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Note: The EX2710S is very similar to the base model reviewed here with a boost in maximum refresh rate from 144Hz to 165Hz.
A look we like to describe as ‘rich and natural’, with a somewhat cool tint. A touch of extra depth and saturation for sRGB content due to the gamma handling and gamut, nothing dramatic. Good ergonomic flexibility, a feature-rich OSD with some useful additions and appropriate pricing in many regions The monitor offers no local dimming and therefore there was no contrast benefit under HDR. The peak luminance recorded was 486 cd/m² using the ‘HDR’ setting – quite bright, although not particularly impressive by HDR standards. Similar brightness (485 cd/m²) was recorded using ‘Game HDRi’ and ‘Cinema HDRi’ in a very bright room – these settings respond to the content of the screen but also the ambient lighting when making adjustments. Under these conditions, sunlight was streaming into the room freely and some of this was striking both the screen surface and sensor unit directly. The monitor brightness is raised as much as possible to try to compete with this. A lower but still reasonably bright luminance was recorded in a moderately bright room (395 cd/m²). Here, there was a good amount of natural light in the room but no strong direct light hitting the screen and sensor unit. In a dark room we recorded a dimmer 295 – 296 cd/m², which is still pretty bright. This was quite similar to the basic ‘HDR’ setting with brightness set to ‘50%’. Impressive bright highlights and bright shades are an important part of HDR, so we didn’t particularly like the idea of brightness being eaten away based on ambient lighting. We didn’t agree with the other adjustments made with the ‘HDRi’ setting either, as we explore later. But some will like the image they present and the overall HDR implementation on this model, although limited in capability, is at least flexible.
There are nine color mode presets available, 10 if you include the Custom profile that you can set up yourself. Two HDRi and a standard HDR preset are present, as well as modes for FPS, RPG, Racing, sRGB, MacBook, and Epaper. If you prefer to not have to set things up yourself, these presets should be enough. However, setting up a custom profile for color, brightness, contrast, sharpness, gamma, and more should please those who want things looking perfect. SDR games look just as rich and impactful thanks to that large color gamut. With solid accuracy, there is balance and smooth tonality with all the detail intended by the original material. Again, I wish contrast were better, but it is enough to provide a good gaming experience and reasonably satisfying video quality when streaming movies or YouTube. The HDR10 pipeline makes use of 10-bits per colour channel, which the monitor supports via 8-bit + FRC. The enhanced precision of the 10-bit signal enhances the nuanced shade variety. For darker shades, it provides a natural uplift to detail in a way that’s far more natural than could be achieved using gamma enhancements under SDR. The superior range of closely matching shades helped smooth out gradients for brighter shades as well, with more natural progressions for weather effects, smoke and rays of light. The image below shows one of our favourite scenes under Shadow of the Tomb Raider for highlighting a strong HDR performance. Note that the photo is purely for illustrative purposes and in no way represents how the monitor appeared running HDR in person. We made further observations using various episodes of the animated TV series Futurama. This series has large areas of individual shade and is therefore a particularly brutal test for colour consistency. The monitor performed well in that respect. There were some slight shifts for some shades, such as the red of Dr Zoidberg, but only minor and towards the very extreme edges. This isn’t unusual to see for IPS-type panels, with this one performing better than some IPS-types in that respect. There were no clear saturation shifts as you’d see on VA and moreover TN models. A good range of subtly different pastel shades were displayed, with an appropriately muted appearance overall. Bright and neon shades such as bright pink and green appeared fairly eye-catching, although not to the extent observed on models with a more generous gamut. Deep oranges, purples and dark greens were also represented well.
There's no rotation available, so you can't use the monitor in a vertical position. The display is best employed as a primary gaming screen, so this isn't a huge deal. And as mentioned, it would be nice to have a higher possible height adjustment to avoid having to use a riser. BenQ gets special kudos for the EX2710Q’s audio quality. It is more than just a cut above the rest. With treVolo tuning and an extra driver providing bass, this monitor delivers the best sound I’ve heard from integrated computer display speakers. Dialog is crystal clear with a fullness you would normally need good headphones or external speakers to experience. You can truly do without extra audio gear when playing on the EX2710Q. The Lagom text appeared a blended grey throughout, with a green hue to the striping of the text which was a touch stronger near the edges. There were no clear flashes of saturated red, orange or green or shifts between these with a bit of head movement. This indicates a low viewing angle dependency to the gamma curve of the monitor, typical for an IPS-type panel. A small utility called SMTT 2.0 was used alongside a sensitive camera to analyse the latency of the EX2710, with over 30 repeat readings taken to help maximise accuracy. Using this method, we calculated 3.41ms (~1/2 a frame at 144Hz) of input lag. We measured a slightly higher but still low latency at 60Hz, 4.50ms. The input lag measured here is influenced by both the element you ‘see’ (pixel responsiveness) and the main element you ‘feel’ (signal delay). It indicates a low signal delay which most users should find acceptable. Note that we don’t have the means to accurately measure input lag with Adaptive-Sync active in a variable refresh rate environment or with HDR active in an HDR environment. As above but a significant reduction in depth and less saturated overall due to significant gamma reduction gamma.The video below shows the monitor in action. The camera, processing done and your own screen all affect the output – so it doesn’t accurately represent what you’d see when viewing the monitor in person. It still provides useful visual demonstrations and explanations which help reinforce some of the key points raised in the written piece. As illustrated above the standard RGB (Red, Green and Blue) stripe subpixel layout is used. This is the default expected by modern operating systems such as Microsoft Windows. Apple’s MacOS no longer uses subpixel rendering and therefore doesn’t optimise text for one particular subpixel layout to the detriment of another. You needn’t worry about text fringing from non-standard subpixel layouts and won’t need to change the defaults in the ‘ClearType Text Tuner’ as a Windows user. You may still wish to run through the ClearType wizard and adjust according to preferences, however. The subpixel layout and arrangement is normal and we had no subpixel-related concerns related to sharpness or text clarity on this model.
A moderately effective Low Blue Light (LBL) setting. Provides a warmer look to the image with a modest reduction in the blue channel compared to default. No clear green or yellow tint introduced, visually better balanced than many LBL implementations. AMD's FreeSync Premium is standard, but NVIDIA G-Sync compatibility means the display will work with any of the best graphics cards to prevent screen tearing. A 1ms MPRT and 2ms GtG response time is low enough for competitive gamers out there who rely on fast-twitch movements to succeed. As for color, I measured in the display's custom mode 96% sRGB, 77% AdobeRGB, and 80% DCI-P3. Our suggestions regarding use of VSync also apply, but you’re using Nvidia Control Panel rather than AMD Radeon Software to control this. The setting is found in ‘Manage 3D settings’ under ‘Vertical sync’, where the final option (‘Fast’) is equivalent to AMD’s ‘Enhanced Sync’ setting. You’ll also notice ‘G-SYNC Compatible’ listed under ‘Monitor Technology’ in this section, as shown below. Make sure this is selected (it should be if you’ve set everything up correctly in ‘Set up G-SYNC’). The monitor includes a range of easily accessible Low Blue Light (LBL) settings, which can be set between ‘0’ (disabled) and ‘20’ (strongest effect). The stronger settings were particularly effective at reducing blue light output from the monitor, especially when coupled with reduced brightness. They significantly reduced the blue colour channel and hence blue light output from the monitor. They also strengthen the red channel whilst reducing the green channel somewhat, providing a better visual balance compared to some LBL settings which can introduce a green or yellow tint. This has an effect on contrast as we explore shortly. The image appeared warmer using these settings, which we found our eyes adjusted to quite readily over time – more so than when additional imbalances such as a green tint are introduced. Reducing blue light exposure is particularly important in the hours leading up to sleep as blue light is stimulating to the body and affects sleep hormones. It increases alertness and makes it more difficult to ‘shut off’. We used the strongest setting of ‘20’ over our ‘Test Settings’ for our own viewing comfort in the evenings. But not for any specific testing beyond that involving the setting itself.Overall we feel this is a well-rounded monitor, for those who like a good mixture of responsiveness and colour quality. And who prefer things to look rich and natural with a touch of extra saturation and vibrancy, rather than things being taken to the extreme in that respect. The screen size and resolution combination won’t be for everyone, although we’d caution people that we’ve seen a lot of exaggerated claims in that respect as well. “Pixels the size of golf balls” or “huge pixels” is not an appropriate description for what are still very small pixels on the screen. As with many things it’s all very subjective. But if you like the sound of this model but prefer a tighter pixel density and can live with a smaller screen. The we’d also recommend considering the 24.5” EX2510. You will also see in the image above that it states: “Selected Display is not validated as G-SYNC Compatible.” This means Nvidia hasn’t specifically tested and validated the display. On our RTX 3090, the experience was very similar to what we described with FreeSync. Surprisingly, the floor of operation for VRR was lowered to 38Hz – below that an LFC-like frame to refresh multiplication was used to keep tearing and stuttering at bay. Whilst there was momentary stuttering when this boundary was crossed, it was masked very effectively by the ‘low frame rate judder’ that is experienced at such a low frame rate anyway. The Samsung Odyssey G5 is a 32-inch curved gaming monitor with QHD resolution, 144Hz refresh rate, 1ms response time, HDR10 support, and AMD FreeSync and NVIDIA G-Sync compatibility. If you prefer the larger screen with 1000R curve and don't mind a lesser refresh rate, the Odyssey G5 is actually (at the time of writing) a lower price than the Mobiuz EX2710S. If you’re intending to use the monitor with the PS5 or Xbox Series X/S, be aware that a small settings tweak may be required to ensure 120Hz is selectable for the Full HD resolution. Details can be found in this article.
The image below is a macro photograph taken on Notepad with ClearType disabled. The letters ‘PCM’ are typed out to help highlight any potential text rendering issues related to unusual subpixel structure, whilst the white space more clearly shows the actual subpixel layout alongside a rough indication of screen surface. This model uses a light matte anti-glare screen surface with a relatively smooth surface texture. This surface offers relatively good glare handling, avoiding the sort of distinct reflections you’d see on a glossy or much lighter screen surface. It also preserves clarity and vibrancy better than ‘stronger’ matte screen surfaces. It offers more direct emission of light with lower diffusion, giving it less of a layered appearance in comparison. When observing lighter shades there was a light misty graininess rather than a heavy or ‘smeary’ graininess. This surface is slightly lighter and has a somewhat smoother surface texture than the 24.5” models, such as the EX2510 and XB253Q GP. I couldn’t help but begin with a Doom Eternal fragfest. The horde mode affords ample opportunity for fast-moving action. There was no hint of delay in any of my control inputs, either with the mouse or keyboard. Movement remained smooth and jitter-free with AMA (overdrive) on level 2. Higher settings produced a bit of ghosting. I also tried the Blur Reduction, which keeps Adaptive-Sync in play. It made a very subtle improvement in smoothness without any apparent artifacts. Towards the top of the screen you can see strong strobe crosstalk in front of the image, about as bold as the image itself and essentially creating a double image. This weakens a bit further down and transitions to behind rather than in front of the object. The central region of the screen shows some strobe crosstalk behind the object, but this is quite a bit fainter than the main object and therefore doesn’t detract too much from the main purpose of this setting. During competitive gameplay where this sort of setting is best suited, your eyes tend to focus mainly within this central region of the screen rather than further up or further down. Further down the screen the strobe crosstalk behind the object becomes strong and again creates a double image. Finally, note that the refresh rate displayed in the OSD reflected the frame rate of the content when it was within the main VRR window (38 – 144Hz), updated when you first enter the section of the OSD where it’s displayed. And as with AMD FreeSync, HDR can be used at the same time as ‘G-SYNC Compatible Mode’. As factory defaults but somewhat warmer look, a touch brighter and with a bit of a green bias. All colour channels are in their neutral position (‘100’), maximising contrast.With Blur Reduction at 120Hz, shown above, the main object again shows excellent clarity. With even sharper internal detailing. The white notches on the UFO body are now easy to count, for example. The pixel response requirements are raised and you see the fragmented trailing appearing somewhat bolder – but each fragment is also a bit smaller due to the increased refresh rate. Overshoot levels are lower using ‘AMA = 2’ compared to using the setting at 100Hz, whilst it does make the strobe crosstalk fainter than ‘AMA = 1’. So we consider ‘AMA = 2’ optimal here. The reference screens show some overshoot instead, but it’s quite a bit fainter than it was at 100Hz. Below you can see how things looked with Blur Reduction at 144Hz. The BenQ EX2710 offers a range of ‘Color Mode’ presets; ‘HDR’, ‘Game HDRi’, ‘Cinema HDRi’, ‘FPS’, ‘RPG’, ‘Racing Game’, ‘Standard’, ‘M-Book’ and ‘ePaper’. The first three presets, with HDR in them, are the only presets selectable under HDR (High Dynamic Range). But can also be selected under SDR (Standard Dynamic Range) where various adjustments are made to the image – think of them as a sort of ‘filter’, but there’s nothing ‘HDR’ about the resulting image with an SDR signal. We touch upon these presets in the OSD video and explore some of them elsewhere in the review. For this section we’ll instead focus on manual adjustments that can be made in the OSD. The table below includes gamma and white point readings taken using a Datacolor SpyderX Elite colorimeter. General observations made by eye are also provided. The average contrast ratio with only brightness adjusted was 1078:1, just slightly above the specified 1000:1 and fairly typical for an IPS-type model. The peak contrast recorded was 1221:1, with ‘Color Temperature = User Define) – this puts all colour channels in their neutral position to maximise contrast. We recorded 1164:1 under our ‘Test Settings’, which is respectable and beyond what some some IPS-type models will achieve. The lowest contrast recorded was 761:1, with ‘Low Blue Light = 20’ which is the strongest setting. As we noted earlier this makes changes to the colour channels which come at the expense of contrast, but with better balance to the image than many settings of this sort. The highest white luminance recorded under SDR was 342 cd/m², whilst the minimum white luminance recorded on the table (Blur Reduction disabled) was 56 cd/m². This gives a luminance adjustment range of 286 cd/m², with a reasonably low minimum and fairly bright maximum luminance. The Audio menu includes five DSP modes that sound distinctly different. They manipulate phase and frequency balance to change the sound stage shape. My personal favorite for gaming was Cinema. BenQ Mobiuz EX2710Q Calibration Settings
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