MSI Optix G27C5 Monitor Review

The MSI Optix G27C5 has a simple design with thin bezels on three sides. It has a gamer-friendly look but it won't stand out much in an office environment, either.

This monitor has a V-shaped stand that supports the monitor well. Although the overall footprint is large, the design leaves lots of room to place small objects in front of it.

Update 07/02/2021: We incorrectly listed the Height Adjustment as 'N/A' as opposed to '0'. The review has been updated to reflect this change, as the Ergonomics score has dropped slightly.

Unfortunately, the MSI Optix G27C5 has bad ergonomics, so it may be difficult to place it in an ideal viewing position.

The back of the monitor is sleek, with a simple design. There's no quick release for the stand, but it can be VESA-mounted, which is good given the bad ergonomics of its stand.

Very thin borders on three sides, making this a good choice for a multi-monitor setup.

Due to the curvature of the screen, the MSI Optix G27C5 is a bit thicker than similar flat monitors.

The MSI Optix G27C5 has a decent build quality. While it's better than the MSI Optix G27C4, with no obvious gaps or loose panels, it's not as good as the MAG series, like the MSI Optix MAG273R.

Like most VA monitors, the MSI Optix G27C5 has great contrast, so blacks appear as they should in a dark room. MSI advertises a 3000:1 contrast ratio, so ours is a bit higher, but this can vary between units.

Note: We normally measure contrast after calibration, but in this case, calibrating the monitor lowered the contrast. After calibration, we measured a contrast ratio of 2925:1, which is much closer to MSI's advertised contrast.

This monitor doesn't support local dimming. The video above is provided for reference only.

Decent peak brightness. The MSI Optix G27C5 gets bright enough to combat glare in moderately-lit environments, but it may struggle with direct sunlight on it. Luckily, its brightness remains consistent across various content.

We measured the SDR peak brightness before calibration on the 'User' Picture Mode, with Color Temperature set to 'Normal'. We normally measure SDR brightness after calibration, but in this case, calibrating the monitor made the screen significantly dimmer. After calibration, it reached 219 cd/m² and had a 'Real Scene' brightness of 230 cd/m².

This monitor doesn't support HDR.

Like most VA panels, the MSI G27C5 has a poor horizontal viewing angle. It's not ideal if you need to share your screen with others. If you want a similar monitor with better viewing angles, check out the Acer Nitro RG241Y.

Poor vertical viewing angle, which is expected from a VA panel. The edges of the screen may appear darker if you sit too close.

The MSI G27C5 has outstanding gray uniformity. Only the edges of the screen are slightly darker, but this shouldn't be an issue with most content. The uniformity is almost perfect in near-dark scenes.

Note: Gray uniformity may vary between units.

The MSI Optix G27C5's black uniformity is unremarkable. There's backlight bleed along the top and bottom edges, which may be distracting in dark scenes.

Note: Black uniformity may vary between units.

Okay out-of-the-box color accuracy. Most colors are inaccurate and the color temperature is warm, giving the image a red-yellow tint. The white balance is off, which affects shades of gray. Also, gamma seems to follow a target of 2.0 instead of the sRGB curve, so most scenes are brighter than they should be.

Note: Color accuracy may vary between units.

After calibration, the MSI G27C5 has fantastic color accuracy. Any remaining color inaccuracies can't be spotted without the aid of a colorimeter, and the color temperature is closer to the 6500K target. Gamma is also much closer to the target curve, so most scenes are displayed at their correct brightness.

During calibration, leaving the Contrast setting at its default value of 70 resulted in more inaccurate colors than if it wasn't calibrated at all. By lowering Contrast to 55, we were able to get more accurate colors and better white balance, but that affected the monitor's brightness and contrast ratio.

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.

Excellent SDR color gamut. The MSI Optix G27C5 covers almost all of the sRGB color space used in most content, and it has great coverage of the Adobe RGB color space used in photo editing.

Outstanding color volume. Due to the monitor's great contrast ratio, it can display dark, saturated colors well.

This monitor doesn't support HDR.

This monitor doesn't support HDR.

There are no signs of temporary image retention, but this may vary between units.

Excellent gradient handling. Banding can be seen, especially in darker shades, but this shouldn't be an issue with regular content.

There are no signs of color bleed.

The MSI Optix G27C5 has good reflection handling, but it's not as good as the MSI Optix G27C4. It performs well in moderately-lit rooms, but the reflections are too distracting in extremely bright rooms.

Text clarity is decent, though it can be improved by enabling ClearType (top photo), as it improves the appearance of diagonal lines, as seen in the letters R and N.

The MSI G27C5 has a good response time at its max refresh rate, but it's not as good as the MSI Optix G27C4. There's very little overshoot in most transitions with the 'Fastest' overdrive setting. Unfortunately, like most VA monitors, dark transitions are significantly slower, causing noticeable motion smearing behind darker areas of the scene, as can be seen here behind our moving logo. If you want a similar monitor with better response times, check out the LG 27GN650-B.

Decent response time at 60Hz. The average total response time at 60Hz is only slightly slower than at the max refresh rate, which is great. Unfortunately, there's still a lot of noticeable motion smearing in darker areas, as seen in the moving logo photo.

The backlight is completely flicker-free, which can help to reduce eye strain.

The MSI Optix G27C5 has a mediocre Black Frame Insertion feature. It's only available within a limited refresh rate range, and the timing is off, causing noticeable duplication in motion. Like most monitors, BFI isn't available if FreeSync is enabled.

Outstanding refresh rate. It has native FreeSync support with a wide VRR range. It's G-SYNC compatible, but it only works over a DisplayPort connection. The max refresh rate over an HDMI connection is limited to 144Hz.

The MSI Optix G27C5 has an incredibly low input lag. It stays low with VRR enabled, which is great.

The 27 inch screen of the MSI G27C5 is great for productivity, but the 1080p resolution may be too limiting for some. If you want a monitor with a 1440p resolution, look into the MSI Optix G273QF.

The MSI Optix G27C5 has a few extra features to improve the user experience.

• Crosshair: Puts a virtual crosshair on the screen for FPS games.
• Timer: Puts a timer on the screen.
• Blue Light Mode: Removes blue light, which helps reduce eye strain.

There's a joystick on the back of the MSI G27C5 to navigate the on-screen settings menu.

• HDMI cable
• Power brick
• Power cable
• Manual