Upgrade to your perfect monitor

Six 27in IPS panels put to the test

AOC I2775PQU SCORE ✪✪✪✪✪ PRICE £188 (£225 inc VAT) from laptopsdirect.co.uk

Finished in matte-black plastic and with thick picture-frame bezels, the AOC looks chunky next to the new breed of edge-to-edge IPS panels.

This is a sensible monitor through and through, though. While the stand feels clunky it provides 130mm of height adjustability, tilts back and forth, and swings around into portrait mode. Shame it’s a tad wobbly.

There’s oodles of connectivity, too. AOC has included every video input you could ask for (barring USB Type-C), in addition to a four-port USB hub that provides two USB 2 ports at the rear, and two USB 3 ports on the left-hand edge.

It’s image quality that lets the AOC down. The matte Full HD panel is bright and has good contrast, but colour accuracy and the backlighting are below par. Colours look pale and undersaturated, and overall accuracy was among the worst of all the monitors here. The backlighting is uneven too, with large variances in brightness across the top and bottom of the panel.

For everyday use, the AOC isn’t a terrible option – and the adjustable stand and connectivity provide redemption – but the Philips 276E7QDAB offers better image quality for those on a budget.

KEY SPECS 27in 1,920 x 1,080 IPS display DisplayPort, HDMI, VGA 3.5mm audio in/out 2 x USB 3, 2 x USB 3 internal PSU 3yr RTB warranty

KEY RESULTS 296cd/m² max 1,076:1 contrast 78.2% sRGB accuracy, 3.5 average, 10.1 max

Asus VX279Q SCORE ✪✪✪✪✪ PRICE £194 (£233 inc VAT) from morecomputers.com

For a monitor that costs only £233, the Asus VX279Q looks amazing. Its edge-to-edge design does away with the usual picture-frame bezels, while the external PSU keeps it super-trim. The eye-catching circular stand doesn’t provide much adjustment – a little back-and-forth tilt is all you get – but there are plenty of connections at the rear. DisplayPort, VGA and HDMI are the usual suspects, and MHL support means you can directly connect a compatible tablet or smartphone with a suitable MHL-to-HDMI cable.

The first annoyance is Asus’ decision to use touch-sensitive controls rather than buttons. Navigating the menus is far more laborious than necessary.

Picture quality is another weak point. The VividPixel sharpening makes images look over-sharpened, but even with it turned off completely, image quality is below par. Colour accuracy is fine in the centre of the screen, but the uneven backlighting sees brightness dip by as much as 13% along the top third of the panel, and wayward colour temperature make whites look inconsistent from corner to corner. That’s a shame, as its contrast ratio is excellent.

We’d buy the similar-looking and equally affordable Philips 276E7QDAB instead.

KEY SPECS 27in 1,920 x 1,080 IPS display DisplayPort, HDMI (MHL), VGA 3.5mm audio in/out external PSU 3yr RTB warranty KEY RESULTS 267cd/m2 max 1,311:1 contrast 88% sRGB accuracy, 2.33 average, 7.64 max

Dell UltraSharp UP2716D SCORE ✪✪✪✪✪ PRICE £492 (£591 inc VAT) from dell.co.uk

Dell’s UP2716D wins its Recommended award for good reason. Great design and superb image quality get it off to a fine start, but support for hardware calibration makes it the most affordable semi-pro monitor around.

Like others here, Dell dumps traditional bezels in favour of an edge-to-edge panel. Those super-slim bezels are great news for multi-monitor setups, and the fully adjustable stand is also top-notch. It’s stable and sturdy, and gives 130mm of height adjustment, a portrait mode, and plenty of forwards and backwards tilt.

Mini-DisplayPort, full-sized DisplayPort, twin HDMI ports, and a four-port USB 3 hub are all present, while the DisplayPort output allows you to daisy-chain a second monitor if your GPU is DisplayPort 1.2-compatible.

Dell’s factory-calibrated panel is excellent. You have the choice of calibrated picture modes for sRGB, Adobe RGB, DCI P3 and Rec.709 colour spaces, and while colour accuracy can’t match professional monitors, it’s a huge step up from mid-range models. If you have an XRite i1 Display Pro colorimeter to hand, you can manually calibrate the monitor with the supplied software.

Want a colour accurate, flexible monitor without spending four figures? Buy this Dell.

KEY SPECS 27in 2,560 x 1,440 IPS display DisplayPort, mini-DisplayPort, 2x HDMI, DisplayPort out 4 x USB 3 3.5mm audio in/out internal PSU 3yr C&R warranty

KEY RESULTS 322cd/m² max 1,029:1 contrast 95.4% sRGB accuracy, 1.41 average, 2.55 max

“Asus’ edge-to-edge design means no big bezels, while the external PSU keeps it super-trim”