The Zowie line from BenQ includes not quite familiar old school gaming monitors based on TN + film matrices. These are monitors that take us back to the days before IPS, when no one bothered much because of the matrix response speed, high input lag and other things, but at the same time suffered from not always successful calibration, small viewing angles and situational artifacts depending on connection type.


The main thing here is the reactive response speed and high sweep frequency, which is appreciated by e-sportsmen. Most representatives of this series provide a response of less than 1 ms (and this is without the use of crutches), and the sweep frequency can reach 240 Hz. The output is really smooth motion with no blurring or trailing (especially with Blur Reduction turned on), and the difference between 60Hz and 144Hz on a display like this is so stark it's better to see for yourself.

Zowie monitors have an absolutely calm minimalist design that doesn't really fit in with the latest trends in the gaming monitor market. The 2018-19 models, with their thick side bezels and massive stands, will be mistaken by most people for a fairly ordinary five-year-old office monitor. The only things that betray the true nature of these monitors are the removable side curtains and the control joystick, which is built right into the stand. Newer models like the Zowie XL2411K look more sophisticated, but retain the original asceticism.