Mini-LED (opens in new tab) and QD-OLED (opens in new tab) panel tech, monster screen sizes (opens in new tab), and manic refresh rates (opens in new tab). Take your choose, it is all accessible for a value. However what are the truly important substances for a great gaming monitor and the way a lot will that value you?
If the PXC277 Superior is even half first rate, it is a steal for $240.
On paper, the reply may simply be $240 with the brand new Pixio PXC277 Superior. It is a 27-inch 1440p panel with 165Hz refresh and 1ms claimed response. Oh, and HDR assist. That is one heck of a package deal for the value.
It additionally meets just about all our key metrics. 1440p on a 27-inch panel stays an awesome all spherical compromise between measurement, pixel density, and GPU load. Likewise 165Hz is lots for all however probably the most demanding esports addicts. Ditto 1ms response, in idea.
Past these headline specs, there are one or two extra doubtful information factors. However at this value level, you possibly can hardly count on perfection. Put it this manner, if the PXC277 Superior is even half first rate, it will be a steal for $240. That is a really small fraction of the $1,000 required for a 27-inch OLED monitor just like the LG UltraGear 27GR95QE-B (opens in new tab), as an illustration.
Certainly, this monitor is so aggressively priced, the fast fear is what corners have been lower. Out of the field, the primary chassis of the show feels disconcertingly mild. However it’s properly sufficient put collectively.
Pixio PXC277 Superior specs
Display screen measurement: 27-inch
Decision: 2560 x 1440
Brightness: 320 nits peak
Response time: 1ms
Refresh fee: 165Hz
Viewing angle: 178° H&V
Distinction ratio: 4000:1
Options: VA panel, 95% DCI-P3, Freesync Premium, 2x DisplayPort 1.2, 1x HDMI 2.0
Worth: $240 (opens in new tab) | £250
With slim bezels on three sides, plus a little bit of a chin, and a crisp metallic stand, the PXC277 would not truly appear like a cut price basement merchandise it might need carried out. The exterior energy provide does admittedly drag the tone down. It is a generic merchandise with an inexpensive wanting Pixio sticker slapped on the aspect. And the aforementioned stand is tilt-only.
Equally, the contents of the field are conspicuously brief on frills. There is a single DisplayPort cable and no HDMI cable. However you recognize what? We’re effective with all that. DisplayPort is crucial to hit the total 165Hz they usually provide you with a cable for that. And who would not have a number of spare HDMI cables in a drawer? If leaving out a number of cables retains the value down and saves on e-waste, it is all good by me.
For the file, the PXC277 Superior truly has twin DisplayPort 1.2 connections, a single HDMI 2.0 socket and a headphone jack. And that is it. No USB-C, no USB-A hub. And, once more, at this value level that is simply dandy.
Ostensibly, there’s HDR assist. However unsurprisingly, the backlight is monolithic. There isn’t any full-array native dimming and the rated brightness tops out at 320 nits, which is modest by at the moment’s requirements.
That mentioned, the claimed native distinction of the panel is 4,000:1, which is spectacular and betrays the truth that Pixio has gone for VA somewhat than IPS expertise. VA is often that little bit cheaper than IPS, making it an inevitable alternative for a low-cost gaming monitor. The upside is that wonderful distinction, which is round 4 occasions higher than a typical IPS display screen. The draw back is often response. VA tends to be slower than IPS.
Pixio is claiming 1ms, nonetheless, and that is utilizing the gray-to-gray measure somewhat than the extra forgiving MPRT metric. That places it on par, in idea, with far costlier displays. It is all very promising.
As for the precise picture high quality and gaming expertise, properly, there aren’t any fast horrors. Phew. The panel’s default calibration is fairly correct and there are not one of the bizarre sharpening filters or backlight blotchiness you someday see on actually low-cost panels.
Even with the backlight set to most, this admittedly is not the punchiest show. However it’s moderately vibrant and the inherent distinction of the VA panel tech delivers good black ranges. The essential desktop expertise in SDR mode is fairly pleasing.
As for pixel response, that is a bit extra difficult. The Pixio’s OSD menu offers you entry to 3 ranges of pixel-accelerating overdrive. The quickest possibility suffers from among the worst overshoot we have seen in ages. That mode, presumably, is required to hit the claimed 1ms.
Even the center overdrive setting has some very apparent inverse ghosting. Nevertheless, that largely disappears with overdrive set to low and the ensuing response surprisingly good. There’s little of the same old smearing and apparent blurring you get with extra sluggish VA screens.
Is it as fast as the perfect IPS displays? Nope. However you’d must look fairly exhausting to identify the distinction. We might name {that a} win at this value level.
Much less spectacular, predictably, is the panel’s HDR efficiency. It’s going to course of an HDR sign and punch out broadly appropriate colors. However it’s not remotely an actual HDR expertise. The HDR calibration additionally has some compression on the excessive finish which ends up in brilliant particulars being blown out.
Furthermore, HDR mode isn’t any brighter or extra dynamic than SDR mode, so there’s little level in utilizing it, particularly when it additionally presents worse SDR calibration than SDR mode itself.
However as soon as once more, that is OK. Because of the high-contrast VA panel, that is truly fairly a dynamic panel in SDR mode. As a as an illustration, the neon lights in Cyberpunk’s underground bar scene pop actually properly towards the inky black backgrounds. That is genuinely a nice-looking show.
The identical applies in brighter out of doors gaming arenas. The outright brightness cannot compete with, say, a mini-LED monitor. However it’s truly brighter than an OLED monitor based mostly on LG panel tech. Put this monitor subsequent to a kind of and also you’d wrestle to justify the 4x value premium, you actually would.
The Pixio PXC277 Superior does nearly every thing fairly properly.
As for extra speed-orientated gaming, the information is sweet right here, too. The 165Hz refresh makes for zippy responses and properly managed latency. Put merely, now we have no complaints.
So, we got here into this assessment hoping for a monitor that will do a little bit of every thing. The two,560 by 1,440 pixel grid promised a good desktop expertise, on paper the VA panel had the appropriate specs to ship a number of element within the newest triple-A eye sweet titles whereas additionally being fast sufficient to be a good possibility for on-line shooters.
And you recognize what? That is precisely what this monitor delivers. At this value level we had been keen to make a number of excuses. However that is not truly crucial. The Pixio PXC277 Superior does nearly every thing fairly properly.
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The one exception is HDR. Nevertheless, as a result of the specs make it clear this is not a real HDR panel, we won’t see the purpose in complaining that HDR assist is not actually a usable function. So, it says lots that our greatest grievance together with the shortage of top adjustment from the stand is that the panel is curved. It simply would not add a lot to proceedings on a 27-inch 16:9 monitor.
Then once more, it would not take a lot away both, due to its mild 1500R radius. So, let’s stick that within the field with the opposite minor demerits we’re okay with. Certainly, we’re in a broader sense okay with this monitor. After which some. Which is greater than we had been hoping for the cash.
