We’ve been impressed so far with other Aorus monitors’ color accuracy, and the FI27Q continues that trend with some of the best color accuracy we’ve seen of late.
Grayscale and Gamma Tracking
We describe our grayscale and gamma tests in detail here.
The FI27Q defaults to its full native color gamut of DCI-P3. You can view SDR material that way, and it will look more colorful but not strictly accurate. Before calibration there were no visible grayscale errors at any level of brightness. Calibration is not required; however, nit pickers will notice that gamma rode slightly above the 2.2 line, which made things look slightly dark in the mid-tones. You can compensate visually by turning up the brightness a little. The other gamma presets are further off the mark, so we suggest sticking with option 3.
Calibration produced near-perfect tracking with one of the lowest average Delta E (dE) scores we’ve recorded. It truly doesn’t get better than this. Gamma didn’t change, which, in terms of picture quality, is fine with us.
Turning on sRGB picture mode locks brightness to around 200 nits and grays out other image controls. Luckily, the mode’s pretty accurate with no visible errors in grayscale tracking and gamma that was only a tad light. We’d be fine using this mode for color-critical applications.
Comparisons
We doubt any monitors will beat the Acer XB273K’s out-of-box grayscale error score of 0.43dE. but the FI27Q acquit itself well with an average that is below the visible threshold. You won’t need to calibrate this monitor, but when we did we saw a clear gain in accuracy. If you want that last 1% of performance, a few tweaks of the RGB sliders can get you there.
Though the gamma tracking runs slightly dark, the range of values is extremely tight. This means you won’t see any brightness levels that are visibly off. Our sample measured 2.29 average, which equates to a deviation of 3.18%; very solid performance.
Color Gamut Accuracy
For details on our color gamut testing and volume calculations, click here.
The FI27Q excels in its color gamut accuracy. Before calibration, the average error was 2.06dE which amounts to no visible error. This is measured against the DCI-P3 standard, which is the monitor’s native gamut. Though we’ve seen a few monitors that cover more of DCI, very few have hit all the saturation and hue targets so well. This is near reference-level performance.
Calibration tightened up the color targets even more. It made it so every point was inside of or in contact with the square which represents 1dE. Once again, we have to say it doesn’t get better than this. Gigabyte has maintained that accuracy in sRGB mode, which measures an impressive 1.33dE. That’s without adjustment as none are possible. While the FI27Q isn’t exactly inexpensive, it offers color performance comparable to many pricier professional screens.
Comparisons
As much as we’re waxing on about the FI27Q’s color accuracy, the other monitors here compete well. Still, only the Razor Raptor boasts more accurate colors. In the gamut volume test, the FI27Q is one of the few screens we’ve seen crack the 90% DCI coverage mark. To get more coverage, you’ll need to check out the Razor Raptor or shop a high-end professional screen, like the Acer ConceptD CP7271K, which costs significantly more at $1,500 as of this writing. In both the sRGB and DCI-P3 gamuts, the FI27Q’s shortcoming is in the slightly undersaturated green primary.
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