MSI MPG 271QRX review

Attention all you gamers hell bent on the ultimate 27-inch 1440p experience. The new MSI MPG 271QRX QD-OLED monitor is here and it wants your money. Quite a lot of it, actually, as this panel has an MSRP of $800 in the US and is listed for pre-orders in the UK for £1,000. Ouch.

Of course, we've seen pricey 1440p OLED panels before. But not one running at 360Hz courtesy of Samsung's revised QD-OLED technology. So, it's not only faster than the first generation of 240Hz 1440p OLED gaming monitors. It's also punchier thanks to that Samsung QD-OLED tech. Previous 1440p gaming OLEDs have relied on LG's earlier WOLED panel tech, which was really pretty poor when it comes to full screen brightness.

Like other recent QD-OLED screens, response times are silly quick at 0.03ms and the colour coverage is excellent at 99% of DCI-P3. As for the broader feature set, you get both a pair of HDMI ports, plus DisplayPort. All three interfaces can do the full 360Hz at 1440p. There's also a USB-C port which supplies a pretty useful 90W of power delivery along with DisplayPort alt mode.

Rounding out the connections is a USB-A hub complete with a KVM switch. The stand is also fully adjustable, including rotation into portrait mode if that's something you care about. It all goes at least some way to justifying the painful pricing, albeit this monitor is very much pitched in line with the OLED competition. It's expensive, to be sure, it's just not particularly expensive compared to the direct OLED alternatives.

Screen size: 27-inch
Resolution: 2,560 x 1,440
Brightness: 1,000 nits HDR
Color coverage: 99% DCI-P3
Response time: 0.03ms
Refresh rate: 360Hz
HDR: DisplayHDR 400 Trueblack,
Features: QD-OLED panel, adaptive sync, 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 2x HDMI 2.1, 1x USB-C with 90W PD
Warranty: Three years (inc. panel burn in)
Price: $799 / £999 (estimated)

Design-wise, MSI's usual angular, slightly dated early-2000s gamer aesthetic is inevitably in evidence. The back cover is very skinny around the edges of