The OSD is fairly simple, and it's laid out like the majority of displays we’ve worked with. Follow along on our screen-by-screen tour.
First up are the basic image controls. You’ll notice the picture modes are missing from this menu. At first we weren’t sure if there were different modes until we saw them in the Manual Image Adjust menu, six screens down. The default mode is Standard which unlocks all adjustments. Brightness ranges from bright to really bright. Even at the minimum setting, the max output is over 170 cd/m2. Contrast will clip if you set it past 59. ECO dims the monitor considerably and locks out contrast and brightness. Over Drive will smooth on-screen motion if you max it out at 100. And Gamma has settings of 1.8 to 2.4 in .2 increments. To get a curve of 2.2, set the preset to 2.4.
Next is the input select screen. You can also change inputs by toggling the 2 key on the front panel.
The third menu is Audio Adjust. Volume and Mute affect both the speaker and headphone outputs. The Audio Adjust option lets you choose the sound source, HDMI, DisplayPort, or Line-in.
You’re only able to see this menu in Standard mode. The 6500K preset is fairly close to accurate, but the User Color setting is even better. When we calibrated, we only had to make tiny changes to the RGB sliders to achieve perfect grayscale tracking.
This is all you have to do to dial in grayscale. The sliders start at their maximums; we prefer them to start centered. But given the results of our efforts, we can’t complain.
Fifth down is the Information screen. The only thing missing is the firmware version.
The first two options are only available for VGA analog signals. The Sharpness control is grayed out when the PXL2790MW receives a native 2560x1440 signal. When the scalar is active for lower input resolutions, Sharpness is best left at 50. Dropping and further results in image softness, while higher numbers cause ringing (edge enhancement). Aspect Ratio toggles between Full Screen (all input resolutions are scaled), 4:3 (creates sidebars), Overscan (eliminates about two percent of the image edge), and 1:1. In that aspect, a lower-res signal appears in a window, rather than stretched to fit the screen. And finally, we find the picture modes, referred to as Color Vision.
Only the Standard mode allows adjustments; this includes Brightness and Contrast. The other modes depart from established standards significantly. Scenery is extremely bright and a little green in tone. Cinema has a more comfortable output level, but is very warm and reddish. Game is also comfortable in its light level, but with an extreme blue tint. And Text is also on the warm side, though not as much as Cinema. If you don’t calibrate, Standard is still the best option for all computing tasks, gaming, and video content.
The final menu contains a few ergonomic options. Setup Menu sets the timeout, position, and transparency of the OSD. We like to move it to a corner to get it away from test patterns. Language Select has nine options, and Memory Recall returns all settings to their factory defaults. Be careful with this one. Selecting it resets the display with no additional warnings.
Calibrating the PXL2790MW is very easy. The only Color Vision mode that allows any adjustments is Standard. Literally, all we had to do was dial down the Brightness to hit 200 cd/m2, set the Color Temp to User, and make the tiniest adjustments to the RGB sliders. And as you’ll see in the test results, these settings produce an extremely accurate image.
| Planar PXL2790MW Calibration Settings | |
|---|---|
| Color Vision Mode | Standard |
| Brightness | 10 |
| Contrast | 50 |
| ECO | Off |
| Over Drive | 100 |
| Gamma | 2.4 |
| Color Temp | User (R100, G99, B99) |
- Planar PXL2790MW: Clarity, Performance, And Accuracy In QHD
- Packaging, Physical Layout, And Accessories
- OSD Setup And Calibration
- Measurement And Calibration Methodology: How We Test
- Results: Brightness And Contrast
- Results: Grayscale Tracking And Gamma Response
- Results: Color Gamut And Performance
- Results: Viewing Angle And Uniformity
- Results: Pixel Response And Input Lag
- Planar's PXL2790MW Gets Top Marks For Clarity And Performance
What do you seriously think that another 27" 2560x1440 60Hz monitor that is already in class with a dozen other models identical to it, deserves an award?
As for those overlord monitors, I wasn't impressed by them, mostly because I had it sitting next to a lightboost 2 120hz TN panel. Yes, the overclocked IPS panel has better colour (though that's largely negated by using it on minimal brightness in a dark room, like we've already been talking about), and it's certainly pretty and gives a lot of screen real estate... but it can't compare to a real 120Hz monitor, especially not one with a strobing backlight.
Now this sort of monitor clarity plus an OS that supports decent enlarged fonts would be really nice. Apps that scale well over a range of sizes would be even nicer. A 1000 pixel wide frame may be good for some people no matter how small it is; others of us would like at least a certain number of inches. Support all of us.
(Yes, I know that this isn't the monitor's fault. It's a poor convention in many parts of the software industry.)
QHD is not ready for gaming prime time yet, sorry folks.
Cheers!
As for those overlord monitors, I wasn't impressed by them, mostly because I had it sitting next to a lightboost 2 120hz TN panel. Yes, the overclocked IPS panel has better colour (though that's largely negated by using it on minimal brightness in a dark room, like we've already been talking about), and it's certainly pretty and gives a lot of screen real estate... but it can't compare to a real 120Hz monitor, especially not one with a strobing backlight.
When you say a real 120Hz - I don't get that. I have both 248s and Tempests and I prefer the Tempest all day every day. Monitors are clearly very subjective. Some people complain about strobing, PWm, etc. but it doesn't affect me at all. I prefer an IPS panel over a TN panel. The Tempest is a real 120hz monitor once OC'd so your comment makes little sense to me. Gaming on an IPS 1440 is much preferred and the added Hz makes the overlord the best gaming display for me.
QHD is not ready for gaming prime time yet, sorry folks.
Cheers!
Herpa Durp? QHD has been ready for "gaming prime time" for years now. Fortunately, panels are coming down in price and adoption is increasing as a result.
Your argument would be totally valid for 4K displays right now...excessively expensive, complicated input requirements, killer HW requirements. Very much a niche market.
1440p is **like** totally the new 1080p. Psshhya
It's not a real 120hz display i.e. designed for it. It has significantly more latency, and serious issues with motion blur... where a monitor designed for high refresh rates has virtually no input lag, and (if using lightboost technology set up to strobe), zero motion blur. An overclocked ips panel is still better than a non-overclocked ips panel, but I'll take a TN panel any day. The very high end TN panels look nearly as good as lower-end IPS panels, yet perform way better... and IPS panels don't handle being set to low brightness very well. I agree that IPS is superior for certain things; most notably tasks that require color accuracy. But for a gaming setup, I disagree. (Though a 1440p monitor, you're right, is a wonderful thing.)
That... is absolutely not true. Have you set your monitor up with lightboost, if you aren't using it? Have you gone into windows and your video drivers and told them to run the monitor at 120hz? Most of the time, when people say they can't see the difference between 120hz and 60hz, it's because they didn't set it up and never actually saw 120hz.
If you have it set up right, there is a VERY noticeable difference between 120hz and 60hz. Yes, 1440p is nice too, but you can't just say that one is worthless and the other isn't; I personally bought and returned a VERY nice iiyama recently, because even though it was basically the best on the market, there were notable issues with it while gaming - if there were a 1440p TN panel that didn't have all the issues that IPS panels have (yes, I know TN panels have issues of their own, but those are unimportant for gaming), then I would buy it on day one, and use it for MMOs and, say, racing games, for which a 120Hz monitor isn't as helpful, but which you still want a decent response and minimal ghosting.
For me, this is just another overpriced piece of equipment. Next.
Your argument would be totally valid for 4K displays right now...excessively expensive, complicated input requirements, killer HW requirements. Very much a niche market.
1440p is **like** totally the new 1080p. Psshhya
Well, I know there have been QHD monitors for quite some time, but they're still expensive as hell and don't offer a better "gaming experience" IMO to justify them over FHD@120/144Hz. Until QHD comes in 120/144 Hz, they won't be on my "must have" list at all. Specially with the crappy as hell colors.
Cheers!
Happy Thanks Giving!