Is the BenQ coding monitor any good?

Off-Topic

25 Nov 2025

6 min read

The BenQ coding monitor does come with one major downside, but it (surprisingly) became my primary monitor as soon as I unboxed it.

After appearing in an episode of Code TV’s Web Dev Challenge in early 2025, I was very lucky to be sent a brand new BenQ RD280UA monitor specifically for coding to try out at home. (Thank you, BenQ!) This monitor is an interesting one. It’s a 28 inch 4k monitor in an unconventional aspect ratio of 3:2 that comes with different colour modes for different activities, including modes optimised for working in light mode and dark mode, and claims to be easy on the eyes for long stretches of work.

At the time of writing, I’ve been using the BenQ RD280UA for around three months as my primary monitor connected to my MacBook Pro M4, and I thought it would be useful to document my experience with using it for anyone considering investing in this almost novelty piece of kit. For me, the BenQ monitor does come with one major downside, but the pros heavily outweighed the one con, meaning this monitor surprisingly became my primary monitor on day one.

A photo of my desk. My Dygma Defy keyboard is set up right in front of the BenQ monitor, which is directly in front of where I sit. To the right of that is my camera with an Elgato Prompter attached to it. To the right of that is the LG DualUp monitor. My microphone is placed in front of the camera. There's also various other things on the desk including a turquoise Yeti cup, a note book, and an Elgat stream deck.

Pro: it’s really comfortable to look at

I wasn’t expecting to replace my LG DualUp as my primary monitor so quickly, but as soon as I turned on the BenQ, it was very clear how much more pleasant the monitor was to look at. BenQ describe this monitor as using “Eye-Care Technology”; I don’t know the precise underlying technicalities of this, but instantly my eyes felt much more relaxed looking at this monitor compared to the LG DualUp.

The display has near-zero glare, everything looks really smooth on the screen, and the eye care options such as Night Hours Protection, Low Blue Light Plus, and Brightness Intelligence Technology can be fine-tuned to your personal preferences. This isn’t an eye care feature per se, but I also really like the MoonHalo, which is a ring light at the back of the monitor that I use at a brightness level of 3 and a colour temperature of 1. Unfortunately I don’t have my monitor against a wall to take full advantage of the reflection of ambient light that the MoonHalo creates, but when it’s darker in my office, it’s a welcoming addition to using the BenQ Screenbar Halo that sits at the top of the monitor (which BenQ also sent me a couple of years ago!).

A photo of the BenQ monitor from the back with the Moon Halo lit up. The BenQ screenbar halo is also placed on the top of the monitor, with the back portion lit up.

Pro: switching between the colour modes makes different tasks feel easier

I like to work in both light and dark modes depending on the task I’m doing. For coding in an IDE I prefer using dark mode; for reading and writing I prefer using light mode. The middle button at the bottom of the monitor allows you to switch between optimised colour profiles quickly when switching between tasks.

I’ve found the dark theme colour profile works great for working in a dark theme in VS Code, but when working in Nordcraft and editing videos using DaVinci Resolve (which both have a dark UI) I’ve found the M-book profile to be better for me, as it increases the overall brightness of the screen and, more importantly, the contrast between colours. This is really helpful for someone like me who has quite a severe astigmatism, which often causes my eyes to feel strained when looking at screens for long stretches of time, especially when working in dark UIs. I also really like the ePaper mode which puts the monitor in a kind of dimmed monochrome mode. It’s like looking at an e-reader, and it’s really kind on the eyes.

One other thing I will mention on the colour profiles is that if you enable High Dynamic Range via the MacOS display settings, you won’t be able to use the different colour profiles, as the OS settings seemingly override any other monitor-specific colour profile capabilities.

Pro: the monitor is a really comfortable size

The unconventional 3:2 aspect ratio is really comfortable to work in. The larger screen real-estate provides more vertical space than the standard 16:9 aspect ratio, which I had become accustomed to with the LG DualUp, and also makes viewing two applications or browser tabs side by side very comfortable. Plus, the flexible arm makes it easy to adjust the horizontal and vertical positioning should your preferences change throughout the day when you switch between tasks, or whether you’re sitting or standing up at your desk.

Whilst the aspect ratio of this monitor is really comfortable to work in, it’s entirely inconvenient for one of my regular activities.

Con: the 3:2 aspect ratio is awkward for making screen-recorded video content

I make a lot of video content as part of my work at Nordcraft. A 16:9 resolution is the standard people have come to expect when watching videos on YouTube, and so using a 3:2 screen to record these videos is not ideal. Some internet searches propose that you can choose to use a 16:9 resolution via operating system settings and adjust the output in the BenQ Display Mode Aspect settings, but on a MacBook Pro M4 there isn’t the option to make this work. It is for this reason that I have continued to record my screen for videos using the split dual display on the LG DualUp, which provides me with the required 16:9 aspect ratio.

I have also experimented with trying to capture only a 16:9 portion of a browser in my recording software (OBS), but it’s not that reliable and I probably gave up too early. What’s more, due to the monitor’s high resolution and the less-than-ideal capabilities of my MacBook Pro, when capturing the BenQ screen via OBS I often run into overloaded encoding errors (when I forget to downscale the recording resolution), meaning I’ve frequently attempted to make recordings three or four times before I give up and resort back to using the LG DualUp screen. It’s a real shame, because looking at the LG DualUp is really not as comfortable as looking at the BenQ, and I want the best for my eyes!

With that being said, the newer BenQ RD320UA coding monitor is in 16:9, and so I would go for this one in a heartbeat if I could afford to splash out on another monitor because it would give me everything I could possibly ever need. And in which case, I’d probably ditch the second monitor entirely for my daily work. I’d still need another monitor for live streaming, though.

Overall: it’s a solid monitor

The technology behind the BenQ series of programming monitors cannot be disputed. Working on this monitor for long periods of time is a very comfortable experience, so much so that it almost makes working a joyful experience (I said almost). If you struggle with eye strain or you’ve never managed to tweak your existing monitor settings to your preferences, this could be a worthy investment. But I would urge you to skip the 3:2 version and get the 16:9 version if you’re in the business of making screen-recorded video content.