-Picture (PBP) display mode provides side by-side display of video from two independent video sources. It supports a variety of interfaces�including D-sub, DVI, and HDMI.

In terms of power consumption the spec states maximum usage of 40W during operation and 28W in ECO mode.

We tested this ourselves and found that out of the box the screen used a very low 32.1W of power. This was reduced a little to 24.6W once calibrated (see calibration section) since we had reduced the OSD brightness control. If you enter the ECO preset, the brightness control is locked at 20% and you have a power consumption of 20.0W. In standby, the screens power consumption was only 1.7W.

On a side note, I was also able to access the BenQ factory menu (hold menu button while powering on > press menu) to confirm that the panel being used here is the M236H3-L05 panel from Chi Mei Innolux (formerly Chi Mei Optoelectronics / CMO). You can also disable the big purple BenQ screen boot-up logo if you want which is handy.

Colour Accuracy, Black Depth and Contrast

The Panel and Backlighting Unit

The BenQ XL2410T utilises a Chi Mei Innolux (formerly Chi Mei Optoelectronics / CMO) M236H3-L05 TN Film panel. It is capable of producing 16.7 million colours with 6-bit colour depth and Frame Rate Control (6-bit+FRC). Being W-LED backlit the screen can offer a colour gamut covering approximately 72% of the NTSC colour space. Since this is a white-LED backlight, the gamut does not extend beyond this colour space like RGB LED, or indeed like W-CCFL backlighting would. This colour space is approximately the same as the sRGB reference.

Testing Methodology

An important thing to consider for most users is how a screen will perform out of the box and with some basic manual adjustments. Since most users won't have access to hardware colorimeter tools, it is important to understand how the screen is going to perform in terms of colour accuracy for the average user.

I restored my graphics card to default settings and disabled any previously active ICC profiles and gamma corrections. The screen was tested at default factory settings using the DVI interface, and analysed using an X-rite i1 Pro spectrophotometer (review coming soon) combined with LaCie's Blue Eye Pro software suite. An X-rite i1 Display 2 colorimeter was also used to verify the black point and contrast ratio since the i1 Pro is less reliable at the darker end.

Targets for these tests are as follows:

• CIE Diagram - validates the colour space covered by the monitors backlighting with the black triangle representing the display

• Gamma - we aim for 2.2 which is the default for computer monitors

• Colour temperature / white point - we aim for 6500k which is the temperature of daylight

• Luminance - we aim for 120 cd/m², which is the recommended luminance for LCD monitors in normal lighting conditions

• Black depth - we aim for as low as possible to maximise shadow detail and to offer us the best contrast ratio

• Contrast ratio - we aim for as high as possible. Any dynamic contrast ratio controls are turned off here if present

• dE average / maximum - as low as possible. If DeltaE >3, the color displayed is significantly different from the theoretical one, meaning that the difference will be perceptible to the viewer. If DeltaE <2, LaCie considers the calibration a success; there remains a slight difference, but it is barely undetectable. If DeltaE < 1, the color fidelity is excellent.

Default settings of the screen were as follows. It should be noted that dynamic contrast ratio is disabled by default, but AMA is active (see response time section for more info)

BenQ XL2410T - Default Factory Settings

There's quite a lot I want to say about the default settings of the screen really. Out of the box the screen is set in the "FPS" preset mode, probably because this is a gamer-orientated screen. This has a default (and locked) gamma setting in the OSD of 1.8 and the color menu is also locked. Brightness is set at 100 as well which is too high for comfortable office use. The screen looks very bright and the colours look a little washed out. Another thing to note in this preset is that the sharpness seems to be a little bit off. Maybe this is deliberate as some "advantage" for gaming and for playing FPS games, but it's a bit odd. The actual OSD sharpness control is greyed out as well, so you can't change it (it's set at 3). It's a bit of a strange feature, and not ideal for day to day use. See the general and office use section for some more information. We'll test the other preset modes in a moment.

Testing with the i1 Pro spectrophotometer revealed the above results. The gamut triangle confirmed that the monitor is indeed a standard gamut screen as we knew from the specs and the use of W-LED backlighting and covers the sRGB reference very well. Gamma was measured at 1.9 which is bad in the sense that it is a considerable way off our target of 2.2 (13% out), but good in the sense that it at least closely matched the locked OSD 1.8 setting for gamma. It actually ranged from 2.01 in the dark shades down to 1.66 in light greys, but averaged at 1.9 overall.

Colour temperature was recorded at 7438k which is a little way out (14%) from our target of 6500k. Luminance was recorded at 206 cd/m² which although a little higher than we'd like, was not too mad. Considering the OSD brightness control was set at 100, this was actually pretty low. Black depth was recorded at a very respectable 0.21 cd/m², giving us an excellent static contrast ratio of 981:1. This was only very slightly off the specified 1000:1 figure, so was a very good result.

Colour accuracy was sadly very poor at default settings. Average dE was 6.3, ranging up to 10.7 maximum. This mode is clearly not designed to return accurate and realistic colours, but perhaps this is because the FPS mode is aimed at gamers who commonly want bright, vivid and cartoony colours for their games. We will test some of the other modes to see if they return more accurate colours.

BenQ XL2410T - Standard Preset, default

We switched to the 'standard' preset mode which changed the appearance of the screen quite a lot. Thankfully the strange text issue had gone and the image felt sharp and crisp again. The sharpness setting was still at 3 in the OSD (although you could change it now if you wanted), so it was not this that was set wrongly in the FPS mode. There must be some other strange setting which is causing some slightly blurred and shadowed text in that mode. The gamma mode reverted to 2.2 in the OSD which was our target in these tests.

I ran the same LaCie reports using the i1 Pro and returned the above results. Gamma was very close now to the target, being measured at 2.2 average and with only 1% deviance. This ranged from 2.37 in dark grey down to 2.08 in light grey so there was still some fluctuation across the different shades. Colour temperature was now 2% out from the target, being recorded at 6657k. Luminance was now even higher than the default FPS preset and was recorded at 231 cd/m². This was uncomfortable for prolonged use. Black depth was an excellent 0.23 and we even had a higher static contrast ratio now of 1007:1 which was impressive. The colour accuracy was improved a fair amount as well just by switching to this mode, with average dE now 3.0 and maximum 6.5. This was better than the FPS mode but still a fair way off if you are doing any colour critical work. I would advise using this mode as a starting point for any calibration or to return you slightly better settings from your screen. Casual users may also find this adequate for day to day use but you will probably want to turn the brightness setting down to around 25 - 30%.

BenQ XL2410T - sRGB Preset, default

I switched then to the sRGB preset mode. Gamma was now a bit too high at 2.6 (again ranging from 2.74 in dark grey down to 2.58 in light grey). Colour temp remained pretty accurate at 6786k (4% out) and luminance remained at a very similar level to the standard mode, being recorded at 222 cd/m² now, again too high really. Colour accuracy was not as good as the standard mode sadly, with average dE of 6.2 / maximum of 9.5. I'd still stick with the standard mode for the best results and as a good starting point for calibration.

Calibration Results

I wanted to calibrate the screen in each of the main preset modes to determine what was possible with optimum settings and profiling. I used the X-rite i1 Pro spectrophotometer combined with the LaCie Blue Eye Pro software package to achieve these results and reports. An X-rite i1 Display 2 was used to validate the black depth and contrast ratios due to lower end limitations of the i1 Pro device.

I reverted back to the standard preset mode but within the OSD I changed the 'colour temperature' setting to 'user mode'. This allowed me access to the RGB channels as part of the calibration process. I followed LaCie's calibration process through, adjusting the OSD settings in line with the recommendations made in the process, and then letting the software carry out the LUT adjustments at a graphics card level and create an ICC profile. The screen does not feature a hardware LUT calibration option so other than the OSD alterations, the rest of the process is carried out at a graphcis card level in profiling the screen.

The calibration was a success. Gamma had been corrected now to 2.2 average, with 0% deviation from our target. Colour temperature remained pretty much spot on to our target at 6558k (1% deviance), something which we had already found accurate  when switching to this 'standard' preset, even before calibration. Luminance was now spot on at 120 cd/m², and with an excellent black depth of 0.12 cd/m² we had a static contrast ratio of 996:1 which was impressive. This maintained the high contrast ratio we'd seen from the default profiles as well, but relative to the calibrated 120 cd/m² luminance.

Colour accuracy was also improved drastically, from the defaults of 6.3 dE average / 10.7 maximum in this preset, now down to 0.6 dE average / 1.2 maximum. On average, colour fidelity could be considered excellent. The setup had been improved a lot and gamma, white point and colour fidelity were now much better. Limitations of the technology in terms of viewing angles and lack of some advanced features do not make this ideal for colour critical work. However, it should be sufficient still for an average user who wants a gaming screen but might do a bit of sRGB photo work from time to time. With calibration the screen can perform pretty well.

Testing the screen with colour gradients showed smooth transitions with only slight gradation in darker tones. There was no obvious banding present which was good. A black level test revealed that the first four shades were crushed on this screen and could not be distinguished. Step 5 could just be detected in this test and of course the grey shades afterward were all visible. If you looked very closely at the panel you could spot the Frame Rate Control mechanism with some slight twinkling, but nothing that you would spot in normal use.

You can use our settings and calibrated ICC profile on your screen as well if you want. See our ICC profile database for more information.

I also calibrated the screen in the sRGB preset mode as well to see what was possible. In this mode, there is no access to the colour temperature menu or RGB controls. The only adjustments made to the hardware would be to change the brightness control. All other corrections were carried out at a graphics card LUT level by the spectrophotometer.

The results were again very good. Gamma was corrected nicely to 2.2 average with 0% deviance. Colour temperature was almost exactly 6500k, being measured only 9k out. Black depth was again very good at 0.13, and gave us a static contrast ratio of 923:1. Colour fidelity was very similar to the standard preset, and even ever so slightly better. dE average was now 0.5, maximum of 0.9. Either mode can be used to obtain a decent setup and improve colour accuracy. Again, you can use our settings and calibrated ICC profile on your screen as well if you want. See our ICC profile database for more information.

Calibration Performance Comparisons

I've plotted these measurements on the above graphs in comparison with some of the other screens we have tested in a similar size and market segment. Out of the box, the XL2410T performs badly when it comes to colour accuracy with a dE average of 6.3. The screen is set in it's gamer orientated 'FPS' preset, with gamma set at 1.8 and brightness on full. It's not really a suitable preset for obtaining accurate colours and so the XL2410T is one of the worst in this comparison. Simply switching to the 'standard' preset gives you an average dE of 3.0 which is far more reasonably and in keeping with some of the better performers out of the box. In fact the similarly spec'ed 23.6" TN Film Asus MS246H gave an out-of-the-box dE average of 2.6. The 27" Viewsonic VX2739wm and 22" Samsung 2233RZ are also gamer screens (TN Film based) and had a default dE of 3.4 and 3.9 respectively.

Once calibrated the XL2410T offered an improved colour accuracy with dE average now 0.6. This left it in a similar position to the other TN Film models, with the Samsung 2233RZ (0.6) and Viewsonic VX2739wm (0.7) being very close. The other BenQ model we have tested recently, the EW2420, features a 24" AMVA panel but performed to a similar level after calibration (0.8). The other 23.6" TN Film Asus model was a little better in this test at 0.4. The TN Film models cannot compete with the IPS based screens which all reached a very low dE average of 0.2 after calibration. Don't forget that these models also offer further advantages when it comes to colour critical work thanks to their wide viewing angles, 8-bit panels etc. Of course professional grade monitors like the NEC PA series also offer other high end features which separate them from some of these other models, including extended internal processing, 3D LUT's and hardware calibration. These comparisons are based on a small selection of tests, so it should be remembered that other factors do come into play when you start talking about professional use.

I've included a comparison of the black point and contrast ratio above as well. The XL2410T was actually the second best in this comparison with a black depth of 0.12 and contrast ratio of 996:1. This was a very impressive result and ahead of the best IPS models here by a small amount (Dell U2311H - 0.14 / 857:1). The BenQ EW2420W had a staggering black depth from its modern AMVA panel so is miles ahead of the others here (0.04 / 2995:1). A very good performance from the XL2410T though in this test.

Contrast Stability

The luminance range of the XL2410T was pretty reasonable but not staggering. At the top end the maximum luminance reached at 100% brightness was 235 cd/m². This is a little way off the specified maximum brightness of 300 cd/m² but should be adequate for most users. 3D gaming will normally require a higher setting than our standard 120 cd/m² so at least this brightness control gives you a reasonable range if you need to set it higher. At the lowest end, the luminance ranges down to 86 cd/m² at 0% setting. A setting of about 25 - 30% should return you a luminance of around 120 cd/m² for comfortable day to day use in this 'standard' preset mode.

Black depth is very good ranging from 0.24 cd/m² down to 0.09 cd/m² at the lower end. This is very good and a testament to the strengths of modern TN Film panels. Contrast ratio was an average of 989:1 across the range of adjustments which was excellent, and was pretty stable. The stability is shown in the graph below:

Dynamic Contrast

The dynamic contrast ratio control worked a little but in these tests it didn't have a great impact to be honest. As I've already mentioned, the transitions seemed very fast and in our test we are working with a 95% black /white screen. This should give you a good indication of the DCR's use in real applications. On a white screen the luminance ranged up to 210 cd/m² maximum which was only a little bit off the maximum luminance we had achieved in our contrast stability tests of 235 cd/m². On a black screen the black point reached 0.14 cd/m² which was again only a little off the minimum we had acheived before of 0.09 cd/m². Overall this gave us a modest dynamic contrast ratio of ~1500:1.

Even if we took our maximum and minimum luminance values we'd seen from the contrast stability tests (100% brightness and 0% brightness) we would only be able to reach 235 cd/m² max and 0.09 cd/m² minimum. This would only give us a DCR of around 2611:1 as well, so still nowhere near the specified 10 million:1. Even if we assumed the screen could reach its maximum specified luminance of 300 cd/m², which it can't, you would need to be able to get a black depth of 0.00003 cd/m² to get this massive DCR. Really it means the LED's need to be turned off completely to reach this massive figure, which in normal use they never are. If you're turning them off completely to achieve this black point, you might as well assume the black reachs 0 cd/m² so you could really choose a spec for DCR of anything up to inifinity:1! These modern DCR figures on paper are meaningless really.

Viewing Angles

Above: Viewing angles shown from front and side, and  from above and below. Click for larger image

Viewing angles of the screen were as you might expect from a TN Film panel. Moving your head horizontally away from a central point introduced a rather noticeable contrast shift at even a small angle. As you moved further a yellow and a pink colour tone shift was introduced which was a shame. The horizontal angles are not nearly as good as modern IPS panels of course. Vertically there was again a contrast shift from above, leading to a whitening of the image from a fairly small angle. From below, the screen showed the characteristic TN Film darkening which is pretty severe. You will need to ensure the screen is positioned carefully for a head on view. Unfortunately there are some fairly obvious shifts in contrast if you move your head even slightly in a vertical field, and so viewing websites or content with solid colours can give you an issue. This is more noticeable on darker backgrounds where some detail can get 'crushed' as you move your head. If you aren't aligned centrally, there is a difference in the darkness of the colour and the contrast as you look across the screen. Viewing angles are not a strong point of this screen, nor indeed TN Film technology as a whole.

Panel Uniformity

Measurements of the screens luminance were taken at 35 points across the panel on a pure white background. The measurements were taken using BasICColor's calibration software package, combined with the X-rite i1 Display 2 colorimeter. The above uniformity diagram shows the difference, as a percentage, between the luminance recorded at each point on the screen, as compared with the reference point of a calibrated 120 cd/m². This is the desired level of luminance for an LCD screen in normal lighting conditions, and  the below shows the variance in the luminance across the screen compared with this point. It is worth noting that panel uniformity can vary from one screen to another, and can depend on manufacturing lines, screen transport and other local factors. This is only a guide of the uniformity of the sample screen we have for review.

Uniformity of Luminance

The overall uniformity of the panel was moderate here. Only at a central point (calibrated) did the screen reach the desired 120 cd/m² luminance. The rest of the screen was darker to varying degrees, and the luminance did not range above this central point. Only 25% of the screen was within a 10% deviance of the target value which was a little disappointing. Approximately 57% was within 15% deviance, but in some areas the variance was higher. In the worst cases, the luminance ranged down to 95 - 99 cd/m² in the top right and left hand corners. This is where there was most variation from the target. In practice, the viewing angle contrast shifts were perhaps more of an issue than any uniformity variance you could detect from the panel, so it wasn't a major problem in this regard.

Above: All black screen in a darkened room. Click for larger version

As usual we also tested the screen with an all black image and in a darkened room. A camera was used to capture the result. The uniformity of the backlighting was pretty good in this test. There was some very very slight leakage in the corners as you can just about pick out in the image, but it was not too severe and you will not pick it out easily with the naked eye. There was a little bit more leakage along the bottom edge, but again not too severe.

General and Office Applications

The BenQ XL2410T offers an adequate solution for general office and internet applications. The 1920 x 1080 resolution and 23.6" screen size offer a good screen real estate to work with, and side by side splitting of the screen is perfectly useable. The slightly reduced vertical resolution (1080 pixels) compared with a 16:10 format screen (1200 pixels vertically) means you do lose a bit of height however. I personally prefer a 1920 x 1200 screen for office work.

The 0.2715mm pixel pitch offers a comfortable text size for day to day use, a little bigger than some of the modern ultra-high resolution models like the 2560 x 1440 res 27" models for instance. Default luminance of the screen was recorded at 206 cd/m² which is too high for prolonged office use. You will want to turn the screen down to about 25 - 30% brightness to achieve a luminance of around 120 cd/m². In doing so you also reduce the power consumption of the screen which is a positive thing. Being W-LED backlit, the screen is already very eco-friendly, so you are doing your bit for the environment by using a screen like this. This is even more important if you are working in an office environment with many screens in use daily. Of course this isn't really a screen aimed at office users, but gamers! The inbuilt ECO mode preset can also help you reduce energy consumption a little more than a calibrated profile which is handy. There are no specific 'text' or 'internet' presets available from the Senseye menu, so you will probably want to calibrate the standard or sRGB modes to a lower luminance, or just use the ECO mode option for office use or in low light conditions.

I tested the screen using both the analogue D-sub and digital DVI-D interfaces. The DVI offered a slightly sharper image and better picture quality, and the D-sub was a little blurry I found. Text was still readable of course, but some clarity was lost. I would definitely recommend using the digital interface wherever possible.

Standard Preset                                                  FPS Preset

Above: Senseye Demo showing standard mode (left) vs FPS mode (right)

You will also want to switch out of the 'FPS' preset mode as this introduces an odd text blur I found as I talked about in the calibration section. It's very slight and quite hard to detect, but I could certainly 'feel' it when using the FPS mode. Maybe the different gamma setting and overly bright and vivid appearance of the FPS preset accentuates it. However, I used the Senseye demo mode to compare side by side the standard preset with the FPS preset. You can see from the above image that the text is slightly more jagged in the FPS mode. It's noticeable on the curved edges of the letter 'e' and 't', but is very slight. For office use, I'd recommend using the standard, sRGB or ECO presets anyway.

Ergonomically the screen was very good, with a decent tilt, height, pivot and swivel adjustment available. You should be able to obtain a comfortable position for your use and desk. It would have been useful to see USB ports (and perhaps even a card reader) included here as they are nice to have for connecting cameras, printers etc. The built-in audio pass-through might be useful for headphone connection in an office environment or for general 'office / Windows' sounds if youre' using an HDMI connection.

Responsiveness and Gaming

The BenQ XL2410T is a screen designed by gamers, for gamers. While it might be used for other uses from time to time, the screen is primarily targetted at those wanting to play fast moving games and first person shooters. The screen was designed with input from two well-known Counter Strike players and has a whole range of features which should make this a good option for the hardcore gamers out there. The screen even comes packaged with Zowie mouse hardware in some countries as pictured above.

Advanced Motion Accelerator (AMA)

Above: OSD menu showing the AMA option

Before we get into the side by side screen comparisons I wanted to talk about the Advanced Motion Accelerator (AMA) mode. A modern TN Film panel would typically be rated with a 5ms ISO response time. This would be the standard response time of the panel without any form of response time compensation technology active, and representing the best case black > white pixel transition. A panel without RTC can perform quite differently in practice to a model with RTC, often showing more blurring and trailing of a moving image. RTC technology was introduced to improve pixel transition times across the full range of changes, and models with RTC enabled are usually given a 'G2G' (grey to grey) response time figure. BenQ have allowed you to control this RTC application via their OSD and using the 'AMA' function. With this set to off, the screen behaves like a panel without RTC, but once enabled an RTC impulse is applied to the pixels to help reduce motion blur. The AMA function can be turned on and off via the 'picture' section of the OSD menu as shown above. Once enabled, the manufacturers 2ms G2G response time spec is relevant.
 

The BenQ XL2410T was tested using the chase test in PixPerAn, a good bit of software for trying to quantify differences in real terms responsiveness between monitors. As a reminder, a series of pictures are taken on the highest shutter speed and compared. The images below show the best case example on the left hand side, and the worst case example on the right hand side. This should only be used as a rough guide to comparative responsiveness but is handy as a way of keeping a constant test of each screen.

23.6" 5ms ISO CMO TN Film (60Hz)

23.6" 2ms G2G CMO TN Film (60Hz)

I thought it would be useful first to test this technology while operating the screen at a standard 60Hz refresh rate. This model supports a full 120Hz refresh rate which we will test in a moment. As you can see from the PixPerAn test images, the monitor does behave quite differently depending on whether you activate this technology. With AMA turned off there is a moderate motion blur and slight ghosting to the moving image but it is not too bad. The screen behaves like most 5ms rated TN Film models out there not using RTC. The 27" Viewsonic VX2739wm and 23.6" Asus MS246H for instance showed us similar results when their overdrive impulses were turned off. Both these models are TN Film based and so would be 5ms rated under the ISO response time scheme if RTC is not being used.

When you enable the RTC control via the AMA function, the results are not as good as you might hope unfortunately. The blurring is reduced a little and the trailing image is removed in the best case image as you can see above. However, the RTC impulse is applied too aggressively and so there is a fairly obvious overshoot introduced. This takes the form of white halos and trails behind the moving car, and a dark trail behind the moving speech bubble and driver. This overshoot is down to a poor control of the RTC impulse, with the pixels changing state too far before reaching their desired orientation. Unfortunately these artefacts can be quite common on heavily overdriven screens where the RTC is not controlled well. In my opinion, this mode is not really any better than the AMA = off setting, since the overshoot is just as noticeable as any blur was before.
 

120HZ Support

One of the main selling points of the XL2410T for gamers is its support of a true 120Hz refresh rate. This is not an interpolated refresh rate like many modern LCD TV's, but the screen can support a genuine 120Hz input from the graphics card.

BenQ's website describes the reported advantages as follows: "With a screen image that�s redrawn 120 times every single second, there�s never a lag between what�s happening in the virtual world of your favorite game and what you actually see on screen. Drawing on hyper-speed video processing technology, the XL2410T gives on-screen action a captivating realism. You can spot your opponents the instant they make their move, and track their movements accurately, so victory or defeat always comes down to your skill and not a sluggish display that leaves you frustrated."

You can simply select 120Hz refresh rate from your display settings as shown above. Even in Windows, the movement feels faster and smoother and dragging around text boxes and browser windows feels snappier.

Of course one of the main reasons for wanting this 120Hz support is that the screen can then give you a higher frame rate of 120 frames per second (fps) as opposed to the 60fps when using 60Hz. Any serious gamer will tell you that frame rates are very important for fast action and so here's a screen which can support double the frame rate of most LCD panels. With 120Hz support, the screen is also able to handle 3D stereoscopic content using an NVIDIA graphics card and their 3D glasses and games. Unfortunately at this time we do not have the necessary hardware to test all the 3D performance and so instead we will concentrate on the performance of the panel in terms of responsiveness and then later, input lag.

23.6" 5ms ISO CMO TN Film (120Hz)

23.6" 2ms G2G CMO TN Film (120Hz)

I ran the same PixPerAn tests as before, but this time with refresh rate set at 120Hz. I tested the screen with and without the AMA function enabled and the results are captured above. With AMA disabled the screen performs almost identically to 60Hz mode, with perhaps a very slightly less pronounced motion blur evident. The 120Hz mode does not alter the response time of the panel, since the operation of the pixels and their electronics remains unchanged. With AMA enabled, the RTC overshoot appeared again, although it was to a slightly lesser degree than in 60Hz mode. When we tested the Samsung 2233RZ we found that the 120Hz mode did eliminate the artefacts we had seen in 60Hz mode which was very pleasing. There's a small reduction in the overshoot here as well, although you can still see the dark trail behind the driver/ speech bubble. The white halo behind the moving car has been reduced quite a lot though. This perhaps gives this mode (120Hz + AMA = on) the slight edge in terms of practical use I think, and seems to be the best set up for fast gaming. Certainly the 120Hz mode is desirable given the 3D support and 120fps possible frame rate. The AMA function is down to preference, but I think with the reduced overshoot in 120Hz, it's probably desirable to have it turned on.

This reduction in RTC artefacts seems to be related to the frame rate of the screen, which sends a new images to the display at twice the frequency of before. As the image moves across the screen, an artefact trails behind it due to the agressive overshoot of the RTC impulse. The next frame sent to the display causes the image to update and the pixels change again. In 120Hz mode, the time between each frame being sent is half that of at 60Hz (i.e. twice as many frames per second). As a result, the trailing image is reduced by half, and the moving image is refreshed at twice the speed. In practice this eliminates some, but not all, of the RTC issues common at 60Hz on this screen.
 

To save you scrolling up and down, above is a side by side summary of the PixPerAn results in each of the four modes for reference.

Display Comparisons

As usual, we have provided a comparison below of the XL2410T against some of the popular models in this range that we have tested. We have selected the 120Hz / AMA = on as the best case example for the XL2410T here:

23.6" 2ms G2G CMO TN Film (120Hz)

24" 6ms G2G LG.Display H-IPS

23" 8ms G2G LG.Display e-IPS

24" 5ms G2G LG.Display e-IPS

As you can see, the BenQ XL2410T is quite similar to these other popular 23 - 24" models in terms of pixel responsiveness. There is slightly less blur from the XL2410T as compared with the Dell U2410 and HP ZR24W as you can just pick out from the trail image behind the moving car. It's very slight of course. However, while the pixel transitions have been improved with the response time compensation AMA function, it has introduced some overdrive artefacts in the form of dark trailing. The pale trailing we saw in the 60Hz tests is largely eliminated when you use the screen in 120Hz mode but overall the issue is still apparent. The Dell U2311H is perhaps the best compromise here, with a slight motion blur and only minimal pale overshoot being evident. Of course, the 120Hz technology gives the XL2410T the edge when it comes to gaming as it is the only model of the four which can support a 120 fps frame rate and 3D gaming.

23.6" 2ms G2G CMO TN Film (120Hz)

22" 3ms G2G Samsung TN Film + 120Hz

27" 1ms G2G CMO TN Film (Response time mode = Advanced @ 60Hz only)

For comparison I have also included the results from the other gamer orientated displays we have tested. The Viewsonic VX2739wm was the 'World's First' 1ms rated screen, although putting that into practice introduced a pretty severe overshoot. The best option was to use the 'Advanced' response time mode which made the screen perform more like a 2 - 3ms G2G rated screen. This model is a bigger panel size to the others, but does not support 120Hz refresh rates. The Samsung 2233RZ is still our reference screen from this test. It offers a 120Hz refresh rate like the BenQ does but any overshoot which is evident in 60Hz mode is pretty much completely eliminated in the 120Hz mode. We'd seen an improvement in the BenQ in this regard too, but it had not removed all of the artefacts. The Samsung still holds the edge here I think.

Further Features

Apsect Ratio Control - The XL2410T supports a decent range of aspect ratio control options through the OSD, and through the right arrow as a hot-key when not in the menu.

Above: the various display modes available

There are options for the usual full, aspect and 1:1 that you might find on many other screens with a decent scaler. There are also options which simulate the native resolution of other popular screen sizes as shown in the menu image above. BenQ's website describes the feature a little more: "The display mode hotkey makes changing the size of the screen content as simple and quick as a button press. Instantly switch among 17�, 19�, 19� widescreen, and 22� widescreen formats so you get the best possible view of whatever you happen to be watching. You can also take advantage of the Smart-Scaling button, added especially for the benefit of gamers. You can adjust the size of the screen content until your avatar�s actions precisely correspond to your expectations based on your control movements, so you can perform with peak effectiveness."

Preset Modes - There are two customisable preset modes designed for gaming as well which are 'User game-1' and 'User game-2'. These allow full adjustment to brightness, contrast, gamma and colour modes. The 'FPS' mode (First Person Shooter) has a limited range of adjustments.

Dynamic Contrast - The screen does feature a dynamic contrast ratio control if you want to use it and it can be used in all three of these game preset modes. From our tests, it works to a degree, giving you DCR's of around 1500:1 in practice. Some gamers like this as a feature, some do not so that's down to preference.

Above: instant mode can be selected within the 'picture advanced' menu

Instant Mode - like some other modern screens, the XL2410T features a 'thru mode' type technology which, once enabled, bypasses some of the internal electronics to reduce input lag. We will look at this feature and its effectiveness in the next section.

Input Lag

As usual I tested the screen in clone mode with a CRT to determine the level of input lag. This is something which can put off some gamers and is a delay between graphics card and monitor output. By hooking up a CRT you can show that  the LCD lags behind somewhat, which can affect users in some situations where they rely on the screen image being as fast as their inputs (e.g. fast FPS shooting games). Often, input lag is very low and probably wouldn't represent too much of a problem in real terms.

I first tested the screen with the 'instant mode' setting off. The input lag was typically 10 - 20ms, with the very occasional higher lag shown as 30 or 40ms. Across all the measurements this averaged out at 20ms which was pretty reasonable to be fair. This was a very similar figure to the BenQ EW2420W (21.3ms) which although it doesn't use the same scaler and electronics (according to the service menus), must presumably be quite similar in operation.

With the instant mode enabled, input lag was reduced quite significantly. Average lag was now a very low 5.6ms and was typically measured between 0 - 10ms. There was the very occasional lag of 20ms recorded but this was a great performance. This is the best screen we have ever tested for input lag. The Asus MS246H was also quite close (6.9ms) as was the Viewsonic VX2739wm (9.4ms). A great performance from the BenQ here. Gamers will want to enable this instant mode for hardcore gaming certainly.

Movies and Video

The following summarises the screens performance in video applications:

• 23.6" screen size makes it a reasonable option for an all-in-one multimedia screen, although quite a bit smaller than modern LCD TV's of course

• 16:9 aspect ratio is more suited to videos than 16:10 format screens, leaving smaller borders on DVD's and wide screen content.

• 1920 x 1080 resolution can support true 1080 HD resolution content

• While not listed in the spec for some reason, I have confirmed with BenQ that the digital interfaces support HDCP for any encrypted and protected content

• Fairly decent interface options available with 1x DVI, 1x D-sub and 1x HDMI. Useful for connecting external devices including blu-ray players. Would have been nice to see DisplayPort and perhaps another HDMI.

• Black depth and contrast ratio are excellent and some of the best we have seen. Detail in darker scenes should not be lost due to these measurements.

• Dynamic contrast ratio is available in some preset modes and extends the static contrast ratio to ~1500:1 in practice. If you like this feature, it can control the contrast for you quite well, although transitions are quite fast. It is available in the movie and various game presets but not the standard/sRGB/ECO.

• Movie preset mode is available. This makes the colours more vivid and cartoony. You will lose some accuracy using this mode, but this may be desirable for the sake of the bright colours in videos. You cannot control the colour modes or RGB channels in this preset, and you will probably want to reduce the default 100% brightness to a comfortable level.

• Good pixel responsiveness which should be able to easily handle fast moving scenes. If any overdrive artefacts are obvious, you may want to disable the AMA function which still leaves you with a good response time.

• Poor viewing angles due to TN Film technology. Contrast shifts are very apparent horizontally and a significant problem vertically. Even a slight movement up or down can cause a change in contrast. You will need to be able to align the screen perfectly for movie viewing. This limitation means it is not really suited for viewing by more than one person. Shadow detail may well be lost in dark scenes as a result of the viewing angles.

• Good range of ergonomic adjustments available so you should be able to obtain a comfortable angle and position.

• There was only very slight backlight leakage from the bottom edge, which was not obvious to the naked eye. Not a problem in practice which is good as that issue has the potential to become distracting when watching movies, especially where black borders are present.

• Headphone jack available for audio pass-through from HDMI if needed. No integrated speakers on this model

Conclusion

Performance wise I found the XL2410T to be quite good, but it needed some tweaking to get there. The out of the box settings of the screen perhaps don't do the screen justice. Gamma, colour accuracy, luminance and even the 'feel' of the screen aren't very good when you first plug in the screen and start using it. There's a slightly odd text blur and even the enabled AMA mode brings with it some issues with RTC overshoot and artefacts which is a shame. These poor default settings combine with the very restrictive viewing angles to give a disappointing first impression I think.

With a bit of playing around, you can soon improve things and the performance is much better. The standard preset immediately gives you a better setup in terms of gamma, colour temperature and colour accuracy. This is a reasonable performance even without calibration in fact and should be adequate for most casual users. Turning the brightness control down to around 20 - 30% makes the screen more comfortable, and changing your graphics card to output at 120Hz brings with it an improvement in frame rate and a reduction in the RTC overshoot. You can even switch the instant mode 'on' to reduce the input lag which is a great feature.

As a gaming screen the XL2410T is very strong. The 120Hz support speaks for itself really and you won't get this from standard screens. Certainly an advantage for fast gaming and a prerequisite if you want to do 3D gaming at all. Responsiveness is very good and input lag is very low indeed with instant mode enabled. The RTC overshoot is a little disappointing, and although it is partially resolved in 120Hz mode, it is still there. Some of the other 120Hz gaming screens still hold the slight edge I think, although this is a bigger screen with a higher resolution than models like the Samsung 2233RZ.

Price wise, the XL2410T is reasonable I think. At the time of writing the RRP is ~�300 (without the Zowie kit which bumps it up to ~�340). On one hand there are plenty of other TN Film 24" models with 2ms and 5ms response times for between �150 and �180 which would save you a fair amount. Obviously those models will not support 120Hz or 3D content though. Other 120Hz models like the 23" LGW2363D and Asus VG236HE retail for around �285 and �275 respectively so are a very similar cost. The IPS based Dell U2410 is still a bit more expensive though at ~�460 but is a higher end model with a lot of other features and technologies.

If you're looking for a gaming screen with 120Hz support, a good responsiveness and a very low input lag this is well worth a look. The decent ergonmics and interface options help make this a strong contender, but it is let down somewhat by some of the poor default setup and ultimately the limitations of TN Film technology.
 

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