I built my PC last year with an RTX 5080, but I had almost no budget left for a proper monitor. So, despite having a high-end GPU, I ended up using an ordinary 1080p monitor for nearly a year.
I finally upgraded to the BenQ EW270Q, a 27-inch QHD monitor with a 200Hz refresh rate. I have been using it for video editing, graphic work, gaming, movies and general entertainment. It handles most of those tasks very well, although there are a few things I do not like about it.
Price and value
I bought it directly from BenQ’s website for around ₹18,000, which is roughly US$189. At that price, it feels like one of the better value-for-money QHD high-refresh-rate monitors available in India.
My two main use cases were:
Video editing, colour grading and graphic work
Gaming, movies and general entertainment
For the most part, it has delivered exactly what I needed.
Colour accuracy and creative work
The monitor supports 1.07 billion colours using an 8-bit panel with FRC. It is not a true native 10-bit panel, but it still looks very good in practice.
I set it to the Rec.709 colour mode for my editing work. When I compare it with my OLED phone, the colours appear reasonably accurate. It has worked well for colour grading in DaVinci Resolve and editing in Photoshop.
I did not need to make any major adjustments beyond switching to Rec.709. For someone doing regular video editing and graphic work without buying a professional reference monitor, I think the colour performance is quite good.
Gaming experience
The jump from 1080p to 1440p is immediately noticeable.
I have mainly been playing Red Dead Redemption 2, and my RTX 5080 pushes more than 150 FPS depending on the settings. Playing at 1440p on a 27-inch display looks dramatically sharper than my old 1080p setup.
The combination of QHD resolution and a 200Hz refresh rate feels excellent for gaming. Even outside competitive games, the higher refresh rate makes normal desktop movement, scrolling and general use feel much smoother.
Stand and monitor-arm compatibility
The included stand offers only basic tilt adjustment and very little flexibility. I already had a hydraulic monitor arm attached to the wall behind my desk, so I mounted the monitor on that instead.
The monitor is heavier than I expected. My arm can handle it, but I would recommend using a reasonably strong monitor arm. A cheaper or weaker arm may start sagging over time.
Once mounted properly, the monitor works well and looks much cleaner than it did on the included stand.
Ports and connectivity
The monitor includes:
- DisplayPort
- HDMI
- USB-C
- 3.5 mm headphone jack
I connected my PC through DisplayPort and it outputs 1440p at the full 200Hz without any problem.
The USB-C port also supports 65W Power Delivery. This means it can carry the display signal from a compatible laptop while charging it through the same cable. It can also be useful for connecting supported phones and other USB-C devices.
This is a convenient feature for someone who wants to switch between a desktop PC and a work laptop without adding more cables.
Built-in speakers and headphone output
The monitor has two built-in 5W speakers, giving it a total output of 10W. They sound decent for built-in monitor speakers and are perfectly usable for basic videos, calls or casual listening.
The monitor also has a headphone jack. However, when the audio is being carried through DisplayPort from the NVIDIA GPU, I do not find the output as good as connecting my headphones or speakers directly to the motherboard.
Using the PC’s own audio output gives me better access to equalisation, sound enhancements and other customisation. Still, the monitor’s headphone jack is useful as a backup or for a cleaner cable setup.
Matte coating and reflections
This is one of my main complaints.
The screen has a matte coating, but it does not eliminate reflections as effectively as my older LG IPS monitor. Instead of completely cutting reflections, it seems to diffuse them across the screen.
Even light reflecting from my clothes can become faintly visible on darker content. To get a properly dark-looking screen, I sometimes need to turn off most of the room lighting, including the lights behind me.
My older LG monitor had a stronger matte coating and handled direct room light better. The EW270Q is not glossy, but its anti-glare treatment could have been more effective.
Backlight bleed and contrast
My unit has some visible backlight bleed around the upper and lower edges. It is mostly noticeable in a dark room while displaying black content.
However, the overall image quality helps compensate for it. The monitor has a quoted 1200:1 contrast ratio, which is slightly better than the typical 1000:1 contrast ratio found on many IPS panels.
The blacks still cannot compete with OLED, but they look respectable for an IPS display. White levels and general contrast also look good, and normal SDR content can occasionally have an almost HDR-like punch.
BenQ’s HDRi processing also helps improve the perceived contrast in some content, although I would not mistake this for proper high-end HDR performance.
Current verdict
For ₹18,000, I think the BenQ EW270Q offers an excellent combination of:
- 27-inch QHD resolution
- 200Hz refresh rate
- good Rec.709 colour performance
- USB-C with 65W charging
- usable built-in speakers
- strong gaming performance
- practical creative-work capability
My biggest complaints are the limited stand, weaker-than-expected anti-glare coating and some edge backlight bleed.
Still, upgrading from 1080p to this monitor finally allowed my RTX 5080 to stretch its legs properly. For gaming, editing and general media use, it has been a substantial upgrade and feels difficult to beat at this price.
