The 6 Best 27 Inch Gaming Monitors - Winter 2021 Reviews

The best 27 inch gaming monitor with a 1080p resolution is the ASUS VG279QM. It's one of the best gaming monitors we've tested as it's one of the few with a 280Hz max refresh rate and an IPS panel. It has native FreeSync support, and if you have a newer NVIDIA graphics card, it's certified to be G-SYNC compatible as its variable refresh rate (VRR) support.

Fast-moving content on this screen has almost no motion blur. The response time at its max refresh rate is one of the best we've tested on a monitor, and it also has an excellent response time at 60Hz. There's even a Black Frame Insertion feature, which unlike most monitors, you can use when VRR is enabled. The input lag is also really low, but it increases at 60Hz, so it's not ideal for console gamers. Despite having a 1080p resolution, the picture quality is good as it has great out-of-the-box color accuracy, wide viewing angles, excellent gray uniformity, and it gets bright enough to combat glare.

Unfortunately, as is the case with most IPS screens, it has a low contrast ratio, so blacks look gray when viewed in the dark. It supports HDR10, but it can't display a wide color gamut, so HDR content doesn't look all that much different from SDR. However, like most ASUS gaming monitors, it has outstanding ergonomics, so you can place it how you like in your setup. Overall, it's the best 27 inch gaming monitor with a 1080p resolution that we've tested.

The best 27 inch gaming monitor with a 1440p resolution that we've tested is the Samsung LC27G75TQSNXZA. It's a model that's available in two sizes, 27 and 32 inches, and although we tested the 32 inch variant, we expect our results to be valid for the 27 inch version. It's a well-rounded monitor and delivers excellent gaming performance. It performs best in dark rooms as it has an impressive native contrast ratio that makes blacks appear as they should.

It has a high native 240Hz refresh rate with FreeSync support and G-SYNC compatibility to reduce screen tearing. The input lag is incredibly low and stays about the same with VRR enabled, which is great. The response time is simply incredible whether you're playing at its max refresh rate or 60Hz, and there's a Black Frame Insertion feature to help improve the appearance of motion. HDR content looks decent because it displays a wide color gamut and has okay HDR peak brightness, but some highlights may not pop how they should. It also offers okay ergonomics, and despite its curved screen, you can still rotate it into portrait mode.

Unfortunately, its edge-lit local dimming feature is bad and results in uniformity issues when activated. It also has narrow viewing angles, so you quickly lose image accuracy when viewing off-center, and it's not ideal for co-op gaming. On the upside, it has Picture-by-Picture and Picture-in-Picture modes, and you can display images from two sources at once. All things considered, this is one of the best 27 inch gaming monitors we've tested.

The best 27 inch gaming monitor with a 4k screen that we've tested is the LG 27GN950-B. It's one of the few 4k monitors available with a high 144Hz refresh rate. However, you need a high-end graphics card that supports VESA Display Stream Compression and a DisplayPort cable to reach that frame rate. It doesn't support HDMI 2.1, so it can only reach a max of 60Hz over an HDMI connection.

It's packed with gaming features that most people should enjoy. It has an incredibly fast response time whether you're gaming at its max refresh rate or 60Hz, so even though it doesn't have a Black Frame Insertion feature, motion still looks extra smooth. It has both FreeSync support and G-SYNC compatibility, and its input lag is incredibly low. Its 4k resolution delivers crisp images and it's decent for HDR gaming because it displays a wide color gamut and it gets bright enough to make small highlights stand out in HDR. Our unit also has excellent out-of-the-box accuracy, so you may not need to get it calibrated, but this varies per unit.

Unfortunately, it has disappointing ergonomics and you can't swivel it. This means it may be difficult to place in an ideal viewing position. Due to its IPS panel, it has a low contrast ratio, and even though it has an edge-lit local dimming feature, it performs terribly and could get distracting when using it in a dark room. Besides these issues, if you're in the market for a 4k monitor with a high refresh rate, this is one of the best gaming monitors we've tested.

The best budget 27 inch gaming monitor we've tested is the Gigabyte G27Q. It has a 1440p screen that delivers sharp images and text, and like most IPS panels, it has wide viewing angles. The build quality is good, but the stand is limited in ergonomic adjustments, making it harder to place the screen at a comfortable viewing position. It handles reflections well and overcomes glare easily, even in bright, sunny settings.

It has great motion handling thanks to its quick response time and 144Hz refresh rate. It supports FreeSync natively and is compatible with NVIDIA's G-SYNC to minimize screen tearing. It has an optional Black Frame Insertion feature, although it isn't usable simultaneously with VRR, and it only works over a relatively narrow frequency range. It displays a wide color gamut and gets decently bright in HDR, but it isn't quite bright enough for a true cinematic HDR experience.

There are two USB inputs for charging and data, and there's also a pair of speakers built-in. You can add a virtual crosshair, frame rate counter, and there's software that lets you control the settings with your mouse and keyboard. The backlight is flicker-free, which helps reduce eye strain. Overall, it's a good budget gaming monitor that won't break the bank.