Say hi to ben, my new best friend... (Benq FP783)

Name: deets

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Product:	Benq FP783
Date:	29/03/05 (401 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: good gaming response, sharp images, USB+webcam+speakers

Disadvantages: poor black rendering, price, poor viewing angle

Ah yes, here I sit in front of my benq 783 and it makes me smile. It took a while, but finally LCD monitors have met all the expectations we had of them. Now, they are not only slim and sexy, but they also almost compete with CRT on the other things, like picture quality! Anyway, no need to go into too much info at the start right, read on little flea, read on…

Well onto the details, this is a 17” TFT (thin film transistor) LCD screen. It also has multimedia options, which in the real world means speakers and a webcam+mic, again more on those little fellas later. Its 17” and has a native resolution of 1280x1024, a lovely resolution for your regular windows use and gaming. It has a labeled response speed of 12ms, which is pretty well reflected in the real world. For those that don’t know, it’s the speed of the change in the LCD pixels, if its too slow, fast paced screen action can be blurred or “ghosting” as its known. Not a major consideration if you just use the net, but if your play FPS (first person shooter) like half life2 or doom3, you will notice a slower screen. It also has a few USB ports built in, which are very handy.

Im going to make a confession here, I paid a fortune for this screen, about £320 and to be honest its not actually worth that much. These days you can get a far far cheaper 17” LCD for your money, and in some areas it may even be better. That’s not to say I don’t like my screen, as I do, but im realistic enough to now realize that the market has changed and moved on. When I bought it, the LCD market was in high demand, and low supply, so costs went up. Luckily that’s not the case anymore and you can pick up a very good 17” screen for about £150, half what I paid for mine. Saying that, you do have to pay more if you want the digital connection (DVI), which I did as my graphics card on has a DVI socket and the VGA converter was poor.

So, what is good about the monitor? Well, it has a very crisp image, the DVI connector provided a very nice and clear output. Its great for general windows use, the colours are extremely vibrant and crisp. Of course, being LCD, the image doesn’t flicker at all, its solid as a rock, and in that sense, is a CRT (old style TV computer monitor) beater. The screen geometry is also pretty perfect, none of that CRT bend because the LCD screen is perfectly flat. Which is lovely, and using the DVI you don’t have to fiddle about with the screen alignment, its all done automatically, how sweet! The screen is also very bright, probably too much so, you will need to adjust that, or wear shades all the time ;)

So, it’s a good windows machine, providing very sharp and clear text, although make sure cleartype is switched on if your using XP: http://www.microsoft.com/typography/ClearTypeInfo. mspx

Okay, the major reason I forked out so much for a screen is because I am a gamer. I play a lot of computer games, well sadly not as many as I would like :p The kind of games I play are the fast paces first person shooters such as counter strike, and those were the ones that suffered under the older slower monitors. Im please to report that this monitor handles fast paced games without any ghosting at all, and the image is lovely in well lit areas and games. Sadly though, it has its faults, which ill tell you a bit more about now…

Oh dear, you spend £300+ on a screen and you expect it to be better than your old £90 CRT monitor in all respects, and generally is it. There are a few exceptions though, and black level is one of them. This may sound weird, but this monitor cannot do a solid black, they all come out kind of grey. This is due to the nature of LCD screens using a backlight, so even when the LCD pixel is turned off, some light still bleeds through. Normally this isn’t a problem, but in dark games like doom3, you really do have a problem seeing in some areas as you just cannot make out whats going on. This is also the same with DVD viewing, it leaves a lot to be desired to be honest. It also doesn’t have a very good viewing angle, no one will be able to see whats on the screen if they are at a wide angle. Not a problem for the main user, but just don’t expect to share your movies with friends! Significant problems, which I have been told are getting better in newer monitors, so think about that before you buy. Its always best to test the screen before you buy, pop down to comet and then buy online if you like, that’s what I did :D

Okay, onto the multimedia options. Now, you can get this monitor with a webcam and connectable speakers for an extra tenner, an option I decided to go for. Not so much the webcam as I don’t have anyone to go on it with, but the speakers are very handy, no extra power plug needed for the speakers as before, yey! Also, the sound is pretty good for built in speakers, don’t expect huge bass or neighbour waking volume, but more than adequate for music or gaming. They also have head phone socket, which is handy as you no longer have to have a long cable from your pc base unit. The webcam is also fine, if only tried it a few times, but it plugs into the USB port on the top of the screen and cant be raised or rotated to get your best side ;) It also has a built in mic, so is ideal If you want to video conference with someone, so they can hear as well as see you. The built in USB is very handy, you plug the cable into your main PC unit, and then that gives you two ports on the side of the screen and one on top, mainly for your webcam. Ideal if you want to attach a gaming controller or digital camera without having to fiddle about with your pc on the floor under the desk.

So there you go, my little review of the benq 783. It has its good point and its bad points. I wouldn’t personally suggest anyone gets one anymore as there are better and cheaper options, but if you see one cheap or second hand, have a look as it was one of the first lot of decent TFT screens for us gamers.

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