Reviewing a monitor like the BenQ EL2870U takes an enormous amount of time. You have to request the company, get benchmarks, wait for them to arrive, unpack them, set them up, test them in a variety of games, and explore every menu option. So you can imagine my surprise when I finished testing the BenQ EL2870U and discovered that my colleague Brian Westover had already written an excellent review of this machine in 2018.

Perhaps if I could bring a radically different perspective, it would be worth writing an updated review, but I didn't. I agreed that the BenQ EL2870U is a sharp 4K screen with HDR support. Agreed that the colors and blacks could have been more vibrant. We agreed that the price is reasonable, that the design is a bit complicated, and that overall, it is an imperfect but very good 4K monitor of a size that does not consume the entire desktop.

Then it hit me: the BenQ EL2870U is still available. And it's $200 less than when Brian first reviewed it.

Tom's Guide reviews many new gadgets. This won't come as a surprise to regular readers of this site, but it's worth considering. Even if we consider the gaming field, dozens of new PCs, monitors, mice, keyboards, and headsets appear every year, and we do our best to review them all. It is safe to assume that all of the technology products on the market today were created within the past 12 months.

However, major hardware manufacturers usually have dozens or hundreds of products in their back catalogs and do not immediately stop selling them just because something new is released. Especially when it comes to long-lasting accessories such as gaming peripherals, it is not uncommon for products to remain on the market for two years or more.

As new products keep coming out, it is normal for older products to drop in price over time; the BenQ EL2870U debuted at $500, but is now $300. This is not because its features are worse than they were in 2018, but only because newer monitors are available and consumers find the older ones undesirable.

The question is not whether the gadget is new or old, but whether it will hold up. The answer depends largely on the device in question: buying a two-year-old smartphone, even if it is brand new in the box, is not a good idea because you will miss out on important security and OS updates. On the other hand, buying a two-year-old gaming monitor seems to have few inherent drawbacks.

Let's use the EL2870U as a case study. As Brian pointed out in his review, the EL2870U is a 28-inch gaming monitor with a 4K, 60 Hz screen. it supports two HDMI connections, one DisplayPort connection, and a 3.5 mm audio connection. it supports HDR, gaming, productivity, and blue light level enhancement It has a built-in menu system with a variety of presets, including modes. There is a mediocre speaker set and a rather complicated display stand.

In other words: pretty much the same as dozens of other gaming monitors on the market today.

However, the EL2870U definitely has some drawbacks. USB passthrough is common these days, which is convenient. Some monitors offer a convenient USB-C connection, unifying display and software options. A 60 Hz refresh rate is a bit low, as modern PCs are generally powerful enough to run games at frame rates of 100 frames per second or higher.

However, these inconveniences are hardly a problem; USB passthrough has always been something of a luxury, especially if the PC already has an abundance of USB ports; there is no difference in video quality between DisplayPort and USB-C connections; the latter are both very similar in quality and performance. And while Full HD and Quad HD resolutions can certainly exceed 60 frames per second, 4K resolution at 60 fps is still the gold standard, and only the most powerful PCs can routinely exceed it by a wide margin.

The only major difference between the 2018 EL2870U and the current EL2870U is its price, which is better priced.

That said, the EL2870U is not the perfect accessory for every gamer. But the point is not that the EL28070U is some hidden gem buried in the sands of time, but that purchasing an older accessory can be a wise investment, at least if you are sure it suits your needs.

My colleague Luis Ramirez wrote an excellent article entitled "How to Find Deals on Prime Day." But in addition to helping readers find Amazon Prime Day deals, Luis has also offered helpful advice over the years:

"One of the easiest ways to save money on electronics is to buy older gadgets," he explained. 'Whether it's an older generation laptop or a smartphone, you can expect to save $100 or more by opting for older technology. Of course, you'll want to avoid tech that's too old, but choosing one generation later is usually a safe bet."

This information is even more important for gaming peripherals, where the technology doesn't change much from one generation to the next. New gear may have RGB lighting, wireless charging, or additional shortcut buttons, but the basic technology, connectivity, and functionality will almost always remain the same.

If you're in the market for a 28-inch 4K gaming monitor and don't need the absolute latest model, I'm happy to report that the BenQ EL2870U is still a good choice. If it doesn't fit your setup, visit the hardware manufacturer's website and see what else is out there besides the first page of hot new gadgets. You just might save a few hundred dollars.