BenQ G2411HD in Monitors

The BenQ G2411HD has the potential to be the real bargain of all the recent 24in TFTs we've seen. We say that because, at the time of writing, just a few select retailers had dwindling stock levels, so we can't be certain the sub-£150 price will hold up.

The design is fairly sparse - with a nice little protruding panel beneath the screen for the menu controls - clearly labelled and simple to navigate. We opted for Normal colour and tweaked the brightness a little to give us a strong black without losing the impact of the white level.

That black was one of the G2411HD's best points, with no visible bleed and a level almost as deep as the dearer monitors on test; it did exhibit a very slight blue hue, but that only showed on a totally black screen. The white level wasn't quite so strong, so this is very much a TFT with a dynamic range on the low side - a point backed up by a smooth gradient ramp that never quite progressed from light grey to a full white at the end.

Colours, though, were very impressive, with neutral greys and reds that had far more vitality to them than the orangey hue of most cheaper TFTs. Viewing angles weren't great - drifting to yellow at 45 degrees off-centre - but head-on it's a better panel than its price suggests.

There are no major extras to speak of, with a fixed stand and no speakers, so the HDMI port is the most hi-tech element on show. But with a three-year on-site warranty to put your mind at rest, we'd still put this BenQ high on our shortlist - provided that the price remains this low.

Author: David Bayon