Dough Spectrum Black 27-inch OLED gaming monitor review: Pro-level accuracy and premium performance

The Dough Spectrum 27 is a 27-inch OLED gaming monitor with QHD resolution, HDR400, 240 Hz, Adaptive-Sync and wide gamut color.

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Dough Spectrum Black 27
Editor's Choice
(Image: © Tom's Hardware)

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To compare the Spectrum Black 27, I’ve harvested four 240 Hz and one 360 Hz OLED from my test database. The 360 is MSI’s MPG271QRX, while the others are Acer’s X27U, Asus’ PG27AQDM, Corsair’s 27QHD240 and AOC’s AG276QZD. All are QHD resolution, 27-inch 16:9 flat panels.

Pixel Response and Input Lag

Click here to read up on our pixel response and input lag testing procedures.

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Dough Spectrum Black
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

The MSI takes the response test with a 3ms draw time, but the Dough and Acer are close at 4ms. They are incredibly smooth at full speed, 240fps, but so are the others running at five or six milliseconds. Visually, they look the same when running a constant rate test pattern.

When input lag is factored in, the MSI surprisingly doesn’t win but is only 1ms behind the Acer and Asus screen. The Spectrum Black 27 achieves a superb 21ms score. Unless you are strong in “The Force,” you won’t see a difference between 19 and 21ms. The Dough is super-fast and more than a match for my casual gaming skills. I didn’t need the black frame insertion, but it’s nice to know it’s there for those with slower video cards who can’t run above 120fps.

Test Takeaway: The Spectrum Black 27 matches the quickest gaming monitors, which are all OLEDs, that I’ve tested to date. At this point in time, there is almost no advantage to the MSI’s 360 Hz model. With perfect motion resolution and no perceptible input lag, the Spectrum Black 27 is a top-tier gaming monitor suited for any type of play from casual to competition.

Viewing Angles

Dough Spectrum Black

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Comparing QD OLEDs with non-QD examples like the Spectrum Black 27, you can see that the side view is slightly cooler in tone with no reduction in light output. I have noted about 10% less brightness from QD models at 45 degrees to the sides. In practice, this is a tiny difference. The Spectrum Black 27 maintains the correct gamma in the horizontal and vertical planes.

Screen Uniformity

To learn how we measure screen uniformity, click here.

Dough Spectrum Black

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

My Spectrum Black 27 set one of the best uniformity results I’ve ever recorded. 3.24% is very low and is far below the visible threshold. Given its status as a premium screen, it’s doubtful you’ll find a bad one.

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Christian Eberle
Christian Eberle
Contributing Editor

Christian Eberle is a Contributing Editor for Tom's Hardware US. He's a veteran reviewer of A/V equipment, specializing in monitors. Christian began his obsession with tech when he built his first PC in 1991, a 286 running DOS 3.0 at a blazing 12MHz. In 2006, he undertook training from the Imaging Science Foundation in video calibration and testing and thus started a passion for precise imaging that persists to this day. He is also a professional musician with a degree from the New England Conservatory as a classical bassoonist which he used to good effect as a performer with the West Point Army Band from 1987 to 2013. He enjoys watching movies and listening to high-end audio in his custom-built home theater and can be seen riding trails near his home on a race-ready ICE VTX recumbent trike. Christian enjoys the endless summer in Florida where he lives with his wife and Chihuahua and plays with orchestras around the state.

6 Comments Comment from the forums
  • azcn2503
    This review mentions nothing about actually trying to obtain one of these things. Customers that placed orders literally years ago have not received their product yet, and the company have gone dark with their communications. There is some very shady activity happening with the company filing for various types of insolvency, changing their name, etc. to exploit loopholes that aid protecting them from engaging with and reimbursing very rightfully enraged customers.

    Dough were previously known as Eve. A quick google search for simply "dough eve" will tell you everything you need to know about this network of companies.
    Reply
  • cknobman
    $1100 for a 27 inch OLED!?

    There is a sucker born every second these days.
    Reply
  • Albert.Thomas
    DOUGH is a ponzi scheme scam, DO NOT BUY.
    Reply
  • j99992
    azcn2503 said:
    Dough were previously known as Eve. A quick google search for simply "dough eve" will tell you everything you need to know about this network of companies.
    Even better, consider using DuckDuckGo or Brave Search. Remember, there are multiple search engines available worldwide.
    What baffles me is that OLED is still discussed and priced as if it's a brand-new, cutting-edge technology, despite being around for about 20 years. I was anticipating OLED back in 2003.
    Reply
  • helper800
    j99992 said:
    Even better, consider using DuckDuckGo or Brave Search. Remember, there are multiple search engines available worldwide.
    What baffles me is that OLED is still discussed and priced as if it's a brand-new, cutting-edge technology, despite being around for about 20 years. I was anticipating OLED back in 2003.
    The problem that still exists with OLED is the manufacturing cost. It is a very expensive BOM technology, just because its 20 years old does not automagically make manufacturing it any cheaper, especially at these small screen sizes.
    Reply
  • parkerthon
    If you don’t understand why this monitor is so expensive, you don’t understand why people buy premium monitors.

    I find it humorous when people build a $2000 gaming pc only to spend $200 on a va panel that looks like washed out dog crap or a laggy ips that looks like a blurry slide show when gaming. But then again I notice this stuff because I have always felt the monitor is key to the whole pc gaming experience. I know others could care less. Just understand, this price is justified.
    Reply