Maximum PC - USA (2021-Holiday)

FROM THE SUBLIME to the ridiculous, this
month’s 144 0p gaming monitor pairing
has it all—we’re just not sure which
is which. Where the Corsair Xeneon
32QHD1 65 bumps right up against the
limits of what seems plausible for a
‘mere’ 144 0p panel at this price, the
Monoprice Dark Matter 2 7-inch IGZO
180 Hz Gaming Monitor comes at it from
the opposite angle. This thing is cheap.
For just under $350, Monoprice
offers a 2 7-inch gaming monitor based
on a cutting-edge IGZO-type IPS panel,
complete with 180 Hz refresh, adaptive
sync, and HDR 4 00. You even get USB
Type-C connectivity with power delivery
for charging a laptop. That’s one heck of a
spec list for the money. It really is.
Drilling down deeper into the speeds
and feeds, the ‘IGZO’ panel tech refers
to the use of Indium Gallium Zinc
Oxide, rather than the more common
Amorphous Silicon semiconductors.
Monoprice says that makes for more
energy-efficient and responsive panels
with less heat, more accurate colors, and
faster response times.
On paper, the numbers look like a
typical modern IPS gaming panel, with
1ms response times and 1 ,000-to-one
static contrast. It’s also VESA Display
HDR 400 certified, so tops out at 400
nits for peak brightness. Monoprice
pegs the color accuracy at 100 percent

Getting more gaming

monitor foryour money

Monoprice Dark

Matter 27-inch

IGZO 180Hz

Gaming Monitor

9

VERDICT Monoprice Dark Matter 27-inch

IGZO 180HzGaming Monitor

BY GRABTHAR’S HAMMER...

Mega value for money; speedy and

accurate image quality.

...WHAT A SAVING Cheap chassis; no height

adjustment; weak USB-C charging.

$349, http://www.monoprice.com

SPECIFICATIONS

Panel size 27-inch

Panel type IPS

Resolution 2,560 x 1,440

Brightness 400nits

Colour coverage 100% Adobe RGB

Refresh 185Hz

Contrast 1,000:1

Response 1ms

Inputs

3x HDMI 2.0,

1x DisplayPort 1 .4,

USB-C with DP 1 .4 Alt

Mode and 15W charging

coverage of the Adobe RGB gamut, which

is impressive for this class of display but

doesn’t quote DCI-P 3 performance.

If you’re wondering how this is all

possible, a few corners have been cut.

For starters, the build quality is patchy.

It’s a sleek-looking monitor, complete

with slim bezels and a light smattering

of RGB mood lighting. The stand looks

crisp and sharp, but only offers basic

tilt adjustment—there’s no height

adjustability or swivel. The main panel

enclosure also feels cheap, thanks to

coarse plastics which bend to the touch.

The feel and build quality are arguably

less important in day-to-day use, but

the low-rent ergonomics could prove

more problematic. It’s also worth noting

that the USB-C interface only offers a

maximum of 1 5W of charging power,

which isn’t going to get the job done for

the vast majority of laptops.

Still, for most PC gamers, the

DisplayPort 1 .4 socket is most relevant.

Monoprice has also included a trio of

HDMI 2 .0 sockets, so it has most bases

covered and could make a good fit for

monitor sharing with a console. Last on

the cost-saving list is plain old VESA style

adaptive sync rather than the AMD or

Nvidia certified alternatives.

As for image quality, Monoprice

includes three levels of user-configurable

overdrive in the OSD menu. The fastest

setting tips slightly into overshoot, but it’s

a quick display that will satisfy all but the

most demanding esports pros in terms of

both response and latency.

Our only real gripe when it comes to

speed involves the full 180 Hz refresh.

That’s a so-called ‘overclocked’ setting

and, when enabled, both overdrive and

adaptive sync are disabled. To access

those features, you have to drop down to

the default 165 Hz. In practice, you’d be

hard-pressed to notice the difference, but

it’s a slight annoyance that the advertised

180 Hz comes with significant caveats.

Elsewhere, this is a vibrant and

punchy panel, though possibly a touch too

saturated. But, once you’ve tweaked the

Windows display settings, SDR content

looks great with the panel in HDR mode.

In fact, we’d run it in HDR mode all the

time to save having to jump between SDR

and HDR modes, depending on content.

For the money, it’s hard to argue with

this monitor. As an all-round display

for desktop duties and gaming, it isn’t

perfect, but it does represent outstanding

value for money. – JEREMY LAIRD

HOL 2021 MAXIMUMPC 83