Auria EQ276W 27" IPS Monitor Review: QHD For $400

Name: Results: Viewing Angle And Uniformity - Auria EQ276W 27&quot; IPS Monitor Review: QHD For $400
Author: Christian Eberle

by Christian Eberle April 3, 2013 at 11:00 PM

62 Comments

Results: Viewing Angle And Uniformity

For off-axis viewing, there’s no better tech right now than IPS. You can sit as much as 45 degrees from center and still see a decent image; the light falloff is minimal, and the color shift associated with TN-based monitors is virtually non-existent.

Now that we’re showing pictures of grayscale step patterns, it’s easy to see the effect on the image as we move off the center point. There is a little light reduction evident, but gamma stays solid. If you look at the darkest portions of the pattern, you can still see a difference between the zero and 10 percent bars.

While some monitors are better than others, no LCD panel has perfect screen uniformity, and even samples of the same model can have quite a bit of variation. So, since there’s no solid standard for applying a rating to different monitors, we’ll simply present the results of our measurements.

To measure screen uniformity, zero percent and 100 percent full-field patterns are used, and nine points are sampled. We’re now expressing the values as percentages relative to the center of the screen.

Auria EQ276W
Black Field Uniformity
100.15%	94.61%	115.54%
88.34%	100.00%	94.05%
101.40%	91.77%	101.79%
White Field Uniformity
87.78%	86.26%	82.68%
94.82%	100.00%	91.14%
99.69%	95.53%	96.39%

The EQ276W has excellent screen uniformity for both full white and full black. In fact, it’s very close to the superb Samsung S27B970D in this metric. That’s pretty impressive considering that the Auria is just a third the price!

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About the author

Christian Eberle

Christian Eberle is a Contributing Editor for Tom's Hardware US. He's a veteran reviewer of A/V equipment, specializing in monitors.

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patrick47018

I'm planning on picking one up very soon
techbaddie

I love My Auria, I also did buy a another stand for it. It was $29.99 on Amazon, and once I got everything set up, IT IS AMAZING!!!!! If you want a great product for the right price, DO IT!
BigMack70One important thing to mention that you guys didn't that I believe still holds true (haven't checked the competition in a couple months - someone correct me if I'm wrong here): this is the only model of this panel (as opposed to the Catleaps/Crossovers/Overloards/Achievas/etc) to have HDCP support. If you want one of these panels and you want to use HDCP protected content (a games console or a Blu-ray player, for example), you NEED to purchase this Auria and not one of the other versions of the panel.

I have the Achieva Shimian that was purchased three months ago. I checked on Nvidia Settings and it states that "This display supports HDCP."

Happy that this article was posted and I been very happy with my purchase.

As for lag, i heard from "razetheworld" that when the monitor has one connector (usually DVI) the input lag can be as low as 6ms on these IPS screens. When there are multiple connectors like the monitor being reviewed here, higher lags are expected because the monitor takes time to process which connection is in use. I may be wrong, so correct me if i am wrong.
chumly

There are 3 models available from an American company based in California called Overlord Computer, one of these models can be overclocked to 120 Hz. I would like to see these monitors tested. One of them is priced under $400.
patrick47018

chumlyThere are 3 models available from an American company based in California called Overlord Computer, one of these models can be overclocked to 120 Hz. I would like to see these monitors tested. One of them is priced under $400.

While this is true, MicroCenter has a great return policy, I'm not sure about Overlord, but I do know the one that is under 400, its 384, only has DVI, while this has HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI, headphon jack, and VGA. So if you just want DVI, getting an Achieva Shimian is cheaper off of ebay, but then also you have to deal with possible shoddy return system. Good luck to all and I will comment once I have my Auria, I'm going from my 40" Auria 1080P HDTV to a Auria 27" 1440P IPS monitor, good trade I think.
chumly

patrick47018While this is true, MicroCenter has a great return policy, I'm not sure about Overlord, but I do know the one that is under 400, its 384, only has DVI, while this has HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI, headphon jack, and VGA. So if you just want DVI, getting an Achieva Shimian is cheaper off of ebay, but then also you have to deal with possible shoddy return system. Good luck to all and I will comment once I have my Auria, I'm going from my 40" Auria 1080P HDTV to a Auria 27" 1440P IPS monitor, good trade I think.

Most video cards have Dual link DVI so this isn't really an issue unless yours does not. I use a Catleap Q270 monitor right now (let me tell you, there is NO going back for me after getting one of these, 1080p monitors are as good as yesterday's trash to me). This was a B grade panel and it ended up having no visable defects or bad pixels (I only paid $245 for it off of ebay new from Korea, they've gone up $100 since). The reason I ended up going with the panel I did was from a quite extensive post on hardforum detailing how the DVI-only monitors were having incredibly low input lag compared to any of the other 1440p IPS panels available. I'm getting incredible framerates with my 670 and my games are streak/ghost/stutter/tearing free.

Maybe this Auria monitor just can't hack it vs. its' Korean counterparts.

Also it's good to know you can always take apart these monitors and replace the PCB so that you can overclock them to 120Hz, but Overlord is the only place selling the part and it's $200
slomo4sho

WTB thinner bezle...
sanilmahambre

Is there any IPS monitor without frame?
cats_Paw

Minimum contrast ratio in samsung 4003.3. Maximum Contrast Ratio in Samsung 1483.83.

Is it me or thats not normal?
ceberle

151198 said:

Minimum contrast ratio in samsung 4003.3. Maximum Contrast Ratio in Samsung 1483.83. Is it me or thats not normal?

Minimum and maximum refer to the brightness setting. It's not unusual for the contrast ratio to go up when the brightness is lowered. In the case of the Samsung S27B970D, the black level dropped by a greater percentage than the peak white level; hence the higher contrast ratio.

Christian
RetiredChief

Hard choice, Replacing my current 32” Samsung LED HDTV. My choice has narrowed to the Asus 27” PB278Q (Uses the same IPS panel as the Samsung) and the Auria EQ276W. Resolution and connectivity are the same.
Asus PB278Q: $660 w/3yr manuf warrantee
Auria EQ276W: $400 Plus $90 for additional 2 Yr warrantee (To take it to 3 Yrs), Plus $20->$24 for tax, Plus approx. $60 for gas. Would want to see before purchase – Verify pixels and back light.
Comments on the very fine article. The model evaluated is most likely not the model you will now find at microcenter. Apparently they have switched from a LED backlight to the traditional tube, also the screen type is now AG and not the glossy as reviewed.
Onus

Something like this is tempting to me, but it's not a $400 purchase; it's a $400 purchase for the monitor, and another $375-$425 for a GTX670 or HD7970 to run it.
DEY123

I have this monitor and it has been great so far (about 2 months).

For the input lag test what connection was used? I have heard Display port has lower lag then DVI but it would be great for Tom's to confirm as I trust their testing methods.
scannall

BigMack70One important thing to mention that you guys didn't that I believe still holds true (haven't checked the competition in a couple months - someone correct me if I'm wrong here): this is the only model of this panel (as opposed to the Catleaps/Crossovers/Overloards/Achievas/etc) to have HDCP support. If you want one of these panels and you want to use HDCP protected content (a games console or a Blu-ray player, for example), you NEED to purchase this Auria and not one of the other versions of the panel.

I purchased a Qnix (South Korean via eBay brand) almost a year ago now. It does indeed have HDCP. Looks and works great. I won't go back to a TN panel, or a lower res.
ceberle

119292 said:

Hard choice, Replacing my current 32” Samsung LED HDTV. My choice has narrowed to the Asus 27” PB278Q (Uses the same IPS panel as the Samsung) and the Auria EQ276W. Resolution and connectivity are the same. Asus PB278Q: $660 w/3yr manuf warrantee Auria EQ276W: $400 Plus $90 for additional 2 Yr warrantee (To take it to 3 Yrs), Plus $20->$24 for tax, Plus approx. $60 for gas. Would want to see before purchase – Verify pixels and back light. Comments on the very fine article. The model evaluated is most likely not the model you will now find at microcenter. Apparently they have switched from a LED backlight to the traditional tube, also the screen type is now AG and not the glossy as reviewed.

The Asus PB278Q is next up in our review queue. In fact, the benchmark tests will be run today. It will appear in a couple of weeks along with the HP ZR2740w.
Christian
ceberle

524882 said:

I have this monitor and it has been great so far (about 2 months). For the input lag test what connection was used? I have heard Display port has lower lag then DVI but it would be great for Tom's to confirm as I trust their testing methods.

We use the HDMI input for input lag and response tests. The signal is fed from our Accupel pattern generator. We do this because input lag can vary between video cards, as well as other computer components. Even the keyboard or mouse can make a difference. The generator lets us feed a signal directly with no other hardware in the chain.
Christian
Anton Volkov

For anyone interested in the effect of a 2560x1440 display on your 3d framerates, simply go to your nvidia driver control panel -> display scaling -> turn on GPU (as opposed to monitor) scaling -> create a custom resolution of 1440p and apply it. Text will be blurry, but your GPU workload will increase to the full 1440p and game framerates will suffer accordingly.
chumly

ceberleWe use the HDMI input for input lag and response tests. The signal is fed from our Accupel pattern generator. We do this because input lag can vary between video cards, as well as other computer components. Even the keyboard or mouse can make a difference. The generator lets us feed a signal directly with no other hardware in the chain.Christian

You shouldn't be using HDMI for 1440p. Everyone knows that. Can we please have these tests re-run on DP and DVI-D please.
chumly

From what I'm reading, Apart from the Asus released in Novemeber of least year, most of these 1440p monitors (like the Dell) don't support native resolutions of 1440p via HDMI.

However, I also cannot find very much information on the subject.
mikenygmail

BigMack70Would have been interesting to see a basic ~$150-200 60 Hz TN panel included in the comparison charts for reference as well, since most people who would be in the market for this monitor are likely coming from a lower-end TN screen.

Wrong, most people who would be in the market for this want a nice LG Panel IPS 2560x1440 monitor. Prices tend to come down on most computer parts, components and related items in time, and monitors have proven to be no exception.

Most people in general would now choose something like featured monitor at $399 instead of paying $1,000 - not because they are low end TN screen users, but because it simply makes a lot more sense.
mikenygmail

techbaddieI love My Auria, I also did buy a another stand for it. It was $29.99 on Amazon, and once I got everything set up, IT IS AMAZING!!!!! If you want a great product for the right price, DO IT!

Nice, thanks for the feedback and congratulations on your purchase!
Are you coming from a low end TN panel? I personally have these 3 types of monitors: an IPS, P-MVA and the "lowly" TN. =)
nukemaster

mikenygmailNice, thanks for the feedback and congratulations on your purchase! Are you coming from a low end TN panel? I personally have these 3 types of monitors: an IPS, P-MVA and the "lowly" TN. =)

What type do you like best?

I have an S-PVA(was 600 dollars 5 years ago) and honestly after seeing glow on some of the cheaper IPS screens, it gets me worried about future monitor purchases.
mikenygmail

nukemasterWhat type do you like best?I have an S-PVA(was 600 dollars 5 years ago) and honestly after seeing glow on some of the cheaper IPS screens, it gets me worried about future monitor purchases.

I like the P-MVA best. At 1920x1200 resolution, it's my main monitor. It's actually a SOYO Topaz S and I've had it a while. The IPS is a Dell 23" with 1920x1080 resolution and it's also nice.

So some of the older P-MVA monitors are superior to newer IPS monitors? I was not aware of that and it's somewhat shocking...
mikenygmail

"MVA" monitors in general, if this is proper terminology.
P-MVA / S-PVA - I am not familiar with the differences...