The MSI MAG 274UPF is a 27-inch, 4k gaming monitor with a 144Hz refresh rate and HDMI 2.1 bandwidth. It's one of several similar monitors in MSI's lineup, including the MSI G274QPF-QD. The MAG 274UPF competes with other 27-inch 4k gaming monitors like the LG 27GR93U-B and the Gigabyte M27U. While it doesn't have local dimming, it does have several added productivity features, like a USB-C port with up to 65W of power delivery and a KVM switch that makes it easy to multitask with different computers.
We buy and test more than 30 monitors each year, with units that we buy completely on our own, without any 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 and custom tools to measure various aspects with objective data-based results. We also consider multiple factors before making any recommendations, including the monitor's cost, its performance against the competition, and whether or not it's easy to find.
Our Verdict
The MSI MAG 274UPF is decent for PC gaming. Some competitive gamers may find its 144Hz refresh rate limiting, but it has low input lag for a responsive feel and a good response time for fairly sharp motion. Unfortunately, its low contrast ratio causes deep blacks to look gray in a dark room, and it doesn't get bright enough for highlights to pop.
- 144Hz refresh rate.
- Good response time.
- Low input lag.
- Deep blacks appear gray in a dark room.
- Limited HDR brightness.
The MSI MAG274UPF is great for console gaming. It takes full advantage of the Xbox Series X|S and PS5 thanks to its HDMI 2.1 bandwidth and delivers detailed images thanks to its 4k resolution. Gaming feels responsive due to its low input lag, and this monitor has a good response time. Unfortunately, it has limited HDR picture quality, as deep blacks look gray in a dark room, and highlights don't pop.
- HDMI 2.1 bandwidth.
- Good response time.
- Low input lag.
- Deep blacks appear gray in a dark room.
- Limited HDR brightness.
The MSI MAG274UPF is impressive for office use. It has a 4k resolution that results in high pixel density on its 27-inch screen, so it has fantastic text clarity. It also works well in a brighter room, as it's bright enough to overcome glare and has good reflection handling. And though it doesn't have wide viewing angles, it has fantastic ergonomics, so it's easy to share your screen with someone else. While it only has two USB-A ports, it has a USB-C port with up to 65W of power delivery and a KVM switch that makes it easy to multitask with different computers.
- 4k resolution for sharp text and images.
- Bright enough to fight glare.
- USB-C port with 65W power delivery and KVM switch.
- Good reflection handling.
The MSI MAG274UPF is good for editing. It has great accuracy even before calibration in its sRGB mode and displays a wide range of colors. Its 4k resolution delivers sharp images, and this monitor is bright enough to overcome glare even in fairly bright rooms. However, it's not ideal if you're editing HDR content, as deep blacks appear gray in a dark room, and highlights aren't bright enough to pop.
- 4k resolution for sharp text and images.
- Bright enough to fight glare.
- USB-C port with 65W power delivery and KVM switch.
- Great accuracy in the sRGB mode.
- Deep blacks appear gray in a dark room.
The MSI MAG274UPF has good brightness. It gets bright enough to fight glare in well-lit rooms, but highlights don't pop in HDR.
- Bright enough to fight glare.
- Limited HDR brightness.
The MSI MAG274UPF has a good response time, though fast-moving objects still have a bit of blur.
- Good response time.
The MSI MAG274UPF is disappointing for HDR. Its low contrast ratio makes deep blacks appear gray in a dark room, and it lacks a local dimming feature to improve the picture quality further. Additionally, colors don't look vivid.
- Deep blacks appear gray in a dark room.
- No local dimming feature.
The MSI MAG274UPF has decent SDR picture quality. While it displays a wide range of colors, its low contrast causes deep blacks to appear gray in a dark room.
- Displays wide range of colors.
- Deep blacks appear gray in a dark room.
The MSI MAG274UPF has great color accuracy. Calibrating it results in the most accurate image, but it still has great accuracy before calibration in its sRGB mode. It also has decent gray uniformity with a consistent image throughout most of the screen, though the edges are darker in some places.
- Great accuracy in the sRGB mode.
- Decent 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 Sep 03, 2024: Review published.
- Updated Aug 27, 2024: Early access published.
- Updated Aug 22, 2024: Our testers have started testing this product.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 27-inch MSI MAG 274UPF, which is similar to several other 27-inch 4k models from MSI, like the MPG 274URF QD. However, as the table below shows, there are differences between the models. The results are only valid for this model.
| Model Code | Panel Type | RGB Lighting | Refresh Rate | USB-C Power Delivery |
| MAG 274UPF | Standard | No | 144Hz | 65W |
| MPG 274URF QD | Quantum Dot | Yes | 160Hz | 65W |
| MAG 274UPF E2 | Standard | No | 160Hz | 15W |
We tested our unit with firmware FW.019. You can see the label here.
Popular Monitor Comparisons
The MSI MAG 274UPF is a lower-cost 4k monitor for someone who wants a dual-purpose display that's excellent for productivity and is also decent for gaming. Like other monitors in this category, it has a sharp 4k resolution that's great for office and editing work, and it can also work well for gaming, particularly if you're playing with a console, thanks to its HDMI 2.1 bandwidth. However, what sets it apart from the competition is that it often costs less, has a KVM switch, and delivers up to 65W of power over USB-C. However, it has limited HDR performance, so if you want a dual-purpose monitor without compromise, the Acer Nitro XV275K P3biipruzx has better gaming performance and office features but costs a lot more.
See our recommendations for the best 27-inch gaming monitors, the best 4k gaming monitors, and the best monitors for Xbox Series X.
The AOC Q27G3XMN and the MSI MAG 274UPF are 27-inch gaming monitors. The AOC is a better choice if gaming performance is most important to you, as it has better motion handling, gets much brighter in HDR, and has far better contrast. However, if crisp text and productivity features like a KVM switch matter more to you than gaming performance, then the MSI is a better option.
The LG 27GR93U-B and the MSI MAG 274UPF are 27-inch 4k gaming monitors. Both monitors have very similar performance; you may prefer to get whichever is cheaper. The MSI is a better choice if you want USB-C connectivity and a KVM switch. However, if you do a lot of co-op gaming, you may prefer the LG, as it has wider viewing angles.
The Gigabyte M27U and the MSI MAG 274UPF are 27-inch 4k gaming monitors. You may prefer to get whichever is cheaper, as both have similar performance. If HDR brightness is important to you, the Gigabyte is a slightly better option, as it gets a bit brighter in HDR. However, if you want to charge your laptop from the monitor, the MSI is a better option, as it provides more power over USB-C.
The Acer Nitro XV275K P3biipruzx and the MSI MAG 274UPF are 27-inch 4k gaming monitors. Both are well-suited to gaming and productivity work, but there are some differences in features. The Acer uses Mini LED backlighting, so it has better picture quality with deeper blacks and brighter highlights. The Acer also delivers better motion handling, so it's the better choice if you play a lot of action games.
Test Results
The MSI MAG274UPF has a black plastic body with a simple aesthetic from the front, though it has a much more gamer-oriented look when viewed from behind the monitor. The stand only takes up a little room below the front of the monitor, and you can place a keyboard or mouse very close to it.
The monitor has great build quality. Although the body is plastic, it feels solid. The stand is also solid, and the monitor is well-constructed overall.
The monitor has fantastic ergonomics, and it's easy to adjust to your preferred position for a long gaming session or share your screen with another person. The stand features a loop for cable management.
The square-based stand takes up almost no space in front of the monitor. It supports the monitor well, and there isn't much wobble. These results are with the display at its minimum height. When the display is at its maximum height, it's 6.3" (16 cm) thick because the stand is slightly angled back.
A joystick on the back right side of the monitor controls the power and lets you adjust the on-screen menu.
- HDMI cable
- USB-C cable
- USB-A to USB-B cable
- Power cable
- Power supply
- Manuals
- VESA standoffs
The monitor's contrast is mediocre. As a result, deep blacks appear gray in a dark room, and there's no local dimming feature to improve the contrast further.
Though this monitor doesn't have local dimming, we still film these videos so you can compare the backlight performance with a monitor that has local dimming.
Settings
- Pro Mode: User (After Calibration)
- Brightness: Max
The SDR brightness is great. It gets bright enough to overcome glare and maintains its brightness consistently across different content. The monitor has a very high minimum brightness, which isn't ideal if you're playing in a dark room and prefer a lower brightness level or are sensitive to bright light.
Settings
- Pro Mode: User
- Brightness: Locked
The HDR brightness is satisfactory. It gets brighter than in SDR, but not enough for highlights to pop. It tracks the EOTF extremely well with a sharp cut-off at peak brightness, so highlights get as bright as possible.
The following settings are locked out in HDR:
Locked-Out Settings
- MPRT
- Low Blue Light
- HDCR
- Brightness
- Contrast
- Color Temperature
- Optix Scope
- PIP/PBP
The monitor's horizontal viewing angle is fair but not as good as many IPS displays. While you can share your screen with someone next to you, the image appears darker and washes out at wider angles.
The vertical viewing angle is decent. If you stand up and look down at the monitor, the image appears slightly washed out.
The gray uniformity is decent. While the edges of the screen are darker than the rest in some places, there's minimal dirty screen effect in the center, which is great.
The black uniformity is mediocre. Backlight bleed is visible along the monitor's edges, and the screen is a bit cloudy. There's no local dimming feature to improve this performance further.
The MSI MAG274UPF has great accuracy before calibration in the 'sRGB' Pro Mode. The color accuracy is good, and colors are almost perfectly saturated. The white balance is adequate, and the color temperature is fairly close to the 6500K target. Gamma follows the target curve fairly well, though dark parts of scenes are a bit too dark, and most other parts are a bit too bright.
The following settings are locked out in the 'sRGB' mode:
Locked-out Settings
- Low Blue Light
- Contrast
- Color Temperature
If you want to access these settings then you need to use another mode with worse color accuracy, like User.
The accuracy after calibration is remarkable, and you won't notice any problems. Additionally, you can use any of the settings that are locked out in the sRGB mode.
The monitor has an incredible SDR color gamut. It has fantastic coverage of the sRGB color space and superb coverage of the Adobe RGB color space used in professional publishing. However, red and green are inaccurate in Adobe RGB.
The HDR color gamut is fantastic. It has outstanding coverage in the common DCI-P3 color space and a wide range in the Rec. 2020 color space, though colors are less accurate in Rec. 2020.
The HDR color volume is good. Its wide color gamut helps it display a large range of colors, but it struggles to display bright and dark colors well.
The text clarity is incredible. Enabling Windows ClearType (top photo) helps improve the clarity of letters. These photos are in Windows 10, and you can see them in Windows 11 with ClearType off here, and with ClearType on here. This monitor has a strong matte coating, so text is slightly less sharp than on some other matte screens.
The MSI MAG274UPF has good reflection handling. While some strong light sources cause distracting glare, it's bright enough to fight glare in most environments.
The gradient handling is outstanding, and you won't notice any issues with banding in scenes with shades of similar colors.
Your graphics card needs to use Display Stream Compression (DSC) to reach the maximum refresh rate over DisplayPort.
| NVIDIA | VRR Min | VRR Max |
| DisplayPort | <20Hz | 144Hz |
| HDMI | <20Hz | 144Hz |
| AMD | VRR Min | VRR Max |
| DisplayPort | <20Hz | 144Hz |
| HDMI | <20Hz | 144Hz |
| Refresh Rate | CAD Heatmap | RT Chart | Pursuit Photo |
| 143 | Heatmap | Chart | Photo |
| 120 | Heatmap | Chart | Photo |
| 100 | Heatmap | Chart | Photo |
| 80 | Heatmap | Chart | Photo |
| 60 | Heatmap | Chart | Photo |
This monitor has good motion handling across its refresh rate range with VRR enabled. Its motion handling is extremely consistent with the 'Normal' and 'Fast' Response Time overdrive settings, which is ideal if your game's frame rate varies a lot, but there's still some motion blur. The 'Fastest' overdrive setting has such a high CAD that it exceeds the limits of the default chart, though it's visible in an alternative chart.
The refresh rate compliance is good. The 'Normal' and 'Fast' overdrive settings have the most consistent compliance across the refresh rate range. The response time isn't fast enough to make full-color transitions before the monitor draws the next frame.
| Overdrive Mode | CAD Heatmap | RT Chart | Pursuit Photo |
| Normal | Heatmap | Chart | Photo |
| Fast | Heatmap | Chart | Photo |
| Fastest | Heatmap | Chart | Photo |
The CAD at the max refresh rate of 144Hz is decent. There's a moderate amount of blur, even with the 'Fast' overdrive setting. The other settings are slightly blurrier, and 'Fastest' has inverse ghosting.
| Overdrive Mode | CAD Heatmap | RT Chart | Pursuit Photo |
| Normal | Heatmap | Chart | Photo |
| Fast | Heatmap | Chart | Photo |
| Fastest | Heatmap | Chart | Photo |
The CAD at 120Hz is good, and fast-moving objects are slightly blurry. The recommended overdrive setting is still 'Fast,' as the other settings are slightly blurrier, and 'Fastest' has inverse ghosting.
| Overdrive Mode | CAD Heatmap | RT Chart | Pursuit Photo |
| Normal | Heatmap | Chart | Photo |
| Fast | Heatmap | Chart | Photo |
| Fastest | Heatmap | Chart | Photo |
The CAD at 60Hz is good, and fast-moving objects look slightly blurry. Unlike at 120Hz, the recommended overdrive is 'Fastest' as it has the fastest response time and almost no overshoot if you start the game at 60Hz.
This monitor has an optional backlight strobing feature to reduce image persistence. It only functions when the monitor's refresh rate is 120Hz or 144Hz, and it doesn't work if VRR is enabled. You can't adjust the monitor's brightness when it's on. Enabling backlight strobing results in image duplication. You can also see this at 120Hz.
This monitor has no noticeable VRR flicker with changing frame rates, which is fantastic for gaming.
The backlight remains flicker-free at all brightness levels, which helps reduce eye strain if you're sensitive to flicker.
This monitor has low input lag for a responsive feel while gaming.
The Xbox doesn't support HDR with 1440p or 1080p signals, so this isn't a limitation of the monitor.
The MSI 274UPF has a USB-C port that supports DisplayPort Alt Mode to display an image from a compatible device. The USB-C port supplies 65W of power, which is enough to charge many laptops while they're operating. You can connect the monitor's USB-B port to another computer and use the monitor's KVM switch to use your keyboard, mouse, and monitor with two different computers.
| Connection | HDMI 2.0 | HDMI 2.1 | USB-C |
| Max Refresh Rate | 60Hz | 144Hz | 144Hz |
| VRR Range | N/A | 48-120Hz | 48-144Hz |
| HDR | Yes | Yes | Yes |
This monitor works well with macOS. When using a MacBook, windows return to their original position when reopening the lid or waking the laptop up from sleep. Additionally, the KVM switch works well on macOS. VRR also works well, though the max refresh rate with HDMI 2.1 is 120Hz with VRR on. Additionally, colors in HDR look quite washed out.
The MSI MAG274UPF comes with a few extra features, including:
- Gaming Intelligence: Lets you use your mouse and keyboard to configure the monitor.
- Low Blue Light: Decreases blue light output to help reduce eye strain.
- HDCR: Enhances image quality by increasing the contrast of images.
- Image Enhancement: Enhances image edges to improve their acutance.
- Smart Crosshair: Overlays crosshairs to assist with aiming.
