An apple a day keeps the doctor away, the BenQ EL2870U allows you to keep your view – BenQ EL2870U Eye Care Monitor Review
(this video is used to highlight the features my review greatly focuses on, not the exact model)
Screens are ruining my eyes. The prescription in my glasses has gone up and I am officially nearsighted now, on top of having astigmatism. And it’s because I am behind screens all day. Day job, screens, side gigs, screens; screens are the large part of my weekdays, and weekends. I hope to be able to see decently well for the rest of my life and am taking all the necessary precautions available. I have blue blocker glasses, I get up a few times every hour and try to look into the distance, and thankfully there is also the Ben Q Eye Care EL2870U Monitor.
I’ve been using the Ben Q Eye Care Monitor for about a month and can vouch that it makes a considerable difference in eye strain. I’ve used it with blue blocker glasses and without, and I’ve had the best result using both, but even without blue blocker glasses, there is a noticeable difference in eye strain and fatigue. Let me regale my experience to give you the full effect.
The first day with the Ben Q Eye Care Monitor, the only thing I really noticed is that is that the colors appear a bit muted compared to my other monitors. Its picture quality and detail, on the other hand, is really good, especially for UHD content. Upon a passing glance, the muted colors will have you think otherwise. I didn’t really notice much else for the rest of the first week and also most of the second. Towards the end of the second week, my eyes felt a lot less tense and more relaxed. It’s similar to the feeling of sitting down after standing up for a few hours.
As the days went on, I found myself being a little more productive and being able to do more after work. Which is a big deal for me since I’ve gone long periods of just work and absolutely nothing else, so going from work/screens to sleep to wake up and go back to work/screens and repeat to work/screens, cook, socialize, sleep is something that sounds mundane but is subtly life-changing.
It might sound like I’m over-hyping the technology, but if you spend weeks on end of 12+ hour days looking at thousands of lines of game text and can have even the slightest energy to do something after, it is a big deal.
On top of the Eye Care technology, the E2870U is just a phenomenal monitor. I edited videos, played some Overwatch and Fortnite on it, and everything looks gorgeous. I can’t say it increased my win rate or got me more hits on my videos, but it everything looked great. The EL2870U boasts a 12M:1 contrast ratio, HDR Support, 4K High Resolution and a 1ms response time. To be fully honest, I am not a good enough gamer to notice the minute differences in response times. I can say that I never felt like my controls were out of sync with the image on screen and that the amazing amount of detail I got from the 4K resolution running everything on full settings thanks to my 980’s did improve my sniping a bit. Also, there were no image trails during fast-moving content from streaming/broadcast programs, and it did not have that hyper-focused soap opera look that a lot of LED’s with high refresh rates produce. So, I think in terms of response time it is doing phenomenally, however, it is something you don’t realize is working but would know if it wasn’t.
As a TV enthusiast, I can see the BenQ has a surprisingly impressive contrast that is almost as good as my plasma TV. the EL2870U is said to have a dynamic 12m:1 contrast ratio, and a 3000:1 native contrast ratio… Working in Magnolia for a few years, I can tell you that contrast ratios only matter when comparing products from the same company as there is no universally agreed upon contrast ratio system. That being said, the EL2870U produces some beautiful pictures. Though 95% of the time I used it for Excel, and honestly that contrast and picture means nothing there, the times I used it for gaming and streaming were awesome! To test the contrast and range of the picture, I used Black Panther because it easily has the best range of colors in bright and dark spectrums, as well as a good mix of live-action, practical effects, and CGI. Not a single detail was missed. It actually might be too good, because after watching it on the monitor, there were a lot of moments in T’Challa and Killmongers final fight that looked like a video game.
I think something that really helps with the viewing experience, and particularly the eye strain, is the Smart Focus and Brightness Intelligence Plus technologies the monitor has built in. It’s very subtle and intuitive, so you don’t really notice it at first. But switch over to monitors without the technology, you notice it right away. The Smart Focus emphasizes content and blurs/fades out the rest, creating this natural attention grabber for your eyes. It doesn’t seem like much, but it’s something that definitely makes a difference over the course of a day. The Brightness Intelligence Plus technology automatically adjusts the brightness and color temperature of the monitor ensuring you see a constant image throughout the day. Again, another very subtle thing, but it adds up. These technologies combined keep your eyes from extra exertion and help prevent strain and fatigue.
The last thing I want to talk about is the price. Right now the BenQ EL2870U runs about $460 on Amazon. It is a bit pricey, but definitely worth the money, and honestly a bit of an investment. Visually, the EL8270U is without a doubt one of the top performing monitors available. But on top of its premium performance, it truly helps the eyes. I cannot stress enough how important eye care is, and after my optometry appointment, I cannot stress how damaging monitors/screens are to our eyes. We live in a time where eye-sight is mass deteriorating; more and more people require assisted viewing (glasses/contacts) and childhood nearsightedness is something like 50% now. If you’re going to have the best looking and performing monitor, get the one that doesn’t damage your eyes. The best monitor is worth less than TP if you can’t see it.
The BenQ EL2870U has ruined most other monitors for me. I will never purchase another monitor that does not offer blue light reduction/blocking technology from here on out. The monitor itself is unquestionably one of the top performing monitors on the market, but in combination with the Eye Care technology, it is easily the best monitor you can purchase. Pricewise, the BenQ EL2870U is the same or better priced than most other top performing monitors and the same can be said about its performance. As a person who has to spend at least 8 hours a day behind a screen, the value of having less fatigued eyes earns easily offsets the price tag even if it were a standard monitor but having a top-tier monitor that also saves your eyes is a no-brainer. I give the BenQ EL2870U Monitor a 5/5.
BenQ EL2870U
TLDR
The BenQ EL2870U has ruined most other monitors for me. I will never purchase another monitor that does not offer blue light reduction/blocking technology from here on out. The monitor itself is unquestionably one of the top performing monitors on the market, but in combination with the Eye Care technology, it is easily the best monitor you can purchase. Pricewise, the BenQ EL2870U is the same or better priced than most other top performing monitors and the same can be said about its performance. As a person who has to spend at least 8 hours a day behind a screen, the value of having less fatigued eyes earns easily offsets the price tag even if it were a standard monitor but having a top-tier monitor that also saves your eyes is a no brainer.
