Best LED Monitor of BenQ EW3880R review in 2022
Two-minute review
We’ve seen some huge PC video display units released within the last few years, but the BenQ EW3880R, with its 21:9 component ratio, is one of the widest and most thrilling currently on offer. Its 38-inch (37.five-inch viewable) display has a notable presence (before you even flip it on) with its subtle brown speaker grille and stand. It looks like something that could nearly be shaped into a dwelling room.
Sporting a 3,840 x 1,600 resolution, it’s able to show a crisp and unique Windows desktop and permits four (count ’em) full-sized A4 windows to be positioned next to one another. This can be a super-productive boon for those operating with more than one document, browser, and, especially, spreadsheets. However, we determined that turning our head to look from one end of the screen to the other could get a bit tiring on our neck. Still, there’s a diffused curve to the display screen that reduces the quantity of time your eyeballs need to refocus as they pan from side to side, and this enables better viewing consolation. There’s additionally BenQ’s TÜV Rheinland-certified anti-flicker and blue-light filter technology, which is claimed to similarly save you from ocular fatigue.
Our first concept, whilst searching for a display screen of this shape and length, is that it must be first rate for that latter use. However, while we were inspired by how the UHD snap shots and textures of Far Cry 6 looked on the screen, the low 60Hz refresh rate reminded us that this isn’t suitable for immediate-paced movement video games and racers—if you’re used to one of the more recent high-refresh gaming shows, your eyes will right away complain about motion blur, picture tearing, and skipped frames.
Nonetheless, BenQ is eager to promote the video performance of the EW3880R, and we have surely been inspired. The 10-bit IPS panel is high-quality for watching films, TV, and video content normally – especially demo reels tailored for the panel’s native resolution.
The 1,000:1 assessment ratio and three hundred-nit brightness score are somewhat mediocre, however. Details can wander away in dark and shiny areas. BenQ attempts to address this with its HDRi (simulated HDR) generation, but we found it to be more miss than hit – it can easily make photographs worse, and rarely improve them.We’re being choosy even though, as most film content material usually seems super. Just observe that you’ll commonly have a few shapes of letterbox bars near the sides of the screen as even supposedly local 21:9 content (of which there’s lots on streaming sites like Netflix) doesn’t usually fill the entire panel.
Also mainly noteworthy are the display screen’s integrated speakers. The big grille at the bottom enables concealment of a 3W audio system and an 8W sub. These are considerably superior specs compared to different multimedia monitors, and it suggests that sound is loud and punchy, vocal constancy is extraordinary, bass is strong, and treble stays clean. very dazzling.
The typical array of screen adjustments (and connections) are available to tinker with, but we seldom strayed some distance from the defaults. A faraway place is protected too.
If it had a higher refresh charge for better gaming abilities, the EW3880R would be incredible. However, even without it, it’s top notch for work and play regardless. It’s costly, however, pretty priced on this 38-inch ultrawide area, and many cashed-up informal laptop customers will find it irresistible.
Prices and availability
The BenQ EW3880R display is now available in all major markets and costs $1,050/£130/AU $1,799.While that is now not cheap, it’s far and away one of the more inexpensive 38-inch ultrawides, and while in comparison to the likes of LG’s comparable 38WN95C (which charges considerably more at $1,750/£1,350/AU $2,199) or the Alienware AW3821DW ($1,950/£1,565/AU $2,499), the fee proposition appears stronger. Just observe that the LG and Alienware are 144Hz displays, with faster pixel response time (1ms) and FreeSync and G-Sync compatibility, which make them extra appealing for gaming.
Other alternatives include Dell’s 21:9 video display units. While the U3821DW ($1,549/£1,399/AU $1,899) offers comparable specs at a higher price, there is also a slightly larger, forty-inch sibling (the U4021QW) at $2,099/£2,049/AU $2,639 for those looking for the same component ratio and performance on a slightly larger screen.
Design
The EW3880R’s panel is pretty much something that could be healthy in a contemporary, compact living room, right down to the brown tinge on the speaker grille under the screen and on the stand. However, the stand does have a tendency to scream that it’s nonetheless a PC display at heart, meaning it’s not very desirable to be the centerpiece of a family living room. However, having a PC screen stand has its advantages. It comes with some generous modifications, including a 5o to 15o tilt, a 15o to 15o swivel, and a 120mm peak adjustment.
Accessing the entry ports is especially simple due to the big cutaway at the base of the show at the lower back (this will be covered with a detachable panel). Just keep in mind that the power cord connects on the left side, which may cause issues in your unique setup if all of your electrical sockets are on the right.
Setting it up is straightforward thanks to the 3-piece design: stand, stem, and panel. You’ll need the protected hex key screwdriver and four screws to fix the panel to the stem, as there’s no quick-release machine.
Features
BenQ makes a massive fuss over its simulated HDR function, referred to as HDRi. This can be activated through OSD controls, a button on the lower right of the speaker grille, or the included mini remote. It switches between 3 modes: Cinema HDRi, Game HDRi, and HDR. With Windows HDR on the rise, Cinema HDRi appears to delight by removing large, large details and gadgets from the display screen—particularly in bright areas.Game HDRi seeks to prevent enemies from hiding in shadows and highlights by way of decreasing localized darkness and brightness through the compression of evaluation variety, and it pretty much makes a difference.
The principal HDR building sits somewhere in between. Using HDRi with Windows HDR off leaves you with a blown-out mess in brilliant regions wherein it’s hard to look at anything in any respect. In darkish content, it could just as easily engulf the entire thing in darkness.Individual reviews will vary with one-of-a-kind content, but generally we felt it became a bit of a gimmick.
The remote itself is small and black, which means you can effortlessly lose it in a dark room. It operates responsively so long as you aim it directly at the IR receiver in the middle of the speaker grille. It has a directional button that emulates the mini directional manipulate button on the right-rear of the display screen, plus character buttons for strength, enter, HDRi, night-mode quantity (to shield from surprise late-night explosions and screams), quantity controls, and audio mode.
There’s also KVM functionality that lets you plug your keyboard and mouse into the monitor and proportionally their capability – and screen enter – through the USB-C connection. We’re huge enthusiasts of this as lockdown has made us often switch between our domestic laptop and work computer, and virtually swapping a USB-C cable can make switching more efficient.
BenQ additionally likes to spotlight its eye-consolation capabilities. These consist of the subtle 2600R curve to help alleviate the stress caused by your eyeballs refocusing whilst looking at extraordinary parts of the monitor. There’s also TÜV Rheinland-certified anti-flicker generation and blue light filtering that, as we well know, helped make sure the display screen turned into a comfortable place to observe for extended periods of labor.
Connectivity
It may be a bit intricate to attain the down-dealing with cables inside the center of the rear of the reveal if your table is set up in a way that makes it hard to attain the back of the panel. Nonetheless, there are two HDMI 2.Zero ports, DisplayPort 1.4, two downstream USB-A 3.Zero ports, and a USB-C port that help with DisplayPort and 60W electricity delivery.
HDMI and USB-C cables are protected. Just keep in mind that the latter is alternatively quick, so your PC or computer has to be near the reveal.
Performance
We loved working on the BenQ EW3880R. Its capacity to show four complete-sized A4 files (after which some), big spreadsheets, and big graphical running areas becomes a productivity dream – you do not often need to waste effort and time switching among windows, irrespective of what you’re doing. The Ultra HD three,840 x 1,600 decision saved everything crisp and in sharp relief.It’s flippantly lit, and all the eye consolation functions, married with the matte display, make us honestly believe that our eyes won’t get fatigued after extended periods of work. Just be aware that if you’ve got any kind of neck injury, you may experience discomfort from looking left and right more than you normally would.
We were generally impressed with its multimedia prowess too. The IPS panel supports 95% of the tough DCI-P3 coloration area for greater accuracy, and we felt the multimedia content was above average in terms of motion smoothness and comparison. However, fans may lament the much lower-than-pinnacle-tier color vibrancy and brightness. Playing with the HDR settings in Windows and on the monitor can improve positive content, but the results can quickly break you if there’s an excessive amount of light or dark on display, with it without problems turning into difficult to see anything. Still, we’re nitpicking a piece – video is generally regarded as simply top, and there had been smooth shade (and monochromatic) transitions with minimum banding.
Naturally, you’re going to frequently see pillarboxing (aka opposite letterboxing) with video, as most TV suggests and movies are not natively 21:9 formatted. We severely liked the 21:9 content available on Netflix and Amazon, as it could take up the entire screen. However, you’ll find that many videos have black bars on the sides of the screen, as they don’t stretch past a normal sixteen:nine widescreen resolution. Still, we had been inspired by how the pillarbox bars, for the most part, stayed almost genuine black and weren’t too distracting.
We clearly wanted the EW3880R to paint nicely for gaming, because the outlook isn’t a long way removed from an actual-existence cockpit in a race vehicle. We didn’t think that menus in video games don’t support 21:9, even though they can look a bit weird with pillarbox bars to the side. Cutscenes with actual letterbox bars on the pinnacle and backside of the screen get a bit demanding, but they’re especially uncommon occurrences. Most importantly, the use of the whole screen for actual gameplay may be very immersive, especially when taking walks through the jungles of Far Cry 6.
When you get into gunfights or scenes with fast-and-frantic motion, the 60Hz refresh rate and modest 4ms grey-to-gray pixel reaction time quickly show their limits – movement blur is rife, while dropping frames and photo tearing occur in a way that many game enthusiasts have grown accustomed to managing.While we were normally satisfied with Far Cry 6’s overall performance due to its trendy slow tempo, if you’re making plans to play aggressive shooters or racing games, you’ll need to step up a reveal with gaming-grade refresh rates. All of that being said, flight simulator and strategy game enthusiasts who benefit from higher UHD real estate may enjoy it.
Purchase it if…
You observe a display screen all day for work.
The massive, extensive-display, subtly curved, Ultra HD resolution and eye-comfort capabilities suggest that you can enhance productivity all day long.
You want to observe films in cinema widescreen format?
With Netflix and Amazon supplying an outstanding quantity of content in 21:9, you could enjoy films as they were meant to be seen.
You need to have top audio.
The 2.1 sound device is significantly surprising and could be a match for those who don’t need to rely upon an additional audio system.
