The HP OMEN 27qs is a 27-inch, 1440p gaming monitor. Part of HP's OMEN gaming lineup, it's one of the few with a 240Hz refresh rate, and it sits alongside the HP OMEN 27c, which uses a different panel, and above the lower-end HP OMEN 27q. It's meant to be a cheaper alternative to popular 1440p, 240Hz gaming monitors, like the Dell Alienware AW2723DF and Gigabyte M27Q X. Because of this, it has features you'd expect to find in a gaming monitor, like FreeSync variable refresh rate (VRR) support and G-SYNC compatibility to reduce screen tearing with any type of graphics card. While it has one DisplayPort 1.4 input, it's limited to HDMI 2.0 bandwidth on its two HDMI ports, so it isn't designed to take full advantage of current-gen gaming consoles or high-end graphics cards.
Our Verdict
The HP OMEN 27qs is decent for PC gaming. It has a fast 240Hz refresh rate and FreeSync VRR and G-SYNC compatibility to reduce screen tearing. Motion looks sharp thanks to its fast response time across its entire refresh rate range, and it has low input lag for a responsive feel. Unfortunately, it looks disappointing in dark rooms due to its low contrast ratio, making blacks look gray in dark scenes, and it has a terrible local dimming feature that you can't disable in HDR.
- High 240Hz refresh rate.
- FreeSync VRR and G-SYNC compatibility.
- Response time remains fast across VRR range.
- Low input lag.
- Low contrast ratio.
- Terrible local dimming feature in HDR.
The HP OMEN 27qs isn't bad for console gaming. It has a fast response time at 120Hz and 60Hz, and low input lag for a responsive feel. That said, it can't take full advantage of the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S due to the lack of HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, and images aren't the most detailed as it has a 1440p resolution. It also has limited picture quality because of its low contrast ratio, as blacks look gray in the dark.
- Response time remains fast across VRR range.
- Low input lag.
- No HDMI 2.1 bandwidth.
- Low contrast ratio.
The HP 27qs is good for office use. It gets bright enough to fight glare if you want to use it in a well-lit office space and has good reflection handling. It has wide viewing angles that make it easy to share your screen with someone else, and while it has great ergonomics, it doesn't offer any swivel adjustments. It has a big enough 27-inch screen to open two windows side-by-side, and it has good text clarity.
- 27-inch screen.
- Bright enough to fight glare.
- Wide viewing angles.
- No swivel adjustments.
The HP OMEN 27qs is decent for media creation. It has excellent accuracy before calibration, so you won't need to get it calibrated unless you need perfectly accurate colors. It also has wide viewing angles that make it easy to share your screen with a coworker or client, but without swivel adjustment, you can't easily turn the screen. Its 27-inch screen is big enough to multitask, and it has good text clarity.
- Bright enough to fight glare.
- Wide viewing angles.
- Excellent accuracy before calibration.
- No swivel adjustments.
- Low contrast ratio.
The HP OMEN 27qs has good brightness. It gets bright enough to fight glare, and while it's also bright in HDR, small highlights don't pop against the rest of the image.
- Bright enough to fight glare.
- Small highlights don't stand out against rest of image.
The HP OMEN 27qs has a good overall response time. Motion looks the sharpest at the max refresh rate, and while there's more blur at lower refresh rates, the response time is still good.
- Response time remains fast across VRR range.
The HP OMEN 27qs is poor for HDR. Its main weakness is its local dimming feature that you can't disable in HDR, and it causes noticeable blooming around bright objects, and blacks still look gray. It also struggles to make really bright and really dark colors stand out.
- Low contrast ratio.
- Terrible local dimming feature in HDR.
The HP OMEN 27qs has passable SDR picture quality. What limits it the most is its low contrast ratio that makes blacks look gray, and there's clouding in dark scenes.
- Displays wide range of colors.
- Low contrast ratio.
The HP OMEN 27qs has excellent color accuracy. Colors are accurate before calibration, and while calibrating it helps improve image accuracy, it isn't a significant difference. It also has great gray uniformity, meaning it maintains an accurate image across the screen.
- Excellent accuracy before calibration.
- Great gray uniformity.
Performance Usages
Changelog
- Updated Feb 21, 2025: We've converted this review to Test Bench 2.0.1. This includes a new test result for DisplayPort 2.1 Transmission Bandwidth.
- Updated Apr 17, 2024: Updated text throughout the review according to Test Bench 2.0, mainly in the Verdict and Motion sections.
- Updated Apr 17, 2024: We've converted this review to Test Bench 2.0. This includes new tests for VRR Motion Performance, Refresh Rate Compliance, Cumulative Absolute Deviation (CAD), and VRR Flicker. You can read the full changelog here.
- Updated Nov 28, 2023: Clarified that the LG 27GR83Q-B has higher HDMI 2.1 bandwidth.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 27-inch HP OMEN 27qs, which is the only size available for this monitor. This means the review is only valid for this monitor, but there are other 240Hz monitors from HP OMEN's lineup, and you can see the differences between some of them below.
| Model | Size | Panel Type | Resolution | Max Refresh Rate | Curve |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27qs | 27" | IPS | 1440p | 240Hz | No |
| 27c | 27" | VA | 1440p | 240Hz | Yes |
| 27s | 27" | IPS | 1080p | 240Hz | No |
Our unit was manufactured in March 2023. The Rev. number is B0BT1111; you can see the label here. We tested this monitor with firmware 1.70.5.0.
Popular Monitor Comparisons
The HP OMEN 27qs is a decent PC gaming monitor with a 240Hz refresh rate, FreeSync VRR and G-SYNC compatibility, and good motion handling. It offers great value if you want a low-cost 1440p, 240Hz gaming monitor, so it's a cheaper alternative to more expensive options like the Dell Alienware AW2723DF and the Gigabyte M27Q X. However, there are some trade-offs for that, as it doesn't support compression, so you can only reach the max refresh rate with 8-bit signals and not 10-bit, and it has limited picture quality.
See our recommendations for the best 240Hz monitors, the best budget and cheap gaming monitors, and the best 1440p gaming monitors.
The Gigabyte M27Q X and the HP OMEN 27qs are both 1440p, 240Hz gaming monitors, but there are a few differences between them. The Gigabyte is a bit more versatile for console gaming as it downscales 4k signals, which the HP can't do, and it has a more versatile backlight strobing feature that works at the same time as VRR. The Gigabyte has some extra features that the HP doesn't have, like a KVM switch and a USB-C port. On the other hand, the HP has a more ergonomic stand, as you can rotate it into portrait mode, which you can't do with the Gigabyte.
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 27qs is a newer and higher-end monitor than the HP OMEN 27i, so there are a few differences. The 27qs has a higher 240Hz refresh rate and much better motion handling for a smoother feel. The 27qs also has better picture quality with higher peak brightness and improved color accuracy, and it even supports HDR, which the 27i doesn't, but it has limited HDR performance anyway.
The Samsung Odyssey G7 C32G75T and the HP OMEN 27qs are different types of 1440p, 240Hz gaming monitors. They even have different panel types as the Samsung has a much higher contrast ratio, and it performs better in dark rooms, while the HP has wider viewing angles, making it better for co-op gaming. The Samsung is more versatile for console gaming as it downscales 4k signals, which the HP can't do. While each has a fast response time, the HP has a bit less smearing with fast-moving objects. The HP is also more reliable as it has fewer bugs than the Samsung with its VRR support.
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.
Test Results
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