Pixio PXC273 Curved Gaming Monitor Review: 144Hz and DCI-P3 on Budget

A speedy gaming monitor doesn’t have to cost a lot.

(Image: © Pixio)

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Uncalibrated – Maximum Backlight Level

Today’s group are all 27-inch VA panels. Besides offering HDR, the Aorus CV27F and Aorus CV27Q are similar to the PXC273 in every other way. Also here is Samsung’s C27RG5, the MSI Optix G27C4 and MSI Optix MAG271CQR.

Pixio claims 250 nits max brightness for the PXC273, but our sample delivered about 322 nits. That’s plenty of light for any application or environment. There’s no backlight strobe or HDR here, so any more brightness would be unnecessary.

The black level is very low at just 0.0776 nit. Only the two Aorus screens can get darker, but they don’t quite match the PXC273’s performance in the intra-image test (3rd chart). For sequential contrast, Pixio is the best of the rest with a super result of 4,147.8:1. The PXC273’s dynamic range is among the best we’ve tested.

After Calibration to 200 nits

Calibration (see our recommended settings) didn’t change the PXC273’s contrast much at all. It’s still nearly 4,000:1, which puts it ahead of every display here, save the Aorus screens. This is all thanks to an excellent black level that helped up the ANSI test results. Coupled with a large color gamut, this monitor delivers a really good picture with lots of depth and highly saturated color.

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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.