Gigabyte M27Q 170Hz 1440p FreeSync KVM Monitor Review

Performance

The first things first, while the exterior design of the monitor might not be anything too drastic, the panel does look pretty special. Clocking in at 2560 x 1440, it’s a step down from my usual 4K monitor I use daily. However, at 27″ it’s a good size and offers a good ballance between resolution and pixel density. It doesn’t feel like a small monitor, and it’s got great clarity for reading text, and throwing extra detail into your games.

Speaking of gaming, this is a great resolution, as it’s obviously not as demanding as 4K, but it’s still a big step up from 1920 x 1080, meaning even most fairly modest graphics cards can run games at their maximum settings.

However, this panel does have a 170Hz refresh rate, and hitting that on AAA titles is going to need a pretty powerful graphics card, or at least you’ll have to lower some settings, or use technologies like DLSS.

Of course, your typical MOBA, F2P and most multiplayer titles often come setup for higher frame rates and less demanding graphics, so Fortnite, PUBG, etc, will no doubt be well suited to this monitor.

Of course, FreeSync and Adaptive Sync will help match up the monitors refresh rate to your games output, so even if you do dip down in FPS, things are still presented clearly on this monitor, which is fantastic.

For movies, the SDR performance is exceptional. Colour reproduction is stunning, and that’s just my opinion before I put my calibration tool on to test. It looks very good. The HDR mode isn’t too bad either, not quite a balanced as the SDR, but if you’re using it for a bit of gaming, I don’t think you’ll have anything to complain about.

The overall brightness is very good, and while the screen does reflect light a bit more than I would like during the day, its brightness works well to overcome it.

Plus, the viewing angles are pretty decent, although, that’s no big surprise for an IPS panel.