VIEWING ANGLES

Our monitor uses a VA panel and the viewing angles presented by the MSI MAG27 are excellent and still retain clairty. While IPS panels offer the best viewing angles and TN typically the worst, VA slots right in between the two technologies. Since we also have a 1500R curvature, the viewing angle is placed more evenly and will be less of an issue anyway.

HDR

Brightness, contrast and vibrancy are key components when we’re talking about HDR and this monitor is strong in each of these areas. The shadows are deep while the highlights aren’t overexposed. MAG27 has a 100% sRGB color gamut which is wide, and offers more than acceptable color space for a range of scenarios including media creation.

MAG27’s contrast ratio is slightly higher than other VA panels we’ve encountered at 3000:1 and this makes quite an impact on the overall user experience. Rich contrast is especially useful for photo/video editing but is also appreciated in the gaming arena and everyday use.

GAMING PERFORMANCE

In order to examine MAG27 properly, we stepped into the gaming division and loaded up some HDR titles such as Battlefield V and Resident Evil 3 and the results were superb. HDR is something which has to be experienced first hand and once it is experienced, it’s difficult to go back to a non-HDR environment!

Now VA panels aren’t known for their fast response times, often TN panels have the advantage here. Especially when we consider gaming. However, this MSI panel has a 1ms response time which is quite remarkable and it therefore stands out as a great gaming candidate.

Another feature which is worth noting is the 165Hz refresh rate, which, if you’re coming up from a 60Hz unit, will blow your mind. Switching up to 100MHz makes a small difference but switching to 165Hz is significantly advantageous – allowing navigation in windows and gaming play buttery smooth.