BenQ has been around for some time. Way back when, we used to buy CD drives from them and I have visited their booth at CES each year waiting for something that might be attractive to the Macophiles that we serve. This year I found it when I saw the BenQ PD2710QC Designer Monitor. It had an integrated USB-C hub as a base and seemed like an ideal companion to Apple’s MacBook and MacBook Pros.
There have not been a lot of USB-C compatible displays out there other than the pretty nice but pretty expensive LG displays that Apple was offering. Things have changed and I have had the opportunity to check out the BenQ display myself over the past few weeks.
My evaluation did not start out great as I encountered difficulty with the ethernet compatibility on the USB-C base. But, then again, you do not have a true picture of a company’s commitment to quality and excellent customer service until something goes wrong. Well, I dropped an email with some questions and I had about three or four BenQ folks immediately helping me troubleshoot. First, they overnighted a replacement base but that did not solve the issue so they overnighted a new display and that worked. This could have gone sideways a number of times but BenQ not only resolved the problem but they were proactive and exceeded my expectations in doing so.
Speaking of sideways, did I mention that this display will rotate from the landscape to portrait mode? I haven’t used that kind of display since way back in the Radius display days. It is a handy feature but I digress.
The BenQ PD2710QC is a versatile 27-inch, 16:9, QHD (quad high definition) 2560 X 1440 IPS 4-sided edge to edge panel.
Here is some other specs:
- 8-bit, 100% sRGB & Rec.709
- USB-C Dock with power, USB 3.1, Ethernet and 2kQHD video display (more about that soon)
- Darkroom mode, CAD/CAM mode, Animation mode
- HDMI, DisplayPort, MiniDisplayPort and DisplayPort out for MST
- HDCP 1.4
The display comes in a lightweight box and includes all the cables you need. I don’t know why they did it this way but the power handling is a bit odd. There is a brick with a long cable to power the USB-C hub/base and there is a power cord for the display itself. I would think that they could have figured out a way to power both off one cable but there are two which is not a big deal.
Speaking of power the USB-C base supplies power to your MacBook Pro through the included USB-C cable. For my 13-inch MacBook Pro the 61 watts delivered is enough to power and charge my laptop. It will charge both the 13-inch MacBook Pro and the 12-inch MacBooks, however, if you are running it with the 15-inch MacBook Pro the 61 watts will power your MacBook Pro but will only charge it very slowly.
Setting up the PD2710QC is very easy. There are three parts in the box, the display panel, the USB-C hub/base and the support arm. The support arm slips easily into the base and can be held in place by the thumbscrew. The panel snaps onto the support arm easily and there is a large release button if you ever want to take it off. The support arm allows the display to be positioned anywhere from 5-inches from your desk to 1-foot if you are really tall or like looking up. The support arm has the swivel that will allow you to rotate the display to portrait mode.
Once you have the display put together (it literally took me about 3 minutes) you can begin to connect stuff. I ran the power and MiniDisplayPort cables through the included cable-management hole in the support arm. The MiniDisplayPort cable connects to the DisplayPort on the USB-C hub. I connected the USB-C cable (included) from the base/hub to my MacBook Pro and I was almost ready to go. I have a USB 3.0 back-up drive and a USB Scanner that connected easily to the base and I connected my ethernet cable to the base, too. Turn on the hub, turn on the display and you are all set. The hub has some other ports that I am not using. It has two more USB 3.1 ports for wired mouse and keyboard located conveniently on the side of the hub/base and a speaker jack, too.
Speaking of speakers, it has some but that is about all I can say, I am not looking for sound quality from my display. The hub/base is perfect to hold your laptop if you are running it in closed mode. I prefer to have that additional display so I position my laptop next to the display. Everything connects with one cable which is a huge advantage. I get display, ethernet, power and USB hub all from one cable with this BenQ display.
The three modes that BenQ programs into the display are handy for those that have a need for precision. The CAD/CAM mode offers better contrast on lines and shapes of technical drawings. The Animation mode which lightens image areas to better visualize the details hiding in dark shadows. The Darkroom mode adjusts the brightness and contrast of image to give clarity and sharpness to details for work in darker post-processing environments.
Things I love about this display:
- Modern nearly borderless display
- USB Hub/Base
- Flexible tilt, height and orientation of display
- Display and color quality
- Customer service!
- One cable connection
- Three-year Warranty
- Value
Things I would like to see improved:
- One power cable, not two
- Another USB-C port on the hub/base
- 85 Watt power delivery
- Thunderbolt 3 support
In comparing to the LG 4 and 5K displays BenQ scores some points. First of course is the value at less than half the cost of the LG 5K display. It has an integrated USB Hub with more ports including ethernet connectivity and audio out. It is more versatile in terms of how the display is articulated and has built-in cable management (that is a hole in the support arm ). The LG wins on 5K resolution and 85 Watt power delivery but unless you really need 5K resolution, I think this BenQ display is a perfect match for Apple’s new laptops.
I am very excited to offer this display to our customers. It sells for $599 and we do have them in stock and should be on display in our stores soon. The PD2710QC carries a three-year manufacturer’s warranty.