Viewing Angles, Uniformity, Response, Lag & FreeSync
Viewing Angles
Besides its wide bezel, the viewing angles (pictured above) will disqualify the MP27 from a multi-screen installation. This is what you must accept with TN monitors. Its 27” screen size is at the maximum recommended for this technology. When viewed head-on at a normal distance, the picture holds up just fine. But move a bit off-axis and color shifts to red while luminance drops off quickly. Detail is preserved well thanks to the tight air gap, but it won’t be confused for an IPS panel. The top-down pattern shows loss of information at the bright end of the scale and a large gamma shift.
Screen Uniformity
To learn how we measure screen uniformity, please click here.
We feared a low-priced monitor like this might have some quality control issues, but our sample has excellent uniformity. There are no visible issues in either the black or white fields, or any brightness level in between. Color is equally smooth-toned from edge to edge with one of the lowest scores we’ve ever recorded. The MP27 looks quite good with content of all kinds.
Pixel Response & Input Lag
Please click here to read up on our pixel response and input lag testing procedures.
The MP27 offers cheap speed with a screen draw time on-par with the competition and low input lag. The BE270U has more lag thanks to its 75Hz refresh rate, but the other screens run at 144Hz or higher. Control inputs have no perceptible delay and motion blur is low, especially at high frame rates. In terms of response and motion quality, this monitor holds its own against some very stiff and expensive competition.
Gaming With FreeSync
We’re still of the opinion that QHD represents the best possible resolution balance between image quality and performance. It’s great when you have the power to run an Ultra HD screen at 60 FPS, but giving up some resolution to push framerates past 100 has a lot of impact. The MP27 delivers exemplary performance right out of the gate.
We started with Tomb Raider at Ultimate detail. That put the FPS between 40 and 50, which was merely OK but not life-changing. There were no frame tears or stutters, but we observed slight control lag and occasionally distracting motion blur. Dropping detail to High produced no significant change in static image quality, but framerates leapt to 100 FPS and up. This is a great way to play, and we had no trouble with even the most intense action. There’s absolutely no input lag at this speed, and the image doesn’t break up at all. Blur is non-existent as are frame tears and judder. The lack of functional overdrive is not an issue.
The MP27’s low-framerate ability is best tested in Far Cry 4. The lowest detail level we can stand is High, where the scenery looks decent and all we give up are the finest textures on things like wood boxes and stone walls. The result is a perfectly playable 50-55 FPS. Input lag isn’t a problem for us casual players and motion blur doesn’t factor in either. When speeds dipped below 40 FPS, which was only for a few instances, the image never broke up. After several hours of gaming, we call ourselves satisfied with the Monoprice’s gaming performance and impressed when considering its price tag.
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