BenQ releases 24.5″ gaming monitor with 240Hz panel

Benq released a 24.5″ monitor on Thursday with a refresh rate of 240Hz. The Zowie XL2540 is the first monitor on the market that can achieve the refresh rate. The screen has a suggested retail price of 549 euros.

The XL2540 is equipped with a tn panel with a resolution of 1920×1080 pixels and a contrast value of 1000:1. The monitor has a response time of 1 millisecond. To process the large amount of data that the high frame rate entails, the monitor is equipped with two HDMI 2.0 connections and a displayport 1.2 connection. There is also a dual-link DVI connection, but it can’t handle the refresh rate of 240Hz.

The monitor has three USB 3.0 ports and connections for headphones and microphone. The settings of the screen can be quickly adjusted using an additional device with large buttons, which can be used to switch between preset modes. According to Benq, the large rotating flaps on the sides of the screen serve to shield the gamer from distracting elements in the environment.

Other brands have shown a concept of a 240Hz monitor before. Both Eizo and LG offer a screen that has a 240Hz panel. However, both monitors do not support input signals higher than 120Hz, which they double. Asus showed a 240Hz monitor at Computex in May, and Acer had one at IFA in August. These monitors have not yet appeared on the market.

The Benq Zowie XL2540 has a suggested retail price of 549 euros, but at the time of writing it is in the Pricewatch for 499 euros.