BenQ XR3501 Preview

We recently had the chance to take a hands-on look at the latest BenQ curved gaming monitor, aimed at immersing the player into the game, but particularly designed with racing games in mind. The event we attended in London had an impressive display of BenQ technology, but the centrepiece was a presentation and triple display of XR3501 where a racing competition would take place.

So the XR3501 is a very heavy and ultra-curved monitor, with one of the highest curvatures we’ve seen so far at 2000R — being the radius, in millimetres, of the would-be circumference. However, this becomes an even more impressive number if we consider that we’re talking about 35 inches of monitor, with a 21:9 display. These dimensions seem to have taken into account quite carefully when designing this monitor, as the guys in BenQ explained how immersion through the monitor was carried by filling our peripheral vision with screen space. This translates into seeing everything is in the screen, and only the screen, when using the monitor. And no, there’s no image distortion to such closed curvature.

The only game we tried could be none other than Project Cars, and I must say that two thirds of that triple display felt rather unnecessary. Admittedly, they let you plunge into the game without visual distractions, but I didn’t feel I was testing a single monitor, as the measures and the field of view were tripled horizontally. That being said, the experience was no disappointment. The smooth framerate, neat visuals and the vibrancy of the colours provided by both the game and the monitor is something many other monitors should aspire to. Again, the possibilities of testing the monitor were limited, as being an event, any tweaking is left out of the equation

It seems as if BenQ is still aiming towards this generation of gaming, at least in terms of definition, as for such a big screen, we’re still at 2560x1080 resolution. Although many may consider this a drawback, for a great part of the consumer base with limited hardware at home, 4K seems like too much of a long shot. I can hardly complain about this, particularly when focusing on domestic use, but I’m sure that for many with economic possibilities and enough dedication, the lack of 4K, or at least 1440p, will suppose a major inconvenience.

It is no surprise that the combination of the curved screen plus the high framerate, at 144Hz, make this monitor ideal for racing. It is perhaps here where they’ve compromised on resolution in favour of framerate, which I consider a smart decision. Very few rigs are going to be able to run next-gen games at 4k and 144Hz. In fact, it is likely that visual flare is not as highly valued by lovers of racing games as much as smooth gameplay, which is definitely what this monitor can provide to you.

On top of this, BenQ presented their wide range of gaming monitors, providing a quick insight to the technology that creates such finesse in BenQ monitors. That’s when my first scepticism regarding image post-processing aroused. I’ve always been under the impression that many brands use these mechanisms to hide a defective quality of image. However, I’m happy to see that as expected from BenQ, the image quality is not compromised at all. Black eQualizer, adjustable Game Modes, and adjustable Colour Vibrance are, without a doubt, the cherry on top in BenQ monitors, and the XR3501 presents itself as their pinnacle.