BenQ ZOWIE XL2546 24.5 Inch 240Hz Gaming Monitor | 1080P 1ms | Dynamic Accuracy & Black eQualizer for Competitive Edge | S-Switch for custom Display Profiles | Shield

I sold my old monitor which was a BenQ 2730 2560 x 1440 144hz so I could buy this instead which is about the same price. It hurt at first sacrificing resolution for refresh rate, but since I am getting more competitive in Overwatch I figured I would get this 240hz monitor instead. The DyAc feature is pretty cool. I am not sure exactly how it works, but it does noticeably reduce blur. My old monitor had a hidden blur reduction feature that basically just flickered at the 144hz rate. The flicker was very noticeable when you weren't playing a game, so if I used it I only used it while playing a game. Overall though I couldn't tell too much of a difference with the old blur reduction. DyAc helps things appear clearer even when moving fast. Overwatch is a fast paced game. You are moving fast and your opponents are usually moving fast around you at the same time making it harder to aim and hit them. Refresh rate definitely helps a lot in these scenarios and the blur reduction makes it even easier to be accurate.Moving from 60hz to 144hz was night and day difference. I bought my BenQ 2730 144hz monitor about a year ago. I've played on It 3-4 times a week for 2-3 hours at a time. It really made a difference in my performance in game as well as my ability to enjoy the game more. I can never go back to a 60hz.Moving from 144hz to 240hz was hard to justify for a while. I've researched it a lot and wanted to know if people really could tell a difference. Most people said they visually cannot see a difference, but they do notice a difference in their performance in game. I've found that to be true. It is hard to see a difference visually from 144hz to 240hz, but I definitely have improved in game. I've increased my competitive rating a whole rank from platinum to diamond. And I have been stuck in platinum since the game released in 2016. If you really want to feel the difference between 240hz and 144hz the best thing to do is play at 240hz for a week. Then go back to 144hz to see if you can handle it. If you compare 240hz and 144hz switching back and forth for a few minutes apart you won't tell much of a difference. You don't know what you have until it is taken away from you. Which is why it is much easier to tell a difference if you played at 240hz for a good amount of time then tried to go back to a slower refresh rate.In OW getting point blank headshots on Genji and Tracer have never been easier. Those two characters thrive and moving fast around you so you can't easily see them. Which is near impossible to do on a 60hz monitor for sure. At 240hz I have no problem following their faces and poking them in the face with an arrow. I am a Hanzo main in Overwatch and that will explain why I was stuck in plat forever to most of you fellow OW players, but Hanzo is a character that relies on accuracy a lot and these high refresh rate monitors help a ton if you are trying to become more accurate. If you are a Winston, Brigitte, or Symmetra main you are fine going back to a tube monitor at 30hz. Your performance won't change. Lol jk, but seriously... This monitor is the best for any FPS out there.My one complaint is the tradeoffs of moving to a 240hz monitor. It's just the nature of current technology and it is nothing the brand can change. The main one being resolution. Yes I like games in higher res. They are prettier, but for gaming this monitor is totally worth it. The downside is if you do any type of work on your computer 1080p resolution makes it feel like you have no screen space on your computer to multi-task. I know 1080p was a normal standard for a long time, but I have been spoiled by 2K and 4K monitors at work where I can have many windows open and visible without overlapping eachother. My solution for now is to buy a second cheap 1080P or 2K monitor for multi-tasking. Whenever 2K monitors can reach 240hz or even 4K at 240hz I will definitely buy those. Of course when they do release they probably won't get back down to the $500 price range for years. $500 is probably the absolute max I would spend on a monitor.I play on a GTX 1080 TI. I can almost completely max out the graphics settings and still get 240 fps at 1080p. If I don't want fps dips I have to reduce shadow and lighting quality settings. Of course most pros or serious players play on the lowest settings possible to reduce input lag and to hide effects in game that would otherwise impede your view, so you don't need the highest end graphics card to get 240 FPS on low settings in Overwatch. You could also reduce render scale to 75% to help increase FPS if you don't have the best GPU. I think a GTX 1070 is probably the best fit for this monitor or the AMD equivalent GPU. On a 1060 you might have to reduce render scale to get at least 240 FPS. To put this into perspective compared to a high res monitor. A 4K monitor has 8,294,400 pixels and most of 4K monitors are at 60Hz, meaning they will show 8,294,400 pixels 60 times per second. That is 497,664,000 changing pixels per second. A 1080p or HD monitor has 2,073,600 pixels. An HD monitor displaying at 240Hz means it is displaying 2,073,600 changing pixels 240 times per second. That gives the same result as 497,664,000 changing pixels per second just like the 4K monitor. If you have a 4K monitor or 4K TV to plug your computer into. You can trying playing a game on your 4K display on the lowest settings. If you get at least 60 FPS at 4K on your computer then it can fully utilize this 1080p monitor at 240 FPS. If it doesn't you might want to upgrade your GPU first before buying this monitor.

I bought and cancelled this item twice before it shipped for two reasons: one because I'm nuts, and two because I thought I would be dissapointed going from 1440 to 1080p. To add to this, $500 is not an easy pill to swallow especially coming from 1440p g-sync to 1080p Dyac.Coming from the Asus PG279q in 1440p, I can tell you confidently that while gaming FPS games, Battlefield, Pubg and a little CSGO, I can hardly tell the difference between 1080 and 1440 in terms of the color dynamics (more on this later). The most amazing part of this experience for me has been the speed of the monitor. This is what separates the two.While in a fight with the Zowie, you can see EVERYTHING without screen shaking because of the Dyac, Black equalizer, and AMA. The monitor processes movement and light better than the Asus in FPS gaming. It is also noticeably smoother than the Asus in FPS gaming. There is no blur or latency. Missing out on kills because 20 people are running around spamming grenades in battlefield doesn't happen. I have gotten kills with this monitor that I was not getting with the Asus. In Pubg as well, you will see everything especially enemies in windows and in shadows. Your reaction times and performance are going to improve.I spent about two weeks trying to get the color combination correct to make this monitor replicate what I have been seeing in 1440p and I totally did it (or came extremely close). I actually disconnected the Zowie and played on the Asus for one night, then when back to the Zowie and found the settings that make it look as good. Getting the color settings correct is totally do-able. Don't fret if you are dissapointed with what you see out of the box. You will have to tweek it. If you have been living in the 1440p world, you'll be able reproduce the joy you found when you made your first 1440p purchase.I played Arkham Knight and Fallout 4 to test the graphics and the Zowie is nearly as amazing in 1080. The Asus PG279q is an amazing monitor that I love, still use, and can't be pried from my hands. But for FPS gaming, the Zowie is the go to.There have been people on the fence as I was, especially those who use 1440p g-sync monitors and play FPS games. Don't be. You will be happy and astonished at what this monitor will do for your FPS performance. Don't get me wrong, I love the PG279q and I can FPS game on that thing all day long and I still love it, but the Zowie is just snappier. It has made me a better player because I can see enemies much better. It's important also to have a system that can drive the monitor too. I am running a 6700k,1080ti, 32 ram.As an additional bonus, here are my color settings that allow me to see brilliant color and experience astonishing speed in all situations while gaming the BenQ Zowie XL2546Nvidia Control Panel:Digital vibrance 85Vertical sync: offPower management mode: prefer maximum performanceBenQ Zowie Settings:Dyac: premiumBlack equalizer 6Color Vibrance 6Low blue light offInstant mode onBrightness 100Contrast 50Sharpness 8Gamma 4Color temp: bluishAma premiumGood luck and God bless :)

My background - Seasoned hardcore FPS player of 18+ years with competitive CS experience.Upon initial connection, I noticed an immediate improvement in smoothness and response, even at the desktop level. Coming from a 165hz 1440p ASUS PG278, the picture quality definitely suffers. The monitor is shipped on a very bright and washed out preset. I was able to tweak it to be a little easier on the eyes but the reason I bought the monitor was for performance and NOT quality picture. I briefly tinkered with the settings and hopped into my first game.The first game to try out was Call of Duty Black ops 4 - Blackout. My immediate impression is, “wow this game looks washed out now” as opposed to vibrant and full of color. Regardless, I continued with excitement and an open mind.To my surprise, the difference between 144/165 and 240hz is dramatic. Everything seems so much more fluid and smooth. My first game with the new monitor was a 13 kill win. I was on fire. I immediately backed that game with a 9 kill win. Needless to say, at this point I am very happy with the monitor. It has made aiming seem so much easier, I feel like I continually have a “step ahead” advantage over my opponent. Just seems soooo fluid.Aside from the extremely smooth display, enemy players are much more noticeable, especially in darker areas, such as in window frames. The colors are ugly but I can see why now, the ability to easily spot enemies quickly overwhelms the less than perfect picture/color.All in all, I am extremely happy with the monitor. It has improved my gameplay and user experience. I will keep the ASUS pg278 for other purposes but for gaming, the BenQ XL2546 is my current favorite and the best “esports” monitor I have used.