BenQ PD2720U review: Professional 4K monitor with stunning color and plenty of ports

BenQ is a well-known name in the PC monitor realm, and its latest professional 4K offering, the PD2720U, is an impressive piece of hardware that caters to those in design and development sectors. At first glance, you may balk at the $1,100 price tag, but for those who can take advantage of the wide range of features found here, it likely seems more reasonable. Is the BenQ PD2720U the right monitor for you? Is it worth a buy? Here's our review.

What you'll love about BenQ's PD2720U monitor

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BenQ has nailed the overall design of the PD2720U, delivering just about everything customers look for in a monitor. On the top and sides is a slim bezel that helps make the picture pop — the bottom bezel is thicker — and though the rear is chunkier than some professional monitors we've seen, it's nothing out of the ordinary. There's generous space for a wide variety of ports, including dual HDMI, dual Thunderbolt 3 (not something that's often seen on a monitor), and DisplayPort, and they can be hidden away behind a removable plastic cover that funnels all cables toward the middle for easy cable management and a clean look.

The metal stand is solid and holds the 27-inch display steady, allowing for 90-degree right pivot for portrait mode, 30-degree left, and right swivel, and forward and backward tilt. The same joint in the stand itself that allows for swivel also handles height adjustments. The monitor goes high enough that I think most people shouldn't need to add a riser beneath the stand, which certainly can't be said for every monitor out there.

Along with a joystick and a couple of buttons on the back right side of the monitor, there's an included control puck that plugs in with Micro USB. The attached cable is long enough that you can position it just about anywhere on your desk, and it provides quick and easy access to the on-screen display (OSD) menu.

Therein you'll find plenty of adjustments available, including extensive color presets — DCI-P3, HDR, sRGB, AdobeRGB, Rec.709, CAD/CAM, Animation, Low blue light, Darkroom — as well as dual view controls that lets you split color and picture down the middle for working with multiple windows. The low blue light setting promotes eye health, and the monitor has ZeroFlicker tech for further reduction of eye strain. These are key for pros (and non-pros!) who sit in front of a monitor all day.

Switching between color presets, it's evident this monitor comes calibrated from the factory. Colors pop and there's enough brightness to work in a well-lit room, even without HDR10 enabled. You can expect 100 percent sRGB, 100 percent AdobeRGB, and 96 percent DCI-P3 color reproduction, making this an ideal 4K monitor for design, photography, and development work. A 60Hz refresh rate and 6ms response time mean you could use the PD2720U for gaming, though you can find a more appropriate 4K gaming monitor with specific gaming tech for quite a bit less money.

As some added perks, the PD2720U comes with essentially every standard cable you need to connect to its ports, there's a unique calibration report from the factory test, and there's a three-year warranty that helps to swallow the relatively costly investment.

What you'll dislike about BenQ's PD2720U monitor

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Other than the high price — which will no doubt be justified by those who seek the full set of features on offer here — the only other downside to the monitor is the rather flimsy speakers. It's appreciated that they're included as they work in a pinch, though volume isn't exactly loud when maxed out and sound quality leaves something to be desired. Luckily, there's a 3.5mm audio jack included along the back of the display for connecting a headset or speakers.

Should you buy the BenQ PD2720U monitor?

The BenQ PD2720U comes from the factory calibrated for sRGB, AdobeRGB, and DCI-P3 color gamuts, allowing for a range of uses in design, photography, and development. Plenty of color presets make it easy to quickly switch tasks without much hassle, and the included control puck adds convenience. It's tough to relay the crisp and vivid picture through photos, but the picture is absolutely stunning, especially when HDR10 is enabled.

The display is stocked with ports, including two Thunderbolt 3 for data and power transfer, which can all be hidden behind a removable plastic cover that promotes tidy cable management. The versatile stand is high enough that most people shouldn't need to add a riser, and it allows you to get the right angle and orientation. If you need a professional 4K monitor and can stand having sub-par speakers and can afford something that costs more than $1,000, the PD2720U should be on your short list.