When it comes to cheap gaming monitors, you usually find there's a catch. But not with the Gigabyte G27Q, a high-refresh 1440p peach of a panel for just $200.
This Gigabyte ticks an awful lot of boxes up front. The combination of 1440p and 144 Hz on a 27-inch panel is surely the sweetspot for truly affordable, real-world gaming right now. What's more, the Gigabyte G27Q rocks an IPS panel for great response, colour accuracy and viewing angles.
However, what you usually find with affordable monitor like this is some kind of catch. Typically, that comes in the form of a disappointing brightness rating around 250 nits and no HDR support.
However, the Gigabyte G27Q is VESA DisplayHDR 400 certification, which dictates a minimum brightness of 400 nits. Of course, you don't get local dimming at this price. But Rtings found that it can consistently hit 500 nits in HDR mode.
They also measured nice, low latency. What's more, even the build quality and design looks decent and you get a proper adjustable stand, not some cheapo tilt-only affair and a chassis that feels like it's made out of pressed factory-floor sweepings.
All told, it's great to see that you can get a gaming monitor this well specified for this little money. It also just underlines how 1440p ought to be viewed by GPU makers—we're looking at you, Nvidia—as very much mainstream, entry-level gaming if you can get this kind of panel at this kind of price.
In that context, GPUs optimised for 1080p for $350 to $400 make no sense at all. Anyway, that rant aside if you're in the market for a nice 1440p gaming panel, put this Gigabyte on your list.
Incidentally, you might also like to consider any similar deals in the next few weeks or so that come up for Amazon Prime Day. So, keep a weather eye on our Best Amazon Prime Day gaming monitor deals page.
