Used BenQ PD3220U DesignVue Designer 31.5" 4K UHD IPS LED Monitor with Built-In Speakers

2024-02-13T09:04:20

I recently purchased a new Mac Studio computer and needed a new display. After 9 years of using a 27" iMac with Retina 5K display, I was somewhat worried about going with a 4K display. My main concern was with text clarity and size given display resolution scaling. However, thought I'd give this BenQ display a shot. Early days yet, but I'm quite pleased with the monitor and the text clarity (even across multiple scaling resolutions) and have already adjusted to not looking at a 5K display. Thought max brightness is lower than an Apple display, even in a room with quite a bit of sunlight I'm not finding it to be an issue during my day-to-day use, and I don't have the brightness dialed up a lot. The display's build quality is solid and everything easy to assemble. The display stand is heavy and the monitor stable. Height, tilt and swivel adjustments are all very easy. The ability to turn the display into a portrait position makes access to the ports on the back easy. Even without using the BenQ "hockey puck" before, it seemed fairly intuitive to use from the start. Overall, a very nice monitor and great purchase. Highly recommended!

Jeff H.

2023-08-17T07:34:51

A lovely monitor: couldn't get the one I originally spec'd in stock so I jumped up in size and got this one and am so happy. Display is gorgeous and great for photo/video work. The only thing I can find to fault is that sometimes the HDMI selection spazzes out if I reboot my machine and I have to twiddle the monitor's selection stick to make it swap to HDMI2-but only sometimes. It really is the only nitpick I can come up with as the monitor is so clean and displays everything so well?.

LC B.

2022-12-20T15:04:30

Still in the box until I get my Mac Studio, but looking forward to using it. Was very happy with the price and speed or the order.

THOMAS C.

2022-08-15T16:00:13

First off, this monitor is big? even if you?re used to something like a 27? iMac like I was. If you have the space for it, I?ve found that it?s pretty amazing for photo/video editing. I didn?t really notice much of a difference going to 4k from a 5k iMac, especially if you use the boosted contrast display modes to mimic the max screen. The adjustable stand is really nice, there are plenty of ports, and it works seamlessly with my 2021 14? MBP over a single thunderbolt cable. I wish it had a webcam built in for FaceTime calls, but I knew that before purchase and I can always add one of those later. My only real complaint is the speakers, which are simply horrible and a huge letdown for such an expensive monitor - and the only reason why I rated it 4 stars instead of 5, so be sure to budget for some sort of external speakers.

JOSHUA S.

2022-02-23T21:18:41

Colors on the monitor look great using the DCI-P3 color gamut. For some reason, when I enable HDR mode on my Mac, the colors look desaturated, so I'd recommend not enabling it. The monitor is a bit dimmer than I hoped it would be, but definitely usable. I like the design of the monitor, especially as someone who hates the tacky "gamer" look of many other monitors. Overall, it's a good buy for productivity purposes and the Thunderbolt connectivity is very convenient and works great with my M1 MacBook Pro.

CHRISTA L.

2022-01-13T12:01:23

The monitor is a great size and sharp but calibrating it takes quite a few passes to get it right. I have worked on all kinds of monitors over the years and this was by far the hardest to bring into alignment. it does have a nice picture quality.

JOSEPH A.

2021-12-06T12:35:20

Very flexible with a great display. Activating the different ?color? modes is a time saving way to get a good idea on what content will look like at final output

Norman R.

2021-11-12T04:17:33

The colors are spot on right out of the box. I didn?t have to use any color calibration equipment when working on my photos or with Pantone colors. I?ve had it for about a year now.

JULIE W.

2021-11-11T07:36:13

Great colors, plenty of real estate. Windows 10 at displays native resolution impossible to read! LOL. Photos are incredible on this beast

PATRICK C.

2021-07-15T08:39:24

This is a monitor I didn?t know I needed this much until now. The colors are really sharp & crisp, there are plenty of ports to use. This was a good choice.

Tyrone L.

2020-11-26T19:10:30

This is our first BenQ monitor we’ve gotten after a couple of decades of using Eizo monitors with hardware calibration for color-critical design and repress works. After a couple of weeks of test driving, we are pretty happy about the color accuracy and built quality of the monitor. No dead pixel, line or sign of any trouble. We are only giving four stars as we haven’t yet used it enough to give one more star. So far so good. BTW, the 4K UHD is actually too high-res for our regular graphic and web design work—We had to adjust View Options and display setting to enlarge Mac menu and others. For video projects it works very well.

KEIJI O.

2020-09-18T09:12:32

Not usable for MacBook Pro if you’re looking for the same real estate as iMac 27 inch. Default makes everything too big, actual resolution makes everything too small. Scaling anywhere in between, which is what you probably want, creates graphics performance issues like lag and stuttering. Other than that it is a really great monitor. The hardware is top notch. Everything was super crisp. Colors were perfect. So, if you are not looking for to pair with MacBook Pro to get the 27inch iMac equivalent, this is an excellent choice. I took away a star because I feel that it is marketed towards creative professionals using MacBook Pros who are most likely expecting a working environment comparable to Apple setups. Also, because it wasn’t on display at the store, I was directed to test the iMac because “it’s the same resolution”. No, and even though that is not the fault of the product, I’m tired of the confusing marketing. I shouldn’t have to guess. Just tell us and the retailers

PETER T.

2020-08-07T16:35:04

I bought two of these monitors for photo editing, and for general-purpose “work” computing. I have them connected to my iMac, my MacBook Pro, and my work-issued Windows laptop. I love working in 4K (times two!) at 31.5”! Great quality images too. I have only four minor “nits” to pick with these monitors: 1. Occasionally, they don’t “toggle” between my computers as I’d expect. 2. Along the extreme edges of the monitor, I do see a bit of a curve - like the Samsung cell phones. It’s not really bad, but just something that caught my eye. 3. These buggers can get TOASTY! Under normal circumstances, this is most likely a non-issue. But my home-office is in the second floor of a house that gets hot up here in the summer. Any extra heat up here in the summer months isn’t a great thing - but will probably be welcome in the winter. :) 4. The Thunderbolt 3 cable that comes with the monitors is not long enough to daisy chain the two monitors together - be prepared to buy another.

IAN G.

2020-07-26T23:23:18

As a professional 3D artist and wildlife photographer, I view monitors as key components to my workflow. They need to be reliable, perform in the best quality possible but don't break the bank. Now I have been using BENQ monitors for many years ( SW240, PD3200U etc ) but I also use the PD3220U. It is my main "go to" screen and it has always done what it should. So two thumbs up from me

Mike H.

2020-07-26T18:03:35

I used this display as part of a dual display in my photo editing workflow and it is a fantastic 4K display. I calibrated this display with i1Display Pro and Pro Plus and the result are amazing. I was able to get the delta e max to just above 1, this is astonishing. Furthermore, I calibrated this display in Display P3 color mode which BenQ has calibrated from the factory with greater uniformity and I had run numerous test on this as well and the uniformity delta e is really low. The build quality is good and is in line with most other displays that are out there, the stand is sturdy and made of metal which is great to handle the weight and movement. If you have a Mac with USB Type C and are looking for a 32" 4K that is not hardware calibrated this would be the one to consider. Did I also mentioned that the Thunderbolt 3 connect will do 85 Watts Power Delivery, you can just leave the power adapter behind for many laptops and it can also daisy chain to another 4K display, really useful features.

ART S.

2019-09-15T10:35:47

Looked for a 4k monitor to develop my over 10k of RAW images. This BenQ works great and exactly like expected. Great color space coverage and very uniform brightness.Little light bleeding in corners. Highly adjustable foot design that fits my needs perfectly. If your looking for something better you have to spend aprobably a couple hundred or even a grand more.

Daniel M.

2019-08-11T11:16:52

In the interest of preventing others from wasting 2 weeks ordering and returning this monitor, this is my experience. I had high hopes that this monitor would be a good fit for my 2019 maxed out MacBookPro 15". SCREEN: It had terrible magenta and green color bleed - it looked like colored cotton candy was stuffed behind the screen. I used Spyder Elite to color profile but the magenta/green bleed was constant, black was still grey/brown and the white yellowish. (my other 4 monitors in my house calibrated the same way shown accurate and similar colors) MOVEMENT: The monitor had noticeable screen movement which caused a seasick like experience. BUILD: Although the base looked OK the overall build quality was that of a cheap plastic low grade monitor. SPEAKERS: Just awful! USB-C: The USB-C cable worked fine with my MacBookPro as far as connectivity and had little lag.

JANNE J.