After a string of barely disappointing 1440p gaming screens final 12 months, the final couple of screens which have crossed my desk have actually knocked it out of the park. AOC’s Agon AG273QX presently stands on the high of the pile with its excellent image high quality and hassle-free FreeSync 2 HDR help (wot AMD at the moment are calling FreeSync Premium Pro, in case you’ve forgotten), and now there’s MSI’s Optix MAG272CQR, one other 27in, 2560×1440, 165Hz gaming display that is available in at a really comparable worth to its AOC rival. Does it have what it takes to knock it off its best gaming monitor perch? Here’s wot I feel.
Priced at an equivalent £399 / $400 at time of writing, the one actual distinction between the MSI Optix MAG272CQR and AOC’s AG273QX is its lack of HDR help. That, and its 27in VA panel is curved relatively than flat (though its curvature radius of 1500R is so refined I used to be barely capable of inform from a traditional viewing distance). Otherwise, you’ve bought an equally nice trying display (extra on that in a bit) with the identical excessive refresh fee of 165Hz.
Admittedly, MSI do say the MAG272CQR is ‘HDR Ready’, however to all intents and functions this can be a non-HDR gaming show. The solely sense that it’s ‘ready’ for HDR is that Windows recognises it as an HDR show and provides you just a little on/off button in your PC’s show settings. There’s additionally a separate HDR image mode within the Professional Pro tab of the monitor’s onboard menu system, however holy moly it’s actually not a fairly sight when all that’s turned on. The HDR image mode makes the display seem overly sharp and grainy, and after I tried taking part in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Final Fantasy XV in HDR, I had a horrible time making an attempt to wrangle it into one thing that didn’t make my eyes bleed. I jest, in fact, however in case you’re determined for HDR, then this isn’t the monitor for you.
This being an MSI monitor, it clearly comes with a smattering of RGB LEDs on the again as properly (though fortunately you may flip them off by way of the onboard menu).
As I stated, although, this isn’t actually a correct HDR gaming show. It is, nevertheless, a really handsome one which you need to use just about straight out of the field. When I examined it with my X-Rite i1 ShowPro calibrator on its default User Gaming mode, User Professional Pro mode (confusingly there are two completely different menu tabs for its varied image modes) and Normal color temperature, it got here again with a virtually excellent sRGB color gamut protection rating of 99.7%. It additionally covers 89.7% of the HDR-grade DCI-P3 gamut as properly, which is definitely a few per cent greater than the AOC Agon AG273QX.
It’s not the sort of distinction you’ll discover in apply, all informed, however contemplating the perfect HDR shows must hit a minimum of 90% of the DCI-P3 gamut to satisfy their varied specification requirements, that’s nonetheless an exceptionally excessive set of color accuracy scores for a monitor that isn’t even actually a correct HDR show.
I used to be additionally happy to see the MAG272CQR had a low black degree of simply 0.11cd/m2 (the nearer to 0.00cd/m2, the higher), making certain deep, inky blacks and crisp-looking textual content, in addition to a stunning excessive distinction ratio of 2616:1. The latter isn’t fairly as excessive because the AOC’s 2889:1, admittedly, principally as a result of the MAG272CQR’s brightness ranges peak at a decrease (however nonetheless completely acceptable) 303cd/m2 relatively than 460cd/m2, however I used to be nonetheless capable of see loads of effective shadow element in my games and check photos. As a outcome, you may just about activate this monitor and get stunning-looking photos right away with out spending ages calibrating it your self.
The MSI Optix MAG272CQR comes with a fantastic set of ports, together with one DisplayPort 1.2a enter, two HDMI 2.0b inputs, two USB2s, one USB-C and a headphone jack.
Indeed, the one purpose why you would possibly wish to enterprise into the MAG272CQR’s onboard menu system is to change on a few of its extra gaming-specific particular options. Chief amongst them is MSI’s anti-motion blur tech, which (because the title suggests) helps reduce down on movement blur. Personally, I couldn’t inform a lot of a distinction after I switched it on whereas taking part in Doom, though others who’re most vulnerable to movement blur could really feel in another way.
However, it’s price noting that switching anti-motion blur on has include a few compromises. In order for it to work, the monitor has to disable its AMD FreeSync expertise, and the brightness additionally will get mounted to a set degree – which I discovered to be a bit on the low facet when the solar was streaming within the window proper subsequent to me. Instead, I most well-liked leaving it switched off so I may have a brighter, punchier-looking display that didn’t undergo from display tearing after I was whizzing round on the full 165fps afforded by its excessive refresh fee.
There’s additionally an evening imaginative and prescient mode which helps brighten darker areas of the display, in addition to an eye-saver mode that filters out blue mild for if you’re taking part in at night time or in low lighting situations. Personally, I’ve by no means discovered the previous significantly useful, and the latter I usually go away to Windows 10’s built-in night time mild, however it’s good to see them current and proper nonetheless.
Another equally good to see is that the MAG272CQR’s FreeSync tech works simply as properly with Nvidia graphics playing cards because it does with AMD ones. It’s not technically one in all Nvidia’s formally licensed G-Sync Compatible screens (but, anyway), however after I examined it with my RTX 2060 Super and performed one other spherical of Doom on it, I didn’t see any indicators of display tearing or any of the opposite visible defects that generally happen when a monitor fails Nvidia’s G-Sync Compatible assessments, reminiscent of blinking, pulsing or unusual colors. As such, you shouldn’t have any bother utilizing this FreeSync display in case you’ve bought an Nvidia graphics card.
Is it sufficient to push the AOC Agon AG273QX off its greatest gaming monitor pedestal, although? If the MSI Optix MAG272CQR have been a fraction cheaper than its present asking worth of £399, virtually actually. But when it prices precisely the identical because the £400 AOC does within the UK, then the MSI simply doesn’t provide you with as a lot in your cash. The AOC has correct HDR, for starters (and doesn’t require infinite quantities of faff and setup in my expertise), and lots of people could want its flat 165Hz panel to the MSI’s curved one.
It’s a barely completely different scenario for these within the US, as inventory of the AOC Agon AG273QX nonetheless appears to be fairly scarce at time of writing. In this case, it’s in all probability price snapping up the MAG272CQR for $400, as there’s merely no telling when the AOC will truly be in the stores. After all, its panel is simply good-looking as its AOC rival – the one factor it’s actually missing is that pretty HDR.
