BenQ PD2730S evaluate: A feature-packed 5K monitor for inventive execs

Finest Costs Immediately: BenQ PD2730S

5K screens are having a little bit of a second. Though hardly new (Apple first launched a 5K iMac all the way in which again in 2024), 5K decision was obtainable from only a few screens exterior Apple’s ecosystem. That’s altering, nonetheless, due to screens just like the BenQ PD27230S. It’s a feature-packed show that pairs 5K decision with Thunderbolt 4 connectivity and a bundled distant.

BenQ PD2730S specs and options

The BenQ PD2730S is a 5K monitor widescreen, which suggests it has a decision of 5120×2880. It’s a part of a brand new breed of extra reasonably priced 5K screens simply now hitting retailer cabinets. Not like earlier 5K shows, this monitor has new IPS expertise which roughly doubles the distinction ratio in comparison with most prior IPS screens.

• Show dimension: 27-inch 16:9 widescreen
• Native decision: 5120×2880
• Panel kind: In-Aircraft Switching (with enhanced distinction), 10-bit panel
• Refresh price: 60Hz
• Adaptive sync: None
• HDR: Sure, HDR 10
• Ports: 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x Thunderbolt 4 with DisplayPort Alternate Mode and 90 watts of Energy Supply, 1x Thunderbolt 4-out with daisy-chain show assist, 1x USB-C upstream, 1x USB-C downstream, 4x USB-A downstream
• VESA mount: 100x100mm
• Audio system: 2x 3-watt audio system
• Distant management: Included
• Value: $1199.99

Decision apart, the BenQ PD2730S can be notable for its connectivity. It helps Thunderbolt 4 in addition to USB-C and features a complete of 4 USB-A downstream ports. The Thunderbolt 4 output additionally helps daisy-chain connections, which means it’s attainable to attach two screens to a single video output in your PC. 

Additional studying: See our roundup of the very best screens to study competing merchandise.

BenQ PD2730S design

The BenQ PD2730S is a part of the corporate’s designer sub-brand so, unsurprisingly, it boasts knowledgeable and engaging design. It has slim black bezels across the sides and high and a modestly sized chin under. Round again, BenQ depends on “powdered white” matte plastics which look clear and really feel sturdy. Total, the design is easy however purposeful.

A sturdy silver-gray stand retains the monitor upright and offers a variety of ergonomic adjustment together with tilt, swivel, pivot, and top adjustment. The swivel and top changes provide extra room to regulate than with many different screens, at 60 levels of swivel and as much as 150mm of top adjustment.

I additionally just like the broad but skinny stand base, which retains the monitor secure whereas permitting house owners to make use of the desk area that it occupies. For those who don’t need to use it, nonetheless, the show panel has a 100x100mm VESA mount to be used with third-party monitor arms and stands.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

BenQ PD2730S connectivity

The BenQ PD2730S is a 5K monitor, however that’s not the one factor notable about it. It’s additionally a Thunderbolt 4 monitor that gives a ton of connectivity.

Video connectivity consists of HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4, and Thunderbolt 4 with DisplayPort Alternate Mode, for a complete of three video inputs. That is one space the place connectivity is a tad weak, as I’d desire to see a second DisplayPort. Nonetheless, the obtainable video connectivity is okay for most individuals.

The monitor’s Thunderbolt 4 port additionally helps USB-C, after all, and as much as 90 watts of Energy Supply for charging a linked pill or laptop computer. There’s additionally a Thunderbolt 4/USB-C downstream port with as much as 15 watts of Energy Supply and assist for daisy-chain video connections (which means the monitor’s Thunderbolt 4 output might be handed to a second monitor’s enter, which permits for cleaner, less complicated monitor connections).

Along with that, the monitor has a data-only USB-C upstream port that handles information charges as much as 10Gbps, in addition to a USB-C downstream port with 10Gbps of knowledge and seven.5 watts of energy.

USB-A connectivity is powerful, too. The monitor has a complete of 4 USB-A downstream ports. One provides 10Gbps of knowledge, whereas the remainder deal with as much as 5Gbps of knowledge.

A KVM swap operate is included and organized in order that the Thunderbolt 4 port offers one supply, whereas a USB-C port offers the opposite. A 3.5mm audio-jack rounds out that monitor’s connectivity.

That’s quite a bit, and it ought to be well-suited for the monitor’s meant use. This can be a monitor constructed for skilled use, in any case, and {many professional} customers need to join many exterior gadgets. The one essential port lacking is Ethernet. That’s one thing a number of opponents just like the Dell U3224KB present (although, in that case, at a better value).

BenQ PD2730S options

The BenQ PD2730S just isn’t quick on options, particularly in the case of colour administration and calibration. The corporate offers a number of software program utilities together with ColorTalk (a colour matching utility for folks missing a colorimeter for calibration) and Palette Grasp Final (for individuals who do have a colorimeter). It’s additionally appropriate with Show Pilot 2, a utility that gives entry to most monitor choices and settings in Home windows.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

Alternatively, the monitor’s choices might be modified with a joystick on the decrease proper bezel or BenQ’s distinctive puck-style rotary distant. The puck is wi-fi and offers a faster, extra intuitive technique to change settings. Not everybody will want it, however house owners who make frequent changes to their monitor will recognize it.

The monitor additionally includes a pair of 3-watt audio system. As with most bundled audio system, they undergo from a scarcity of bass (as there’s no subwoofer), which causes audio to sound tinny and muddy at larger volumes. Nonetheless, the audio system are acceptable for listening to a podcast or taking part in ambient music at decrease volumes.

BenQ PD2730S SDR picture high quality

The BenQ PD2730S is supposed for inventive professionals, so picture high quality is a excessive precedence, and the monitor doesn’t disappoint. Although it’s not good, the PD2730S delivers an correct, sharp high quality that’s nice for each inventive work and basic productiveness.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

First up is SDR brightness, and right here the BenQ PD2730S offers a robust rating of 485 nits. Whereas the Asus ProArt Show 5K PA27JCV scored higher, the BenQ PD2730S in any other case runs forward of the competitors, together with the Philips Creator Collection 27E2F7901, one other strong monitor for inventive work.

Many individuals will use the PD2730S at some small fraction of its most potential brightness. Nonetheless, its means to succeed in a excessive brightness might be useful if you happen to work in a sunlit room or brightly lit open workplace.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

Distinction is a robust level for the BenQ PD2730S, although it does rely in your wants. I measured a most distinction ratio of 2070:1 which, because the graph exhibits, is an efficient end result according to different screens which have an IPS Black show panel. The distinction enchancment is noticeable when in comparison with screens with a traditional IPS panel, such because the Asus ProArt PA278CFRV.

Nonetheless, consumers ought to know that OLED screens can obtain an successfully infinite distinction ratio that gives a deeper and extra immersive picture with higher element in shadowy scenes. Then again, most OLED screens are inferior in brightness in sharpness.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

The BenQ PD2730S has a large colour gamut that meet or exceeds one hundred pc of sRGB and DCI-P3. It additionally reaches as much as 89 p.c of AdobeRGB. Because the graph exhibits, these are glorious outcomes that put the PD2730S within the higher echelon of screens bought immediately. A large colour gamut is essential for inventive work, because it permits house owners to see delicate gradations of colour which may not seem on much less succesful shows. But it surely additionally offers a vibrant, saturated look normally day-to-day use.

Matthew Smith / Foundry

BenQ scores an enormous win in colour accuracy with a particularly low common colour error that beats comparable opponents. Along with that, I observed the PD2730S achieved this end result with persistently low colour error throughout all colours (as a substitute of a excessive error in a single or two colours and really low error elsewhere, which may occur). The end result just isn’t solely a sensible picture, however one that ought to please creatives who must know that the colours displayed by a monitor are correct to how they may seem on different calibrated shows.

The BenQ PD2730S scored a tad off our gamma and colour temperature targets, nonetheless. It hit a gamma curve of two.1 (as a substitute of two.2) and colour temperature of 6700K (as a substitute of 6500K). These are minor deviations, and I doubt most would discover, however keen-eyed customers may see a variance. I like to recommend profiting from the monitor’s calibration options, which incorporates the calibration software program talked about earlier and a variety of gamma, colour temperature, and colour hue/saturation changes.

Sharpness, after all, is a energy. A decision of 5120×2880 throughout a 27-inch panel interprets to a pixel density of 218 pixels per inch, which is superb for any PC monitor. You’ll solely see a sharper picture from the uncommon few 6K and 8K screens, such because the Dell Ultrasharp U3224KB. The additional sharpness is effective for anybody who works with high-resolution photographs and movies. It additionally appears to be like nice all over the place else, from Microsoft Excel to Civilization VI.

The BenQ PD2730S additionally has the corporate’s Nano Matte Panel, a particular show coat marketed by BenQ. It’s meant to scale back reflections and supply a extra paper-like expertise. The PD2730S isn’t BenQ’s finest monitor for printed work, as BenQ provides a Photographer Monitor line-up which incorporates shows just like the BenQ SW272Q. Nonetheless, I typically desire a matte end on my screens, and I believe BenQ’s Nano Matte Panel end is superb.

Total, the BenQ PD2730S is a superb general-purpose monitor for inventive professionals. It’ll additionally enchantment to consumers who need a high-quality, color-accurate show with even higher sharpness than a 4K various. If I’ve any grievance, it’s that the BenQ PD2730S doesn’t look significantly better than Asus’ inexpensive ProArt 5K Show PA27JCV. However BenQ tosses in connectivity and options the Asus lacks, so it is smart that BenQ asks extra for its monitor.

BenQ PD2730S HDR picture high quality

The BenQ PD2730S helps HDR alerts and is VESA DisplayHDR400 Licensed. That, nonetheless, is a modest stage of certification, and the data BenQ supplied on the PD2730S made it clear HDR isn’t the monitor’s precedence. The monitor is “suitable for users previewing HDR content,” however SDR is the main target.

For those who do view HDR, the monitor’s restricted brightness and distinction are limitations. The monitor lacks the brightness to disclose luminous particulars in HDR content material, and it lacks the distinction to correctly protect shadow depth and element when displaying small, vivid HDR particulars in an in any other case darkish scene.

So, as BenQ stated: You may need to flip on HDR to preview HDR content material, nevertheless it’s not very best if you happen to view, or work with, HDR extra usually than SDR.

BenQ PD2730S movement efficiency

Movement efficiency, like HDR, isn’t a precedence for the BenQ PD2730S. It has an ordinary 60Hz refresh price and doesn’t present assist for Adaptive Sync. Due to that, the monitor isn’t a sensible choice for fast-paced PC video games, because it lacks the movement readability and easy frame-pacing aggressive avid gamers require.

To be truthful, that is presently typical for a 5K monitor. Acer revealed a 5K monitor with a 144Hz refresh price at CES 2025 nevertheless it’s not but obtainable.

Do you have to purchase the BenQ PD2730S?

The BenQ PD2730S is a superb monitor, although one focused at a particular viewers. Its correct SDR picture, wide selection of connectivity, and useful design with many picture high quality choices make it an incredible selection for professionals, together with digital artists and photographers, who need to work with high-resolution photographs.

In comparison with Asus’ extra reasonably priced and comparable ProArt Show 5K PA27JCV, the BenQ has extra options for dialing within the picture high quality and higher connectivity. I’d suggest the ProArt to most individuals occupied with a 5K show because it’s usually practically pretty much as good because the BenQ and extra reasonably priced, however inventive professionals shouldn’t be shy about paying extra for the BenQ PD2730S, as its additional options add worth.