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Review: BenQ PD2730S 5K Designer Monitor – A Studio Display Alternative That Doesn't Break the Bank
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I don't understand the comments that it's only a couple of hundred dollars more for an ASD. You can't adjust the height or tilt on the base ASD! Is that really a fair comparison?
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I am sorry, but any monitor these days that does not support at least 120Hz refresh is a non-sale for me. Of course none of mine do; but I am not going to spend the kind of money I have spent on monitors without that refresh rate going forward.
It's so ridiculous that Apple, in 2025, sells monitors that don't have VESA mount and adjustability options included on all models.
Like -- just comically ridiculous and absurd
I thought the same thing when I first saw the price, but the extra inputs might give this the edge over the ASD for folks with multiple computers. Hopefully the competition will drive Apple to add an additional input to the ASD.
HobeSoundDarryl
macrumors G5
I have that one and it is terrific with my Mac Studio. Since I have "old fashioned bootcamp" (a separate PC), the ability to have it plugged in too for easy switching (or side-by-side split screen) is great. The substantial hub of "the future" AND "the present" ports (and MANY of them) is highly useful to me. KVM lets ONE keyboard & mouse work with multiple computers. But, most importantly, having chosen this Dell coming from an iMac 27", I could simply never go back to a squarish-shaped monitor again- all that extra screen R.E. is just so useful with all kinds of Mac apps- even something as simple as spreading several windows out side by side on ONE screen.
I have 20:20 vision and while it is technically not 5K like ASD or this BenQ in that is has 720 less pixels in the vertical, to me it looks like I grabbed hold of the edges of that iMac and stretched it out wider. Text is nice & crisp, and colors are nice.
Tangible shortcomings:
- no camera, but Continuity Camera delivers the best camera available for FaceTime, Zoom, etc., far superior to the one in ASD, MBs and similar.
- speakers are not as good but no speakers- including the ASD ones- compare to third party speakers with perhaps a wireless sub that cost as little as $100-$150 (plenty of high-rated ones on Amazon). Spend the money and own some exceptional speakers vs. trying to be satisfied with space-constrained ones built in: audio physics can't be overcome. Connect the speakers to this monitor and they can then be shared with multiple devices you might connect to it.
Doubts? Dell has broad distribution of demo models. Odds are good with only a little looking around, you can find a demo model of this one. If so, take a Mac in, hook it up and have a look with your own eyes. Seeing is wayyyyyyyy better than trusting biased stranger judgements, many of which argue Apple and only Apple.
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Maybe a dumb question.. But why are these 5K monitors only 27"? I have a 32" 4K monitor that I love, I have too many things in my workflow that I wouldn't want to downgrade in size. So I'm sticking with my 4K LG for the time being.
There are 32" 5k one coming soon
If I hadn't moved on to a much larger TV based setup, I'd be VERY excited about those
For my aging eyes, 32" with a 5k panel offers "perfect 2x Retina scaling" that makes on screen elements a very comfortable size for me.
You can absolutely adjust the tilt on the base ASD.
Is height adjustment really that big of a deal breaker for people? I've used a bunch of lcd's over the years including VESA mount ones on fancy gas mounts. I adjust their height once - when I first set it up. It usually ends up being what the ASD/iMac height is and I never touch it again. I also spent a decade using CRT's that didn't have height adjustments and I don't recall this ever being a big complaint then either.
ABSOLUTELY!
That's one of the #1 ergonomic adjustments folks can and should make
Not being able to adjust the monitor height leads to adjustments happening elsewhere in the chain (chair & desk) which can screw up other ergonomic angles
It's a big deal for me too. I have a standing desk and when I'm sitting I want the monitor at one height but when in standing mode, I want a different height.
Yes. I'd never buy a monitor that doesn't have height adjustment.
But if CRTs are your yardstick, you're going to tolerate all sorts of things.
My bad re tilt.
I don’t see why you’d need more for SDR. In an office environment, 250 nits is already plenty bright. Ergonomic brightness recommendations are usually below 200 nits (example).
I’m really hoping Apple release an updated Studio Display and Mac Studio soon.
Apple does it because their human interface standards define "retina" pixel density such that pixels are not visible at whatever viewing distance the display would typically be used at. Looking at this chart you can see that Retina display iPhones are a whopping ~450 PPI or better because you use them closer to your eyes, while retina desktop displays come in ~200-250 PPI because they're viewed 3-4 times further away.
Anyway, for a 5K display, that target PPI comes in around 27". Current iMacs have "4.5K" displays because I guess they were shooting for 24" and 4K wasn't enough pixel density at that size.
This is why users who want sharpness above all else are probably not going to be using one of those giant 32" displays that only have 4K resolution -- the PPI starts to drop and they just get less sharp.
IMO for a lot of people this might be overkill, and what works for you works for you. I myself do enough graphic design that I find a high PPI super beneficial so I can see fine details without constantly zooming in.
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That's interesting. I tend to run my iMac display at 100% (500 nits) during the day and my first thought reading this is that that's insanely dim.
But, I just tried that "sheet of paper" test and my screen is way brighter than the paper in the ambient light of the room. I'm going to give the lower brightness a try and see how it impacts the old peepers. I have a feeling it's just gonna feel weird to look at a screen with that little brightness but it's worth trying. Anyway, thanks for posting that article -- lots of good info in there.
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Bad comparison. Refurb price of BenQ would be more comparable. Personally I think the saved cash is worth it.
Display manufacturers will start caring when their customers start caring. Very few people who live outside of Apple's marketing bubble don't actually care about things like bottom chins, plastic cases, and manufacturer logos. Most customers care about screen size, connectivity, and image quality. In that order. Even refresh rate comes in a distant fourth.
Bezel size, logo placement, case material, speaker quality - you're going to hear about plenty of "the faithful" in these forums complain about those things on competitors' monitors here, but in the real world, the number of people who actually take those things into consideration when buying a monitor is a rounding difference.
I agree. On most monitors, I keep the brightness set at about half of maximum. More than that can be tiring. If I were to try to work in a sunny patio, I’d want more but when I’m in a sunny patio, I have other things to do.
Depends how you mount the monitor and route the cables, I guess. I find back-facing works better when using monitor arms as it is easier to route the cables through the arms' cable management channels. I had two older BenQ's on arms with downward-facing ports and I had to buy right-angle cables for them to get the cables to route cleanly.
