BenQ’s Mobiuz EX270QM monitor impresses for work and play

I spent the last few weeks test-driving BenQ’s Mobiuz EX270QM gaming monitor and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed using it.

My approach to computer monitors has always been a very practical one — spend the least amount of money I can to get the refresh rate and resolution that’s appropriate for me. Most other things are secondary; colour accuracy, panel type, brand, other extraneous features were all secondary.

While I still hold to that approach, the Mobiuz monitor made it clear that some of those extraneous features have more value than I previously thought. From the included remote control that lets me tweak display settings without fiddling with the little menu buttons on the underside of the screen to the funky HDRi settings, there are plenty of little things that make the Mobiuz EX270QM a more enjoyable experience than the more barebones monitors I’ve used before.

Specs

Before we go too much further, let’s start with an overview of what the Mobiuz has to offer. You can view a full breakdown of the specs here, but we’ll hit the highlights below.

The Mobiuz sports a 27-inch 2560 x 1440p IPS panel with a 1ms response time and 240Hz refresh rate, 600 nits peak brightness, local dimming, and 1000:1 contrast. The monitor has an anti-glare coating and 98 percent of the P3 colour gamut.

BenQ says the monitor supports HDR10 and VESA DisplayHDR 600.

You can install a plastic cover to hide all your cables.

It has a built-in 2.1 channel speaker set up sporting two 2W speakers and a 5W woofer, height and tilt adjustment stand, support for a 100x100mm VESA mount. It’s got several ports, including 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 2x HDMI 2.1, 1x USB Type B (Upstream) and 2x USB 3.0 (Downstream).

Finally, the monitor clocks in at 12.1lbs / 5.5kg without the base and 16.8lbs / 7.6/kg with the base.

HDRi’s good for my eyes

Perhaps my favourite part of the EX270QM was its HDRi system, despite its flaws. HDRi is a proprietary BenQ technology that basically mixes HDR with something like the iPhone’s True Tone system.

According to BenQ’s HDRi FAQ page, HDRi “detects the current ambient light level and the image content and then automatically adjusts screen brightness for the ideal viewing experience.”

Although BenQ pitches HDRi as a way to avoid overexposing bright areas on the display, I found it made using HDR much easier on my eyes because the Mobiuz monitor would adjust based on the lighting around me. During the day with sun streaming in through my windows, the monitor was super bright and readable. During late-night gaming sessions when my office was dark, the monitor would scale it back, saving my eyes from searing brightness.

The HDRi system itself was a bit odd during setup — I initially expected to need to turn on HDR in Windows to make use of the Mobiuz HDRi, but that wasn’t the case. Instead, HDRi appears to be emulated HDR based on what’s on the display rather than actual HDR. Depending on your experience HDR, that’ll either be good news or a major drawback.

For me, it was good. In my experience, Windows and HDR don’t always play nice, especially on monitors like this where you don’t have true HDR. Like with the Asus ROG monitor I used prior to testing the Mobiuz, the claim of HDR support is a bit of a stretch. The monitors frankly don’t have the tech for true HDR and with Windows’ HDR support being… not great… it’s a recipe for a bad experience. BenQ’s HDRi largely resolves this by bypassing Windows altogether and, while it’s likely not as good as true HDR, it works well enough for me.

It’s worth noting that the Mobiuz offers several other display presets for different genres of games, cinema, and more. It also has Gaming and Cinema HDRi. Once I got HDRi setup, I set the monitor’s colours per my own preferences since the display presets on offer didn’t quite offer what I needed.

Monitor remotes – redundant but useful

Next up, I really liked the Mobiuz’s remote much more than I anticipated. Monitors have come with remotes for a while, but it was never a feature that I was sold on. It seemed like a needless accessory since you could just use the buttons on the back of the monitor.

Well, now that I’ve tried it out, I’m changing my tune — at least, a little bit. Having a remote isn’t enough of a bonus for me to justify paying more for a monitor, everything else being equal. Still, the remote adds a lot of convenience to the BenQ Mobiuz, especially during the setup stage, since I could recline in my chair and adjust all the settings with ease.

Having quick access to a power button for the monitor is also super handy, and I was more likely to remember to turn it off when I was done, thanks to the remote.

Speaking of setup, setting up the Mobiuz was a bit of a chore because nothing is enabled by default. Just about every headline feature of the Mobiuz monitor was disabled for energy-saving reasons and the first time you try to turn them on, you have to click through warnings that using the features will increase power consumption.

Look, I’m all for trying to conserve power. It’s an admiral goal. And I don’t mind warnings that features will increase power consumption. But when you market a product as power efficient, but all the reasons I want your product for will increase its power consumption, what’s the point in marketing it as power efficient?

Worth the price?

As with any piece of tech, the crux is whether it’s worth the price. The BenQ Mobiuz EX270QM clocks in at a pricey $1,029.99 in Canada, though at the time of writing, Amazon had it for $949.98.

While some may disagree, for my part, I can’t fathom spending that much money for a monitor – even one I enjoyed as much as the Mobiuz. Ultimately, I need my monitor to display an output from my PC or laptop, and I need it to look good. As long as those two requirements are met, everything else is a bonus.

The BenQ is a great display with a ton of ‘bonus.’ The bonus, in my opinion, is good, but alone isn’t enough to justify the price. But for anyone looking for a top-notch screen and doesn’t mind the price, the Mobiuz is an excellent option.

You can purchase the BenQ Mobiuz EX270QM from Best Buy or Amazon in Canada. You can also learn more about it here.

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