BenQ set to release 24.1-inch 540 Hz Full HD gaming monitor in May

BenQ’s Zowie sub-brand has been a long-time provider of monitors for eSports players. The latest announcement of a new Fast TN panel with a yet-newer version of DyAc should catch the eye of current and prospective eSports pros. The BenQ Zowie XL2586X is far from BenQ’s first high refresh rate 24.1-inch Fast TN monitor, but it’s their best so far since it’s able to push a full 540 Hz with yet better motion clarity thanks to DyAc 2 — more on DyAc in a bit.

For now, let’s examine the main specifications for the BenQ Zowie XL2586X, as available on BenQ’s official page. The BenQ Zowie XL2586X will begin shipping on May 20th, and the current pre-order pricing is $999.99.

BenQ Zowie XL2586X Specifications

• Monitor Size: 24.1 inches
• Monitor Resolution and Estimated Pixels Per Inch (PPI): 1920 x 1080, roughly 91 PPI
• Monitor Panel Type: Fast TN
• Monitor Refresh Rate: 540 Hz
• Monitor Response Time: .5 ms (G2G)
• Monitor Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) Support: Yes, but not while DyAC is active
• Monitor I/O: 3 HDMI 2.1 ports, 1 DisplayPort 1.4 port, 1 3.5mm headphone jack
• Monitor Adjustment Support: Yes, includes height, swivel, and tilt adjustment
• Other Monitor Features: DyAc 2

While DyAc (short for dynamic accuracy) seems like some ill-defined marketing speak, it refers to a hardware feature seen in BenQ displays that tangibly improves motion clarity, according to eSports pros and various testers. On the high end, it can be difficult to tell the difference between DyAc on and off—particularly on monitors that already have great refresh rate and pixel response time—but that difference is well-documented and should still matter to modern pros.

In any case, it seems that DyAc 2 (compared to the original and DyAc+ we’ve seen in prior BenQ monitors) further improves BenQ’s motion clarity at these stupendously high refresh rates. The addition of a vivid color film (which supposedly boosts color performance by 35%—up to ~95% DCI-P3 coverage based on prior displays) also helps offset some of the visual losses that otherwise come with TN. 

Of course, OLED and Mini LED IPS monitors are still likely your best choices for pure image quality, but for eSports pros and gaming enthusiasts, CRT displays and BenQ TN panels aren’t going anywhere. If “ball is life” for basketball fans and players, low display lag is life for competitive gamers everywhere, pro or not.