Philips 279M1RV 4K HDR 144Hz IPS Gaming Monitor Review

Performance

The monitor looks fantastic when you get it out of the box, but it looks even better once you power it on. The colours and contrast on offer are immediately eye-catching. Colour reproduction is superb, promising around DCI-P3: 98%, which is NTSC 112%, sRGB 133%, Adobe RGB: 110.1%. That’s likely way above what most of you are currently getting from your monitor. So there’s a much-extended range of reds, greens, and blues present here that really is a wonder to behold. It’s factory calibrated with an average Delta-E of just 0.56 at Gamma 2.2 using the built-in SmartUniformity mode.

Height adjustment is good, offering 130mm of movement, but there’s also -/+ 35 swivel and -5/20 degrees of tilt.

The panel does diffuse some reflections but favours a more glossy panel overall. However, with a peak brightness of 450 cd/m² and HDR600 on offer, the image can really pop even in a well-lit room, but you’ll want to keep direct sunlight… well, undirect.

When it comes to working, this is a high-end 4K monitor with awesome colours and a high refresh rate. So, as you might expect, it’s a total powerhouse for working on multiple documents, image and video editing, and everything else in between.

I’d prefer the 32″ for productivity myself, but it’s hardly a deal breaker, as this panel is sublime.

But the colours and panel size are good for anyone wanting to watch some TV, movies or YouTube at their desk.

The gaming performance is astonishingly good too. For many gaming monitors, it’s a choice between higher resolution or higher refresh rate, but this monitor goes guns blazing and deploys both, but there is a downside to that. Maxing out the latest gaming at 4K and 144 Hz is going to take a pretty robust gaming PC or some compromise in quality settings. That being said, if you’re dropping this much money on a monitor like this, it’s likely because you have a system that can take advantage of it.

Technologies like VRR and G-Sync compatibility are certainly welcome, as you can turn V-Sync off and get ultra-faster response times. I was playing GTA Online on my 4K60 monitor with it all maxed out, and V-Sync on and getting a rendering latency of around 35ms. At over 120FPS and 4K with V-Sync off, and G-Sync on, with the settings dialled back a little bit, that dropped to around 3-4ms, and you can certainly feel how tight and responsive your games become.

Apex is pretty much unplayable to me on a 60Hz monitor these days, but even so, this game can take a bit of grunt to max out at 4K and such high refresh rates. However, the advantage of the awesome clarity when you’re in close-quarters combat is superb, and 144Hz will have you nailing those frantic combat moments. However, at the same time, having a 4K resolution ensures you can pick out enemy movements at a longer range than you would at 2K or Full HD.

Alternatively, the monitor works great with next-gen consoles. I fired up my Xbox Series X with this monitor and it’s a match made in heaven. The resolution, the refresh rate, the colours, the HDR600 support, it’s all just dialled in to take advantage of what the Xbox Series X can really do.

So, if you don’t mind, I have a few more games to play!