PHILIPS Evnia 27M2C5501 180Hz QHD FreeSync Gaming Monitor Review

A Closer Look

The Evnia series of monitors is the premium and more luxurious design end of the Philips range. So even on this more modest specification model, at least, compared to some of their flagship models, you still get that stunning Evnia design. We have an extra slim white bezel on three sides, and even the bottom bezel is kept pretty compact.

The curved panel is quite subtle, it’s a mild 1500R curve, which is quite reserved on a 27″ panel, but would of course gradually look more extreme on something wider, like a 34″ ultrawide. However, there’s also a good quality 3H anti-glare coating on the panel, so it does a good job of dealing with reflections and brighter ambient lighting.

The stand looks great too, it comes with this speckled finish that’s a mixture of grey and white. It’s a standard three-leg design, a short one at the back, then two wider ones, but it’s very stable, and shouldn’t get in the way.

One downside of the monitor, it’s quite thick, with a deep back panel that curves around, and a thick rear stand, so on the base mount, it won’t sit particularly close to the wall.

However, it is VESA compatible, so you could wall mount it, or put it on a gas lift monitor arm if that’s more your style.

What it does have, however, is built-in lighting. Philips say that it is “AI-enhanced Ambiglow” lighting, which analyses the image on the screen and adapts the colour and brightness of the rear LED lighting to give it a more immersive vibe, not too dissimilar to Philips TV Ambilight technology.

Connectivity is reasonable, with HDMI 2.0 x 2, DisplayPort 1.4 x 1, as well as an audio output jack.

Power is fed from a single cable, there’s no external power brick either, which is nice.

Finally, there’s also a thumbstick on the back for controlling the UI, and this can be clicked for the “OK” button, or held down for powering the monitor on/off.