Best 27-inch OLED Gaming Monitors

Despite the popularization of OLED panels, they still remain a very expensive thing, which is why the phrase "affordable OLED monitor" still sounds like an oxymoron. However, if you do not lose hope of finding a high-quality and affordable OLED, we recommend paying attention to the debut OLED from AOC with the difficult to pronounce name AGON AG276QZD.

The AGON AG276QZD monitor features a 27-inch OLED panel with a resolution of 2560x1440 pixels and a refresh rate of 240 Hz. The 10-bit matrix used in it provides natural color reproduction (99% DCI-P3) with incredibly deep blacks, high contrast and peak brightness of up to 1000 cd / m², which is necessary for normal HDR display. The response time is only 0.03 ms, which makes it ideal for dynamic shooters and other games. Support for G-Sync and FreeSync helps to avoid tearing and image lag.

Considering that we are talking about a premium monitor, the manufacturer has equipped it with a USB hub for peripherals, support for the picture-by-picture (PBP) mode, built-in light and presence sensors, as well as pretty good stereo speakers with a power of 5 W each. It is a pity that the ports are not USB C and do not support charging, and this is a minus in the eyes of creatives. Of interest is the decorative module of customizable backlight Light FX RG, which is hidden on the back cover of the monitor. Well, and the picture is completed by a removable stand that can adjust the height, tilt and rotation angle of the screen, and also allows you to move the monitor to a portrait position.

Although Acer has never claimed to be the leader in the monitor market, its Predator series displays have gradually earned the respect of seasoned gamers and eSports athletes looking for not just a good gaming monitor, but a professional weapon that meets a number of strict requirements. The latest example of this approach is the “ultimate shooter monitor” called Predator X27 with an impressively high refresh rate of 240Hz, a response time of 0.03ms, and FreeSync Premium compatibility.

The key feature of the model is the high-contrast 10-bit OLED panel with HDR10 support, providing brightness up to 1000 nits and a contrast ratio of 1 million to 1, which allows you to display bright and saturated colors with 99% DCI-P3 coverage. The Acer Predator X27U also has built-in 5W speakers, which adds convenience when watching movies or playing games. For the convenience of users, the monitor has a USB hub with a USB C port, which allows you to simultaneously transfer data and charge external devices.

The model's advantages also include an ergonomic stand with height, tilt and orientation adjustments and a TÜV Rheinland certificate. Despite the high cost and positioning in the spirit of "the best of the best", there are still some minor drawbacks. When the refresh rate decreases, for some reason the screen's lag time increases slightly. Not critical, but strange. And the use of HDMI 2.0 instead of 2.1 may be a problem for owners of modern consoles, as it limits the ability to output images in 4K with a high refresh rate.

Asus ROG Swift PG27AQDM is the flagship of the Taiwanese manufacturer Asus, which is based on an advanced matrix from LG Displays and tries to answer the question of what the ideal gaming monitor of 2023-2024 should look like. If you are a little familiar with this market, then most likely you already know the recipe in general terms: take a top 10-bit matrix with gorgeous brightness, color rendering and contrast, reduce the delay time in signal transmission to zero, add FreeSync/G-SYNC to taste and pack it all into a beautiful case, a completely frameless edge-to-edge case with Asus Aura Sync backlighting.

In fact, the key difference between this model and other flagship monitors of the brand is the use of a full-fledged OLED panel with the highest static contrast, natural color rendition and damn deep dark color, on which you will immediately want to replay all your favorite games, separately enjoying the night scenes in HDR mode with a refresh rate of 120 to 240 Hz. No joke, it provides picture quality that seemed fantastic just a few years ago. Just one night scene with an escape on a boat in Uncharted 4 begins to sparkle with new colors, to say nothing of replaying Dead Space or Alien Isolation.

In terms of additional functions, the Asus ROG Swift PG27AQDM monitor fully lives up to its flagship status. It is equipped with a dual USB hub for connecting peripherals (but without DisplayPort and Power Delivery modes), a convenient stand allows you to adjust the tilt and rotation of the display, and the built-in gaming mode allows you to display a timer, FPS counter and fix the crosshair on the screen. It is strange that, against this background, Asus completely abandoned the built-in speakers. Well, the full-fledged DisplayWidget software for adjusting the monitor using a mouse is, no matter how you look at it, a convenient thing.

Just 5-6 years ago, gaming monitors were either fast or provided a beautiful picture, but suffered from high latency. This issue was partially resolved by advanced IPS screens, but only with the widespread use of OLED matrices did gamers get exactly what they asked for. However, such solutions were initially extremely expensive. Against this background, the UltraGear 27GS95QE 2024 looks very interesting - this is almost the first OLED monitor from LG, which combines the best of both worlds and costs less than 40 thousand hryvnia.

The LG UltraGear 27GS95QE is a 27-inch flagship OLED panel with a resolution of 2560x1440 (16:9), the highest contrast, high peak brightness, 10-bit color depth and 98.5% coverage of the DCI P3 color triangle. That is, we are talking about a cool screen of almost professional level, suitable for photo and video processing. At the same time, from a gaming point of view, it boasts a record low input lag of 0.03 ms and an impressive refresh rate of up to 240 Hz. The monitor is also compatible with NVIDIA G-Sync and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro technologies, providing smooth display of images without tearing even in the most dynamic scenes with many moving objects. Well, the presence of HDMI ports version 2.1 will allow you to output images from consoles with PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X without any compromises.

In terms of additional functions, the brainchild of LG fully lives up to its flagship status. It is equipped with a dual USB hub with DisplayPort and Power Delivery support for connecting peripherals, external monitors and laptops. The ergonomic stand allows you to adjust the tilt and rotation of the display, and the built-in gaming mode allows you to display a fixed crosshair on the screen (for example, convenient for games without a “sight” a la Battlefield 1) or show the FPS counter instead of FRAPS and similar software. There is also a Shadow Boost function for artificially brightening especially dark areas of the frame in online games.

Thanks to the activity of LG Displays, the range of OLED monitors in 2023 has significantly expanded. Among the companies that presented their OLED solutions, unexpectedly, was the American brand Corsair with its line of XENEON gaming monitors. The XENEON 27QHD240 model is one of the main stars of this series, representing a top-of-the-line 27-inch monitor on which it is damn nice to work, replay your favorite games or re-watch your favorite movies with HDR enabled, discovering new details.

The Corsair XENEON 27QHD240 is based on a top 10-bit OLED matrix from LG with a Quad HD resolution, an impressive refresh rate of 240 Hz and virtually no input lag (GtG pixel response time up to 0.03 ms), infinite contrast and perfect color rendition (100% Adobe RGB, 99% DCI-P3). One of the features of the model is the complete absence of glare thanks to the semi-matte screen, which is rare among OLED monitors. Additional features include support for FreeSync Premium / G-Sync, an extended hub with four USB ports (one USB C with fast charging and video transfer support), an ergonomic stand and a modern set of video ports, including two HDMI 2.1 and one DisplayPort 1.4.

However, despite the excellent characteristics, the XENEON 27QHD240 has its drawbacks. The main problem is the limited brightness - even with HDR enabled, the peak brightness reaches 800 nits on a small area and only 150 nits on 100% of the screen, and the ABL (Automatic Brightness Limiter) mode adapts the brightness too aggressively compared to competitors. Corsair promises that the new firmware of the monitor will repurpose the ABL mode and increase the brightness of the monitor by 33%, but for now it has what it has. The second nuance is the price. Right now, with similar characteristics, the brainchild of Corsair will cost about 10-15% more than the AOC AGON AG276QZD and Acer Predator X27 with almost the same OLED matrices from LG.