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i think monitor light bars are a useful
accessory for most computer desk setups
they're a clean and minimal way to add
some additional desk lighting without
the clutter thanks to them being usb
powered and mounted on top of your
display they typically have an
asymmetric light pattern to minimize
light glare on the screen and allow you
to dial in the brightness level and
color temperature and i really like them
because they provide focused lighting
for task work on the desk and they add a
little extra ambient lighting that helps
me reduce eye strain working away on the
computer late at night
but don't get the wrong impression with
these monitor light parts i don't think
they should be used in isolation but
instead to complement your room lighting
or any other ambient lights you might be
using to keep your entire peripheral
vision well illuminated when on your
computer screen so if you already have a
normal desk lamp or other source of good
desk lighting this might not be
necessary and it's also important to
highlight up front the shape and design
of your display is going to be a
critical factor on whether it will even
attach properly to your display but i'll
touch on that more later so that answers
why i like these monitor light bars my
next question was do i buy an expensive
110 option or go for a cheaper one
that's a third of the price
that's why i did what any rational
person would do i bought both
hi i'm david and here's a quick
comparison of a cheap and expensive
monitor light bar
the two models i'm specifically looking
at here are the benq screen bar that
goes for around 110 us and is probably
the most popular option in the market
while also being one of the most
expensive
and then for the cheaper one i chose
this monitor lamp from quintus that's
only 35 us which as you'll see is very
similar to the benq the controls on both
are similar with touch buttons for power
and auto dimming and the color
temperature and brightness controls are
changed with a tap and hold
but on the benq model you also have the
option to multi-tap instead
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the light experience between the two is
fairly similar both being able to change
between warm and cool colors but they
have a small difference in brightness
with the benq able to get a little
brighter with more leds on the body but
the kuntus can get significantly dimmer
which can come in handy because
sometimes the bend cue can be too bright
even at its lowest setting
both have a similar asymmetric light
pattern to reduce glare on the screen
with no noticeable difference in real
life
both of these designs feature an auto
dimming function which i personally
don't use because it's not great on
either of them
in terms of build quality i think these
are both really good both feel really
solidly built both use usb-c connectors
for power both having a similar clean
and minimal design with the benq being a
little nicer with less branding and
being slightly longer
i also think the attachment on the clamp
is a little better on the benq which
makes it easier to adjust the tilt of
the light
but let's talk about that clamp system
to attach it to your display because in
all honesty that's the only significant
difference i've noticed between these
two i find the benq clamp is designed
better to handle a wide variety of
monitor shapes
from thin screens to thick curved ones
the extra versatility comes from that
spring-loaded and surprisingly heavy
weight to keep the light bar solidly in
place in contrast the quintus uses a
spring clamp that will only really work
with square edge displays so if your
screen frame is rounded is bezel-less or
curved i wouldn't recommend this since
it doesn't hold securely or could even
damage a bezel-less screen also this
model uses a relatively light
counterbalance weight that isn't heavy
enough so i find it can wiggle a little
bit when using the controls i'm sure
there's ways to solve this clamp support
problem with 3d printing adhesives or
even tying it down by the cable but
that's not a great solution for everyone
in terms of other cheap monitor bars
this clamp compatibility issue is a
potential problem with a lot of
different designs so if you have a
thicker
curvier shaped monitor you really need
to double check the clamp to see if it
will work with your display i'd also
avoid designs with the controller built
into the cable because i like to keep
the cables hidden behind the screen
and that makes them troublesome to
access but with those considerations in
mind here are a couple other light bars
that i haven't personally tested but on
paper seems to be decent options there's
a xiaomi design and i think this one
looks pretty well built and i really
like the wireless controller that would
make changing brightness and color
temperature much easier on the downside
the clamp looks like it's limited to
thin monitors and availability is
limited to overseas suppliers which is
why i never got around to buying this
myself if you want something similar
benq also has a more expensive model
that uses a wired external controller if
you don't mind having the extra clutter
on your desk and finally if you can't
find a clamp that works with your
monitor there's this architect desk lamp
from five that clamps to your desk it's
bigger and brighter which makes it great
for task work but that also means it
needs a dedicated wall ella power
but to be honest if you already have a
desk lamp or light and you're happy with
it as long as you're not keeping it too
close and pointing it directly at your
screen i don't find glare that much of
an issue in the real world but monitor
light bars are definitely a clean modern
way to get the same benefits but hope
you guys enjoyed this one you know what
to do and i'll see in the next video
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