Gigabyte Aorus FI27Q Gaming Monitor Review: 27-Inch 1440p Done Right

Near-perfect color, superb gaming performance

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(Image: © Gigabyte)

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Though technologies like 4K resolution and IPS panels have been with us for some time, they still represent the premium end of the price scale. Gamers looking for a favorable price/performance ratio can get a lot of performance from a 27-inch monitor for $600-700. If you’re willing to forgo the highest possible pixel density, you can still have much of the image detail that 4K offers without having to buy a premium graphics card. QHD in the 27 or even 32-inch size provides a superb gaming experience with high frame rates.

(Image credit: Gigabyte)

The Gigabyte Aorus FI27Q is one of the best 1440p 27-inch monitors we’ve reviewed. Its AAS technology renders the best off-axis image quality we’ve ever seen, and its large and accurate color gamut made our games look fantastic all while running easily near the maximum 165 Hz refresh rate. We used both FreeSync and G-Sync without issue and with HDR.

HDR is the monitor’s only big flaw. Because there is no dynamic contrast feature in HDR mode, there is no additional contrast. Images looked great in both modes but ultimately, though the monitor supports HDR it doesn’t benefit from it. SDR and HDR content looked the same in our testing.

What you will be captivated by is the monitor’s superb color over rivals. Not only does it cover more than 90% of DCI-P3, it does so with pro-level accuracy. Contrast, while not quite at the VA level, is better than nearly all the IPS monitors we’ve seen. And gaming performance, aka motion processing, is among the very best.

On the other hand, competition is stiff. For example, the Dell S3220DGF is also a 1440p monitor with a 165 Hz refresh rate and opts for VA. It’s larger than our 27-inch review focus and is selling for $350 as of this writing compared to the Aorus’ $460.

But in the crowded genre of 27-inch gaming monitors, the Gigabyte Aorus FI27Q is a top pick. Aside from its low HDR impact, it has no flaws of consequence. We highly recommend this Aorus option.

MORE: Best Gaming Monitors

MORE: How We Test Monitors

MORE: All Monitor Content

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.

12 Comments Comment from the forums
  • NewbieGeek
    I have this monitor. It is quite good. Looks beautiful. Stand is fantastic as well. My only complaints with it are a sort of hissing at high refresh rates, (not noticible with headphones) and occasional flickering (fixable with flipping the refresh rate down to 60 and back up to 165). Only seems to happy sometimes when waking from sleep. Regardless, this monitor is beautiful, smooth, and 100% recommend.
    Reply
  • Giroro
    "Color banding should not be an issue either, because the FI27Q upsamples to 10-bits using Frame Rate Conversion. "

    The linked paged for the FI27Q-P also lists 10 Bit (8 Bit+FRC) Color Depth So I am especially unsure of the difference.
    The only differences I can see on Gigabyte's pages are that FI27Q-P has display port 1.4 with something called HBR3, consumes up to 15W more power, and has a 2.1kg higher gross weight.

    The Q-P page advertises "Enjoy 2K, 165Hz, HDR, 10bits color at same time!", which implies that the Q model may not be able to use all these features simultaneously.
    Reply
  • kokotas
    Giroro said:
    P page advertises "Enjoy 2K, 165Hz, HDR, 10bits color at same time!", which implies that the Q model may not be able to use all these features simultaneously.

    gigabytegaming/comments/ctfnc7View: https://www.reddit.com/r/gigabytegaming/comments/ctfnc7/ad27q_vs_fi27q_vs_fi27qp/
    Reply
  • bit_user
    Thanks for the review, but it's like a year late? Last November/December, they launched the FI27Q-P, which feature DisplayPort HBR3, enabling 165 Hz refresh and 10-bit, simultaneously. That's the model to buy, for anyone interested this.
    Reply
  • bit_user
    Giroro said:
    "Color banding should not be an issue either, because the FI27Q upsamples to 10-bits using Frame Rate Conversion."
    Were you going to say something about that? I will. The author misunderstands how FRC works. In fact, it's just dithering 10-bit down to 8-bit. The panel is only 8-bit. So, they basically add some noise and quantize. The temporal filtering in your eye (and the LCD, to some extent) makes it look close to 10-bit.

    However, if you display natively 8-bit content, a FRC display will do nothing to eliminate the banding. So, you need software that will drive the display at 10-bit. Now, how much benefit this really adds over having a game do its own dithering down to 8-bit I really can't say, but I'm a little dubious.

    Giroro said:
    The linked paged for the FI27Q-P also lists 10 Bit (8 Bit+FRC) Color Depth So I am especially unsure of the difference.
    The only differences I can see on Gigabyte's pages are that FI27Q-P has display port 1.4 with something called HBR3
    That's exactly it. DP 1.4 HBR3 finally has enough bandwidth to enable "165Hz, HDR, 10bits color at same time!" at 2560x1440.

    Giroro said:
    The Q-P page advertises , which implies that the Q model may not be able to use all these features simultaneously.
    Correct.
    Reply
  • bit_user
    BTW, the FI27Q-P has G-Sync-compatible HDR certification, but only FreeSync Premium (not Premium Pro - their HDR certification). I have PCs with both AMD and Nvidia GPUs that I want to connect to it.

    Because of this and some user reviews complaining of backlight bleed near the bottom of the display, I will pass.
    Reply
  • vacavalier
    bit_user said:
    BTW, the FI27Q-P has G-Sync-compatible HDR certification, but only FreeSync Premium (not Premium Pro - their HDR certification). I have PCs with both AMD and Nvidia GPUs that I want to connect to it.

    Because of this and some user reviews complaining of backlight bleed near the bottom of the display, I will pass.


    Some reviewers seeing issues like backlight bleed does not mean all will or do... This unfortunately is something that will occur with TN/VA/IPS panel tech ( in varying degrees in each) as you prob know.

    I've owned the F127Q-P for two weeks now... No stuck or dead pixels and zero bleed from any portion of the screen noted. Excellent picture quality and performance all around with streaming, Blu-Ray and gaming noted as well. I could have left the out-of-the-box settings in "Standard" as is, but did some calibrating to my liking, making it that much better.

    I have not delved into it's "HDR" yet as it's not something I'm interested in at the moment, but is on the horizon.
    Reply
  • gg83
    I have this monitor and I love it! I don't use the hdr anyway so I didn't care about the slightly lower brightness and contrast. It's on sale occasionally too. It's a good thing to put out review on products that have been around a bit but are still a great deal. Thanks Tom's. I have run out of content to read so now I'm posting/reading the forum.
    Reply
  • bit_user
    vacavalier said:
    Some reviewers seeing issues like backlight bleed does not mean all will or do... This unfortunately is something that will occur with TN/VA/IPS panel tech ( in varying degrees in each) as you prob know.
    Thanks for sharing your experience.

    For me, the bleed and lack of Freesync Premium Pro are the two issues. I know the bleed is a roll of the dice, and I'd probably take a chance on it, if the Premium Pro support were there.

    But HDR is really something I want to dabble with, as a developer. And since I tend to keep monitors for a long time, I'm just not going to pull the trigger on a monitor without full HDR & VRR support from both AMD and Nvidia.

    I've waited a long time to upgrade my monitor. I can wait just a bit longer, for the right one.
    Reply
  • rayber_50
    bit_user said:
    Thanks for sharing your experience.

    For me, the bleed and lack of Freesync Premium Pro are the two issues. I know the bleed is a roll of the dice, and I'd probably take a chance on it, if the Premium Pro support were there.

    But HDR is really something I want to dabble with, as a developer. And since I tend to keep monitors for a long time, I'm just not going to pull the trigger on a monitor without full HDR & VRR support from both AMD and Nvidia.

    I've waited a long time to upgrade my monitor. I can wait just a bit longer, for the right one.
    This f12q in all its reviews , black bleeding is mentioned by experts .Both in the Q model and the P model.
    I have the Q model ,I had to pay 514.99 dollars for it at newegg . Even had a price drop of 25.00 dollars ,
    And did not get my 25.00 dollar difference returned to my paypal account , just a gift card for 25.00.
    Gigabyte knows about these monitor issues ,they are all over the net ,Want an all around monitor for
    your 500.00 dollars , look for better quality and ask about everything before buying Nice looking monitor,
    but has issues,that is the truth here.
    Reply