Using BenQ's latest 32" 4k monitor (RD320U) which is aimed at programming | Hacker News Reader

Using BenQ's latest 32" 4k monitor (RD320U) which is aimed at programming

nickjanetakis.com

35 pointsnickjj38 comments

Benq makes garbage. And I buy it!

Went through 4 monitors in 22 all with QC issues. One took out my macbook pro for not following the usb c spec over the built in unpowered hub. Was so angry and lost 2 months of productivity

Bought this model as well, hasn't arrived yet but expecting to return it. Their QC is terrible, their cs could care less and left me hanging and the specs are mediocre anyway. Don't buy Benq and if you do Amazon for a fast return.

They gave this guy a $700 monitor and he still couldn't recommend it. Benq makes shit.

> a $700 monitor and he still couldn't recommend it

He seemed to really like it, only not recommending it because it was expensive!

Can I ask, why have you bought the fourth monitor (or the fifth now?) if all the others have caused so many problems? For me, if I had that kind of problem even twice I wouldn't touch a company again.

He is more into Hz:

> I feel like a jerk saying no since BenQ was kind enough to send me the monitor, but I can’t justify dropping $650 for a 60hz monitor. That’s because I find features like refresh rate more appealing than eye-care features as we approach this price range.

For example, I don't care about Hz

Yeah, I have had a low-Hz BenQ 32" w/puck since 2020 (I think mine was aimed at graphics/visual artists) - and it has given me no trouble and performed beautifully.

Would buy again, first BenQ product and convinced me that they are good - paid maybe about $100 less.

This particular model has a very good color profile before that was common but all the units I got were literally falling apart or glitching. I really wanted to use one for vertical coding but in the end it became obvious every unit was defective in some way. QA must be non existent. Maybe they had a bad batch at Amazon, but the cs was the last straw. Took two weeks for a reply to a ticket and they were short, passing the buck and offering return procedures that would leave me without a unit for weeks. It was like they didn't believe me. The reviews mentioned getting faulty refurbs as replacements and I wasn't willing to accept that, so just returned through Amazon. Interestingly the boxes all looked trashed much like in the review. It was two years ago and I'm still really pissed off. What a waste of my valuable time. For some reason I got the impression Benq was a premium brand. If you look at their setup video they twice say not to apply pressure to the function bar. Must be built like lego from tacky plastic like the others. https://youtu.be/z1v_o4gXp-Q

Oh geez, the video version of that article is the biggest let down ever: it's just ~50 minutes of a screen capture of the same article, with an corner image of him reading the article (OK I skipped around to see if it ever switches to him recording the monitor, I didn't listen to hear if he added more info compared to the written text).

Video is supposed to offer sound and moving pictures, for a product review I expect to see some recordings of the product, including in this case the screen to maybe see the quality of the picture. Not just the reviewer reading the article.

I reread the part about speakers 3 times and still don't understand. He says it has speakers but then implies it doesn't? I'm lost.

> He says it has speakers but then implies it doesn't? I'm lost.

Thanks for the feedback. I was saying it has speakers but they are lackluster in quality.

That's what I meant when I wrote "I don't want to trash BenQ too hard here but let's just say having monitor speakers you'll never use is better than not having them" and followed up with commenting on how you can at least use them to troubleshoot audio issues on your system.

One of my difficulties when buying a new monitor is that there's no way to evaluate a particular model before purchase.

A few months ago I got a BenQ PD2705, as more than satisfied with the last BenQ. Cheap, 4K. Nowhere in the online specs I looked at was there any mention of the puck that's included - an unexpected bonus. A 2 system KVM that I use to switch between macOS/windows. Handles USB-C and Display Port. Not perfect - there are issues if the mac goes to sleep, that needs a couple of extra clicks of the puck and keyboard, but way better than the setup I had before.

rtings.com has been pretty good. They include what comes in the box and what type of navigation it uses for the OSD.

Yeah, but where you live they only sell the PD2706 model, and who knows what that does differently - especially since most of the listings on Amazon use a mix of PD2704 and PD2705 pictures.

Except for the high end, buying a monitor is really a pay and pray experience

> 16:9

But why[1]?

[1]: https://www.benq.com/en-us/monitor/programming/rd280u.html

That battle has been lost. Dell's Ultrasharp U30xx 30" monitors were the last large 16:10 monitors I was aware of and it looks like Dell doesn't even make them anymore when I just checked.

Even those are only 2560x1600. At this point, I'd rather take any 16:9 4k monitor, unfortunately. I'd pay out the nose for a good 5k 16:10 monitor though.

Why not? I certainly get 16:10 or even 3:2 on laptops but for a desktop just get a taller display (if there is truly not enough vertical space on 32” screen...).

You can get a higher quality 32" 4k LG Ultrafine for $239, why spend $650

https://www.costco.com/lg-32%22-class-ultrafine-uhd-ips-moni...

It doesn’t have usb c or any support for usb accessories. I don’t know if it is an old model, but if you are buying for software development, then lack of a usb c PD port is non starter.

The monitor having PD and a USB hub is a convenience feature for those users who regularly dock and undock their laptops, not specifically related to software development. And for $400 a user can buy a hub, or plug in two things into their laptop instead of one.

I'm a developer and I use it daily with a MacBook Pro. I just got a $16 powered DP1.4 Cable with 100W PD, works great, only one cable to plug in and it shows up instantly. A full USB-C hub is only slightly more if you need ethernet and other things.

400nits is way too dim, especially for $650.

There are 4K 165Hz 27" and 32" FALD monitors with over 1000 dimming zones capable of sustained >1000 nits full screen brightness available for $400.

presumably this monitor is designed to be used indoors on earth, instead of outdoors on the surface of the sun.

I like to use my windows to get some sunlight.

I bought a new BenQ 4k monitor a few years ago. It was faulty. I RMAd it, they send me a refurbished but even more faulty monitor. And this happens 3 times. Then I said wtf is this, I bought a new monitor I expect a new monitor as replacement. They (BenQ in NL) sent me a more professional model with kvm switch embedded, still had some syncing issues but ok whatever.

Should I ever buy another monitor it won't be BenQ.

4k@32" is pretty pixellated. I'm kinda amused that people find this to be an acceptable resolution for working with text in 2024.

I agree that its a very subpar solution for programming, unless you value a lot of screen estate and can deal with tiny text.

4k/5k 27" screens with appropriate font scaling make text so much easier to read and are thereby much easier on the eyes. And they still have plenty screen estate (having 2-3 files open next to each other is no problem).

$650 is a bit of premium for a 60 Hz 4k 32" monitor with gimmicks which weren't particularly attractive. I appreciate the honest review conclusions of a free product.

I will say > 100% scaling on < 32" 4k monitors is much like the 60 Hz vs 120 Hz conversation in the article - it's not a necessity for programming by any means but it is often worthwhile anyways. The gain here becomes text clarity rather than the absolute amount of workspace. In an ideal world I'd have an 8k 32" high framerate monitor for that reason. Unfortunately at that size it's not even an option if you're willing to drop any amount of cash (at least last I looked). Dell has a 31.5" 8k but it's 60 Hz.

A lot of people in this thread complaining about DPIs and similar specs. Am I really the weird one for still thinking a 24" 1080p (≈92 DPI) display is absolutely fine for 99% of tasks?

The people praising 4K now will be calling it shit in just a few years time. Maybe I am coping for not having grown up with HD TV.

I wonder if he (and others) realizes that you can set 100% scale factor, but still increase font size in the applications you use. So you still have way more space available, but you don't necessarily need a magnifying glass and you don't need to strain your eyes if the text is too small for your liking.

If you increase the font size then you will lose effective space.

For example in the screenshots I included in the post, I can fit 6 side by side code windows at 80 chars and have a tiny bit of room to spare. That's with a code editor font size of 10. If I doubled the font size then I'd only be able to fit 3 because text is twice as large.

More than by increasing the scale of everything? Either I'm misunderstanding something or that doesn't make any sense to me.

In my case the text is everything. Check the screenshot in the post:

https://nickjanetakis.com/assets/blog/benq-rd320u-programmin...

It's Vim buffers with practically no borders or UI. Doubling the font size would half my space because text would be twice as large.

The best programming monitor if you're on a Macbook and don't mind spending an arm and a leg is the Apple Display XDR

It'll hold its value incredibly well too compared to your average monitor, which softens the blow

Lol, yep, what is arguably the best monitor money can buy is also going to be good for text editing.

I value the sharpness a lot. So 6K@32 is where it is at for me. Cannot imagine to go back. I have the Dell one and it is a bit ugly with the big camera top but at 2k it is about a third of the Cinema Display XDR

> 32" / 4k (3840 x 2160) / 137 PPI

Why is it so hard in 2024 to find a monitor with decent pixel density? The difference between a 32” 4K and a 27” 5K is really noticeable for text.

I bought a Dell 34 inch widescreen curved monitor 2 years ago for ~500. Somedays even that feels too narrow when I'm coding. 32 inch would feel restrictive.

Hey! I knew I recognized your name. Love your `docker-rails-example` project. Recently used it to bootstrap my own project.

I have a 27inch Phillips 4K and its pretty good. Comes at a price point of 400 bucks though,ast I checked.

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