BenQ BL3201PT Review

The BenQ BL3201PT is a 4K 32″ monitor, offering plenty of screen space at a high resolution.  4K is all the rage these days and here’s a screen that really makes use of it, I question how useful it is on a small 24″ model but at 32″ it starts to make more sense.  At this size, you can get the most out of the UHD resolution without having to rely on scaling to ensure text is still readable in apps.

There is an overhead to running at higher resolutions, most modern PCs will be able to output at high resolution but if you start thinking about gaming you’ll need a high end setup to get decent frame rates at the moment.

Note, if you don’t think you’re ready for 4K or simply want to save some money, there is also a cheaper QHD model available.

Build Quality

The BL3201PT is a robust looking model that doesn’t exactly look cool but it doesn’t really do anything wrong either.  It’s going to look just fine in your home office environment.  The screen itself is a light matte anti-glare which some might describe as semi glossy, the idea being to get a balance between a clear image without being a mirror.

A circular remote rests at the bottom of the stand and can be used to navigate the monitor’s menus if you find the touch buttons a bit fiddly to use.

The monitor is well provisioned when it comes to connectivity, you can hook it up to your PC via the dual link DVI,  HDMI ports, DisplayPort, and Mini DisplayPort, it also comes with SD card reader, 2 USB 3.0 ports and a 3.5mm headphone socket.  Note, you’ll need DisplayPort to get 4k at 60hz, without it you’re stuck with a max of 30hz.

The full range of adjustments are available via the monitor stand, tilt, pivot, height, rotate.  And if you don’t like the stand, there’s always the 100 x 100mm‎ VESA mounting option, which I recommend.

Performance

The Benq is powered by an AU Optronics M320QAN01.0 AHVA (Advanced Hyper-Viewing Angle) LCD Panel.  AHVA panels are known for their excellent contrast and deeper blacks.  Professional testers report back a  rich and varied colour output that delivers to expectation, also highlighting the smooth matte surface of the screen itself.

The BenQ BL3201PT is an ultra high definition 32″ monitor that is built with designers in mind. That said, reading owners reviews it seems that it does a good job for gaming too, especially if you prefer slow paced strategy games. If that’s your preferred genre then you’re really going to benefit from the high resolution and large size. We don’t have the typical game ready features such as blur reduction or adaptive sync here so do note that this monitor is not pitched at players of fast paced action games.

The responsiveness is actually good for a VA based screen and it also scores well on input lag so whilst this may be pitched at designers looking to run graphic design apps it will actually fair well for most gamers looking for a large high res screen. Of course you’ll need a modern high power graphics card to run at 4K.