BenQ GW2491 Review

Quick Summary

The BenQ GW2491 is BenQ's entry point into the home and student monitor market. It pairs a 23.8-inch Full HD IPS panel and a 100 Hz refresh rate with eye-care features that cheaper monitors usually skip. It is a plain, sensible screen for study, office work and streaming rather than gaming. At roughly eight thousand rupees it undercuts most known-brand rivals, and the main compromise is that it has no speakers and only tilt adjustment.

Design & Build Quality

The GW2491 keeps things simple. The bezels are thin on all four sides, which gives the 23.8-inch panel a modern look on a desk and lets two units sit side by side without a thick black gap. The body is black, the stand is a basic fixed-height base, and the whole monitor weighs about 3 kg with the stand fitted, so it is easy to move between rooms.

The stand only tilts, from -5° to 20°. There is no height or swivel adjustment, so tall users may want a monitor arm, which the standard 100 × 100 mm VESA mount supports. A five-way navigation key makes the on-screen menu easier to handle than the cluster of tiny buttons found on many budget screens.

Display Quality

This is where the GW2491 earns its price. The IPS panel keeps colours consistent from wide angles, which matters if two people sit in front of it or you use it slightly off-axis. Full HD on 23.8 inches is a sharp combination for text, spreadsheets and browsing, with no scaling needed in Windows.

BenQ claims 99% sRGB coverage, so everyday colours should look natural and photos should not look washed out. Brightness is a modest 250 nits and the contrast ratio is a standard IPS 1,300:1. That is fine in a normal room, but in a very bright, sunlit room the screen will feel dim, and blacks will look grey in the dark. An anti-glare coating keeps reflections under control.

The 100 Hz refresh rate is a quiet bonus. Scrolling, dragging windows and video playback feel a little smoother than on a 60 Hz screen. It will not turn this into a competitive gaming monitor, but casual games benefit.

Eye Care for Long Sessions

BenQ puts its Eye-Care suite at the centre of this model. Flicker-Free technology is applied at all brightness levels, Low Blue Light Plus filters shorter-wavelength light without turning the picture yellow, and the Flicker-Free and Low Blue Light functions carry TÜV Rheinland certification, alongside Eyesafe 2.0. ePaper Mode converts the screen into a calmer black-and-white reading layout, useful for long documents and PDFs.

For students and office workers who spend eight hours in front of a screen, these features matter more than extra megapixels. They are claims backed by a certifying body rather than a guarantee against eye strain, but they put the GW2491 ahead of unbranded monitors at the same price.

Connectivity

The port selection is practical rather than generous: one HDMI 1.4 input, one DisplayPort 1.2 input and a headphone jack. That is enough for a laptop plus a desktop or a console. There is no USB-C input, no USB hub and no built-in speakers, so a modern laptop that only has USB-C will need an adapter, and you will need headphones or external speakers for sound.

Features Assessment

The features that matter are the eye-care suite, the 100 Hz panel and the sRGB coverage. Extras such as ePaper Mode are genuinely useful for readers, though most people will use it rarely. The missing pieces are speakers, height adjustment and USB-C, and for a monitor aimed at students on a budget that is an acceptable trade-off.

Ease of Use

Setup is plug and play. The box includes both a power cable and an HDMI cable, so you can connect a laptop immediately. The five-way key makes navigating the on-screen menu simple.

Value for Money

BenQ's official India store lists the GW2491 at Rs 7,798, and the same price appears on Flipkart. That is competitive for a branded IPS monitor with a 100 Hz panel and a three-year warranty. Rivals at this price often drop to a 60 Hz or VA panel, or leave out the certified eye-care features, though some include speakers. If you need speakers or a height-adjustable stand, you will pay noticeably more.

Who Should Buy It?

Students, work-from-home users and families who want a reliable second screen for studying, browsing, documents and video calls will find this a good fit. Anyone sensitive to eye strain gets certified protection at a modest price. It also suits a first-time monitor buyer upgrading from a laptop screen.

Who Should Consider Alternatives?

Gamers who want 144 Hz or faster response should look at a dedicated gaming monitor. Creative professionals who need wider colour coverage than sRGB, or accurate calibration, need a more advanced panel. Buyers who want built-in speakers, a height-adjustable stand or USB-C charging should consider the higher-priced models in BenQ's own range or rivals that include them.