Transporting into magical worlds to command armies, conquer planets or rescue princesses from faraway fortresses is the essence of gaming. It’s being immersed in a storyline. Game play is an escape from the worries of the real world.

Everyone can be a hero.

Playing for scores or for the story, without a great gaming monitor it’s already “game over.”

There is a variety of gaming monitors on the market – even more than the number of Royal Arms in Final Fantasy XV. There are many price points and specs, but how do you decide? What should you look for? There are 6 attributes of a great gaming monitor that are as important as a javelin exosuit in Anthem.

Resolution is the first thing (and the most important) to consider when gaming monitor shopping.

They come in three main resolutions: 1080p (full HD), 1440p (QHD/2K) and 2160p (UHD/4K). Higher resolution translates to more pixels which translates to more detail and image clarity. The only “gotcha” is, the higher the resolution goes, the more demanding it becomes on your computer’s GPU (graphics processing unit). Quad high definition (QHD or 2K) is pretty much the standard today and most gaming rigs can handle it. Ramping up to Ultra high definition (UHD or 4K) pushes the envelope and requires serious hardware.

How many times your monitor can refresh the displayed image per second is measured in Hertz, or Hz. The refresh rate also determines the number of frames per second the monitor can display. This is especially important in fast moving games with intense animation. Gaming monitors range from 60Hz to 144Hz to 240Hz. Obviously, 240Hz is 4 times as fast as 60Hz and 4 times better, but if you don’t have the GPU to run that high a frame rate, you’ll never see the benefit.

Each of the millions of panels that makes up the picture on a gaming monitor switches from black to white or to different shades of gray. This is called “pixel response time,” and is measured in milliseconds, or ms. Ideally you want a faster response time to make sweeping camera movements more fluid. Slower response times make for jerky movement.

Today’s gaming monitors fall into two types depending upon what type of panel the screen is. There are twisted nematic (TN) and in-plane switching (IPS) panels. IPS panels give you better all-around visual quality with more vibrant and more accurate color reproduction. IPS panels also give you wider viewing angles, meaning you don’t have to sit dead center with the monitor to see the greatest picture. TN support faster response times which are better for fast-moving action.

In a desktop gaming environment you’ll be in 21-inch to 27-inch sized monitor range. Many gamers say this is the perfect size to get the best image color and clarity – without too much eye strain. Gaming websites like Steam and Twitch.tv seem to agree that 24 inches is as big as you should go if you’re playing in 1080p.

If you don’t want the hassle of “screen tearing,” adaptive sync should be a consideration.
PC Magazine defines adaptive sync as “the dynamic adjusting of a monitor's vertical refresh rate to the frame rate of the graphics card (GPU). Adaptive sync eliminates tearing, stuttering and judder and was developed for the video gaming industry. In order to be advertised as a gaming monitor today, it must support a variable and adjustable refresh rate.” There are basically two flavors of adaptive sync: FreeSync™ from AMD or G-SYNC™ from NVIDIA. A lot of newer gaming monitors already include one or the other, so make a note on your shopping list. They are proprietary though. FreeSync™ only works with AMD graphics cards and G-SYNC™ only works with NVIDIA cards. Check your computer’s specs.

Speaking of adaptive sync, BenQ entertainment monitors feature AMD FreeSync™ and FreeSync 2™ technology. These eliminate image tearing, broken frames, and choppy gameplay for incredibly fluid gaming experiences.

The BenQ E-Series also features hyper-realistic video quality with HDR (high dynamic range). This gives gamers sharper detail and incredible contrast. Also, 4K UHD resolution to make you drop your controller in awe.

The BenQ E-Series gives you extremely vibrant, precise and realistic images as well as much higher frame rates with 4K resolution. You will be amazed by the crystal-clear images with ultra-fine details and take advantage of the most optimal viewing experience.

Brightness Intelligence Technology (B.I. Tech.) by BenQ optimizes display performance for movie watching and gaming, protecting your eyes while delivering premium image quality. B.I. Tech. detects the intensity of your content and adjusts to ensure that bright scenes don’t get overexposed while dark areas automatically adjust to maintain a visible level of clarity.

B.I. Tech. can detect the amount of ambient light in your viewing environment and make automatic adjustments to brightness for the most comfortable viewing experience possible.

The BenQ Brightness Intelligence Plus (B.I.+Tech) technology goes a step further. A built-in ambient light sensor detects the changing light levels and the color temperature in your viewing environment, automatically adjusting on-screen brightness and color temperature to fit your surroundings. It also gradually adjusts brightness based on one’s usage time. This offers the best display quality for your viewing comfort, preventing eye strain and protecting your eyes after you watch monitors for hours.

With B.I.+ Tech. colors stay original for picture perfect content. B.I.+ Tech. adjusts brightness to avoid overexposure and to enhance details in dark areas, preserving original color saturation and hue with smooth gradation.

Combining BenQ Brightness Intelligence + with dynamic HDR performance gives the gamer a vibrant viewing experience. B.I. + automatically adjusts on-screen brightness based on the ambient light in the room and shows more details. In a darkened room, the effect is even more noticeable.

The BenQ EW3270U monitor, for example, showcases High Dynamic Range for dazzling brightness with stark contrast, for deep blacks and bright whites and wide color range for intense video performance.

In streaming content, if the source is not HDR, BenQ monitors like the EW3270U create a simulated HDR look to make your favorite show come alive by increasing pixel density of low-resolution standard-definition content for astounding clarity.

The EW3270U’s front panel simple hotkey switches between 4 levels of HDR and B.I.+ modes. Our exclusive Opt-Clarity Technology enables users to select the most suitable clarity for displayed content based on the conditions in different viewing environments.

The ability to customize the monitor to the environment ensures users can fully enjoy the splendid image performance of HDR—while maintaining the ability to see the most delicate details.

Low Blue Light Technology is designed to filter out harmful blue light, effectively diminishing eye fatigue and irritation.

Easily switch to one of four preset Low Blue Light modes from the OSD hot key (Multimedia, Web-surfing, Office, and Reading) and reward your eyes without sacrificing visual enjoyment.

Here at BenQ we love video games. We understand the passion of the modern gamer and the excitement 21st century titles bring. Scenes so realistic you could almost step right inside and fight shoulder-to-shoulder with your avatar. Professional e-Sports gamers are another level entirely.

That’s why we created ZOWIE.

ZOWIE is a brand dedicated to the development of professional e-Sports equipment. ZOWIE is a collection of console and PC e-Sports gaming monitors and accessories.

Every detail of the ZOWIE RL-Series is designed and fine-tuned for the exceptional e-Sports console experience. The ZOWIE RL-series e-Sports monitor is used worldwide by professional e-Sports players.

The ZOWIE XL-series features the premiere e-Sports monitors for PC competitors, fine-tuned to guarantee the smoothest and responsive experience, and the clearest images to arm you for competition.

You already play the best games. Why settle for less than the best gaming and entertainment monitors?

The BenQ E-Series of monitors are better than infinite lives in Super Mario Bros. because it matters.