Benq GW2270H

A minimum monitor

Taiwanese electronics companies love their slogans. Benq (pronounced ‘ben-kew’) stands for Bringing Enjoyment ‘N’ Quality To Life (which by our reckoning ought to make Beaqtl), but that’s probably why we don’t work in marketing. The GW2270H has a slogan of its own: ‘Simple and Exquisite for Minimalist Living’. We think this might be over-egging it, to be honest. A more accurate tagline would be ‘It’s Plain Because it’s Cheap.’

And there’s nothing wrong with that. The black plastic case actually looks classy, with its clean lines and small ridges on the back panel. There’s no height adjustment in the stand, but it tilts a few degrees, and there are VESA screw points if you prefer to use a different mount.

Both of the inputs are HDMI, which will connect directly to most but not all PCS. If you have a DVI or Displayport output, it may work with a cheap (under £10) HDMI adapter, but you’ll need to check with the motherboard or graphics card maker. If the adapter doesn’t handle audio, that’s fine, because the GW2270H has no built-in speakers anyway; nor does it provide a USB hub.

What it does give you is a decent Full HD picture. Our tests found black pixels were very dark, contributing to a very good level of contrast, and we measured 88 per cent of the SRGB colour range, rising to 92 per cent when we used a hardware calibrator to adjust the settings. Even if you can’t do that, accuracy is quite adequate for everyday purposes, although not ideal for photo or video editing. You’re unlikely to get much better for under £100. The colour temperature was slightly bluer than the quoted 6,700K, but the difference wasn’t really noticeable. There’s also a Low Blue Light mode to help avoid possible effects on sleep and long-term eye health.

The screen has a matt finish which avoids reflections, though this does make it look a little dull compared with glossy models. Unlike the hard glass fronts of more expensive monitors, it doesn’t feel very protective, although that shouldn’t matter with a desktop PC monitor unless you’re especially clumsy or have young children.

If your budget stretches a little further, the Asus VC239H (£134 from Amazon www.snipca.com/23628, see our review, Issue 490) is a more refined and slightly larger 23in Full HD monitor, with built-in stereo speakers. It lets you choose standard picture settings or an SRGB mode that sacrifices some contrast for higher accuracy.

VERDICT: Nothing to get excited about, but if you want a basic monitor to complete a PC setup, this fits the bill

Its price is the big selling point, but it also offers a decent picture for everyday use

★★★★☆ ALTERNATIVE: Asus VC239H £134 Sleek design, built-in speakers s and more picture re options make thishis a superior choice, e, if a little pricier