BenQ EW3880R
Certainly spectacular, arguably flawed, undeniably expensive
OCCASIONALLY, a new product pops up that appears to have skipped the past five years completely. We give you the ‘new’ BenQ EW3880R. That’s not to say this epic 38-inch monitor is rubbish, as there’s lots to like. But the EW3880R is a pricey screen that feels decidedly dated.
First, let’s cover the basic proposition. This is 38 inches of gently curved (2300R, to be specific) IPS panel. The native resolution clocks in at 3,840x1,600, so it’s 4K in the horizontal, but not in the vertical, and the aspect ratio is 21:9 ultrawide.
By some measures, this is a pretty epic panel. The sheer scale of the screen combined with the ultrawide aspect ensures that. But it’s far from novel. In fact, back in 2016, LG announced the 38UC99, a monitor that ticks every one of those spec boxes. It’s almost certain the BenQ’s LCD panel was supplied by LG. And we have a hunch it may even be that same six-year-old IPS first seen in the aforementioned 38UC99.
How come? As you dig deeper into the specs, the picture becomes less impressive. The contrast ratio is 1,000:1, which is pretty pedestrian given 1,300:1
IPS panels have been around for years and the latest IPS tech has just been given an upgrade to 2,000. Then there’s the 60Hz refresh rate and the fact that this screen is, to all intents and purposes, merely SDR and not HDR.
On that last point, the EW3880R supports HDR content and will render HDR colors correctly. However, even in HDR mode, it’s limited to 300 nits. In SDR mode, that brightness figure is a mere 230 nits. The EW3880R also lacks any kind of local dimming, full array, or edgelit, so isn’t a truly HDR-capable screen.
But what is it like to use? Unsurprisingly, it isn’t a particularly punchy display. In SDR mode, the EW3880R lacks a little zing. Though it offers the usual IPS upsides, including a natural color balance and decent viewing angles, in this age of high-performance HDR monitors with full-array local dimming, the EW3880R just feels a bit old-school.
With HDR enabled, the backlight spools up a little. But with that comes downsides. BenQ has implemented a kind of sharpening effect in HDR mode that cannot be disabled. Moreover, the color balance of SDR content is skewed in HDR mode. Long story short, it’s not really viable to run in HDR mode all the time.
Of course, the inherent pleasures of a 38-inch ultrawide panel remain. There’s lots of desktop space for multitasking, though the pixel pitch isn’t actually all that tight. If you want crispy fonts, a smaller 4K panel would be a better pick. The large panel and ultrawide aspect also make this a great screen for driving games, though we’d hesitate to recommend it for other gaming duties due to the refresh rate. At least the pixel response, quoted at 4ms, is decent.
Then there’s the impressive peripheral feature set. Best of all is the inclusion of USB Type-C complete with 60W power delivery. You can hook up most modern laptops with a single cable and not only drive the display but also charge and connect peripherals. HDMI and DisplayPort are also provided, so pretty much every use case is covered.
The EW3880R has integrated speakers that are a cut above the norm. There’s a warmth and detail to the sound you rarely find in built-in monitor audio, although volume levels could be better. Is it enough to mitigate EW3880R’s other issues? At this price, sadly not.
5 BenQ EW3880R
VERDICT
AHEAD OF THE CURVE Lots of screen real estate; USB-C hub functionality with charging.
BEHIND THE TIMES IPS panel lacks punch; not a true HDR display.
$1,049, www.benq.com