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Picture Quality7
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Build Quality8
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Brightness7
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User Experience8
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Value For Money9
Last year, I ditched the Apple Studio Display for the BenQ PD3220U. Now, it’s the turn of the BenQ PD3225U.
Now, a quick clarification. When I say “ditched”, I actually mean that I removed the Studio Display from my video editing station and connected it to my M2 Pro Mac mini instead, which is mainly used for writing and admin duties in the studio (although I have constantly revolving bigger plans for that computer).
This, as you’d imagine, caused lots of trouser-fire-setting on YouTube with people suggesting I’d either lost my mind, or had been paid to say nice things about the BenQ monitor. Neither of those suggestions are true – bar the former, which is always a possibility.
Regardless, I’ve not looked back since switching to the PD3220U for video editing duties, which is why I was excited to discover its successor, the equally-snappily-named PD3225U.
I’ve added BenQ’s latest designer-focused monitor to my video editing station, and, once again, I’m mightily impressed.
Addressing the complaints
As great as the PD3220U is, there were a couple of elements that BenQ needed to address. These were made abundantly clear by my audience.
The first was the brightness. At 250 nits, it wasn’t exactly pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with display technology – even if, in everyday use (and, certainly, for my use case), any perceived deficiency is rather tricky to spot.
Then, there was the sharpness. In true YouTube commenter style, a concerning number of people completely misquoted me. I never suggested that the PD3220U was sharper than the Studio Display – because it isn’t. What I said was that it was surprisingly sharp, given the resolution and PPI on offer. I stand by that, but I understand why people were perplexed by my untroubled switch from 5K to 4K.
All I can say is that it hasn’t caused an issue – at all.
The design of the PD3220U is rather utilitarian and probably not to everyone’s taste. I quite like its purposefulness and the fact that it simply looks like it’s always ready for action. Regardless, once again, I understand why some people wanted to see more design flair from BenQ.
Lastly, the speakers aren’t a patch on those found in the Studio Display. But, then, nothing is – and I never use the speakers on my monitors, anyway.
What I love about the PD3220U
There was a lot to love about the PD3220U. Starting with the price, it was a good £500 cheaper than Apple’s offering. At £999, it offered immense value, given the size of the display, the feature set, and the picture quality.
As noted earlier, I’m also a big fan of the get-stuff-done design (the fact it offers so many configuration options with the included stand, unlike the Studio Display, is a big bonus) and the 32 inches of screen real estate has been a massive upgrade for yours truly.
The quality and sharpness of the image continues to impress me every day. I’ve edited countless videos on the PD3220U to date, and it has been a joy to look at. And, no – before you ask, I don’t care about scaling; there is no noticeable problem when connecting a MacBook Pro to this thing.
That reminds me – the M-Book mode for more accurate colour matching with the MacBook Pro’s display is also very impressive, as is the ability to use just one cable to feed the monitor with an image and keep my laptop charged.
PD3220U vs PD3225U: Spec differences
BenQ has made a number of changes to the PD3225U. The 32-inch UHD LG display is now IPS Black rather than regular IPS. This promises deeper blacks and minimised light leakage.
Brightness is also up from 250 to 400 nits, and the contrast ratio has been doubled to 2000:1. VESA DisplayHDR 400 compatibility has also been thrown in for good measure, and there are a bunch of new certifications for the PD3225U, including Pantone Skin Tone and TUV.
It isn’t just the image that has been upgraded on the PD3225U. The speakers now offer 2.5 watts of power (the PD3220U’s speakers are 2 watts).
The PD3225U is a big upgrade, internally – even if, on the face of it, this monitor looks identical to its predecessor.
Design and features
The PD3225U’s housing is made with 85% Post-Consumer Recycled materials. That boosts BenQ’s environmental credentials, but it’s hard to ignore the fact that there haven’t been any noticeable design changes.
It would have been nice to see a few tweaks to the design, but this is an internal refresh rather than a reimagining of BenQ’s design-focused monitor, so I can’t mark them down too heavily for that.
Just like its predecessor, the PD3225U is tilt, swivel, height, and pivot adjustable and features the same satisfyingly robust stand mechanism that’s an absolute breeze to install. It simply clicks in, and there’s no need for a screwdriver when attaching the base.
Ports-wise, there’s two HDMI 2.0 on offer alongside a DisplayPort, two Thunderbolt 3 ports, and a mix of USB-C and USB-A. The PD3225U is, basically, a USB hub.
Lastly, the HotKey Puck G2 is included, as before, which can be used to switch between colour modes, and control the brightness and audio on the PD3225U.
BenQ PD3225U picture quality
The picture quality on the PD3225U remains superb. I still can’t believe how sharp this monitor is, and the extra brightness from those 150 additional nits is definitely noticeable.
The IPS Black panel offers noticeable improvements in terms of the overall contrast of the display and that improved contrast is great for the video work I undertake on this monitor.
The inclusion of AQCOLOR, a wider colour gamut than the PD3220U, and a promise of corner-to-corner picture uniformity offers welcome peace of mind but, ultimately, I’m not that kind of power user.
The PD3225U is a great example of a monitor that delivers a brilliant picture for people like me, but which possesses the hidden depth required by anyone who keeps a very close eye on accurate colour reproduction.
As for the speakers, they definitely have more oomph than the PD3220U, but they’re still left wanting when compared to what Apple offers. Once again, that isn’t something that troubles me, given that I exclusively use headphones while using this monitor. If monitor audio is a big deal for you, however, you’ll want to bear this in mind.
Conclusion
The PD3225U now sits proudly alongside the PD3220U. This means I’ve ‘gone all MKBHD’ and adopted a dual-display editing setup.
I’m loving it so far. Having two monitors of that size in front of me does feel a little bit like I’ve started working for NASA. Only, I’m editing videos, rather than sending rockets into the sky, of course – and for that purpose, the addition of the PD3225U has been superb.
The PD3225U offers some compelling upgrades over its predecessor. It may look the same, but the internals have been boosted just enough to justify this mid-cycle refresh. My stance on it remains: if you’re after a bigger and cheaper alternative to the Apple Studio Display for your MacBook, it’s hard to look past what BenQ has to offer.
