The Gigabyte M27Q Pro is a budget-friendly 27-inch, 1440p gaming monitor. It's a newer version of the Gigabyte M27Q with many of the same features, including the 170Hz refresh rate and variable refresh rate (VRR) support in the form of FreeSync and G-SYNC compatibility. However, the main difference is that it uses an RGB subpixel layout for improved text clarity compared to the M27Q, and it also supports DisplayPort 1.4 bandwidth. While it's designed as a gaming monitor, it also has features for productivity like Picture-in-Picture and Picture-by-Picture modes, and it has a KVM switch that makes it easy to swap between two sources while using the same keyboard and mouse connected to the monitor.
Our Verdict
The Gigabyte M27Q Pro is good for most uses. It excels as a gaming monitor thanks to its 170Hz refresh rate, VRR support, consistently fast response time, and low input lag at higher refresh rates, but the input lag increases a lot more at 60Hz. It's also good for general office use and content creation, especially if you want to use it in a well-lit room, as it gets bright enough to fight glare and has good reflection handling. Its wide viewing angles are also ideal if you want to share your screen with a coworker or client next to you, but without any swivel adjustments on the stand, it's hard to turn it. Unfortunately, it has a low contrast ratio and terrible black uniformity. Without a local dimming feature to improve either of those, it struggles in dark rooms, like when you're watching content or playing HDR games.
- Bright enough to fight glare, and good reflection handling.
- Wide viewing angles.
- USB-C port and KVM switch.
- Consistently fast response time.
- No swivel adjustment.
- Low native contrast ratio.
- Terrible black uniformity.
- No local dimming feature.
The Gigabyte M27Q Pro is good for office use. It has good text clarity, and its 27-inch screen size is big enough to open two windows next to each other. It also has wide viewing angles that keep the image consistent from the sides, but its stand doesn't offer swivel adjustments, which is disappointing if you want to turn the screen to show something to a coworker. On the plus side, it gets bright enough to fight glare and has good reflection handling, so visibility won't be a problem in well-lit rooms. It also has a few office-oriented features, like a KVM switch to control multiple devices with the same keyboard and mouse.
- Bright enough to fight glare, and good reflection handling.
- Wide viewing angles.
- USB-C port and KVM switch.
- No swivel adjustment.
The Gigabyte M27Q P is great for gaming. It maintains a fast response time across its entire refresh rate range to ensure motion looks smooth, and it also has an optional backlight strobing feature to reduce persistence blur. It has a max 170Hz refresh rate and supports VRR for a nearly tear-free gaming experience. It also has low input lag for a responsive feel with most games, but the input lag increases a lot more with 60Hz signals, which is disappointing if you often play reaction-based games at lower refresh rates. Unfortunately, it doesn't perform well for dark room gaming as it has a low contrast ratio and lacks a local dimming feature to improve the picture quality in dark scenes.
- 170Hz refresh rate.
- Consistently fast response time.
- Low input lag at 170Hz and 120Hz.
- FreeSync VRR and G-SYNC compatibility.
- Input lag increases at 60Hz.
- Low native contrast ratio.
The Gigabyte M27Q Pro is decent for media consumption. It's ideal for watching content in bright rooms as it has good reflection handling and great peak brightness, enough to fight glare. It also has wide viewing angles that keep the image consistent from the sides, like if you want to watch content with a friend sitting next to you. However, it's worse for watching content in dark rooms as blacks look gray, and it doesn't have a local dimming feature to further improve the contrast. Its black uniformity is also terrible, as there's backlight bleed and clouding throughout.
- Bright enough to fight glare, and good reflection handling.
- Wide viewing angles.
- Accurate colors before calibration.
- No swivel adjustment.
- Low native contrast ratio.
- Terrible black uniformity.
- No local dimming feature.
The Gigabyte M27Q Pro is very good for content creation. It has a dedicated sRGB mode that results in excellent accuracy without any calibration. Still, it limits the peak brightness, so it's meant for editing content in a dim or dark environment. Instead, if you want to calibrate it and use it in a bright room, it easily gets bright enough to fight glare, and the reflection handling is good. Its 1440p resolution results in good enough image clarity to see sharp details, and its 27-inch screen size gives you enough work area, but you likely won't see your entire video timeline at once.
- Bright enough to fight glare, and good reflection handling.
- Wide viewing angles.
- USB-C port and KVM switch.
- Accurate colors before calibration.
- No swivel adjustment.
- sRGB mode limits peak brightness.
The Gigabyte M27Q P is mediocre for HDR. While it displays a wide range of colors in HDR, it has terrible tone mapping with bright signals, so images can look washed out depending on the content. It also has okay HDR brightness, but it doesn't get bright enough for small highlights to stand out against the rest of the image. Lastly, with a low native contrast ratio and no local dimming feature, blacks look gray in dark rooms, and there's a ton of distracting backlight bleed and clouding in dark scenes.
- Displays wide range of colors.
- Low native contrast ratio.
- Terrible black uniformity.
- No local dimming feature.
- Bad tone mapping depending on the signal.
Changelog
- Updated Oct 26, 2023: Specified the differences with the Gigabyte M27Q (rev. 2.0) in Variants.
- Updated Sep 26, 2023: Added that the Dell G2724D is another budget option with better Ergonomics.
- Updated Sep 19, 2023: Made a mention that the Dell Alienware AW2724DM is another 1440p monitor that supports VRR with the PS5.
- Updated Aug 23, 2023: Review published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 27-inch Gigabyte M27Q P, which is part of Gigabyte's M Series lineup. There are other M27Q models that we've tested, including the Gigabyte M27Q (rev. 1.0), Gigabyte M27Q (rev 2.0), and the Gigabyte M27Q X. You can see the differences between them below, but the results are only valid for the M27Q P.
| Model | Size | Panel Type | Resolution | Max Refresh Rate | Subpixel Layout | DisplayPort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M27Q P | 27" | IPS | 1440p | 170Hz | RGB | 1.4 |
| M27Q X | 27" | IPS | 1440p | 240Hz | RGB | 1.4 |
| M27Q (rev. 1.0) | 27" | IPS | 1440p | 170Hz | BGR | 1.2 |
| M27Q (rev 2.0) | 27" | IPS | 1440p | 170Hz | RGB | 1.2 |
Our unit was manufactured in March 2023; you can see the label for it here. We tested this monitor with firmware F03.
Popular Monitor Comparisons
The Gigabyte M27Q Pro is a great budget gaming monitor with many of the same features the original Gigabyte M27Q (rev. 1.0) is known for. It offers greater value than other monitors like the LG 27GP850-B/27GP83B-B as it's a well-rounded display. The M27Q P is a great choice if you want something for productivity and gaming, as its RGB subpixel layout results in better text clarity than the M27Q (rev. 1.0). However, it still has a few downsides compared to the M27Q (rev. 1.0) because it doesn't get as bright, and its input lag increases much more at 60Hz. Essentially, go for the M27Q P if you care about text clarity, but if you want a great budget gaming monitor, you can't go wrong with the M27Q (rev. 1.0) as long as you can still find it available.
See our recommendations for the best 27-inch gaming monitors, the best budget and cheap gaming monitors, and the best 1440p gaming monitors.
The Gigabyte M27Q (rev. 2.0) and the Gigabyte M27Q P are both budget-friendly 1440p monitors with similar features, but there are differences in performance. The P model has better motion handling thanks to its faster response time, and it also supports DisplayPort 1.4 bandwidth, while the M27Q is limited to DisplayPort 1.2 bandwidth, so the P version supports higher refresh rates with 10-bit signals. One added feature of the P version is its built-in speakers, which the M27Q doesn't have.
The Gigabyte M27Q P is the newer version of the Gigabyte M27Q (rev. 1.0) and has many of the same features. The main difference is that the P version has an RGB subpixel layout for improved text clarity versus the M27Q (rev. 1.0), and the P model also supports higher DisplayPort 1.4 bandwidth. The performance between the two is similar, with the M27Q (rev. 1.0) getting a bit brighter and having a faster response time at the max refresh rate. On top of that, the M27Q (rev. 1.0) also has a lower input lag at 60Hz.
The Gigabyte M27Q P is a lower-end model than the Gigabyte M27Q X, but they still share many features. The main difference is that the X version has a higher 240Hz refresh rate, which allows for a faster response time at the max refresh rate than the P version. The X model also has a lower input lag at 60Hz, and it gets brighter in SDR. Besides that, they have many of the same features, like the KVM switch and USB-C port that supports DisplayPort Alt Mode.
The Gigabyte M27Q P and the HP OMEN 27q are both great budget-friendly 1440p gaming monitors, but they have a few differences. While the HP has a faster response time at higher refresh rates, the Gigabyte has better motion handling at lower refresh rates, leading to less blur. The Gigabyte is also better for console gaming as it can downscale a 4k signal, which the HP can't do. Lastly, the Gigabyte has a few extra features, like a USB hub and KVM switch, making it the better choice for multitasking.
We buy and test more than 30 monitors each year, all of which we purchase ourselves, without cherry-picked units or samples. We put a lot into each unbiased, straight-to-the-point review, and there's a whole process from purchasing to publishing, involving multiple teams and people. We do more than just use the monitor for a week; we use specialized, custom tools to measure various aspects and deliver objective, data-driven results. We also consider multiple factors before making any recommendations, including the monitor's cost, its performance compared to the competition, and whether it's easy to find.
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