How big should a gaming monitor be? Competitive gamers tend to prefer smaller and faster monitors, while immersion-oriented gamers prefer larger and more colorful monitors. For this reason, I have found large gaming displays to be very interesting, and the BenQ Mobiuz EX480UZ attempts to offer everything a high-end OLED TV needs while having the sensibilities and features of a gaming monitor.

The EX480UZ is a huge 48" 4K OLED gaming monitor with a 120Hz refresh rate and HDR10 support. This monster OLED did a great job of making my favorite PC games pop and look like one of those fancy new TVs. As someone who recently decided to ditch the TV and buy a large OLED gaming monitor (opens in new tab), I was curious to see what else was out there.

The main difference between these large OLED monitors and TVs is connectivity; DisplayPort is great for PC gaming, but only has two HDMI 2.1 ports, which limits it when installed as a TV replacement. I have six HDMI devices, including gaming and streaming devices, so I'm probably in the minority. So ideally, I would have liked one or two more HDMI ports; the EX480UZ also has two USB 3.0 ports, a 90W USB Type-C downstream port for charging devices, a USB Type-B port, and a S/PDIF jack. The downstream port means that the Steam Deck (opens in new tab) can be charged.

The ergonomics of the Mobiuz are not great for a PC monitor. The legs take up more space than I would like, so if you had the idea of setting this up on a desk unless you have an unusually large workspace, think again. Tilt also has its limits, so unless you get creative with the VESA mount, it will be difficult to find the most comfortable viewing angle.

Ideally, you would want space between a monitor of this size and your face, but the sheer size of the Mobiuz means there is no way to push it safely back without it falling off the desk. A square stand might have provided a few more inches of space. It's not hard to imagine what my eyes would feel like if I worked all day with this display so close to me. I used it to write and play games for a few hours, but sitting so close caused problems with text readability, even with text scaling applied.

One often hears the phrase "amazing image quality" when talking about OLED monitors, and in this case it is true. However, since many of these large gaming monitor OLED panels have more or less similar performance, additional features such as ergonomics and ease of use will set the great ones apart from the rest.

That said, Mobiuz deserves praise in the looks department as well. Having recently built my own gaming PC with an RTX 3080, I went back to the games that I thought looked amazing on my PC. I can confirm that "Spider-Man: Miles Morales" (opens in a new tab) looks amazing on this monitor. Watching Miles thump through New York City at 120Hz 4K or diving deep into the freelancer mode of "Hitman" never gets old. However, the use of HDR10 mode is quite hit or miss with some PC games. We tried "Spider-Man," "Hitman 3," and "Gears V," all of which have extensive HDR content and looked fine on Mobius. In "Hitman" and "Gears," the contrast seemed a bit off in the darker areas, but it didn't ruin the mood.

We also played a few hours of HiFi Rush (open in new tab), a quirky and vibrant rhythm-action game from Tango Gameworks, which was a good showcase for the monitor's color range. There were moments when I felt like I was watching Saturday morning cartoons. If you're skeptical of OLEDs (and some are), games like this will help you understand why we're so enthusiastic about OLED displays. At first, I wasn't surprised by the speaker bar at the bottom of the EX480UZ. It seemed distracting, but I eventually grew to like it. Mainly because it sounds surprisingly good for a gaming monitor speaker; the 2.1-channel speakers with built-in 10-watt subwoofer provide an ample soundscape and give the Mobiuz some personality and visual flair.

What really put me off was the price tag; the Mobiuz retails for $1,699, but I've seen it drop to $1,400 in recent weeks. If you want to compare it to an OLED gaming TV of this size, the LG CG 1 is as low as $1,300, often much less, and has all the apps and "TV" features right out of the box.

The BenQ Mobiuz EX480UZ is another large OLED that, while a bit impractical (and expensive) to recommend to most PC gamers, is stunningly beautiful and surprisingly game-ready. I like the picture quality and fast response time, but its price and unimpressive HDR make it hardly a great monitor.

I have often said that the rise of 1440p, 240Hz large OLED gaming monitors feels like the new sweet spot for PC gaming, and it is becoming more realistic. This product is another 4K, 120Hz gaming monitor that acts as a TV replacement, so the whole thing is becoming less of a novelty. This is unfortunate, as I have recently started buying larger OLED displays. Large 4K OLED gaming monitors will still have a place in homes and offices for weirdos like me, but maybe not at this price.