14 DAY TRIAL // The RL2455HM is the newest monitor to leave BenQ's development labs, and it is one that, the company claims, is aimed at professional gamers and equipped with all the features necessary to suit their needs.
BenQ is using the term “professional gamer” a bit loosely here, since the latest RL Series panel is in no way restricted to people hired to playtest upcoming games.
Instead, the company hopes to find customers among everyone who spends more than a moderate amount of time playing on their PC or console.
Indeed, BenQ specifically mentioned consoles, and cameras, Blu-ray players, and digital A/V entertainment devices for that matter (audio/video).
As one might have guessed from the name, the RL2450HT has a diagonal of 24 inches and a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, although it will be possible to quickly switch from 16:9 aspect ratio to 4:3.
The response time, the feature described by BenQ as most relevant for this monitor, is 1 ms GTG, enough to ensure that there is no way fast-paced games will be plagued by lag.
BenQ's Black eQualizer, Display Mode, and Smart Scaling provide a bonus in the form of extra image configuration possibilities.
The IT player also went that extra mile and installed two HDMI inputs instead of just one, allowing both a PC and a console to be linked to it at once.
That is just one possibility though. It is equally feasible for a PC to be linked along with a camera or media player, or TV set-top box. Owners may even choose not to link a PC to it at all.
As for the rest, BenQ's screen has a 12 million to 1 contrast ratio, LED backlighting and, since we said there would be something odd, a refresh rate of only 60 Hz. True, 120 Hz and above is only required for 3D, but a gaming monitor for playing frantic shooters and fighting games should still be able to reach 75 Hz at least.
Finally, BenQ tossed in 2-watt stereo speakers and set the price to $229 / 172-229 Euro. Sales of the RL2450HT gaming monitor will start in March.