“Programming” monitor

I’ve been rocking an LG monitor that has noticeable burn-in. The old dog takes a while to flicker into life too. I’ve had it around eight years (the Dell before it lasted ten). I think the monitor is too dumb to be spying on me but I’m due an upgrade anyway.

I picked up the BenQ RD280UG — the UG is the new 120Hz model.

Was it worth the cost? It’s certainly not the cheapest monitor nor is it the most expensive. If it lasts the best part of a decade I’ll not worry. I didn’t compare many others but I’m guessing the BenQ is a little on the pricier side for the specs. Probably a limited edition because nobody programs anymore!

I have no referral link I just think it’s neat.

Screen

The “programming” marketing is all based on the 3:2 aspect ratio and matt panel. That means a 1920×1280 resolution, so an extra 200 pixels in height (technically 3840×2560 but my brain works in CSS pixels). I feel like I’m coding at an IMAX it’s glorious. It’s physically the exact width of my old monitor so watching 16:9 letterboxed video is no smaller.

120Hz is nice though not a game changer, I don’t think my lazy eyes care beyond 60Hz. The matt panel is amazing I see no glare or reflections. I feel like it’s giving me less eye strain. I’ll report back in a few months.

The “Programming dark theme” is a load of bollocks. The monitor has a selection of presets you can cycle through like every other monitor. You can split the screen in half and apply different profiles. I can’t see myself ever bothering to do that (on purpose).

Colour

I’m not a TV pervert so I can’t judge how accurate the colours are but it looks great to me. Looks better than my old LG. On par with my MacBook screen (this is bait).

I’ve always held the belief that designing websites on a perfect colour-accurate monitor is vanity. Few will ever see what the designer sees. Unlike print design, which has a predictable end product, web designers can’t control the final presentation. Therefore, maybe designing on a cheap, factory calibrated monitor is more closely aligned to end user experience?

To put it another way, you can tell if a web designer owns a $2000 monitor if their palette has fifty shades of the same grey and gradients that band like an 8-bit game.

The BenQ is a decent in between, if not towards the higher end.

Ports

The monitor has a reasonable variety of ports and KVM switching is possible. My old Mac Mini with Linux installed was too much hassle to use by switching cables. The only issue now is that my MacBook turns off when I switch with the lid closed. Still, it’s more convenient now to share keyboard & mouse. For KVM one machine must use a single USB-C cable, the other must use HDMI or DisplayPort and a USB-A-to-B cable. Why not simply two USB-C cables? There’s three USB-C ports and daisy-chaining is possible but not KVM.

My new setup is one USB-C cable from MacBook to monitor without a big dock in the middle. I’m glad to remove the Thunderbolt dock and its massive power brick. I still have an additional tiny 4 port USB-A splitter (900 mA) and an Ethernet to USB-C adapter that all tucks away behind the monitor.

A tidy desk makes for a tidy mind.

Other stuff

The monitor itself has an internal power brick. That means two less (for a total of zero) paper weights on my desk (unless the Mac Mini remains unused). Power bricks are a nightmare for adjustable standing desks. Good times!

The stand does its job. I can lower it to a perfect height which I couldn’t do with my old monitor. I had to buy an adjustable arm which needed space to flex behind my desk.

BenQ wants me to download their “Display Pilot 2” spyware. Not a chance! I heard “BetterDisplay Pro” was good and it does stuff but I don’t really need to do stuff. The monitor works out of the box. I don’t think I’m missing functionality.

I don’t game on this thing (Mac, lol) but as a “programming” monitor it works nicely despite the gimmick being overhyped.

TL;DR: 3:2 aspect ratio is neat. I’ll enjoy the novelty for a while.

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