Review of ZOWIE XL2546 DyAC Monitor

Written by Martin “byx” Buhl.

It has almost been a year since I made my first review of gaming peripherals for CS:GO, which were released on Dust2.dk and HTLV.org, and in fact it was the predecessor to the new ZOWIE XL2546 which was the XL2540 which were the first monitor for gaming with real 240 hz.

If you would like to read that review you can find it right here. 

In almost a year since XL2540 hit the market, several of the old legendary products from ZOWIE have been updated and relaunched as well as reviewed on Dust2.us, which counts for the new Celeritas II Keyboard and the famous G-SR Special Edition with blue print which is probably the most popular mousepad amongst the professional CSGO players around the world.

ZOWIE has now released XL2546 which looks identical to the former XL2540 with 240 hz, but with a small difference, which is actually quite a big one.

Dynamic Accuracy is the name of ZOWIE’s new type of screen technology which helps you to control your recoil and vastly reduces blurring in CSGO, and that’s exactly what XL2546 is all about.

240 hz, a vast amount of personal settings like Color Vibrance, Black Equalizer, Low Blue Light and of course Dynamic Accuracy which keeps a crystal clear image on your screen no matter how much action is occurring during your battles.

But what is Dynamic Accuracy, and what does it mean to my gaming experience in CSGO? I will take a closer look at that in this review.

Specifications

Largely Identical to ZOWIE XL2540

As seen in the picture above, XL2546 is largely identical to XL2540. The only real difference is that DyAC is available on XL2546.

The Flicker-free technology will automatically be turned off once DyAC is activated, but that doesn’t give any lacklustre experiences regarding the picture-quality.

In itself, flicker-free is a technology for monitors which reduces or eliminates screen-tearing. DyAC gives an especially calm picture through the strobing-technology which means flicker-free can’t operate at the same time, but it is also irrelevant since DyAC is largely beneficial to flicker-free on all points.

Another difference between XL2546 and XL2540, is that the brightness has been turned down to 320 cd/m2 against 400 cd/m2 on the XL2540, which is due to the DyAC technology as far as I can tell.

Besides this, it is two identical monitors we are dealing with, which means that ZOWIE didn’t feel any need to change the design or other features on the XL2546 versus the XL2540.

Black Equalizer Especially For PUBG Players

Before we get deeper into the DyAc subject and the other experiences with the new type of technology on XL2546 from ZOWIE, I want to talk about an important thing to the CSGO players interested in this monitor who also plays the game “Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds” or in daily speech just called PUBG.

The by now well-known feature called “Black Equalizer” available on most ZOWIE monitors, which many people complimented in earlier versions of Counter-Strike, has shown itself to be extremely valuable for players in PUBG.

There is plenty of dark areas in this game, and that’s where Black Equalizer will give the player a huge advantage since it lightens up dark areas without over-compensating the brighter ones.

Black Equalizer still has it’s right in CSGO today, but it was in the previous versions of Counter-Strike such as CS 1.5 and 1.6 that Black Equalizer really hit the market hard for esport-monitors and proved to be an almost indispensable part of your gaming experience.

I thought that this subject deserved to be mentioned since PUBG has been getting a huge amount of popularity from thousands of CSGO players.

Oh well, let’s get back to what we came here to talk about, for that is of course, DyAC.

Dynamic Accuracy / DyAC Explained

ZOWIE, which is a part of BenQ, was the first company to release LCD monitors specifically for CSGO back in 2015. This was done with the XL2411Z and XL2420Z models.

Now, 3 years later, XL2411Z is still one of the most popular gaming monitors for CSGO, especially for players on a budget, which just comes to prove the importance of a good monitor for FPS gamers.

Many other companies have made their own editions of gaming monitors, and they all try to give the player the same experience, and that is a minimal amount of blurred frames when gaming.

DyAc is ZOWIE/BenQ’s result of the best possible gaming experience yet, and as such, this
technology is not available on monitors from other gaming brands.

On the XL2546 you have 3 different options in terms of using the DyAc technology. Premium, High and Off. 

Per default the DyAc is active and set to highest possible setting, which is Premium, and that makes a lot of sense since it’s this feature that is the extra reason for buying XL2546.

BenQ have made a video where you can get a glimpse of how DyAC performs, and you can see that right here 

DyAC In CSGO

Now we can get into what it’s all about. How does it feel to play CSGO with DyAC, and does it really make a big difference on your gaming experience as claimed?

The short answer is, yes.

The big difference with DyAC versus monitors without it, is that moving effects, such as enemies running, your spray and similar, all give a lot more smooth and less blurred images. Everything with active motion benefits directly from DyAC.

Not that I want to take anything away from the general experience I had with XL2540, which as you know, also has 240 hz and is a fantastic monitor, but it really becomes a huge benefit that the image stays crystal clear when many things are happening at the same time in-game, and that is what DyAC does.

DyAC reminds me of the old days when I played Counter-Strike on CRT monitors, and even though it’s many years ago, the CRT monitors at the time were superior and had almost zero motion blur. This experience combined with the amazing smoothness of 240 hz, really does make it a joy to play CSGO on XL2546, and I’m quite astonished by the results.

Your spray will get easier to control since the graphical effects from the recoil no longer gives a blurred effect which can affect your sight. This can be tested out by standing and shooting into a wall and keeping eyes on how much interruption occurs as bullets are flying out on any non-DyAC monitor.

Should you get the chance to try XL2546, you can easily test out the different DyAC settings and see for yourself the difference in picture-clarity during action-paced situations.

I know that ChrisJ from Mousesports uses High instead of Premium on his XL2546, which, judging from my own experiences, I can’t seem to figure out, but at least it’s an option to make DyAC fit your personal taste with both Premium, High and Off settings available.

DyAC & Input Lag

One of the big, and without a doubt natural worries you get as a player when a new type of screen-technology is launched, is input lag.

That is, that it will give a delay in the signal by using the new type of technology, and that is far from being optimal when we are dealing with a game where every split-second can be vital for either a loss or a victory.

On the internet I’ve read multiple articles and seen videos about XL2546, and people either claim that it gives no input lag, or that it should be as little as 1 millisecond.

Personally I haven’t experienced any input lag or delay in the picture compared to my XL2540 from ZOWIE which I’ve had for almost a year and doesn’t have DyAC, which were the suspect to give the input lag on XL2546, so with that in mind, I don’t think that it’s something to worry about, at least from my personal experience.

XL2536 Gives You 144 hz & DyAC

Should you be in a situation where you don’t have a pc that can perform more than 240 fps in-game constantly, which by all means is advised for buyers of XL2540 and XL2546, there is an option that makes it possible to get DyAC together with the traditional 144 hz for CSGO.

ZOWIE has released a more price-friendly model which on pretty much all specifications are identical to XL2546, with the difference that it supports up to 144 hz with the DyAC technology, which lessens the demands for your pc significantly instead of the appropriate >240 fps needed to fully benefit from the 240 hz on XL2540 & XL2546.

Retail price for the ZOWIE XL2536 with 144 hz & DyAC is $429.99.

As such, you can buy the XL2536 monitor and still benefit from the effects of DyAC, but without having to possibly buy a new computer in case your pc performs below the 240 fps needed for best gaming experiences at 240 hz.

For more information about XL2536, click here and XL2536 can be bought here. 

ZOWIE XL Model Depends On Your PC

As just mentioned, it is very important that you choose a monitor with an updating frequency that matches your personal computer.

If you for instance have an Intel I7 CPU and a good graphics card together with all the other necessary equipment for a full system that can perform more than 240 fps all the time in your favourite games on a 240 hz monitor, I of course recommend that this is what you choose, but for many people the 144 hz with DyAC will also be a great pleasure to play on.

The problem if we dive into it, about having a monitor that is faster than your pc can handle, is that both things need to follow each other in order to give the best results. Otherwise we can get screen-tearing and a signal that feels like it’s very delayed and thus gives you a bad experience in all types of games you play.

Have you therefore set your eyes on DyAC, it is a possibility for both high-end computers in terms of XL2546, and also the XL2536 for the smaller systems so that fps and hz follows each other.

Pricing

When ZOWIE last year were putting a price-tag on the new XL2540 with 240 hz, it was at $499.99.

XL2546 is a little bit more expensive, and as such is comes with a retail price of $549.

The difference in price is minimal, and I truly think that the extra $50 is great value given my experiences with the monitor from ZOWIE.

It is, after all, a new and improved type of screen technology we are dealing with, and as we know, new technology requires many hours of development and implementation to succeed with, and that costs a little bit.

Conclusion

I was sitting and thinking about how I should express my final conclusion on the new flagship in gaming monitors from ZOWIE.

As with it’s predecessor XL2540, which were the first gaming monitor on the market with 240 hz, I can again conclude that ZOWIE is leading the industry when it comes to monitors made for CSGO and FPS games.

Before I got the XL2546, I had my doubts about the new DyAC technology, and if it really could justify that in my case, that I again go out and buy a new monitor if I want the newest monitor on the market.

However, I can’t deny that Dynamic Accuracy / DyAC gives a significant benefit and makes it a huge joy to play CSGO on it. The picture is clear and smooth like it’s predecessor, but it’s when all hell breaks loose in-game and many things happen at the same time, that you really benefit from DyAC, and that’s usually also when the biggest mistakes are made, because there is so many confusing things happening at the same time, and that can give blurred images.

If you have decided that your old 144 hz monitor by now has earned it’s final resting place and you want the best monitor on the market for CSGO, ZOWIE XL2546 is the natural choice for me.

With a price-tag at $549, it’s a noticeable amount to most people, but if you decide to get it, a monster of a monitor awaits you with 240 hz, DyAC, Color Vibrance, Black Equalizer and much more.

If you want to read more about ZOWIE XL2546 visit this link and the the XL2546 can be bought here.