The HP OMEN 27q is an entry-level, budget-friendly gaming monitor. With a 1440p resolution and 165Hz refresh rate, it's a newer monitor than the similar HP X27q, and it's a lower-end model than the HP OMEN 27qs, which has a 240Hz refresh rate. It includes FreeSync variable refresh rate (VRR) technology, but it's rather basic in terms of features as it lacks a USB hub, and only has two HDMI 2.0 ports and one DisplayPort 1.4 input. It also includes a 3.5mm audio jack, but other than that, it's barebones in extra perks.
Our Verdict
The HP OMEN 27q is good for most uses. It's designed as a gaming monitor with a 165Hz refresh rate, VRR support, low input lag for a responsive feel, and a fast response time at high refresh rates, but there's more blur at lower refresh rates. It has a 27-inch screen and 1440p resolution that help make it good for office use or content creation. It also has good text clarity and wide viewing angles, making it easy to share your screen. It's good if you want to use it in a bright room thanks to its good reflection handling and great peak brightness. However, it struggles in a dark room, like if you're watching a movie or show, as blacks look gray, and it doesn't have a local dimming feature to improve it.
- Good text clarity.
- Performs well in a bright room.
- Wide viewing angles.
- Stand offers tilt, height, and rotation adjustments.
- Doesn't offer swivel adjustment.
- No extra office features like a USB hub.
- Low contrast ratio.
The HP OMEN 27q is very good for the office. It has a 27-inch screen that's big enough to open two windows side-by-side, and it has high enough pixel density to have good text clarity. It's also good if you want to use it in a bright room as it gets bright enough to fight glare from most light sources, and it has good reflection handling. Its wide viewing angles are helpful if you need to share your screen with someone else, but without any swivel adjustment, it's hard to turn the screen. One downside is that it doesn't have many extra features, and there aren't any USB ports to connect your devices.
- Good text clarity.
- Performs well in a bright room.
- Wide viewing angles.
- Stand offers tilt, height, and rotation adjustments.
- Doesn't offer swivel adjustment.
- No extra office features like a USB hub.
The HP OMEN 27q is great for gaming. It has a 165Hz refresh rate with FreeSync VRR and G-SYNC compatibility to reduce screen tearing. It has a fast response time at high refresh rates and a backlight strobing feature to reduce persistence blur, but there's more motion blur at lower refresh rates. It has low input lag for a responsive feel at any refresh rate. Unfortunately, it doesn't have many extra gaming features as it's limited to HDMI 2.0 bandwidth, so it can't take full advantage of gaming consoles. It also has a low contrast ratio, so it's disappointing if you want to use it for gaming in dark rooms.
- 165Hz refresh rate.
- FreeSync VRR and G-SYNC compatibility.
- Fast response time at high refresh rates.
- Low input lag.
- Limited to HDMI 2.0 bandwidth; can't take advantage of gaming consoles.
- Low contrast ratio.
The HP OMEN 27q is satisfactory for media consumption. It's good if you want to watch content in a bright room, thanks to its good reflection handling and high peak brightness. It also has wide viewing angles that keep the image consistent from the sides, ideal for sharing your screen with a friend, but it doesn't have any swivel adjustment to easily turn it. Unfortunately, it's disappointing for watching content in dark rooms as it has a low contrast ratio that makes blacks look gray, and it lacks a local dimming feature to improve the black levels.
- Performs well in a bright room.
- Wide viewing angles.
- Low contrast ratio.
- No local dimming feature.
The HP OMEN 27q is very good for content creation. Its 1440p resolution delivers enough details while editing your photos, and the monitor has good image clarity as well. It also has excellent accuracy in any of the picture modes that use an sRGB clamp, but while it displays a wide range of colors, some are oversaturated. It also has wide viewing angles that are ideal if you need to share your screen with a coworker or client, as the image remains consistent from the sides, but it doesn't offer any swivel adjustment to turn the screen.
- Good text clarity.
- Performs well in a bright room.
- Wide viewing angles.
- Excellent accuracy before calibration.
- Doesn't offer swivel adjustment.
- No extra office features like a USB hub.
The HP OMEN 27q is mediocre for HDR. It has a very basic implementation of HDR, as there aren't any picture modes or settings available, and it doesn't get bright enough to make highlights stand out. While it displays a wide range of colors, it has limited color volume, so most colors aren't vivid. Lastly, blacks look gray in the dark due to the low contrast, and it doesn't have a local dimming feature to improve the contrast either.
- Displays wide range of colors.
- Low contrast ratio.
- No local dimming feature.
- Low HDR peak brightness.
- Minimal settings available in HDR.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 27-inch HP OMEN 27q, and units of it are made with panels from two different manufacturers, LG and BOE, and our unit features an LG panel. It's also available as the 32-inch HP OMEN 32q, but the results are only valid for this monitor. It's part of the OMEN gaming lineup, which includes similar models that have a few different features, and you can see the differences between them below.
| Model | Size | Panel Type | Resolution | Max Refresh Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27q | 27" | IPS | 1440p | 165Hz |
| 32q | 32" | IPS | 1440p | 165Hz |
| 27qs | 27" | IPS | 1440p | 240Hz |
Our unit was manufactured in April 2023, and the Rev. number is L0IT1121; you can see the label here. We tested this monitor with firmware 1.20.1.0.
Popular Monitor Comparisons
The HP OMEN 27q is a great gaming monitor that offers the essentials for gaming, like a 165Hz refresh rate, VRR support, low input lag, and a fast response time at high refresh rates. The 1440p resolution is also a nice touch if you like seeing details in your games. While it's great for what it offers, especially at a low cost, you can get better value with other budget-friendly monitors like the Dell G2724D, which has better motion handling, and the Gigabyte M27Q P, which has extra features that make it more versatile.
See our recommendations for the best gaming monitors under $300, the best budget and cheap gaming monitors, and the best 1440p gaming monitors.
The HP OMEN 27q and the Gigabyte G27Q are both great budget-friendly 1440p gaming monitors. The HP has a slightly higher 165Hz refresh rate and better motion handling, leading to less blur. The Gigabyte is better for console gaming because it can downscale 4k signals from the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, which the HP monitor can't do. On top of that, the Gigabyte has a few extra features, like a USB hub.
The HP OMEN 27qs is a higher-end monitor than the HP OMEN 27q, so it has a few extra features. The main difference is that the 27qs has a higher 240Hz refresh rate and better motion handling across its entire refresh rate range. The 27qs also has some extra perks, like a USB hub, and it has a local dimming feature, but it performs terribly anyway.
The HP OMEN 27q and the Samsung Odyssey G50D S27DG50 are both entry-level 1440p gaming monitors. Besides the Samsung model having a slightly higher refresh rate, both monitors are similar. The Samsung comes with a more ergonomic stand as it can swivel, which the stand on the HP can't do. The Samsung monitor also has a local dimming feature, but it doesn't add much because it performs so similarly.
The Gigabyte M27Q (rev. 2.0) and the HP OMEN 27q are both entry-level 1440p gaming monitors. The main difference between them comes down to their inputs, as the Gigabyte has a USB hub with a USB-C port and a KVM switch, so it's the better choice if you need to connect different devices and computers to the monitor. Other than that, they're very similar, but the HP has the slight advantage when it comes to brightness.
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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