Early Verdict
The Nixeus PRO Vue 27P is one of the least expensive 27" IPS/QHD screens available right now. It isn’t a huge price breakthrough but you will save a bit of money. Measured performance is on par with other enterprise screens in its class and it only lags a bit in contrast performance. If you can adapt to the minimalist stand, it will work well with a variety of systems.
Pros
- +
Color and gamma accuracy
- +
Post-calibration grayscale accuracy
- +
Clarity
Cons
- -
Flimsy stand
- -
Contrast
- -
Out-of-box grayscale
- -
Clunky OSD
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Introduction
As display prices fall, it becomes inevitable that rather than spending less money, users will simply devote the same budget to a larger screen. It wasn’t long ago that 19" 4:3 monitors were the bread-and-butter of both PC and Mac desktops. That size gradually grew to 22", 24", and now 27".
When we first saw 27" IPS panels combined with QHD (2560x1440) resolution, the cost was fairly high. $600 was the low end and we saw a couple of monitors top $1,000. These days, $600 is the high end and value pricing begins south of $400.
Smaller manufacturers like Nixeus fill an important niche in the market. If you’re looking to save a bit of coin, and you don’t mind considering something outside the mainstream, these products can anchor your system competently and reliably. Last year, we looked at the NX-VUE24A, FreeSync effort. Today we’re checking out the PRO Vue 27P, an enterprise display. It’s an IPS panel with QHD resolution and 10-bit color.
Specifications
By the numbers, the PRO Vue 27P is a high-end enterprise display. It offers 10-bit color and an sRGB color gamut coupled with an IPS panel lit by a white LED backlight. A large array of inputs makes it flexible and adaptable to a wide variety of systems. In fact, it’s getting harder to find DVI and VGA ports on many modern displays. We don’t blame manufacturers for omitting them. After all, few computers even have the necessary outputs these days. But if you want to pair a shiny new screen with an older PC, Nixeus has you covered.
The PRO Vue 27P is billed as professional, and we agree with that designation when it comes to resolution, color depth, and panel type. But it does not offer a wide gamut. sRGB is the max. So if you need Adobe RGB, you’ll have to look elsewhere, and spend a good deal more money. What we’re seeing here is a solid screen with a good basic feature list and relatively low cost. How will it measure up against the competition? Let’s take a look.
Packaging, Physical Layout & Accessories
The carton, while very thick and heavy, is fairly shallow. Our sample arrived double-boxed and unscathed. If yours shows up only in its factory packing, check carefully for damage. Internal foam is flexible and better-able to absorb vibration than the stiff blocks most companies use.
Bundled cables are of high quality and include DisplayPort and DVI. The power supply is external and runs fairly hot so be sure it’s given some room to breathe. A printed quick-start guide is included but further documentation must be downloaded from Nixeus’ website.
Product 360
The front screen layer is shiny and of very high optical quality. Reflections can be a problem depending on the position of windows and overhead lighting but it offers exceptional clarity. It’s not bonded to the TFT layer like our reference Planar PXL2790MW, but the PRO Vue 27P has one of the sharpest and cleanest images we’ve seen in a while. The picture is bordered by a wide frame that sits flush so there’s no bezel per se, but if you plan to run multiple screens, be warned that the dividing lines will top two inches.
Control buttons run along the bottom right of the screen and click solidly and loudly. Menu navigation is quick and responsive, though its design requires more presses than most monitors. See our comments on the next page for more detail on the OSD.
Thanks to the external power supply and some efficient packaging, the panel is only a bit over 1.5" thick. Internal components are all contained in a bulge at the center. That includes the small stereo speakers. They don’t offer a lot of power, but for typical system sounds, they are adequate.
Around back you can see a 100mm VESA mount with the lugs exposed for easy installation. We suspect more than a few users will be taking advantage of these because the stand is pretty much an afterthought. It offers no adjustments save tilt, and that movement is stiff and imprecise. The hinge point is at the bottom so when you rock the screen back the top gets further away while the bottom stays put. Some costs have been cut here for sure.
Inputs are conveniently placed on the side of the rear bulge rather than the bottom. This makes them easy to access while still keeping cables neat. You get one each of HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI, and VGA. There’s no headphone output, but you do get an analog audio input. Sound can also come over the HDMI and DisplayPort inputs. Source selection is included in the OSD.
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