Introduction

4K monitors are in a weird position at the moment. Even though everyone expected multimedia consumption and UHD gaming to play a key role in making 4K PC monitors mainstream, you'd still be hard pressed to find a good reason for buying a 4K monitor if gaming is what you're primarily interested in. There's a massive discrepancy between the performance of current-generation high-end graphics cards, the sheer requirements of 4K gaming, and our perception of the whole concept of high-quality gaming. Playing a game at 60 FPS on a 60 Hz monitor simply doesn't cut it anymore. Proper PC gaming means running 100+ FPS on a 144+ Hz screen, and therein lays the problem. There are no 144 Hz 4K gaming monitors to speak of. After a series of delays, Acer and Asus only recently announced their prices for such models, which are in the $3,000 region, which is insane. Even if there were, you can't run an AAA game at 100 or more frames per second at 4K resolution on any current-generation GPU, at least not without significantly trimming the level of details. Your problems wouldn't be solved even if you could. We're still in the midst of a cryptocurrency mining craze, so current prices of high-end graphics cards are absolutely insane.



Then there's EIZO, a well-known Japanese manufacturer that just recently celebrated its 50th anniversary in the monitor business. Their approach with the FlexScan EV2785 is that it openly has no gaming aspirations. Instead, it aims to be a true workhorse, a screen you'll use in your office or at home to mainly get some serious work done. Its 27-inch 4K IPS panel offers a good amount of screen real estate accompanied by a high pixel density of 163 PPI, which translates into fantastic sharpness. The panel is declared as 10-bit (per channel), but the internal circuit of the EV2785 outputs 8-bit data to the LCD panel, so it can display 16.7 million colors. If you're looking for a monitor for your "pure" 10-bit workflow, you should look elsewhere (and generally pay more). EIZO's own ColorEdge monitor lineup offers 10-bit LCD panels and 16-bit internal look-up tables (LUT).

To make your daily work routine easier and more convenient, the base and stand of the FlexScan EV2785 support the full range of motion, so you can turn it and set it up any way you like. There's also a built-in USB 3.0 hub, as well as a USB-C 3.1 Gen1 port, which gives the FlexScan EV2785 the potential to serve as a laptop docking station/port replicator. Another detail that separates it from many other business monitors are the bezels. They're exceptionally thin, which makes the monitor nicer to look at and work on. EIZO also thought a lot about energy consumption, which is why the FlexScan EV2785 offers several sensors and technologies that should help lower your electricity bill, especially if you decide to deploy more units in your office. Let's dig in to find out what this monitor has to offer and whether it justifies its steep asking price of around €1,100 ($1,350).

Specifications

The Package

If you've seen just one business monitor box in your life, you've pretty much seen them all. Other than the manufacturer's logo and a couple of serial numbers, there's really nothing to see on the box of the EIZO FlexScan EV2785. The cardboard is thick, and it should easily protect the contents inside. When it comes to monitors, that's the most important thing anyway.


Aside from the monitor and its base and stand, you'll find a set of cables (DisplayPort, HDMI, USB-C, power), a plastic cable cover for easier cable management, user manual, and set of screws, which you'll need if you decide to mount the monitor to a VESA stand (100x100).