MONITORS
ISSUE392|COMPUTER SHOPPER|OCTOBER 2020 69
AQUADHDresolution on a27in monitor is a
sweet spotfor gaming monitors, but it’s also
averyfitting combination formore
straightforwardoffice monitors as well. The
bountiful screenspaceleavesplenty of room
formultitasking on different windows, and
1440p keeps everything lookingmuch sharper
and more legible than 1080pevenwhenthat
content is spreadover agreater area.
The ProLiteXUB2792QSU-W1 demonstrates
thisably.It’s neither thecheapestof1440p/27in
displays, which run closer to £200, nor the most
feature-rich,but forgetting work done it
shows the valueofnailing the essentials.
GO FORASPIN
Other thansomethin black bezels, the display
is all white, even down to the bundled cables.
It’snicely sleek andmodern without showing
off;one nice touchisthe modestly angular
stand, which includes acablemanagement
loop and providesavery stable platform for
the screen. It’s highly adjustable,too,withthe
full set of height, tilt and pivot adjustment,
as well as 90° rotation. Should you want to
swap in your ownstand, 100x100mm VESA
mounting is also supported.
The tiny size of thetop andsidebezels
keeps focusonthe screen itself,and will also
minimise any gap when using twomonitors
next to eachother.The lowerborder is much
thicker, butthe generous dimensions of the
IPS panel help it avoid looking toostubby.
Two2Wspeakers blast out of agrill on the
rear.These aren’t anywhere near as scratchy
andgrating as thePhilips243B9’sspeakers,
though they’re still quiet, andlackingin
bassand mid-range presence.They’re
fine forWindows’systemnoises but
farfromideal formusic andvideo.
Fortunately,the ProLiteitself
providesanalternative:a3.5mm
line-out jackfor headphones or aset of
desktop speakers. This joins aline-in
jack foramicrophone,aswell as the
HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI-Dand dual
USB3 ports,for arespectable
assortment of connections. Note,
however,that on DisplayPort only,the
maximum refresh rateis70Hz, which is
10Hz higherthan on HDMI or DVI-D.
Fivebuttons –plus apower button
–are tuckedawayonthe underside,nearthe
right-hand edge. Onecycles throughinputs,
one doublesasanExitbutton and as a
shortcuttothe i-Style colour profiles menu,
one activatesEco Mode(whichseems to just
IIYAMA ProLite
XUB2792QSU-W1
★★★★★
£259•From http://www.currys.co.ukVERDICT
AsimpleyetfundamentallyeffectiveQHDdisplay,
thismonitorlooksgoodinmorewaysthanone
lowerthebrightness,toone
ofthreedegrees),oneisa
quickvolumeadjustandthe
fifth opens the mainOSD.
At first, this appears as simple as possible
–the UI design is certainly basic –but it hides
arather extensive arrayofoptions.And not
just the usual brightness and contrast
settings,either: in addition to the i-Style
menu,there aremultipleothercolour
profiles, defaulting to Warm, along with a
sharpening filter, two levels of pixel overdrive,
Language options, and the ability to customise
specific red, green and blue levels.
It’s an impressive toolbox, even if the
method of navigation is alittle fiddly: because
all but the inputand power buttons also pull
navigation duties within the OSD,there’s alot
of switchingbetween them.SHARPOBJECT
Panel performance,happily,isgreatall round.
With brightness setto100 and everything else
as default, the ProLiteXUB2792QSU-W1
covered amighty fine97.9% of thesRGB
colourgamut,and with contrast reaching
1,172:1ithad no problems producing punchy
images. Average delta-Ecameinat1.63, which
might not be elite-level butdoesshow that
Iiyama’sdisplay can handle casual media
editing. Brightness is also ahighlight, peaking
well aboveaverage at 370cd/m^2 .Combined
with the screen’smatt finish, we had no
problems withglare or reflections even
though we wereusing the displayright next
to awindow.This is allachievedonthe Warm setting,
butdon’t be tempted by the more pure-
soundingNormal setting. Thisonly makes
everything –includingcolour accuracy –
slightly worse, while alsoadding anoticeable
blue tint, as does theCoolsetting.
Combining theWarm settingwithvarious
i-Style profiles yields better results, butnone
as good as leaving everything on default. The
Standard profile–which despitethe name has
to be chosen manually–produces slightly
higher sRGBcoverage of 98%, and delta-Eis
almost unchangedat1.65, butbrightness and
contrast bothfall. The Cinema profileevokes a
starker change, raising peakingbrightness to
379cd/m^2 and contrast to 1,186:1, butthe
overly light colourbalance spoils accuracy.
This isn’ttotake awayhow good the
ProLiteXUB2792QSU-W1can look, of course.
And, while 70Hz is only mildly smoother than
60Hz,it’s still agoodenough reason to use
DisplayPort if your computer hasit.
As is FreeSync, if you have an AMD graphics
card, as this is supported over DisplayPort(but
not HDMI)within the48-70Hz range. Be wary
if youuse this monitorfor gaming,
however,asthere is visible blurringon
fast-movingobjects,a;though little in
the wayofoutright ghosting.LITE MAKES RIGHT
The ProLiteXUB2792QSU-W1 doesn’t
have much in common with theLG
27GL850 we’ve looked at on page70
beyond screensize and resolution,but
in away this office displayand LG’s
gaming monitor are kindredspirits.
Muchlikethe 27GL850,the ProLite
XUB2792QSU-W1 doesn’ttry to wow
with advancedfeaturesorcutting-edge
connectivity, but by matching ahighly
practical design with ahigh-performing panel
it can’tbecalled anythingother than a
success.Withalmostnosetup, it canput out
agreat-looking picture that willaccommodate
serious working from home,and then some.