The BenQ Mobiuz EX2710Q is, in many ways, the epitome of a modern mid-range gaming monitor.

Its 27-inch size is suitable for most gaming setups, it offers crisp but not heavy 1440p resolution and offers an improved 165Hz refresh rate with AMD FreeSync Premium certification. BenQ even adds solid support and decent speakers.

There’s only one problem: the monitor sells for $599.99 (currently $499.99 on Amazon). That’s undeniably pricey for a 27-inch, 1440p, 165Hz gaming monitor, and draws attention away from the monitor.

BenQ Mobiuz EX2710Q – Design

The EX2710Q is part of BenQ’s Mobiuz sub-brand, which competes with other sub-brands such as Asus’ Republic of Gamers and Dell’s Alienware.

Mobiuz does not have the recognition of its competitors, but it does not lack quality. This monitor looks unique without becoming garish. Alienware and Samsung monitors are always my top choice for design, but I prefer the Mobiuz sub-brand look to anything recently released by Acer, Asus, or LG.

Your eyes may be drawn to the large soundbar-like chin of the monitor. Here’s a surprise: it’s not a facade! The BenQ Mobiuz EX2710Q packs a pair of two-watt speakers and a five-watt woofer that deliver great sound. It won’t match a great set of PC speakers and subwoofers, but it’s a big improvement over the weak speakers often found in monitors (when included in the all).

The quality of the monitor extends to the sturdy stand that adjusts for height, tilt, and rotation. However, it doesn’t swivel to portrait orientation, which could be a drawback when using the EX2710Q as a secondary display.

The stand’s feet are a bit wide for a 27-inch monitor and take up a lot of room on your desk. Standard VESA 100 x 100 millimeter mounting is used, so you can replace the included stand with a third-party monitor arm or wall mount.

BenQ Mobiuz EX2710Q – Features and Menu

The BenQ Mobiuz EX2710Q has two HDMI 2.0 ports and one DisplayPort 1.4. This is the typical range of options for a 1440p monitor. There’s no reason to worry about HDMI 2.1 in a 1440p monitor with a 165Hz refresh rate.

A pair of rear USB-A ports are available and driven by a single upstream USB-B connection from your desktop or laptop computer. This too is typical for a 1440p gaming monitor, although it’s starting to feel a little dated. BenQ could better justify the price of the EX2710Q with additional USB-A ports or USB-C support.

The monitor’s on-screen menu is controlled by a joystick and several buttons on the right flank. I found the controls a bit confusing. The buttons are located above and below the joystick, with the lower button turning off the monitor. I often press this button by accident while making adjustments.

The monitor’s menu design is clunky, and you won’t find many common settings immediately available. Instead, they’re buried in the color mode settings. You can quickly adjust some settings in the context menu that appears when you first press the joystick, and the monitor allows you to customize the settings included in this menu. Still, I prefer easy access to the full list of options.

At least BenQ doesn’t skimp on the details. The monitor’s custom mode provides settings for color vibrancy, temperature and gamma, a large number of options for each. These can adjust the monitor’s appearance to your preference or be used to precisely calibrate the monitor. There is also a dedicated sRGB mode.

BenQ Mobiuz EX2710Q – Gaming Performance

The BenQ Mobiuz EX2710Q goes above and beyond in its design and features, but the same cannot be said for its image quality. It looks good but doesn’t stand out from other high-end 1440p gaming monitors.

Arguably the monitor’s greatest strength is its color gamut, which in my testing covered all of sRGB and 98% of DCI-P3. This monitor has the oversaturated, ultra colorful look common to gaming monitors with a wide color gamut. Color accuracy is decent, but I think most gamers will like what they see.

These traits serve the monitor well in Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalkera game that makes up for its outdated graphics engine with great art design and presentation. The EX2710Q’s supersaturation lets spectacular views pop and adds style to meticulously crafted outfits.

The EX2710Q is an edge-lit monitor with an IPS panel and suffers from the issues common to monitors of this breed. I recorded a peak contrast ratio of 820:1, which is lackluster, and saw noticeable backlight bleed in three separate places. The monitor’s black levels don’t get any deeper than a distracting blurry gray.

The monitor supports HDR10 and has VESA DisplayHDR 400 certification, the lowest level of certification offered by VESA. The monitor reached a maximum sustained brightness of 420 nits in my testing. This, combined with the wide color gamut, can provide additional visual amplification in flashy HDR games. Infinite Halo and Forza Horizon 5both of which rely on bright, crisp and colorful graphics, looked exceptionally appealing with HDR enabled.

The monitor’s contrast ratio remains a limitation, however, and it delivers less impressive results in scenes that have small bright highlights against a dark background. Night flight in Microsoft Flight Simulator was a disappointing experience that suffered a hazy and washed out look. I felt HDR made the situation worse, as the monitor couldn’t increase the brightness of the cockpit instruments without also increasing the brightness of the whole scene.

The monitor’s 1440p resolution is 108 pixels per inch. It’s not impressive compared to other modern screens, but reasonably sharp from three feet away. More importantly, this resolution does not require a state-of-the-art GPU to deliver acceptable performance.

Overall, the BenQ Mobiuz EX2710Q offers good but not outstanding image quality for an IPS gaming monitor. It’s punchy in bright scenes, especially those that support HDR, but struggles in darker games. The monitor holds up better in fast-paced games and fails in slower, more atmospheric titles.

BenQ Mobiuz EX2710Q – Motion Performance

The BenQ Mobiuz EX2710Q’s 165Hz IPS panel provides excellent motion performance, especially at high refresh rates.

Motion clarity at 165Hz is excellent in standard mode, with minimal motion blur and no ghosting. It’s some of the best motion clarity you’ll find without opening your wallet for a more expensive 27-inch, 240Hz display like the Alienware AW2721D. Competitive players will be delighted.

Blur reduction, BenQ’s black frame insertion function, is available. I saw an increase in clarity and the typical double image effect of inserting a black frame was lessened. However, motion performance is already great with the feature turned off, so the difference was minimal in real-world games. Additionally, blur reduction is not available when HDR is enabled.

The monitor is AMD FreeSync Premium certified, but I tested it with an Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti graphics card. The Nvidia card detected the monitor as G-Sync compatible and G-Sync worked fine. I saw no flickering, stuttering, or other timing issues during my time with the monitor.

BenQ Mobiuz EX2710Q – Console Gaming

I don’t recommend the BenQ Mobiuz EX2710Q for console gaming. The monitor’s 1440p resolution is a poor match, as only the Xbox Series X|S supports this resolution. The PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch will output at 1080p and lack sharpness as a result. The 165Hz refresh rate is also excessive. Console gamers who don’t want to shell out for a 4K monitor with HDMI 2.1 should save the cash and stick with 1080p resolution.

BenQ Mobiuz EX2710Q – Day to Day Performance

The BenQ Mobiuz EX2710Q has a few day-to-day advantages. The wide color gamut, which covers most of DCI-P3, is well suited for photographers, digital artists, video editors and other content creators. HDR support means you can watch HDR movies or create HDR content. And don’t forget the built-in speakers. They’re great for throwing in some mood tunes for a relaxed vibe.

The monitor’s 1440p resolution could be a problem, as you won’t be able to view content in native 4K. This is a disadvantage when watching Netflix and when creating content. My tests also found the monitor’s color accuracy to be average. It was fine for most situations, but no better than half price 4K desktop monitors.

Brightness was mediocre in SDR. Maximum sustained monitor brightness of 420 nits was recorded in DisplayHDR mode. However, the monitor’s maximum sustained brightness in SDR was only 233 nits. That’s enough for most situations, but can feel dim if the monitor is sitting in front of a large window. The monitor has an effective anti-glare layer to reduce glare.

It should be noted that the BenQ EX2780Q, which I reviewed in August 2021, beats the BenQ Mobiuz EX2710Q in several areas. It had much better color accuracy, higher contrast ratio, and superior SDR brightness in my tests. This comes at the cost of lower HDR performance and a lower refresh rate. The EX2710Q is better in fast-paced, competitive games, but the EX2780Q will look better overall (and it’s cheaper).