BenQ XR3501 Curved Gaming Monitor Review

1. Introduction2. BenQ XR35013. On Screen Display Menu System4. BenQ XR3501 Analysis5. Closing Thoughts6. View All Pages

The BenQ XR3501 is an attractive display with plenty to commend it. The chassis looks good and the overall first impression when you see it fired up is definitely “wow“, thanks to the wide aspect.

Image quality is good, with the exception of brightness uniformity, and the 144Hz refresh capability will be a boon for games where sharp and rapidly cycled frames will aid your competitiveness.

However, there are some features missing. The lack of physical adjustability probably won't be a huge downside, but the absence of a USB hub is a disappointing lack of convenience. Also, placing the headphone jack underneath the panel that is meant to tidy cables away is very surprising. You will probably want to employ some kind of extension cable, or not ever use the cable panel at all.

The relatively lowly pixel response is also not quite in keeping with the gaming focus, even if in practice we didn't find ourselves particularly hindered by it.

Overall, though, the quality of the image, wide range of picture adjustments, and general look of the BenQ XR3501 are rather attractive. It is quite expensive, even taking into account the curved design and width. But if you're hankering for widescreen immersion without the need for a multi-panel desktop, it is a reasonable choice.

The BenQ XR3501 currently retails for around £600 where it is in stock. Amazon currently have the monitor available for £594.

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Pros:

• Wide 21:9 aspect and 2,560 x 1,080 resolution.
• 144Hz refresh.
• Game presets.
• Great colour accuracy, and even better when calibrated.
• Good range of inputs.

Cons:

• Relatively expensive.
• Brightness isn't very uniform.
• No USB hub.
• No NVIDIA G-Sync.
• No physical adjustments other than tilt.

Kitguru Says: The BenQ XR3501 will certainly widen your horizons, and provides good image quality, although it is missing a few features and isn't exactly cheap.

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