BenQ monitor light bar

What it is good at

• Lighting papers and the keyboard without reflecting off a glossy screen
• Fitting above the panel so the desk stays clear
• Adjusting colour temperature for a late evening session

Check before you buy

• Whether the mount fits your bezel thickness and whether the screen is curved
• Where the bar takes power from, and whether that port stays live when the computer sleeps
• Whether brightness is stepped or continuous, and whether the setting is remembered

Who it is not for

Anyone who needs general room lighting, or who works on a laptop screen that cannot take a clip-on mount.

A light bar works on a simple optical idea: the emitter sits behind a reflector and throws a narrow wedge of light downwards, so the beam lands on the desk rather than on the panel. That wedge is why it can be bright without glare, and why it lights the keyboard better than a lamp behind the screen.

The practical limits are the mount and the power. Thick or curved bezels need a different clamp, and a keyboard USB port that drops to a trickle when the machine sleeps will take the lamp with it. Both are worth checking in the manual before ordering.