BenQ FP731 17" LCD Monitor

Product Review

A 17-inch TFT LCD monitor from BenQ, the FP731 combines performance, features, and an affordable price tag. With its 1,280 x 1,024 maximum resolution and 0.264 mm dot pitch, images are accurate and text is easy to read. The 450:1 contrast ratio, 260 nits of brightness, and 16.2 million colors provide bright, true-to-life images suitable for a wide variety of home and office uses. The FP731 has a 25 ms rise response time for minimal ghosting during normal applications.

With a small 14.8-by-6.1-inch footprint, the FP731 fits easily onto any convenient surface, and is also VESA wall mount compliant, freeing up desktop space completely. The FP731 has a horizontal viewing angle of 130 degrees (140 degrees vertical), while the anti-glare, anti-static screen treatment helps cut back on harmful reflections and the resulting eye-strain. With the onscreen controls, you can adjust a wide variety of monitor settings including brightness, contrast, and position.

Energy Star certified, this stylish monitor connects via a 15-pin D-Sub analog port. It weighs just 9.7 pounds. It is powered by a universal 100 - 264 VAC built-in power supply. PC and Mac compatible, the FP731 also comes backed with a three-year limited warranty.

What's in the Box
FP731, stand, power cord, 15-pin Mini D-Sub cable, driver CD-ROM, operation manual, warranty card

Product Features

1,280 x 1,024 resolution, 0.264 mm dot pitch
130-degree horizontal and 140-degree vertical viewing angles
450:1 contrast ratio, 260 nits of brightness
Wall mountable; PC and Mac compatible
3-year limited warranty

Accessories

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review

(12 customer reviews)

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful

Good if you're on a budget, otherwise get something else., September 12, 2004

Jake Jake "JMR" (Germantown, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: BenQ FP731 17" LCD Monitor (Black) (Electronics)

I bought this monitor in Hong Kong from a local merchant (...). I was actually planning on purchasing a Samsung but it was a good (...). After using it for a while (2 months) I have the following comments:

PROS:
1. Good price for a 17" monitor with a known brand name.
2. Current design, looks just like a lot of the other new monitors out there.
3. Bright, really bright. See comments below about this one.
4. Decent text display. It's by no means fuzzy but I can't give it the sharp rather either. My two laptops (Thinkpad 1400x1050, Vpr Matrix 1024x768) actually have what I call sharp displays but I will give the BenQ the benefit of the doubt since my laptops contain only 15" displays.

CONS:
1. Bright! If you like really bright monitors then you'll love this. I like bright monitors but I also like to adjust the brightness. The controls for adjusting it really don't seem to work. It changes the brightness just minimally. The...Read more

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful

Great LCD, holds its own in games vs. CRT, November 8, 2003

Karen A. Banaszak (Hanover Park, IL United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: BenQ FP731 17" LCD Monitor (Black) (Electronics)

I bought this LCD very skeptical that it would not match up to my CRT (I'm using both), but I have no complaints. They look different (relatively, the LCD is crazy sharp and the CRT is sorta fuzzy), but I have not had a problem with ghosting or any other problems I feared I would have playing Warcraft III. I still prefer a CRT for those games (the sharpness can get to you), but the LCD is worth it to me because of its size and weight. In short, I wouldn't feel bad about taking this monitor to a LAN party instead of my CRT.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful

BenQ FP731 great monitor great price, August 22, 2004

LA Meyer (Washington State) - See all my reviews

This review is from: BenQ FP731 17" LCD Monitor (Black) (Electronics)

I was looking for a good LCD monitor to replace my old 17" CRT and spotted this BenQ model. It stood out as having one of the better pictures of the models on display. The price was right, but I had never heard of this brand and was concerned about the warranty. After a little research, I found out that BenQ is now the old Acer company and they have a 3 year warranty on this product. I always liked the Acer monitors and that was enough to convince me to try it out. My neighbor bought a Samsung 17" the same week and after seeing his, I feel that the BenQ has a better picture. I know the Samsung has a little better specs on the contrast ratio and refresh speed, but when you look at the real thing, the BenQ looks better. Like all LCD's it works best at native mode of 1280x1024 but I like to run it at 1024x768. You might find a cheaper LCD monitor, but it would be hard to find a better one in this price range.