Way beyond, in fact. This is the first 360Hz monitor I've played on, and I must admit to being sceptical about whatever marginal gains I might see in performance. 60Hz to 120Hz is transformative, but 120Hz to 360Hz? Surely one's gaming performance doesn't increase exponentially. And don't eyes only see 60 fps anyway? Apart from a few minor peculiarities, the Gigabyte G24F is an excellent monitor and an absolute top recommendation in its class. It is one of the fastest IPS monitors in its class, Adaptive-Sync works flawlessly, and its refresh rate of 170 Hz is even slightly higher than other displays in its price range. In addition, the G24F is very affordable with a street price of around 200 dollars. If in doubt, go IPS. There are now VA screens with good response speed, like the fabulous MSI MPG ARTYMIS 343CQR. But IPS more consistently delivers the goods and is now sufficiently fast in terms of refresh rate that you absolutely needn't settle for TN anymore. What refresh rate do you really need for PC gaming?

In terms of value for money, Gigabyte has hit the nail on the head with the M32UC. If you look around for competition with similar specs at around the same price, you'll often only find other Gigabyte models coming close, including a handful of often discounted Aorus models. That makes the M32UC a great choice if you're planning ahead for a next-gen 4K-capable gaming PC or if you already have a high-end GPU but are not yet making the most of it. HDR signals won’t switch the Acer XV272U into HDR mode. You’ll have to do that manually by choosing between Auto and HDR400. Color looks the same for both, but HDR400 is about 5% brighter and offers greater contrast. The XV272U also uses a Dynamic Contrast feature for HDR for a visible improvement. Gaming and Hands-on with Acer Nitro XV272U KVbmiiprzx The G24F’s contrast ratio is pretty good, too, especially considering it’s an IPS panel. A contrast of 1157: 1 (measured at 140 cd / m²) is definitely above average for an IPS panel in this context. That is not quite as high as the IPS panel of the top of the class MSI G241, which achieves a native contrast ratio of almost 1500: 1, but significantly higher than, for example, the LG 24GN600, which barely scratches the 800: 1 mark. A lower contrast is not an obstacle for playing first-person shooters. However, better contrast is a welcome feature for photo or video editing or watching movies.

You can enjoy the XV272U in its default Standard mode without calibration, but if you adjust anything at all, the monitor automatically switches to User mode. There, you can tweak RGB gain and bias sliders, gamma presets and color management. The Picture menu has seven image modes. Standard is the default, and it can be used without calibration. If you want the sRGB color gamut for critical work, that mode also delivers good accuracy. Calibration options include five gamma presets and four color temps plus a user option with RGB sliders. From the front, the G272QPF sports a thin bezel that lends itself well to multi-screen setups. With such a low price, the prospect of three 27-inch screens on the desk is attractive. The MSI logo appears in the center in a polished finish with nothing else visible except a tiny power LED. It glows white when the power’s on and orange in standby mode. The Gaming sub-menu has a two-level overdrive. It’s grayed out when Adaptive-Sync is on but appeared to function normally without ghosting during our testing. You can also turn on a framerate counter and aiming point here. For a long time, a 144Hz screen refresh rate was the minimum requirement for gaming battles. However, the current trend is to use it much more. One of the main reasons why not all users have started to use a monitor with a frequency of 170 Hz is that the difference between them isn’t as sharp as in the case of switching from 60 Hz to 144 Hz.

It turns out that while that performance gain might not exist on a linear curve, 360Hz does look and feel smoother than 120Hz, and the decreased ghosting of any targets in your shooter of choice does make them that bit easier to connect with. If your aspirations for online competition are pretty serious, that's really all you need to know.

Turning on HDR brightened the M27Q’s image considerably, but you can compensate with the brightness slider if it seems too harsh. We only used HDR for gaming and video, not for workday tasks. It offers no benefit when editing spreadsheets. Switchover is automatic and rapid when you select the HDR option in Windows’ Display Settings.

We found the Acer XV272U-KV KVbmiiprzx to be completely capable of handling everything one might do with their computer. Gaming, work, movie-watching and photo editing were all easy to get through, thanks to a sharp and saturated picture. Color-critical apps benefit from the selectable gamuts, which include sRGB, EBU, and even SMPTE-C. But for the most colorful image, General mode uses the monitor’s full native gamut, which our testing will show covers over 90% of DCI-P3. However, there is nothing you can do to increase the maximum frame rate provided by the monitor. You will just have to buy a more powerful video card later on. There's a real performance benefit here, and a sheer enjoyment multiplier. You just have to make peace with the idea of buying into a piece of specialist equipment, not an all-rounder. By displaying images faster, the gameplay looks and feels smoother, controls become more agile and responsive, and even helps reduce or eliminate the various visual artifacts that appear in games when FPS is low. The problem with HDR in this context is that few LCD monitors offer a true HDR experience. What's more, monitors with HDR-boosting local dimming remain painfully pricey and for what is really only marginal benefit. That said, HDR certification usually ensures high brightness, and HDR 600 and beyond requires wide color support. G-Sync or FreeSync: which adaptive screen tech is best?

And it feels very much good for 2ms. This is a snappy little panel. In subjective terms, it looks little different to the best 1ms GtG IPS monitors. Sure, you could tease out the differences with high speed photography, but in terms of actual gameplay, motion blur is kept to a thoroughly acceptable minimum. For our money, curved panels make the most sense in larger formats and with super-wide 21:9 or wider panels. A curved panel on, say, a smaller 27-inch 16:9 panel isn't necessarily a bad thing. But, nor does it really add much to the experience. Does HDR matter for PC gaming monitors? In fact, there is little difference between the two frequencies. It will only be noticeable in some shooters or dynamic games where you will get more than 144 fps. You can definitely notice the difference in CS: GO, for example. The image will be smoother, you will see the picture more clearly. With HDR on we played a bit of Call of Duty: WWII. Comparing HDR to SDR in this game showed a brighter overall environment for HDR but better detail and color saturation in SDR mode. Your selection will come down to user preference. We preferred playing all games in SDR mode. Other titles, like Tomb Raider, looked fantastic with deeply detailed shadows, vivid color and defined textures in this mode.