Budget 27-inch gamer needs to exorcise its ghosts
What is a gaming monitor supposed to do? First and foremost for most buyers, it should— »duh, obvious » alert!— game well. But many shoppers want the whole package in their purchase: good gaming and media viewing, all in a single panel at a price that doesn’t exact a huge premium over a mainstream entertainment display. Alas, by trying to please multiple parties, MSI’s $299.99 Optix MAG274R2, a new 27-inch panel with a gaming bent, stumbles in both departments. We noted a washed-out, choppy image during our games testing. The price is aggressive for a gaming panel at its size, and its input lag reading is excellent, which keeps it at the three-star line. It’s a fair choice for a budget gaming panel, but you can do better at this size (and cheaper!) with the likes of the Dell 27 Curved Gaming Monitor (S2721HGF). Highly Adjustable, Inside and Out With a 27-inch display running at 1,920 by 1,080 pixels native and a peak refresh rate of 165Hz, the Optix MAG274R2 features a basic, straightforward design, in line with its price point (relatively speaking, that is—more on that in a minute). The monitor sits on an all-black standpost that ends in a flat, rectangular, and sturdy base. The stand lets the screen slide up and down by just over 6 inches, tilt forward and back (from -5 to 20 degrees), and swivel left and right (75 degrees either way). The whole unit weighs 19.2 pounds assembled, while the display portion itself is 13.4 pounds, making it a good choice for anyone with a VESA mount rated for lower weights. The monitor also pivots 90 degrees between landscape and portrait mode, unusual for a lower-cost gaming panel. Overall, the MAG274R2 is a highly ergonomic monitor, and it should fit on almost anyone’s desk or wall with ease. Each of the lights lining a diagonal strip along the back of the monitor’s casing is RGB-ready and customizable either using the responsive onscreen display (OSD) menu (it’s controlled by a five-way joystick on the back), or via the MSI Gaming OSD software suite. To use the software, the display needs to be connected to your PC via an upstream USB 2.0 port on the back of the unit. MSI’s onboard menu is deep with customization options and prebuilt profiles to select among. This includes three different gaming modes (RTS, FPS, Racing), as well as both a Professional mode for color work, and a Movie mode for watching content. While the power button is just below the OSD joystick, most of the ports are offset to the back left corner of the monitor. These include two HDMI 2.0 ports, a DisplayPort 1.4b input, an upstream USB 2.0 Type-B port, two downstream USB 2.0 Type-A ports, a USB-C port (display-ready), a 3.5mm headphone jack for audio passthrough via HDMI, and the connector for the power brick. Testing the Optix MAG247R2: Can’t Be All Things to Everyone The 1080p display is built on a standard IPS panel (note the lack of « Fast » or « Rapid » there) with a native refresh rate of 165Hz.
