Monitor Roundup
Need a new screen? BenneTT RinG hits refresh.
Onlya few years ago, a 27-inch display would cost at least $600. These days you can pick one up for a mere $250, showing just how fast panel technology has advanced in leaps and bounds. That’s not to say all 27-inch monitors are this affordable – it’s easy to spend over a grand on displays designed for gaming. Super-fast refresh rates, curved screens, G-Sync and other features can exponentially increase the price of a display, so we’ve taken a look at the current state of the market, from screens that cost just $320, all the way up to $1200. We’re not going to compare a screen to another that is twice the price; each monitor in the following roundup has been judged on its own merits. So, just what should you look for when buying a 27-inch display for gaming?
What makes a monitor?
Obviously, the more expensive the display, the more features it has. First and foremost is the resolution. At this size, 2560 x 1440 is the optimal resolution, but more affordable 27 inchers tend to be 1920 x 1080. This lower resolution makes it rather easy to see individual pixels and the pixel structure between each pixel.
Next up is the refresh rate of the display. The refresh rate refers to the number of times per second a new screen is drawn; a 60Hz screen draws a new screen 60 frames per second, while a 144Hz screen draws it 144 times. The higher the refresh rate, the smoother the sensation of motion, and the more information the gamer can see (as they’re seeing twice as many frames as a gamer at 60Hz). There’s also pixel response time to take into account, which is the time it takes for a pixel to turn on and off. Gamers should aim for a pixel response time of less than 5ms, otherwise the image can appear blurred as the camera moves. The very best monitors have response times of 2ms.
The very latest monitors now have High Dynamic Range lighting, and there are several different types. The most common on PC displays is HDR10, although there is Dolby Vision, HLG and Advanced HDR. Luckily, it appears that most will be compatible with each other. Once you’ve seen a HDR display you’ll struggle to go back to a normal display, as the colours are incredibly rich and vivid, while blacks are super black and the contrast ratio is phenomenal. Unfortunately it’s still very new, so only a handful of monitors support this.
hoW We tested
We used an X-Rite i1 colorimeter to test the contrast ratio and colour accuracy. The latter is measured as DeltaE, which measures the variance from the proper colour. The lower the delta E (which looks like AE), the more accurate the colour reproduction. All screens were set to normal mode, with a brightness of 120 cd/ metre squared, with the DC65 white space. We also used the www.testufo.com website to check for motion blur.