BenQ Mobiuz EX270QM review: a strong contender for your next gaming monitor

The 27-inch BenQ Mobiuz EX270QM is the latest display to try to get into our best gaming monitor list, and below you'll find our full report after testing it out for several weeks – including how it performs on a variety of games, as well as with other computing tasks.

Just about every BenQ monitor we've reviewed in the past has impressed one way or another, which means the Mobiuz EX270QM has quite a bit to live up to. It's an IPS panel that boasts a maximum 240Hz refresh rate that's really going to appeal to gamers.

Whether or not you decide on the BenQ Mobiuz EX270QM as your next monitor upgrade, we've got plenty more buying advice for you to check out as well: be sure to read through our guides to the best gaming headsets and the best gaming laptops too.

BenQ Mobiuz EX270QM: price & availability

The BenQ Mobiuz EX270QM monitor is available to buy now. At the time of writing, you can pick it up for around £600 / $800 online, though the widgets embedded on this page will provide you with the best deals currently being offered. If you're in the UK, you can get the monitor from retailers including Amazon, Scan, and BenQ.

BenQ Mobiuz EX270QM review: design & setup

The BenQ Mobiuz EX270QM follows the design trends set by other monitors in the same series, and while it's by no means an ugly bit of kit, it's not the most stylish looking. The grey, red, and black plastic stand comes across as a little clunky and basic, though around the back of the screen there's a more appealing look for the monitor, helped along by the four subtle light strips.

You won't have any trouble setting this monitor up, and there are no tools required: the base can be hand-screwed into the stand; then the stand simply clips into the back of the screen. As this is a relatively compact and lightweight monitor (tipping the scales at 7.6kgs), you should be able to get it up and running without any help.

The screen will tilt and swivel, but not rotate, and you can easily adjust the height too. You get a remote included with the monitor, which is super simple to connect, and it makes more of a difference than you might think in terms of convenience not to have to reach over every time you want to switch inputs or display modes.

When it comes to the ports here, you're looking at one DisplayPort 1.4 port and two HDMI 2.1 ports for connecting up your various computers, consoles, and other devices. There's also one USB-B port and two USB-A ports, hub-style, to connect up peripherals and charge other devices. They're reasonably easy to access, and there's a removable plastic cover you can fix over them.

BenQ Mobiuz EX270QM review: features & performance

This 27-inch display from BenQ runs at a native resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels and offers some seriously impressive specs: there's the headline-grabbing 240Hz maximum refresh rate, as well as the 1ms grey-to-grey response time. You've got support for AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and Nvidia G-Sync, a maximum brightness of 600 nits, and a contrast ratio of 1000:1.

The 98% DCI-P3 coverage ensures vibrant and life-like colours, and of course makes the monitor more appealing for creatives too, while to my eyes the HDR performance is excellent too – there's DisplayHDR 600 certification and BenQ's own HDRi standard, which tweaks the display output based on the ambient lighting and what's being shown on screen. It adds a real punch to the look of games and movies.

It all adds up to a smooth, vivid experience for top-tier games: Red Dead Redemption 2, No Man's Sky, and Cyberpunk 2077 were the main titles I tested on the BenQ Mobiuz EX270QM. I didn't notice any lag at all, and everything feels super-responsive and quick (bearing in mind that this will partly depend on the rest of your gaming setup too).

Colours look punchy and vibrant, there was no issue at all in terms of motion and ghosting effects, and brightness and contrast are impressive too – not best-in-class, but certainly fine for the price. If you're upgrading from a standard PC monitor to this, you're certainly going to notice the difference when you're gaming.

Movies and other video content looks excellent on this panel, too, and while normal computing and creative work isn't what the BenQ Mobiuz EX270QM was built for, it does really well here too. Not all gaming monitors cope well with other tasks, but this one certainly does, and you can switch back and forth without any issues.

However, I must admit that a lot of the different display modes went largely unexplored – it's not fully clear what these variations add, though it's better to have them there if you want to tweak the look of the display's output.

There are a couple of integrated stereo speakers here that I'm glad to see included (plus a woofer, unusually), and they're not bad at all, as far as speakers go. 

BenQ Mobiuz EX270QM review: verdict

At this stage in the BenQ monitor journey, it would be a shock if the company was to bring out a bad display. It knows what it's doing, and this far down the line, we're only talking about small variations in terms of quality, features, and price. The monitor market is a busy one, and that can make choosing the right panel for you somewhat tricky.

This is undoubtedly one of the best 1440p gaming panels out there at the moment, and everything looks superb out of the box. There aren't many monitors that can combine the specs that the EX270QM does – that 240Hz refresh rate is particularly rare at the moment – and if you're a serious gamer then this monitor just about justifies its price.

Whether or not the BenQ Mobiuz EX270QM brings enough to the table outside of the display quality to really stand out is another matter, though, and considering the competition I'd say this is a great gaming monitor rather than an outstanding one. But as an all-in-one package it's accomplished. 

Also consider

We've recently been very impressed by the Samsung Odyssey OLED G80SD, which will set you back more money than the BenQ Mobiuz EX270QM, but which offers superior OLED panel technology and 32-inches of screen real-estate. It also has a more pleasing aesthetic and comes with smart TV software built right in.

Another 32-inch OLED alternative worthy of your consideration for your gaming setup is the Asus ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM. Again, you get a fantastic OLED experience and stellar performance for your games – but it's even more expensive than the Samsung monitor, so it's not one for those on a tighter budget.