The idea of a 1440p resolution with a 240Hz refresh rate is attractive. It’s ideal for anyone who wants crisp details and accurate responsiveness. Today, we’re writing our Gigabyte M27Q X Monitor review to discuss this gaming monitor from Gigabyte.
It’s one of the cheapest models on the market with the specifications we mentioned. So we’re checking out its features, other specifications, design, functions, and how well (or not) it performs.
Continue reading our Gigabyte M27Q X Monitor Review to get more insights about the product. But before getting deeper into it, let’s check its packaging and contents.
Gigabyte M27Q X Monitor Packaging
The first part of our Gigabyte M27Q X Monitor review is where we’ll look into the product’s packaging and contents.
Our monitor arrived in a plain-looking cardboard box that didn’t have anything aesthetic on it. You’ll find Gigabyte’s branding, the unit’s name, and an illustration of the monitor.
You’ll also find some details on the product, like its features and specifications.
Inside the box, you’ll find the monitor, a DisplayPort cable, 3x power cords, and a user guide. You’ll also find a USB-A to B upstream cable, an HDMI cable, and the power supply.
Gigabyte M27Q X Monitor Review – Design and Functionality
This product isn’t like your typical fancy gaming monitor since it has a simple design. It’s almost identical to Gigabyte’s G27QC but has a non-curved and flat-screen. The M27Q X has thin borders on three sides with slightly thick bezels plus a flat stand that’s V-shaped.
While writing our Gigabyte M27Q X Monitor review, we learned its body is entirely plastic. It isn’t a drawback since it feels solid and sturdy, and there weren’t any issues with its construction.
The rear had some flex, and its stand supports the monitor adequately. Like the G27QC, its back features a clean, modern design with the same combination of glassy and matte plastic.
Its stand comes with a little cutout for cable management which we find convenient, considering we love keeping things organised.
We also appreciate that the stand doesn’t take up too much space on our desk. And because it’s flat, it’s still possible to place additional items on it. It feels solid, and its screen doesn’t shake/wobble much when bumped.
The monitor’s stand is sturdy, allowing you to adjust heights up to 130mm. You can even tilt it by -5° / 20° and 100 x 100mm VESA mount compatibility.
However, you can’t pivot or swivel the M27Q X’s screen.
Additionally, it has a light matte coating for anti-glare to prevent reflections without grainy image outputs.
Assembly of the Gigabyte M27Q X Monitor
Assembling the gaming monitor is easy because of its captive bolt for joining the base. It also comes with a panel that conveniently snaps in place.
If you prefer to utilise your arm/stand, a 100mm VESA mount is included in the package. However, you’ll need to source your fasters for the monitor.
Key Features of the Gigabyte M27Q X Monitor
What features do you need for a gaming monitor? Find out if this product has everything you need by reading our Gigabyte M27Q X Monitor review.
Multiple Devices Under Your Control with KVM
The M27Q X features KVM, which allows you to control multiple devices using one set of keyboard, video, and mouse. This monitor has an exclusive KVM button for easier switching of devices. The built-in KVM offers a brand new concept of what monitors can do.
Simple, Stylish, and Durable
With its streamlined appearance, the M27Q X represents GIGABYTE’s simplicity in the design philosophy of the company’s gaming products. Aside from the simple and stylish design, it has a sturdy stand and matte finish that provides aesthetics and functionality.
Superior Performance
The M27Q X has numerous features that allow it to deliver superior performance. One of these is the 1ms GTG Response Time that delivers quick responsiveness. It uses SuperSpeed IPS technology to provide a fast response time while offering high-quality IPS-grade colour.
This monitor also supports 10-bit colour for a fascinating colour display. It also has the 92% DCI-P3 for super wide-gamut colour. With QHD resolution and 240Hz refresh rates, you can get detailed image displays and a seamless gaming experience.
This monitor also supports High Bit Rate 3 or HBR3 to provide bandwidth to offer the monitor’s fastest refresh rate. It simultaneously provides the full-colour depth and HDR effect.
The Gigabyte M27Q X Monitor’s Gaming Features
We’ll also discuss the product’s gaming-focused features in our Gigabyte M27Q X Monitor review. Let’s begin with OSD Sidekick, which enables you to adjust the display options via keyboard and mouse. It gives you an easier and faster approach to customising your monitor’s settings.
The dashboard shows your real-time hardware information like clock speed, PC voltages, temperatures, etc. No game can block this feature. That means you can view these details anytime.
Aim Stabiliser Sync is the latest upgrade that reduces motion blur and simultaneously enables V-Sync technology. Another gaming feature is the Black Equaliser which provides more detail on dark colours without overexposing the bright elements.
This monitor also has an auto-update function so you can enjoy the best gaming experience effortlessly as Gigabyte upgrades features.
Practical Tech Features
The M27Q X provides you with practical features for the best viewing experience. This monitor has a flicker-free technology to prevent eye strain and fatigue. It features a low blue light certified by TUV Rheinland to protect your eye health.
It also offers Clear Sound for the optimal audio experience.
Perfect Viewing Angle
Gigabyte’s gaming monitor comes with an ergonomically designed stand. It offers an extensive height range of up to 130mm and tilt adjustments from -5° to 20°.
Specifications
Now, we’ll discuss everything about the monitor’s specifications in our Gigabyte M27Q X Monitor Review. Diagonally, its panel measures 27” SS IPS, and its display viewing area is 596.7 x 335.67mm (HxV).
We love its display surface since it has a non-glare feature.
As for colour saturation and True resolution, the monitor has 92% DCI-P3/140% sRGB and 2560 x 1440 (QHD), respectively.
The product has a pixel pitch of 0.2331 x 0.2331mm (HxV) and a 350 cd/m2 (TYP) brightness.
We also looked into its contrast ratio, and it’s 1000:1. Its viewing angle is 178°/178° (HxV), while display colours are 10-bits (8-bits + FRC.
The response time of the M27Q X is “1ms GTG and 240Hz for the refresh rate. Additionally, Gigabyte utilised a VESA Display 400 for its HDR.
Connectivity and Power Consumption
Connectivity options of the monitor include a DisplayPort 1.4 and two HDMI 2.0 ports. It also has a USB-C port with DP 1.4 Alt Mode and up to 18W Power Delivery.
It has one upstream and two downstream USB 3.0 ports, a headphone jack, and dual 2W integrated speakers.
The M27Q X consumes 25W of power and 0.5W in power-saving mode. Lastly, it comes with a 130mm height adjustment.
Hands-on with the Gigabyte M27Q X Monitor
This part of our Gigabyte M27Q X Monitor Review is probably the most exciting since we’re discussing how it performed. We used the monitor for two weeks to see if it was as good as claimed.
OSD Features
Pressing the joystick of this monitor reveals a quick menu to open the full OSD. It also shows the GameAssist functions and KVM controls. The OSD has everything you need for image control, convenience, and gaming enhancement.
Each sub-menu has varying details on top. In the Gaming Menu, you’ll find the resolution, status, and refresh rate of the available gaming aids.
The Aim Stabiliser is another term for the monitor’s blur reduction using a backlight strobe. It can work together with Adaptive-Sync and variable overdrive. Additionally, it almost costs nothing in artefacts or light output.
Enabling this feature decreases blur at 240Hz. However, it’s ideal for retaining high motion resolution. The only limitation is it won’t function in the HDR mode.
The Black Equaliser increases black levels for improving shadow detail. Its overdrive is ideal using the Smart OD variable setting. It works in HDR and SDR modes with the Aim Stabiliser and Adaptive Sync.
There are six image presets and three custom memory slots available. The standard is next to the mark without needing calibration. sRGB is closer to the spec if you prefer a smaller colour gamut.
With three colour temps, five gamma options, and RGB sliders, tweaking the images to your preferences is possible. You can save and load settings via the three custom modes for multiple arrangements.
This monitor offers some HDR adjustments. Light Enhance boosts overall brightness, but use it sparingly. If you dial in too much, it will cause highlights to vanish.
Colour Enhance boosts saturation to turn warm tones into something more vivid. If you set it too high, it can crush details. For Dark Enhance, it increases black levels if shadowy areas are challenging to make out.
GameAssist
The GameAssist menu of the M27Q X comes with system monitoring and gaming features. You can showcase a collection of frame rate values and time at the top part of the screen.
Crosshairs come preset. Or, you can make your own via Gigabyte’s OSD Sidekick application.
Eagle Eye is the centre-screen zoom feature best as a sniping aid. It limits refresh rates to 165Hz.
Lastly, Dashboard shows frequency, temperature, and fan speed. It also shows the usage of your GPU, CPU, and DPI if you’re utilising a mouse from Aorus.
Performance of the Gigabyte M27Q X Monitor
The M27Q X’s accuracy was already outstanding out of the box. There were minor inaccuracies in some colours and shades of grey, but these were hardly visible.
Its ideal colour accuracy combined with the wide colour gamut resulted in a lush, vivid, and saturated vibe.
Its colour temperature was slightly on the cooler side, while the gamma followed the sRGB curve well. However, the darker scenes appeared darker than they should.
The accuracy improved after calibrating the monitor’s settings. Calibrating the settings enhanced the monitor’s colour dE and white balance, while the colour temperature was closer to 6500K.
We also noticed an improvement in the gamma. However, dark and bright scenes were vibrant.
Overall, this monitor offers excellent quality, accuracy, and resolution.
The M27Q X delivered its wide gamut based on the company’s claims. The monitor offered bold and vibrant colours in both HDR and SDR modes.
However, there were no significant differences between them. It would’ve been better if Gigabyte used a dynamic contrast feature for HDR.
In HDR, the M27Q X boosts brightness to 518 nits, which is high for a gaming monitor. This brightness level added some drama to the graphics of some games. However, the contrast was average.
We used the MBR (Motion Blur Reduction) and VRR (Variable Refresh Rate technology) in our tests. If you’re doing this, note that your refresh rate needs to be above 100Hz.
In our experience, we noticed some red fringing caused by slow red phosphor decay. The reddish artefacts were less visible when we set the monitor at higher refresh rates.
Although the monitor didn’t have official certification for G-SYNC compatibility by NVIDIA, it delivered buttery-smooth performance up to 240FPS. Our gameplay was also tear-free with only a 2ms delay.
Gigabyte M27Q X Monitor Review Summary
The M27Q X is an excellent 1440p gaming monitor that suits various uses. Its large screen allows for an immersive gaming experience and offers an adequate workspace, which is ideal for multitasking. With its low input lag, quick response time, and high refresh rate, this monitor delivers smooth and responsive gameplay.
Its IPS panel offers wide viewing angles, making co-op gaming and content sharing easy. However, we noticed its blacks appear dark grey in some environments due to its lower contrast ratio. Despite that, it delivered high-quality images throughout our tests for our Gigabyte M27Q X Monitor review.
27-inch monitors are expensive, but the M27Q X is one of the most affordable in this category. It’s also a bargain since it delivers bright, vivid images and high speeds that can easily see when gaming. The ultra-low input lag is a great asset when your gameplay gets more intense.
This monitor is excellent for fast-paced competitive games and can maintain high frame rates at 1440p.
For more details about the M27Q X, visit Gigabyte’s official product page.