TORCHSTARLED Computer Monitor Lamp, Auto-Dimming, CRI 97 Eye-Caring Adjustment LED Screen Light Bar, E-Reading USB Powered Monitor Light for Gaming Desk Office, Touch Control, Black

This light does what it says it does, it lights up. Light coverage is more than adequate, and very wide. This illuminates the grand majority of my desk, and this will be a larger area the higher your monitor is.You're probably checking these reviews because you're trying to find an alternative to the BenQ that is so popular, yet almost prohibitively expensive considering what it is. This is a good value for the money, especially if you use the $-20.00 coupon that other reviewers have mentioned. Is it as good as the BenQ? If it meets your requirements and satisfies your expectations, then yes. The budget minded individual will like this product, but if budget is not a concern - the alternative is better.Overall, if the mounting mechanism is improved upon, is wider - and more stable with more weight, this would be my ideal choice if I purchased another in the future. The light is acceptable, pleasing to the eye and meets most my expectations. That being said, there are pro's and con's to every product, and I'll list my major factors below.PROSa.) USB-C on the lamp-side, standard USB connector on the other end. It comes with enough length that this can be plugged into a USB hub if your monitor doesn't include a USB port (most older monitors do not; it's a handy feature and should be considered if you're purchasing a monitor.)b.) Appearance is a near clone of it's more expensive unrelated cousin, is satin black in color unlike it's expensive matte silver competitor - but it's a couple of inches shorter in overall length. This will relate to less light, however the coverage this Torchstar provides is more than adequate. The higher your monitor, the wider & softer the beam pattern.c.) Visibility while on, when sitting dead center of a larger monitor does not have much if any glare on the monitor. You will see dust on the screen, in which case this will alert you to clean the screen. But there is no glare, which is really nice. I use a 27" VG27AQL1A from ASUS, which is an IPS panel and I can't really tell a difference between the light being on, or IPS glow. In fact I can only see a difference if my screen is literally off.d.) The bar can be slightly rotated in it's mount to adjust direction. There exists a drawback which could only be avoided by a built-in shroud on the user side. If you rotate the bar away from the monitor, you get less directional light directly below your monitor, but you can see the physical LED's and at brighter settings, this can be very distracting - and bright. It's like bright headlights of an oncoming car. The pro to mention here, is that if you rotate it down so that you don't see the LED's, the glare on the monitor is almost non-existent and won't cause issues unless you're a frequent-sneezer, and aim at your screen instead of covering your mouth.CONS - and I mention this because they are really important factors to consider before purchasing.a.) The mounting mechanism is TERRIBLE. This MAY fit your monitor. I say that, because the depth of the spring-loaded mount doesn't go very deep, and, it's also not long enough on the rear to really grab anything. The counterweight on the rear needs to be considerably heavier for it to be of any respectable benefit. The weight is designed to pull the mount into the corner of the monitor giving it a good bite. Since there's hardly any weight, the mount is unstable/unreliable. You'll need to tinker with how it's mounted to get it 'just right', and don't touch it. On monitors with a larger bezel, and a square back - this will grip okay as the mount itself is spring loaded to compensate for it's lack of stable counterweight. My monitor has an extremely thin bezel - about 1/8" at best. If I mount the bar as intended, it will protrude about 1/4" onto my screen. Not good being spring loaded - accidentally hit the bar with something and you risk damaging your panel. I have the mount placed as high as possible to still get bite, and I'm considering using some double sided stick tape on the counterweight to reduce the chance of movement, which will cause the bar to fail. Since the rear of my monitor (read: most monitors) is slightly curved, this mount has no provision to overcome that so you're relying on chance alone.b.) There are four brightness settings, and four color temperature settings. If you're trying to match color temps with other ambient lighting, you may not be able to do so. Furthermore, I am finding the brightness to be either too bright, or not enough. When it's dark, the lowest setting is almost perfect you don't want glare and reflections off your desk. That being said, I'd like it slightly brighter. Say, maybe 1.5. The same goes for color temperature. The lowest setting is VERY yellow, and is about perfect matching temp to 40-60W incandescent soft-white bulbs. If you have LED lighting, this may be warmer or cooler than your ambient lighting. If you can overcome this, it won't bother you. Just keep it in mind.c.) More about the mount - it really needs to be wider. It's about 1.5" wide, and since I have to mount it at the very highest possible point, it sticks up above my monitor just enough that I'm distracted by it. I literally can't breath on it, or it can fall off. If you prefer function over form, this won't bother you. At $70 price point, I would expect this to be a tad better designed for aesthetic purposes.In the end, I think the value is there. It's a cheaper alternative (nearly half the cost of the BenQ) which is a real bonus, as I think the competition is really overpriced by comparison. Would I buy one again? Perhaps. The mount really irks me and I really dislike good products that aren't executed well in design. A longer version would be great, the mount definitely needs revised and there should be more than 4 brightness/color temp settings available. 10 would give this bar the edge it needs functionally, and a better mounting design would do wonders to the marketability of this light bar. As a budget bar, I think it's right up your alley. I could justify an additional cost for additional features. Smooth gradient adjustability for brightness and temperature would be a fantastic feature. A remote dial like the competition would allow all of the above, and the convenience of adjusting on your desk vs reaching to the top of your monitor is really valuable.

TL;DR Great budget option that still delivers while not breaking the bank. Would recommend if budget is a concern and you don't want to settle for the cheapest of the cheap chinese knockoffs (assuming you get it at the $50-$60 price point).Overall this light was very solid and I honestly would have kept it if I didn't enjoy the BenQ light more. This review will mostly be a comparison to the BenQ Screenbar and I will be posting a similar review on that product as well.A bit of background: I've always used/preferred task lighting when it comes to working at my desk and doing work on my computer. Up until about a week ago an architect style lamp from Ikea was filling the bill, but then I upgraded to a monitor stand for more desk real estate and now my my monitors are too high for that style lamp. After doing some research, I came across the BenQ Screenbar and similar styled lamps (i.e. TORCHSTAR Computer Monitor Light)--shopping around and reading reviews I narrowed it down to those 2 (thanks especially to Ken Y).I went ahead and purchased both from Amazon and after some light use decided to keep the BenQ Screenbar. At the time of purchase, the BenQ light was $99.00 and the TORCHSTAR $57.99 ($77.99 with a $20 off coupon) before tax. I've included photos to show the "differences" between the 2 lights--for all pictures the lights are at maximum brightness and maximum "warmth" or "coolness". All Photos are also captured at the same exposure settings with the same white balance for consistency.PROS:-Cheaper than BenQ while nearly being a clone-There's a diffuser over the LEDs (less harsh on the eyes, but this may be a choice on the BenQ as diffused light scatters more)-Smooth when dimming (slight flicker on the BenQ which might be a pro though because on the torchstar sometimes I can't tell if it's working)-Auto mode disables if you tap it again (it doesn't on the BenQ)-Torchstar came with an allen key to adjust the clamp tightness (I think the BenQ has a similar access panel but no key)CONS:-Not as bright (not sure if the LEDs themselves actually get brighter or there are just more, but this was a big reason I chose the BenQ)-smaller illumination area (about 3.5" shorter than the BenQ which translates to a decent amount of space)-Auto LED is blue and kind of sharp in the dark (the green on BenQ is very mild)-Clamp feels cheaper-Controls feel less responsive and intuitive (sometimes I felt like I wasn't sure if the torchstar was working but I always knew if the BenQ was. Also with the Torchstar the brightness or color ALWAYS alternated between touches making it kind of difficult to reach exactly the right settings)-Flat cable USB on the BenQ feels more premiumSIMILARITIES:-Both work fairly well with curved monitors. (I use a Samsung CF398 27" as my primary display and a CF390 24" as my secondary)-Both have directed LED strips to minimize glare on the monitors (some of the chinese knockoffs aren't built well and create a ton of glare)-They honestly both just work wellAt the end of the day, I can kind of recommend both light bars, but I just personally preferred the BenQ more and am willing to pay the premium for it. My complaints with the TORCHSTAR are mostly minor and especially if you don't change the settings much won't even be very noticeable.I will continue to update this review with usage as well as try to answer any questions that might come up. Please click the helpful button if you find my reviews helpful

I didn't expect much with this, but I was pleasantly surprised with it. Easy to setup and straight to the point.In order to make some of the functions work such as temp and brightness, you need to hold down the touch "buttons" for a moment until it starts to work. It annoyed me at first but I only needed to set it once and it's exactly where I want it to be.I like that the lamp (the round bar) can rotate so I can move light AWAY from my monitor so I am not constantly reminded of all the dust and wipe-smears on my screen that I never cleaned off.The only issue I had was that when I rotate the light away from the screen, it blasts light towards me and it's really bright and distracting. I came up with a simple solution: I put strips of black electrical tape along each side of the bar and have it hang off the lamp about a little less than half an inch and it totally blocks the light from blasting my eyes while not blocking the light on my desk. It actually works and the black tape matches the lamp perfectly.It's a good product and I may buy more for other monitors.