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Conclusions

The three pet peeves that I have with all LCDs when compared to CRTs are

• native resolution
• color reproduction / accuracy
• refresh rate / ghosting

Native resolution is an issue with all LCDs. 1280x1024 seems to be the standard for panels under 20". Generally, I think most people will be happy with 1280x1024 but I would personally like to see higher resolution screens. That said, I don't think I represent the average computer user. 1280x1024 is a good compromise at this time for both the novice computer user and gamers. A lot of people complain that text and windows are too small with higher resolutions. For gamers, current mid range video cards like the 6600GT and the X800 can drive that resolution in most games fairly proficiently. At this time last year when we took a look at the Samsung 172x, a high end video card would be required to game smoothly at 1280. The combination of more powerful video cards along with the price drops on both video cards and LCDs makes the move to a LCD much more palpable.

In general, it seemed that the with the FP71G+ color reproduction was quite good. We were impressed with the color saturation compared to the 172x and other LCDs from the last generation. The default color profile had a definite red tinge. The normal profile looked almost correct, but ultimately, a bit of fine tuning with the custom color profile was required. One minor issued we noticed when playing a movie was some weakness in the grey scale and dithering artifacts with the FP71G+. The grey scaling was visible in dark scenes where some subtle transitions between dark objects were lost. We just happened to have stumbled across the dithering issue. It was not a noticeable issue during graphics work or during gaming but it is there and users doing heavy graphics work should keep that in mind.

Arguably, the key selling point for the FP71G+ is the 8ms response time and it seems to hold up to the scrutiny pretty well. Noticeable blurring is something that is very subjective. Blurring is very subtle, lacking a better analogy, to me personally it is like being in an alcohol induced stupor where things are not quite in focus. I know people who are not bothered by 25ms displays while I still could see some blurring on the 12ms 172x. With the lower refresh rate LCD panels it is not something that is immediately noticeable. That said, the FP71G+ has exceeded my expectations in this department, it looks sharp for the most part in fast twitch games.

The use of a DSUB connector instead of DVI does not seem to have been a detriment though from the purist point of view, some users may be put off. There was no perceivable visible difference in sharpness or clarity on the desktop when compared to a DVI driven 172x. Both text and details in images remained very sharp.

BenQ has done a nice job with the FP71G+. From the perspective of a gamer, I think they have all the issues with LCDs addressed. Native resolution is not something they can fix, but 1280x1024 is a good choice today because the majority of midrange cards can drive most games at this resolution without a problem. Colors on the FP71G+ have a richness that was lacking on other LCDs around the office and I think many CRTs would be put to shame. On the whole, blurring was not an issue. The FP71G+ handled fast paced games like UT2k4 well though we did notice some isolated instances in Half-Life 2. I do get problems with motion sickness (I never could play Wolfenstein 3D for extended periods of time because of the repetition of the textures on the wall without feeling a bit queasy) and I had the same sort of feeling trying to play shooters on 25ms panels. This was not a problem while testing with this particular unit.

On the desktop, everything was crisp despite the fact that the FP71G+ only has an analog connector. We had no complaints from our graphic artist but we did notice grey scale issues and dithering problems while watching a movie. If color sensitive work is involved, this may not be the best display choice.

Overall the BenQ is a solid but not quite perfect product. Special thanks to NCIX for providing the test sample.