KTC H27P3 27-inch 5K dual-mode gaming monitor review: Incredible pixel density and flexibility

It’s color accurate out of the box.

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KTC H27P3
(Image credit: © Tom's Hardware)

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To compare the H27P3’s performance, I’ve rounded up one other 5K/2K monitor, Asus’ XG27JCG, and four 4K screens, Acer’s XB273U F5 and XB273K V5, KTC’s H27E6, and Titan Army’s P2712V. All are 27-inch IPS panels.

Pixel Response and Input Lag

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KTC H27P3
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Panel response differs between OLEDs and LCDs, so to make a fair comparison, I added only Acer’s XB273U F5 for the first test. The Nvidia LDAT timed a one-inch square, black-to-white transition at 2.4ms at 360 Hz. The H27P3 has nearly identical times at 60 and 120 Hz, 6.75 and 6.63ms, respectively. With so little data, I can’t identify a trend, but stay tuned to this space, as there will be more monitoring tests with the LDAT to come.

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In the lag test, the H27P3 makes up for its low refresh rate with a respectable 27.7ms score at 60 Hz. That’s a tad quicker than the P2712V and XG27JCG, both running at faster rates. At 120 Hz, the H27P3 is 10.3ms faster with a 17.4ms score. That puts it in range of many 144 and 200 Hz screens. Note that it’s only 0.4ms behind the XG27JCG, which is running nearly three times faster.

Test Takeaway: The H27P3 does its best with motion blur using a decent overdrive, but at 120 Hz, you won’t have perfect motion resolution. You can expect low input lag, though it may be on par with some faster displays. The H27P3 isn’t a great gaming monitor, but it clearly is a good one.

Viewing Angles

KTC H27P3

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

The H27P3 acquits itself well against other IPS panels, with a slight red tint at 45 degrees off-axis. Brightness is reduced by less than 10%, and gamma is stable. The top view is also better than most, with a green/red tint and reduced brightness but solid gamma. This is excellent performance.

Screen Uniformity

To learn how we measure screen uniformity, click here.

KTC H27P3

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

My H27P3 sample had a thin band at the top of the screen that was a tad light. Otherwise, it was uniform in all field patterns from black to white and in the primary and secondary colors. 10.35% is a decent score that’s just over the visible threshold.

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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.

1 Comment Comment from the forums
  • voyteck
    On paper, it’s an almost perfect all-rounder, except for the barely functional stand and (probably) the lack of a white version.

    By the way, pixel density isn't only about whether you see individual dots or not; text on, say, a Full HD 15-inch laptop is distorted in the same way as on a 27-inch Full HD monitor (and you sit close enough to notice this just as clearly, provided the scaling remains the same.) And the Ultra HD resolution is not enough even on a 27-inch display since you can easily see that the same letter has different widths. Then come two words: font optimization.

    Although now I wonder if I'd like to play at QHD @ 120Hz in the era of DLSS and frame generation. Since there are still no 5K @ 120Hz displays I think I will stay with UHD, even if I would love to have 5K for copy editing.
    Reply