MSI Joins the Quantum Dot Club With New Artymis Curved Gaming Monitors

MSI has launched two new quantum dot color enhanced gaming monitors to spice up its Artymis 1000R series. Both are 27-inch VA panel monitors with quantum dot enhanced color and 1000R curvature. The key specs on offer here are the fast refresh rates, rapid response times, wide color gamut support, and compliance with standards such as FreeSync Premium Pro and HDR 400.

The new MSI MPG Artymis 273CQR-QD and MSI MPG Artymis 273CQRX-QD have many specs in common. If you look closely at the product codenames, the slight spec difference is reflected by the addition of an 'X' to the second model name. As far as we can tell, all the specs but one are identical except the "X" model has a max 240Hz refresh rate, while the non-X tops out at 165Hz.

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MSI emphasizes the use of display panels offering what it calls the highest standard for gaming display color. Its market research says gamers aren't just interested in faster response times and reduced response times, but are increasingly aware of color quality issues and metrics. More specifically, MSI says that the panels it has chosen for its new Artymis 1000R range offers great color accuracy of Delta E ≤ 2, come pre-calibrated, meet the HDR400 requirements, and have 128% / 93% / 95% coverage of the sRGB / Adobe RGB / DCI-P3 color spaces.

Another feature MSI thinks will appeal to gamers is the inclusion of MSI's Gaming Intelligence technology. This is MSI's take on some of the usual PC gaming monitor enhancements, including Optix Scope, Smart Crosshair, Night Vision, KVM, and Sound Tune. The first two are described adequately by their names. Night Vision is a color histogram/curve setting to make sure you can spot things in darker areas of the screen. Sound Tune helps you to be audibly aware of enemy movements (if you route audio through the display, anyway). Finally, KVM allows you to control two PCs with a single keyboard/mouse pair plugged into the monitor hub. PiP and PbP modes are also available for monitoring multiple video inputs.

MSI didn't provided details on the pricing or availability of its two new Artymis 1000R series monitors. However, the MSI MPG Artymis 273CQR launched last August with a 165Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time. It lacks QD premium color but is currently available for $387 from Amazon, discounted from its $499 launch price. We'd expect the updated QD variants to have at least the same $499 starting price, possibly higher.

Those in the market for a new gaming monitor should also check out our Best Monitor Deals 2022: 4K, Gaming and More. We updated it yesterday and routinely change picks if a newcomer warrants recommendation.