The BenQ EW3270U is real good value for anyone in the market for a large-screen, high-resolution entertainment monitor. This 32-inch Ultra-High-Definition (UHD) screen can handle HDR content well, offers quality color production, and has fine grayscale accuracy. It also performs well as a gaming monitor.
While it doesn’t pack a rich array of ports as our Editors’ Choice LG 32UN500-W, which rocks a wealth of ports and has a far ergonomic stand, the BenQ EW3270U comes in as a considerably affordable alternative to pricey large size, UHD panels.
BenQ EW3270U Specs
- Panel size: 31.5-inch
- Panel type: VA
- Resolution: 3,840 x 2,160
- Brightness: 300cd/m2
- Contrast: 1,000:1
- Pixel response:4ms
- Refresh rate: 60Hz
- Vesa: 100x100mm
Design and Features
You’ll find the same, basic styling on the BenQ EW3270U, BenQ EL2870U and the BenQ BL3201PH. All of these panels are housed in a matte gray-black cabinet with half-inch bezels surrounding the screen, and comes with a stand that provides tilt adjustment (but lacks swivel and pivot adjustment). When affixed to the rectangular stand, which cannot be adjusted for height, it measures 20.6 by 28.6 by 8.5 inches (HWD) and weighs 16.5 pounds.
At the back of the monitor, there are four VESA mounting holes for use in affixing the cabinet to a wall. Ports, all are downward facing at the back of the cabinet – are all-too-common-than-ideal for such a configuration – include two HDMI 2.0 ports, one DisplayPort 1.4, one USB-C port, and a headphone jack. It also gets a pair of two-watt speakers that produce audible, if not particularly clear sound.
The 10-bit Vertical Alignment (VA) panel has a maximum resolution of 3,840 by 2,160 and covers 100 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamuts. The BenQ EW3270U has a 16:9 aspect ratio, a 3,000:1 native contrast, a 4-millisecond (gray-to-gray) pixel response, and a 300 cd/m2 rated brightness.
With the EW3270U, you get a wide selection of settings. You get to choose among 10 picture modes, including Standard, HDR, Cinema HDR. Low Blue Light, Game, photo, sRGB, Tec.709, Eco, M-Book, and User (defined).
When the EW3270U detects and HDR signal, it automatically switches into HDR mode, and when you press the HDR button at the bottom right corner of the monitor when viewing standard-definition content enables HDR emulation, significantly improving the contrast and color.
Bright, Accurate Colors
The EW3270U’s color accuracy is very good out of the box. The panel’s red, green and blue color measurements closely align with their ideal CIE coordinates, which is a good thing for an entertainment monitor, that can be used for productivity as well as gaming.
When the Benq EW3270U is stacked side by side with the BenQ EL2870U, a big screen TN panel; in sRGB mode, colors, especially reds are much saturated and more pleasing than on the EL2870U. its grayscale performance is also great, handling both very dark and very light shades of gray well.
Not surprising though, VR monitors have a reputation of handling subtleties in very dark scenes well, and the EW3270U, helped by its 3,000:1 native contrast ratio, is no exception. All these make it a great monitor for entertainment, media editing and professional artists and media creators will find some value here too.
For gaming, the EW3270U’s 4-millisecond pixel response keeps ghosting to a minimum meaning on Sony PlayStation 5, you’ll see no sign of tearing or other artifacts. Colors will remain bright for most games, and even in FIFA 21, a game that’s known to have issues with color when run in HDR, the colors are not muted.
Input lag, the time it takes for a screen to respond to a signal, comes in at a decent 13 milliseconds. The BenQ SW2700PT remains the category leader, with a 9.5-millisecond input lag, while the similar-size Asus PA328Q has a lag time of 10.3 milliseconds.
Power consumption is a bit thrifty for a monitor of this size, consuming 44 watts in Standard mode, and 24 watts in ECO mode. That’s more efficient than the BenQ PV3200PT (57 watts), the BenQ BL3201PH (56 watts), and the Dell U3417W (56 watts), all running in Standard mode.
Verdict
From a value perspective, you can make a case both for and against the BenQ EW3270U. On the one hand, this 32-inch UHD panel provides good value in an entertainment/multimedia monitor of its resolution and screen size, with accurate colors and good grayscale performance. On the other hand, its limited to tilt adjustability, and as is common even with pricier monitors, the downward-facing ports are inconveniently placed in the back.
Overall, the BenQ EW3270U a good, affordable choice if you’re looking for UHD resolution in a large HDR monitor. For a similar monitor but with wider viewing angle, robust port selection, AMD FreeSync support and a far more ergonomic stand, look to the Editors’ Choice LG 32UN500-W, but be prepared to spend a couple hundred dollars more.
Our Pick
LG 32UN500-W Montior 32" UHD (3840 x 2160) Display, AMD FreeSync, DCI-P3 90% Color Gamut, HDR10, Built-in Speakers, 3-Side Virtually Borderless Design - Silve/White
8 used from $279.49
