HP E27d G4
A no-nonsense monitor that excels for practicality rather than image quality
SCORE
PRICE £399 (£479 inc VAT) from store.hp.com
If the HP E27d was a human, it would wear a sharp grey suit, carry a briefcase and always complete its to-do list. As befits such a creation, HP supplies it in “Neutral” colour mode. This tracks the sRGB colour space and we assume targets the 6500K temperature, although our testing showed it to go a little beyond on both counts: while it covers 99.6% of the sRGB gamut, we measured 110.2% volume and its temperature at almost 6700K. Colour accuracy is spot on, with an average Delta E of 0.44.
You can push brightness up to 352cd/m2, well beyond what’s necessary in the office or study, where this screen will surely end up, but note that we wouldn’t choose it for watching films. That’s largely due to a measured contrast ratio of 865:1 but also because HP doesn’t find room for speakers: you must make do with a headphone jack.
That’s surprising because HP clearly has web conferencing in its sights with the E27d G4, with a Full HD camera tucked behind the top bezel. You simply slide it up when you need it and down when you want privacy. The camera is only usable when the E27d is connected via the USB-C cable, and that connection is the big selling point of this docking monitor: with four USB-A ports and an Ethernet socket, plus the ability to deliver up to 100W of power, you could reduce the number of cables on your desk to one (aside from the power cable for the monitor itself).
The stand looks minimalist, but you can adjust the screen’s height by up to 150mm, swivel through 30° in each direction and pivot it 90°. We also appreciate the stand’s solidity: while other screens wobble when you press buttons to control the OSD, the E27d stays steady. It’s also one of the most intuitive and pleasant OSDs here.
Assuming you aren’t looking for the last word in pumping colours, this monitor only has one “fault” – and that’s its resolution. While a 27in 1440p monitor is a big step up from a laptop display or a 24in Full HD screen, a 4K resolution has obvious advantages for information workers who need to view detailed documents side by side. That’s why we’d spend £65 more on the 4K Dell U2720Q.