NEC EA275UHD 27-inch UHD Monitor Review

Why you can trust Tom's Hardware Our expert reviewers spend hours testing and comparing products and services so you can choose the best for you. Find out more about how we test.

Packaging, Physical Layout & Accessories

We thought we might see NEC pack the EA275UHD in the same plastic air bladders found in the EA244UHD’s carton but we found traditional rigid foam instead. There’s more than enough protection for the contents and the monitor ships fully assembled. Just lift it out, unwrap the plastic and you’re ready to rock.

The cable bundle includes an IEC power cord, USB 3.0 cable, ControlSync cable and a DisplayPort connector. The only documentation is a small setup guide. The full user manual can be downloaded from NEC’s website. There are also instructions for setting up NaviSet Administrator. This is an enterprise tool that allows configuration of multiple displays through a desktop app. It also allows the user to change monitor settings without using the OSD.

Product 360

NEC’s simple industrial styling is in use once again for this EA-series monitor. High-quality textured plastic covers the chassis which is heavily shielded inside to prevent electrical interference and dissipate heat. The base and upright are already attached so unless you plan to use your own bracket, the display only needs to be plugged in.

The stand is extremely solid and allows for nearly 360 degrees of swivel, five inches of height adjustment and 25 degrees of tilt. You can also rotate the panel to portrait mode. All the movements are firm and precise with ideal smoothness and resistance.

The anti-glare layer is great at preventing reflections while still providing terrific clarity for the 163ppi image. In fact, NEC provides one of the best screen surfaces of any brand. Usually a matte finish like this produces grain and softness but not in this case. The picture is bright and razor-sharp.

OSD controls are in the lower right and employ touch-sensitive buttons. We’ve become a little spoiled of late by the joysticks and controllers some companies are using now. But NEC’s touchpads respond to just the right amount of pressure and work predictably. When the menu is on-screen, small but easily-seen labels pop up to let you know their functions. You don’t have to rely on tiny symbols molded into the bezel.

On the left side is a headphone output and a USB port. Even though the upstream port supports version 3.0, this one is a legacy 2.0 connection. There are two additional 3.0 ports on the bottom input panel.

NEC makes no pretense towards slimness here; the panel is nearly three inches deep. You can see substantial metal shielding through the large vents. The EA275UHD always runs cool and there’s no need to be concerned about EM interference.

From the back you can see two 100mm VESA mounts; one slightly higher than the other. This allows a couple of mounting options depending on your particular bracket system. The speakers are mounted at the top of the power bulge and fire upwards. They’re small and tinny but not as harsh as some other displays. At only one watt, you won’t get a lot of volume but they’re sufficient for productivity use.

The input panel is all-digital and contains one each of DVI-D, HDMI 2.0, and DisplayPort 1.2. The small analog jacks are for NEC’s ControlSync system which allows daisy-chaining of up to five displays. They are then controlled from a single computer. On the right is an analog audio input along with the USB 3.0 upstream and downstream ports.

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.

  • deuce_23
    This might be the one for me tho i would like a 32inch for gaming but 4k and HDMI cant really complain. It will nicely with my gtx 980ti. Now time to save! Whats that in Australian dollars?
    Reply
  • oyoy
    Nice, nothing special, no serious news really to lighting up 2016. Good sRGB and great uniformity but RGB and color gamut are just faulty, that's a deal breaker ..maybe at $599. Will skip this one, waiting for better performance + price wise (Design + Little gaming here and there).

    Thanks for the review Christian Eberle
    Reply
  • thundervore
    NEC monitors are always great. Beats Dell and HP by a mile when it comes to their quality and performance to price. Even a nice height adjustable stand.
    Reply
  • kartu
    No FreeSync support out of laziness? Meh...
    Reply
  • picture_perfect
    OK for photography & surfing. I don't think they are marketing it as a gaming monitor. Just as well unless you have a $1000 SLI set up to drive this excessive resolution. Low frame rates add persistence blur, stutter and lag,
    Reply
  • epobirs
    I ordered one of these from Newegg today:
    http://www.lg.com/us/monitors/lg-27MU67-B-4k-uhd-led-monitor

    It has Freesync, though the user doesn't go in for the games where the difference would make itself known. It's mainly to fill a gap in a household that has several devices that can drive 4K but no 4K displays on hand. I'm trying not to get my hopes overly high but it seems like a good unit for the price.
    Reply
  • erickw
    I’ve been the proud owner of an Eizo Flexscan 24”HD monitor for over 8 years (another monitor that was not really intended for gaming). Nonetheless, I’ve done a ton of gaming on this workhorse of a monitor (though not much in the way of fast paced shooters), along with many other applications. It has been an absolutely superlative gaming monitor, and I’ve long maintained that it makes virtually every other HD monitor I’ve seen pale in comparison. Depending on one’s specific needs (and pocketbook), monitors like this NEC can be excellent choices; even for gaming. I’m seriously looking at replacing my dearly loved (and hard to part wth) Eizo with this 4k beauty!
    Reply
  • TwoMetreBill
    Keep in mind that for photo/video use, it is a QUADRO and not a GeForce that is needed for highest image quality. The GeForce is for gaming and not photo editing. For AMD I think the equivalent is the Pro series.

    In order to deliver a higher frame rate for gaming, the GeForce cuts off the rendering before it is complete.
    Reply