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Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q Monitor Review

Tested using Methodology v1.1
Review updated Apr 24, 2020 at 02:09 pm
Latest change: Retest Jul 19, 2021 at 04:04 pm
Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q Picture
8.0
Mixed Usage
8.0
Office
8.4
Gaming
7.9
Multimedia
8.0
Media Creation
7.1
HDR Gaming

The Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q is an excellent gaming monitor that's packed with unique features. It follows along the same lines as the Gigabyte AORUS AD27QD, with support for FreeSync variable refresh rate, and is certified to be compatible with NVIDIA's G-SYNC. Its 165Hz IPS panel has good viewing angles, impressive color accuracy right out of the box, and outstanding motion handling. Some significant black uniformity issues may disappoint some users, but its overall performance and feature set should satisfy even the most hardcore gamers.

Note: We tested the FI27Q, but there's also a minor variant known as the FI27Q-P. We expect our results to be valid for both models, but the -P variant has a DisplayPort 1.4 port, allowing for a higher refresh rate when playing back 10-bit HDR content.

Our Verdict

8.0 Mixed Usage

The Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q is a great monitor for most uses. Despite its gamer-centric features and design, it works well in an office setting due to its IPS panel's wide viewing angles, great peak brightness, and decent reflection handling. Most gamers will appreciate the vast amount of features available, as well as the monitor's excellent motion handling and input lag. Its 1440p resolution delivers a sharp and detailed image, great for watching a movie or to immerse yourself in the latest RPG.

Pros
  • Good ergonomics.
  • Great color accuracy.
  • Outstanding extra features.
Cons
  • Bad black uniformity.
8.0 Office

The Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q is a great monitor for office use. The 1440p resolution and the large 27 inch screen real estate makes multitasking a breeze. It can get bright enough to combat glare, and it has wide viewing angles to let you share your work easily. Furthermore, it has great ergonomics so you can position the monitor any way you want.

8.4 Gaming

The Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q is an excellent gaming monitor. It has virtually everything that gamers ask for: fast response time, low input lag, support for variable refresh rate, and more. It has a dizzying amount of extra features that might be useful for some, but unfortunately, its bad black uniformity and mediocre contrast ratio makes it less suitable for dark room gaming.

7.9 Multimedia

The Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q is an impressive monitor for multimedia consumption. Movies and videos look amazing thanks to its resolution and excellent color reproduction. It's not the best choice for dark room viewing due to its low contrast ratio and bad black uniformity, but for bright rooms, it has decent reflection handling and great peak brightness to combat glare. Additionally, it has wide viewing angles so you can easily share content with friends and family.

8.0 Media Creation

The Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q is a great monitor for media creation. Its 1440p resolution delivers a picture that's crisp and clear, and its low input lag provides a responsive desktop experience. It's easy to adjust the monitor to your ideal viewing position thanks to its good ergonomics, and the IPS panel's good viewing angles ensure that the image stays accurate even if you're viewing from the side.

7.1 HDR Gaming

The Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q is a decent monitor for HDR gaming. Although it has an incredible amount of gaming features, this monitor's HDR performance is limited by its low contrast ratio and HDR peak brightness. On the bright side, it has a remarkably low input lag and an outstanding response time, providing you smooth and responsive gaming experience.

  • 8.0 Mixed Usage
  • 8.0 Office
  • 8.4 Gaming
  • 7.9 Multimedia
  • 8.0 Media Creation
  • 7.1 HDR Gaming
  1. Updated Jul 19, 2021: We redid the local dimming video, as it was filmed with the incorrect gamma preset.
  2. Updated Mar 26, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
  3. Updated Jan 27, 2020: Review published.
  4. Updated Jan 22, 2020: Our testers have started testing this product.
  5. Updated Jan 22, 2020: Early access published.
  6. Updated Jan 15, 2020: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
  7. Updated Jan 14, 2020: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.

Differences Between Sizes And Variants

We tested the Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q and it's the only size available. There is a slightly different model, the Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q-P, which supports DisplayPort 1.4. We expect our results to be valid for both models, for the most part.

Model Size Resolution Refresh rate Notes
AORUS FI27Q 27" 1440p 165Hz FreeSync, G-SYNC compatible
AORUS FI27Q-P 27" 1440p 165Hz FreeSync, G-SYNC compatible

If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their AORUS FI27Q doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we'll update the review. Note that some tests, such as gray uniformity, may vary between individual units.

Our unit of the Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q was manufactured in September 2019 and you can see the label here.

Compared To Other Monitors

The Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q has one of the largest sets of features we've seen so far, and its performance is among the best as well. It stands out in the crowded market of 27 inch 1440p monitors, but its uniformity issues are also one of the worse we've seen. You can also see our recommendations for the best gaming monitor, the best 144Hz monitor, and the best 27 inch monitors.

ASUS TUF VG27AQ

The ASUS TUF VG27AQ is slightly better than the Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q. The ASUS has better ergonomics, but its build quality isn't as good as the FI27Q. The ASUS also has a better contrast ratio and a significantly better black uniformity, but the Gigabyte has better color accuracy, can get brighter, and has much more extra features.

MSI Optix MAG274QRF-QD

The Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q and the MSI Optix MAG274QRF-QD are very similar overall. The MSI performs better because it has a faster response time. The Gigabyte has a Picture-in-Picture mode, but on the other hand, the MSI has a USB-C port that supports DisplayPort Alt Mode.

LG 27GL850-B/27GL83A-B

The Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q is marginally better than the LG 27GL850-B/27GL83A-B. The FI27Q has a much better build quality and ergonomics, as well as a better contrast ratio and color accuracy, but the LG has significantly better black uniformity. They perform similarly in terms of motion handling, but the LG has a faster response time, whereas the AORUS FI27Q has a higher refresh rate.

Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q-X

The Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q-X is a nice upgrade over its predecessor, the Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q. The main difference of the FI27Q-X is that it uses a 240Hz panel compared to 165Hz on the FI27Q. This results in much quicker response time for smoother motion. The FI27Q uses an RGB sub-pixel layout, which may render text more clearly than the FI27Q-X in certain programs because not all programs can display content in a BGR sub-pixel layout.

Gigabyte M27Q (rev. 1.0)

The Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q and the Gigabyte M27Q (rev. 1.0) are very similar. The M27Q performs better for gaming because it has a faster response time, especially at 60Hz. It also has a USB-C input that supports DisplayPort Alt Mode and 10W charging. However, the FI27Q has much better ergonomics because it allows for swivel and pivot.

Acer Nitro XV273 Xbmiiprzx

The Acer Nitro XV273 Xbmiiprzx has very similar performance to the Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q in mixed usage, but there are some notable differences. The Nitro XV273 Xbmiiprzx has a 1080p resolution, while the FI27Q is 1440p. The Acer has a 240Hz refresh, a significantly better black uniformity, and a higher peak brightness, however, the FI27Q has much more extra features and a much better build quality.

ASUS ROG Swift PG279Q

The ASUS ROG Swift PG279Q and the Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q are very similar monitors in that they both have the same size, resolution, and refresh rate. The main difference is that the ASUS is a native G-SYNC monitor, while the Gigabyte supports FreeSync. The ASUS has a faster response time, but the Gigabyte has HDR support.

Gigabyte AORUS AD27QD

The Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q is slightly better than the Gigabyte AORUS AD27QD in most uses. As these two monitors have a nearly identical design and feature set, their performance is also very similar. The main difference is that the FI27Q has a much wider HDR color gamut, but its response time is slower than the AD27QD. The FI27Q has bad black uniformity, but it's still an improvement over the AD27QD.

ViewSonic Elite XG270

The Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q is better than the ViewSonic Elite XG270. Although the Gigabyte's refresh rate isn't as fast, it has a higher 1440p resolution and its out-of-the-box color accuracy is much better. On the other hand, the ViewSonic has better gradient performance due to its 10-bit panel, and it has a faster response time at 60Hz, which is better for those using the monitor with a gaming console.

ASUS ROG Strix XG279Q

The ASUS ROG Strix XG279Q is better than the Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q. The ASUS has a much quicker response time, it gets slightly brighter in HDR, and you can overclock its refresh rate to 170Hz. However, the Gigabyte has much lower input lag and much better out-of-the-box color accuracy.

Lenovo Legion Y27q-20

Although the Lenovo Legion Y27q-20 and the Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q score similarly overall, there are a few differences between them. The Lenovo has better out-of-the-box color accuracy, better reflection handling, and faster response time with less overshoot. On the other hand, the Gigabyte has a Black Frame Insertion feature to improve motion clarity, and it gets brighter in SDR and HDR.

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Video

Test Results

perceptual testing image
Design
Design
Style
Size 27"
Curved No
Curve Radius Not Curved
Weight (without stand)
11.2 lbs (5.1 kg)
Weight (with stand)
17.6 lbs (8.0 kg)

The Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q has a simple design, with a V-shaped stand that supports the display well, and slim bezels on three sides. It looks pretty much identical to the Gigabyte AORUS AD27QD.

Design
Stand
Width
17.9" (45.5 cm)
Depth
10.2" (25.9 cm)

The V-shaped stand has a futuristic design that looks great. It supports the monitor well, with little wobble, and doesn't take up too much space on a desk.

7.6
Design
Ergonomics
Height Adjustment
5.1" (13.0 cm)
Switch Portrait/Landscape Yes, Clockwise
Swivel Range -20° to 20°
Tilt Range -20° to 5°

The AORUS FI27Q has good ergonomics. It allows for all manner of adjustments, with good tilt and swivel range, and it can be rotated to portrait mode.

Design
Back
Wall Mount VESA 100x100

There are three RGB lighting zones on the back of the monitor: two on the back panel, and one on the back of the stand. There's not much in the way of cable management, which is a bit disappointing.

Design
Borders
Borders
0.3" (0.8 cm)

The borders are very thin, suitable for multi-monitor setups.

Design
Thickness
Thickness (with stand)
8.4" (21.3 cm)
Thickness (without stand)
2.3" (5.8 cm)

The display sticks out quite a bit from the stand, but when VESA-mounted, it's quite thin.

8.0
Design
Build Quality

The Gigabyte FI27Q has a great build quality. It's a mix of metal and plastic construction, and the monitor feels solid without any glaring flaws.

Picture Quality
6.2
Picture Quality
Contrast
Native Contrast
1,159 : 1
Contrast With Local Dimming
N/A

Like most IPS monitors, the Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q has a mediocre contrast ratio, so blacks tend to look gray in a dark room.

0
Picture Quality
Local Dimming
Local Dimming
No
Backlight
Edge

Update 07/19/2021: We updated the local dimming video, as it was filmed with the incorrect gamma preset applied.

There's no local dimming feature on this monitor. The video is for reference only, so you can see how the backlight on this display performs and compare it to a similar product with local dimming.

8.2
Picture Quality
SDR Peak Brightness
SDR Real Scene
393 cd/m²
SDR Peak 2% Window
403 cd/m²
SDR Peak 10% Window
403 cd/m²
SDR Peak 25% Window
404 cd/m²
SDR Peak 50% Window
404 cd/m²
SDR Peak 100% Window
404 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 2% Window
402 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 10% Window
403 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 25% Window
404 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 50% Window
404 cd/m²
SDR Sustained 100% Window
404 cd/m²
SDR ABL
0.000

Great peak brightness, this monitor can overcome glare easily. There's also no noticeable variation in brightness with different content.

6.7
Picture Quality
HDR Peak Brightness
HDR Real Scene
399 cd/m²
HDR Peak 2% Window
407 cd/m²
HDR Peak 10% Window
408 cd/m²
HDR Peak 25% Window
408 cd/m²
HDR Peak 50% Window
408 cd/m²
HDR Peak 100% Window
408 cd/m²
HDR Sustained 2% Window
407 cd/m²
HDR Sustained 10% Window
408 cd/m²
HDR Sustained 25% Window
407 cd/m²
HDR Sustained 50% Window
408 cd/m²
HDR Sustained 100% Window
407 cd/m²
HDR ABL
0.000

Decent HDR peak brightness, but this monitor isn't bright enough to display HDR content the way it was intended to be seen.

8.8
Picture Quality
Horizontal Viewing Angle
Color Washout From Left
50°
Color Washout From Right
49°
Color Shift From Left
64°
Color Shift From Right
63°
Brightness Loss From Left
49°
Brightness Loss From Right
49°
Black Level Raise From Left
70°
Black Level Raise From Right
70°
Gamma Shift From Left
62°
Gamma Shift From Right
61°

This monitor has outstanding horizontal viewing angles. Most people won't notice any issues under normal viewing conditions.

6.8
Picture Quality
Vertical Viewing Angle
Color Washout From Below
31°
Color Washout From Above
28°
Color Shift From Below
40°
Color Shift From Above
39°
Brightness Loss From Below
34°
Brightness Loss From Above
31°
Black Level Raise From Below
70°
Black Level Raise From Above
70°
Gamma Shift From Below
31°
Gamma Shift From Above
29°

Decent vertical viewing angles. Like most IPS monitors, the image washes out at wide angles, but this isn't an issue for most people.

8.7
Picture Quality
Gray Uniformity
50% Std. Dev.
3.274%
50% DSE
0.107%
5% Std. Dev.
0.626%
5% DSE
0.061%

The Gigabyte FI27Q has remarkable gray uniformity. There's some vignetting around the top corners, but it's barely noticeable. The rest of the screen is very uniform, with no noticeable dirty screen effect.

3.6
Picture Quality
Black Uniformity
Native Std. Dev.
3.598%
Std. Dev. w/ L.D.
N/A

Unfortunately, this monitor has bad black uniformity. Dark scenes are cloudy, and there's some noticeable backlight bleed along the bottom edge.

8.0
Picture Quality
Pre Calibration
Picture Mode
Custom 1
Luminance
374 cd/m²
Luminance Settings
80
Contrast Setting
50
RGB Controls
100-100-100
Gamma Setting
3
Color Temperature
6,605 K
White Balance dE
1.93
Color dE
3.06
Gamma
2.21

Great accuracy out of the box. The white balance is nearly perfect, and most colors are displayed accurately. Gamma doesn't quite follow the sRGB target curve, though, so most scenes aren't displayed at the correct brightness.

9.5
Picture Quality
Post Calibration
Picture Mode
Custom 1
Luminance
100 cd/m²
Luminance Settings
12
Contrast Setting
49
RGB Controls
95-96-100
Gamma Setting
3
Color Temperature
6,526 K
White Balance dE
0.85
Color dE
0.49
Gamma
2.19

Outstanding accuracy after calibration. Gamma is nearly perfect, and the white balance and colors are even better.

You can download our ICC profile calibration here. This is provided for reference only and shouldn't be used, as the calibration values vary per individual unit even for the same model, due to manufacturing tolerances.

9.3
Picture Quality
SDR Color Gamut
sRGB xy
99.1%
Adobe RGB xy
86.1%
sRGB Picture Mode
Custom 1
Adobe RGB Picture Mode
Custom 1

This monitor has an outstanding SDR color gamut. It has almost full coverage of the sRGB space that is used in most content and has excellent coverage of Adobe RGB color space, which is used for professional photo editing.

9.5
Picture Quality
SDR Color Volume
sRGB In ICtCp
97.8%
Adobe RGB In ICtCp
90.5%
sRGB Picture Mode
Custom 1
Adobe RGB Picture Mode
Custom 1

This monitor has excellent SDR color volume. Its performance is nearly identical to the Gigabyte AORUS AD27QD, as it can't produce dark saturated colors due to its mediocre contrast ratio.

7.8
Picture Quality
HDR Color Gamut
Wide Color Gamut
Yes
DCI P3 xy
86.0%
Rec. 2020 xy
68.6%
DCI P3 Picture Mode
Custom 1
Rec. 2020 Picture Mode
Custom 1

The Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q has a good HDR color gamut. Its coverage of the DCI P3 color space is great, which is used in most HDR content, while its coverage of the wider Rec. 2020 color space is decent.

7.4
Picture Quality
HDR Color Volume
DCI-P3 In ICtCp
83.9%
Rec. 2020 In ICtCp
63.0%
DCI P3 Picture Mode
Custom 1
Rec. 2020 Picture Mode
Custom 1

The AORUS FI27Q has a decent HDR color volume. It can't produce dark colors well due to its low contrast ratio.

10
Picture Quality
Image Retention
IR After 0 Min Recovery
0.00%
IR After 2 Min Recovery
0.00%
IR After 4 Min Recovery
0.00%
IR After 6 Min Recovery
0.00%
IR After 8 Min Recovery
0.00%
IR After 10 Min Recovery
0.00%

There are no signs of temporary image retention.

9.8
Picture Quality
Gradient
Color Depth
10 Bit

Outstanding gradient performance. There's virtually no noticeable banding in any shade.

7.8
Picture Quality
Color Bleed
Pixel Row Error
0.001%
Pixel Column Error
0.453%

Unfortunately, there's some vertical color bleed, but it shouldn't be noticeable in most content.

7.3
Picture Quality
Reflections
Screen Finish
Matte
Total Reflections
5.5%
Indirect Reflections
2.7%
Calculated Direct Reflections
2.8%

This monitor has decent reflection handling and you shouldn't have any issues in bright rooms. It's very similar to the LG 27GL850-B/27GL83A-B and the Gigabyte AORUS AD27QD.

7.5
Picture Quality
Text Clarity
Pixel Type
IPS
Sub-Pixel Layout
RGB

Text is clear and sharp, but it's recommended to run the ClearType wizard if you're on a Windows PC, which significantly helps with diagonal lines in text, as you can see in the 'N'.

Motion
8.9
Motion
Response Time @ Max Refresh Rate
Best Overdrive Setting
Speed
Rise / Fall Time
4.4 ms
Total Response Time
10.7 ms
Overshoot Error
5.3%
Dark Rise / Fall Time
4.4 ms
Dark Total Response Time
11.5 ms
Dark Overshoot Error
5.5%

Overdrive Setting Response Time Chart Response Time Tables Motion Blur Photo
Picture Quality Chart Tables Photo
Balance Chart Tables Photo
Speed Chart Tables Photo

Excellent response time at the maximum refresh rate. We recommend the 'Speed' overdrive setting, as it delivers clear motion, but there is a bit of noticeable overshoot in some scenes. If the ghosting bothers you, the 'Balance' setting has almost no overshoot, but is significantly slower, so there's more blur behind fast-moving objects. If you want a similar monitor with better response times, check out the LG 27GN850-B/27GN880-B.

7.9
Motion
Response Time @ 60Hz
Best Overdrive Setting
Balance
Rise / Fall Time
7.2 ms
Total Response Time
15.1 ms
Overshoot Error
2.5%
Dark Rise / Fall Time
7.8 ms
Dark Total Response Time
16.0 ms
Dark Overshoot Error
4.3%

Overdrive Setting Response Time Chart Response Time Tables Motion Blur Photo
Picture-Quality Chart Table Photo
Balance Chart Table Photo
Speed Chart Table Photo

The Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q has a very good response time when gaming at 60Hz. The 'Balance' overdrive delivers the best overall experience, with the clearest motion and the least amount of overshoot. The 'Speed' setting has a faster rise/fall time, but significantly more overshoot, especially in dark scenes. If you want something with an even quicker response time, look into the ASUS ROG Strix XG279Q.

10
Motion
Image Flicker
Flicker-Free Yes
PWM Dimming Frequency
0 Hz

The backlight is completely flicker-free, which is great.

6.1
Motion
Black Frame Insertion (BFI)
Black Frame Insertion (BFI)
Yes
BFI Maximum Frequency
165 Hz
BFI Minimum Frequency
120 Hz

There's an optional black frame insertion feature, but, unfortunately, the strobe timing isn't very good, causing noticeable crosstalk, which can be distracting.

9.2
Motion
Refresh Rate
Variable Refresh Rate
FreeSync
Native
144 Hz
Max Refresh Rate
165 Hz
Variable Refresh Rate
Yes
FreeSync
Yes
G-SYNC
Compatible (NVIDIA Certified)
VRR Maximum
165 Hz
VRR Minimum
< 20 Hz
VRR Supported Connectors DisplayPort, HDMI

The Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q has a high 144Hz native refresh rate that can be overclocked to 165Hz with a DisplayPort connection. The replacement to this monitor, the Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q-X, has an even higher 240Hz refresh rate.

Inputs
9.5
Inputs
Input Lag
Native Resolution
4.1 ms
Native Resolution @ 60Hz
9.1 ms
Variable Refresh Rate
4.9 ms
Variable Refresh Rate @ 60Hz
9.5 ms
10 Bit HDR
6.1 ms
Black Frame Insertion (BFI)
6.9 ms

This monitor has outstanding low input lag, even at 60Hz, making it a great choice if you like to switch between gaming on a console and a PC.

8.3
Inputs
Resolution And Size
Native Resolution 2560 x 1440
Aspect Ratio 16:9
Megapixels 3.7 MP
Pixel Density
109 PPI
Screen Diagonal 27.0"
Screen Area 310 in²

The 1440p resolution is great for a 27 inch monitor, as it's usually considered the 'sweet spot'. It provides a detailed picture while leaving enough headroom on your graphics card to achieve high frame rates.

Inputs
Inputs
Inputs
Total Inputs
DisplayPort 1 (DP 1.2)
Mini DisplayPort No
HDMI 2 (HDMI 2.0)
DVI No
VGA No
DisplayPort Out No
USB 2 (USB 3.0)
USB C No
Analog Audio Out 3.5mm 1
Microphone In 3.5mm 1
Digital Optical Audio Out No
Analog Audio Out RCA No
Power Supply Internal

The Gigabyte FI27Q has a large number of inputs available. If you choose to use the 3.5mm audio port, the volume can be adjusted from the OSD. It has a separate microphone input, which is necessary if you want to use the ANC feature. There's a slightly different model of this monitor, the AORUS FI27Q-P, that has support for DisplayPort 1.4.

Features
Features
Additional Features
RGB Illumination
Controllable
Speakers
No
HDR10 Yes
Multiple Input Display
PIP + PBP

The Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q has a vast amount of extra features, it includes:

  • LED Bias Lighting: RGB lighting on the back of the monitor, which can be controlled with the RGB Fusion 2.0 software.
  • Dashboard: On-screen display to monitor your computer's status, such as temperature and fan speed.
  • Timer: Sets an on-screen timer.
  • Crosshair: Crosshair for shooter games.
  • Frame Rate Counter: Frame rate overlay.
  • Display Alignment: Shows alignment lines to help you adjust multi-monitor setups.
  • ANC: Active noise cancelling to dampen background noise when you speak into the microphone, allowing your teammates to hear you clearly.
  • PiP + PbP: Picture-in-Picture and Picture-by-Picture allows you to display an image from two sources at once.
  • Black Stabilizer: Helps you see objects in dark scenes.
  • OSD Sidekick: Allows you to change the monitor's settings using your mouse instead of the monitor's physical button.

Features
On-Screen Display (OSD)
Features
Controls

Like the Gigabyte AORUS AD27QD, this monitor uses a joystick control to make navigating the menu easier.

Features
In The Box

  • User guide
  • Power cables (NA, EU, and Australia)
  • HDMI cable
  • DisplayPort cable
  • USB 3.0 Upstream cable
  • Cable management bracket