I bought this monitor because of this review. I just want to write a mini review for people considering buying it in 2023. Disclaimers I have it paired with an Nvidia RTX 3080. I was previously using an LG C1 OLED, mostly in 4K, but also running some of the more demanding games at 1440p (which obviously didn't look as good as 4K). My main reasons for getting this monitor were the following: -I wanted a 1440p monitor so I could easily reach higher frame rates. Check. -At least 160Hz. Check. -HDR. This was the one feature that I just knew I couldn't live without. Coming from an OLED TV, I gotta say I was pleasantly surprised with how good this monitor looks in HDR gaming. It looks even better than my C1, which says a lot. I still think the OLED looks better for movies and TV shows, especially because they tend to have darker scenes, and most of them have black bars due to the aspect ratio. But for gaming, the GP27Q looks stunning, thanks to its incredibly high brightness. The colors pop and it makes games feel more immersive. Also, you're not gonna notice any blooming when gaming, except maybe in loading screens. If you are looking for a monitor with great HDR, you should definitely consider this one. So, yeah, BIG CHECK. -No burn in risk. Check. -All of the above without breaking the bank. Check. As for the visual downgrade from 4K to 1440p: I do notice it in some games, but most of them look amazing in 1440p as well, and I greatly appreciate the higher frame rates I get while playing. I have tried switching back to my OLED for some games, but I prefer the higher fps I get on this monitor. Also, 1440p look way better on this monitor, due to the smaller size, and the fact that it is its native resolution, versus the upscaling that the C1 has to do. Cons: (I'm running it on the latest firmware as of May 2023, which has solved all issues with 165Hz + VRR + HDR 10 bit color. No color banding, flickering, nor anything like that. It works perfectly.) -There is an annoying bug where the screen goes dark when you switch from HDR to SDR in Windows 11. To get it to work again, you have to unplug the monitor from the power source and plug it back in. It's not a deal breaker, and I'm guessing they are gonna fix it in a future firmware update, but it is there. And that's about it. I highly recommend this monitor for anyone looking for a 1440p gaming monitor with true HDR. Trust me, your games will look even better than they would on an OLED (HDR wise).
Thanks, been looking online and comparing 1440 monitors all day and saw this one which seems perfect. Wanted USBC for steam deck one wire too so think I'll get this next week.
I have purchased the cooler master GP27q and the firmware update as of the 7/12/22 has enabled VRR and HDR and local dimming to work all together the only bug is at 165 Hz colour banding is slighlty noticeable this is resolved by dropping to 144hz and this has already been mentioned by others and by me on the reddit post with coolermaster replying that they are now aware and will fix in future firmware update. Overall The monitor is brilliant with VRR and HDR all working it is brilliant hopefully cooler master will resolve HDR colour banding at 165 hz but running at 144hz there isnt any banding that i can notice and i dont notice any percetible diffrence in smoothness of animations or any perceptible difference in FPS gaming I still suck at 144 or 165hz lol. I would recomend as this is proper HDR at £500
You have no color banding at all when you are not in HDR at 165 Hz? I also got the GP27Q and sadly mine always has noticeable color banding. It basically refuses to display more than 8bit, even in HDR. And it is already set to 10 bit in the Nvidia control panel...
The local dimming, is that something you have to change all the time manually in the monitor settings, or can it be automatically handled by windows, so that it only works in games? Also have you tried tried the newest firmware? I am in doubt if I should by this for my home office (Programming and gaming) if its not good for work
Fantastic review, thanks for this. I'm just about to order one, based in the main off your review. It looks a hell of an upgrade from my 6yr old PC monitor. I also see it's recently had a firmware update - not sure if you'll be revisiting to see what's improved? Daft question - the monitor USB C port...what different things can I do with it? e.g. can it charge phones? connect to a PC GPU's USB-C output (freeing up the monitor's displayport and HDMI inputs), read/write from portable storage (I'm guessing via a cable attached to the monitor USB3-Up connector...thus setting max speed to this?)
Hold on, I'm confused. With HDR On and Local Dimming there's only 540 nits? I thought HDR needed lots of nits to work and be great? Isn't the bare minimum 600 for DisplayHDR certification? PS: The UK Amazon link doesn't work!
540 nits for a 100% windows ! that's already way too much for yours eyes lol. The certifications is about peak brightness not 100% window, so for hdr 600 certification you only need to reach a peak of 600 nits. This screen can reach a whopping 1400 nits peak.
I bought this monitor and plan on picking up the 4k variant to run a dual monitor setup on my 4090 system. CM has confirmed that the issues with VRR + HDR + LD will be fixed with a firmware update sometime this month.
Yeah theyre really not. I wish we had 27 inch oleds honestly but maybe next year i heard. People always recommend trhe 42 inch ''monitors'' for gaming but at that size, its damn near a TV lol. I need way smaller, 32 is already big enough.
I steal this monitor for 300e, it has bad backlight bleed but with local diming its perfect, panel is beautifull and vibrant, brightness on 1.4.1 firmware is good but i think on 1.2.1 in HDR is brighter. I know this monitor have some problem with backlight dying but i hope it gonna last a long time
I wonder, can you connect to the monitor from computer with just one usb-c cable, and still have G-sync? The usb-c port seems to have displayport, so it should be possible
Thanks for the review mate. I agree re Oled, I just cant get over the risk of burn in. Is it possible to change settings via software? I've never really cared about picture quality, but turning on and off settings via the OSD sounds annoying.
Hey great review! I have this monitor myself and love it. Only thing that bothers me is the color banding. Did you have this issue at all and if so do you have a fix? Thanks and keep up the great content!
Color Banding i usually only see at VA panels. What type of color banding ? Maybe its a compression issue from the source rather than the monitor itself. This may happen on some games. Shades of grey in games or around light sources and of course in videos (youtube, videos in general etc.)
@@DrumL3000 I notice it bad on TH-cam. I've tested a few games in HDR, FF7 remake has pretty noticeable color banding. It's not a deal breaker I'm just wondering why it's happening. I'm coming from the msi mag274qrf-qd and never had an issue with color banding
@@colbyjt85 funny enough worst color banding i had came frome a msi mag VA panel. Its really hard to tell if you just got unlucky with the product or if settings/calibration are wrong or if its non product related. keep in mind depending on the content and situation there is always a bit of color bending tho it might be. i had many monitors and in certain games like witcher 3 for example when you look at the moon at night you can cleary see the whites and gray circles around the moon. usually color bending is content related and not product but sometimes its wrong settings and mostly never due to a faulty display. maybe write a ticket to cooler master customer service and send them some sample pics. duno. good luck
Hello Type-C! I'm planning to order a Dell S2522HG, 24" Monitor. And I was thinking to myself, "Do I need a PC for this monitor?". I don't have a PC and I'm pretty nervous If I'm going to waste my money on this monitor. The monitor Is similar to the 32" you reviewed except the one I want is 24" and a different style. Can you tell me If I have to acquire a PC for this specific gaming monitor, or am I okay without the PC? Thanks. (P.S. I'm using the Dell S2522HG for gaming, editing, and recording.)
Just got this monitor, however it's just at black screen when I plugged in HDMI. Monitor is just flashing blue lights behind and can't even turn on. Anyone faced this issue?
I have this monitor and it can only handle minecraft (no shaders), mw2 and old games like that. If you try fortnite, try the lowest ingame graphic settings!
Those two monitors aren’t even in the same league. The LG you listed is 5 year old tech, feature-wise. 240hz is a barely noticeable upgrade over 120hz, don’t let pretentious gamers fool you online. The leap from 60hz to 120hz is MASSIVE, and should not be understated, but going from that to 240hz only reduces the latency by a few milliseconds. It’s extremely diminishing returns. Either way, the GP27Q and GP27U are mini-LED enabled HDR gaming monitors, something the LG you listed doesn’t have. The image quality and overall experience of the GP27Q will FAR outpace the LG.
Should i get this when currently it is at 680€, barely any stock and don't know if it will be with a discount or should i get the odyssey g7 4k at under 450€?
@@sebastiencarre2416 at the end I'm just gonna wait for the Samsung odyssey g7 4k to be in stock since stacking discounts i can get it for like 370€ new
@@Manuel-wv3ik it was a flash offer from the Samsung store mixed with student discount. Unfortunately i didn't buy it in time and is no longer even available to buy
Higher contrast & brightness thanks to the miniLED backlight, which translates to better HDR. Larger color space and slightly better factory calibration. Some issues the video mentions which are firmware related. CM's quality control RE: monitors is a complete unknown. But while CM's quality control is essentially unknown, LG's is known to be pretty bad.
Just be warned everybody Cooler Master’s monitors for some odd reason have bad quality control I just received this monitor today for it to not work and a lot of people are receiving these monitors with dead pixels as well.
Out of stock, nowhere to be found. Seems like the same story as the AOC Agon, miniLED just won't get into the market with enough quantity to get one. Especially 1440p
Love the videos!! You have a Sub from me! I just picked up the new Asus ROG Strix XG32UQ and i have to say it's really great, No one has reviews on it yet found it at micro center for cheap compared to online By $82us.
VRR + HDR should be coming in an upcoming firmware update.
It's that VRR specifically or does that mean g sync as well
did it comeout or it dont matter for console gamers !?
it did, just upgrade the firmware@@GubiYoroi2
I bought this monitor because of this review. I just want to write a mini review for people considering buying it in 2023.
Disclaimers
I have it paired with an Nvidia RTX 3080.
I was previously using an LG C1 OLED, mostly in 4K, but also running some of the more demanding games at 1440p (which obviously didn't look as good as 4K).
My main reasons for getting this monitor were the following:
-I wanted a 1440p monitor so I could easily reach higher frame rates. Check.
-At least 160Hz. Check.
-HDR. This was the one feature that I just knew I couldn't live without. Coming from an OLED TV, I gotta say I was pleasantly surprised with how good this monitor looks in HDR gaming. It looks even better than my C1, which says a lot. I still think the OLED looks better for movies and TV shows, especially because they tend to have darker scenes, and most of them have black bars due to the aspect ratio. But for gaming, the GP27Q looks stunning, thanks to its incredibly high brightness. The colors pop and it makes games feel more immersive. Also, you're not gonna notice any blooming when gaming, except maybe in loading screens.
If you are looking for a monitor with great HDR, you should definitely consider this one. So, yeah, BIG CHECK.
-No burn in risk. Check.
-All of the above without breaking the bank. Check.
As for the visual downgrade from 4K to 1440p: I do notice it in some games, but most of them look amazing in 1440p as well, and I greatly appreciate the higher frame rates I get while playing. I have tried switching back to my OLED for some games, but I prefer the higher fps I get on this monitor. Also, 1440p look way better on this monitor, due to the smaller size, and the fact that it is its native resolution, versus the upscaling that the C1 has to do.
Cons:
(I'm running it on the latest firmware as of May 2023, which has solved all issues with 165Hz + VRR + HDR 10 bit color. No color banding, flickering, nor anything like that. It works perfectly.)
-There is an annoying bug where the screen goes dark when you switch from HDR to SDR in Windows 11. To get it to work again, you have to unplug the monitor from the power source and plug it back in. It's not a deal breaker, and I'm guessing they are gonna fix it in a future firmware update, but it is there.
And that's about it.
I highly recommend this monitor for anyone looking for a 1440p gaming monitor with true HDR. Trust me, your games will look even better than they would on an OLED (HDR wise).
Thanks, been looking online and comparing 1440 monitors all day and saw this one which seems perfect. Wanted USBC for steam deck one wire too so think I'll get this next week.
sounds good, getting mine tomorrow.
Got mine. After slight adjusting I'm loving this. Having 1 wire access to my steam deck and laptop is outstanding and exactly what I was after
@@jdizzle1779 happy for you! hope mine have no issues...
Any issues come up?@@Vurt72
The search for the perfect monitor continues
Why
Why is it not perfect
What a ✊️🤣
They fixed the hdr+vrr so this IS the perfect monitor 😀
@@mort996 not oled
I have purchased the cooler master GP27q and the firmware update as of the 7/12/22 has enabled VRR and HDR and local dimming to work all together the only bug is at 165 Hz colour banding is slighlty noticeable this is resolved by dropping to 144hz and this has already been mentioned by others and by me on the reddit post with coolermaster replying that they are now aware and will fix in future firmware update. Overall The monitor is brilliant with VRR and HDR all working it is brilliant hopefully cooler master will resolve HDR colour banding at 165 hz but running at 144hz there isnt any banding that i can notice and i dont notice any percetible diffrence in smoothness of animations or any perceptible difference in FPS gaming I still suck at 144 or 165hz lol. I would recomend as this is proper HDR at £500
You have no color banding at all when you are not in HDR at 165 Hz?
I also got the GP27Q and sadly mine always has noticeable color banding. It basically refuses to display more than 8bit, even in HDR. And it is already set to 10 bit in the Nvidia control panel...
Will they fix local dimming in SDR?
How’s your monitor working? Do you happy with it?)
Hello, can you please share a link of the firmware update. Ty
When going to the Nvidia control panel, can you put this monitor above eight or 10 bit color?
I love your reviews! So much knowledge and accuracy is on display in every single video.
The local dimming, is that something you have to change all the time manually in the monitor settings, or can it be automatically handled by windows, so that it only works in games? Also have you tried tried the newest firmware?
I am in doubt if I should by this for my home office (Programming and gaming) if its not good for work
Fantastic review, thanks for this. I'm just about to order one, based in the main off your review. It looks a hell of an upgrade from my 6yr old PC monitor. I also see it's recently had a firmware update - not sure if you'll be revisiting to see what's improved?
Daft question - the monitor USB C port...what different things can I do with it? e.g. can it charge phones? connect to a PC GPU's USB-C output (freeing up the monitor's displayport and HDMI inputs), read/write from portable storage (I'm guessing via a cable attached to the monitor USB3-Up connector...thus setting max speed to this?)
Hi. Did you buy it?)
Hold on, I'm confused. With HDR On and Local Dimming there's only 540 nits? I thought HDR needed lots of nits to work and be great? Isn't the bare minimum 600 for DisplayHDR certification?
PS: The UK Amazon link doesn't work!
540 nits for a 100% windows ! that's already way too much for yours eyes lol. The certifications is about peak brightness not 100% window, so for hdr 600 certification you only need to reach a peak of 600 nits. This screen can reach a whopping 1400 nits peak.
I bought this monitor and plan on picking up the 4k variant to run a dual monitor setup on my 4090 system. CM has confirmed that the issues with VRR + HDR + LD will be fixed with a firmware update sometime this month.
You should get the alienware OLED, im building a 4090 build and that's going to be my next monitor coming from 1440P.
@@flowsy5294 I would, but I just wish it wasn't curved and was brighter. OLEDs just aren't there yet for daily desktop use imo.
Yeah theyre really not. I wish we had 27 inch oleds honestly but maybe next year i heard. People always recommend trhe 42 inch ''monitors'' for gaming but at that size, its damn near a TV lol. I need way smaller, 32 is already big enough.
@@flowsy5294 had the aw. White text on grey/dark backgrounds is so bad. The fringing appears on other ui elements too
@@flowsy5294 The Alienware oled is not UHD its pretty much also 1440p considering the screen size in general.
I steal this monitor for 300e, it has bad backlight bleed but with local diming its perfect, panel is beautifull and vibrant, brightness on 1.4.1 firmware is good but i think on 1.2.1 in HDR is brighter. I know this monitor have some problem with backlight dying but i hope it gonna last a long time
How glossy is this monitor compared to the LG 32GQ950-B?
Is it glossy?
Why can't I buy this anywhere?
I really like that little lamp on your desk! next to the plant pot, do you mind telling me where you got it from?
Is white text on black/dark background fine when scrolling or viewing? Heard there may be blooming in this scenario but I’m not sure how much
I wonder, can you connect to the monitor from computer with just one usb-c cable, and still have G-sync?
The usb-c port seems to have displayport, so it should be possible
Thanks for the review mate. I agree re Oled, I just cant get over the risk of burn in. Is it possible to change settings via software? I've never really cared about picture quality, but turning on and off settings via the OSD sounds annoying.
Dell guarantees their OLED panels for three years against burn-in. Take the leap.
This is what i was going to say too. Dell is so sure of themselves, they offer a 3 year warranty against burn in.
Hey great review! I have this monitor myself and love it. Only thing that bothers me is the color banding. Did you have this issue at all and if so do you have a fix? Thanks and keep up the great content!
Are you at 165 hz? Setting it to 144hz significantly helped the color banding.
@@anthonybeal9147 I tried that and didn't notice a difference. I keep HDR on all the time, maybe that's the issue
Color Banding i usually only see at VA panels. What type of color banding ? Maybe its a compression issue from the source rather than the monitor itself. This may happen on some games. Shades of grey in games or around light sources and of course in videos (youtube, videos in general etc.)
@@DrumL3000 I notice it bad on TH-cam. I've tested a few games in HDR, FF7 remake has pretty noticeable color banding. It's not a deal breaker I'm just wondering why it's happening. I'm coming from the msi mag274qrf-qd and never had an issue with color banding
@@colbyjt85 funny enough worst color banding i had came frome a msi mag VA panel.
Its really hard to tell if you just got unlucky with the product or if settings/calibration are wrong or if its non product related. keep in mind depending on the content and situation there is always a bit of color bending tho it might be. i had many monitors and in certain games like witcher 3 for example when you look at the moon at night you can cleary see the whites and gray circles around the moon.
usually color bending is content related and not product but sometimes its wrong settings and mostly never due to a faulty display. maybe write a ticket to cooler master customer service and send them some sample pics. duno. good luck
12:27 😆 Quite literally burst out laughing at this part. Not very often I hear it said so bluntly.
Hello Type-C! I'm planning to order a Dell S2522HG, 24" Monitor.
And I was thinking to myself, "Do I need a PC for this monitor?". I don't have a PC and I'm pretty nervous If I'm going to waste my money on this monitor. The monitor Is similar to the 32" you reviewed except the one I want is 24" and a different style.
Can you tell me If I have to acquire a PC for this specific gaming monitor, or am I okay without the PC? Thanks.
(P.S. I'm using the Dell S2522HG for gaming, editing, and recording.)
How do i make it 1440p,mynes set on 1920x1080p
Is this any good for fps games like Warzone????
Great vid man , thx for the info
Just got this monitor, however it's just at black screen when I plugged in HDMI. Monitor is just flashing blue lights behind and can't even turn on. Anyone faced this issue?
Can it run games like fc 24 or FIFA or rocket league and Fortnite? Maybe even Valorant?
I have this monitor and it can only handle minecraft (no shaders), mw2 and old games like that. If you try fortnite, try the lowest ingame graphic settings!
😂😂😂@@jafdell
what do you like better this or the 32gq850 Type-C?
Those two monitors aren’t even in the same league. The LG you listed is 5 year old tech, feature-wise.
240hz is a barely noticeable upgrade over 120hz, don’t let pretentious gamers fool you online. The leap from 60hz to 120hz is MASSIVE, and should not be understated, but going from that to 240hz only reduces the latency by a few milliseconds. It’s extremely diminishing returns.
Either way, the GP27Q and GP27U are mini-LED enabled HDR gaming monitors, something the LG you listed doesn’t have. The image quality and overall experience of the GP27Q will FAR outpace the LG.
is there any problem with gsync ?
Should i get this when currently it is at 680€, barely any stock and don't know if it will be with a discount or should i get the odyssey g7 4k at under 450€?
too expensive at 680euros, should be 550euros max.
@@sebastiencarre2416 at the end I'm just gonna wait for the Samsung odyssey g7 4k to be in stock since stacking discounts i can get it for like 370€ new
@@xescdelarosa3328 where?
@@Manuel-wv3ik it was a flash offer from the Samsung store mixed with student discount. Unfortunately i didn't buy it in time and is no longer even available to buy
Go for it man, I just ordered two from that same PC-King vendor that is available.
i’m in the market for 27 inch monitor . how is this compared to the lg27gn950?
Higher contrast & brightness thanks to the miniLED backlight, which translates to better HDR. Larger color space and slightly better factory calibration. Some issues the video mentions which are firmware related. CM's quality control RE: monitors is a complete unknown.
But while CM's quality control is essentially unknown, LG's is known to be pretty bad.
Shame you literally can't get this monitor anywhere...
Have you find it at stock. Or is there a reason it is not at stock ?
Damn that was fast.
Just be warned everybody Cooler Master’s monitors for some odd reason have bad quality control I just received this monitor today for it to not work and a lot of people are receiving these monitors with dead pixels as well.
How’s your monitor working? Do you happy with it?)
Out of stock, nowhere to be found. Seems like the same story as the AOC Agon, miniLED just won't get into the market with enough quantity to get one. Especially 1440p
How do i get it to 1000 nits
Help me please
Love the videos!! You have a Sub from me!
I just picked up the new Asus ROG Strix XG32UQ and i have to say it's really great, No one has reviews on it yet found it at micro center for cheap compared to online By $82us.
is it just me or does this dispaylook like crap? the colors are so shallow. this monitor has no depth. my pixio 275h looks better