Monitor upgrade query

Big fan of your magazine. Windows 11 is coming, and this means a new PC – no problem. I have two 10-year-old 27-inch Dell displays – no problem. My eyes… now that’s the problem. I’ve been looking for 32-inch displays and found the BenQ PD3200U, but it’s five years old. I don’t play games, just use it for Excel, email, YouTube, etc. Can you recommend something equivalent to the BenQ, but a little more future-proof?

Derek Lane

TechLife responds: The original release date of a monitor isn’t necessarily something to worry about, Derek. Monitor technology doesn’t evolve at the same rapid pace as PC tech, and given your modest requirements, there’s little point splashing out for cutting-edge features you’ll never need.

Ideally, what you need to do is visit a local store and test the monitors on display, to see how your eyesight perceives the picture on them. This should be your primary thought when choosing a screen.

The key drawback with the PD3200U is that it only supports HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.2. These technologies are fine for everyday use but have been superseded by HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4 respectively.

The latter offer greater bandwidth, so if you’re planning to futureproof your purchase with one eye on greater refresh rates (which

may help with your eyesight), then an updated version of the PD3200U is BenQ’s EW3280U. At around

$700, the price is identical, and you get one DisplayPort 1.4 and one USB-C port in addition to two HDMI 2.0 ports. It’s an IPS display too, so works well in all lights. See www. gamesradar.com/benq-ew3280u- review for a full review.

If you can get to test them in a live environment, consider its cheaper little brother, the EW3270U. The key difference is that it’s a VA, rather than an IPS panel, so best suited to dimmer environments. But given the potential saving, it’s worth checking both out if you can.