BenQ Zowie XL2566K review

The XL2566K has a few neat tricks. Starting with the panel itself. It's undoubtedly the fastest panel we've tested for video games. Yes, this is a TN panel but the image quality is clear and crisp thanks to the DyAc+ and the ridiculously fast response time of 0.5ms.

Games like CS:GO, Overwatch 2 and Valorant benefit greatly from the Zowie XL2566K. Every shot feels precise and accurate. The image quality is crisp thanks to the DyAc+ which is unique to Zowie monitors to reduce motion blur. Fast-paced shooters like Apex Legends have visible sharper image quality and less motion blur and ghosting while moving and shooting.

Our reference PC with Nvidia RTX 4090 was apt to drive the 360FPS on CS:GO and get really high FPS to actually enjoy this eSports gaming monitor. So make sure you have a beefy PC!

You get an S Switch, side shields and a dust cover in the box. All of these are quite useful for pro gaming although you can live without them too. The S Switch is particularly great at toggling between display presets. There’s also something called ‘Setting to Share’. A software feature that lets you save and import video profiles from friends easily. Although it doesn’t work with the S Switch to save display settings and colour settings together. 

This is a TN panel and with that come really bad viewing angles and colour inaccuracy. However, if you sit bang in the centre, the colours are not bad. The colours will require some amount of tweaking for non-gaming tasks. However, the tilt and swivel adjustments are plenty. It’s also properly designed for eSports gamers with a handlebar built right into the spine of the monitor and a headphone holder too. There’s even a slider to mark your height settings if you ever pack it and take it to a tournament.

There are high refresh rate IPS displays in the market now but those IPS displays don't come close to the Zowie in terms of response time, image clarity and motion blur. The DyAc+ is truly a great feature to have for eSports gaming. Obviously, your mileage may vary depending on how nitpicky you're but if competitive gaming is your call, the Zowie stands as a very useful tool for your competitive gaming journey.