The ratio between the horizontal and the vertical side of the display. Some of the standard and widely used aspect ratios are 4:3, 5:4, 16:9 and 16:10. Ergonomics Information about the ergonomic functions - height adjustment, swivel angles, tilt angles, etc. VESA mount Information about the brightness of the screen. It is measured in candela per square metre (cd/m²).

AMD and Nvidia both offer technology that removes screen tearing by synchronising the refresh rate of your monitor with the frame rate of your PC. This technology is known as FreeSync and G-Sync respectively, and you’ll find at least one built-in to just about any given gaming monitor. In the past, Twisted Nematic ( TN) was the only panel type a gamer would have considered: it’s not just the cheapest tech on the market, it also boasts the fastest response time. However, rival technologies such as Vertical Alignment ( VA) and In-Plane Switching ( IPS), once avoided for their slow response times, are now considered to be an excellent choice for gamers. Input lag When we move up to Level 2 overdrive, this is where the monitor is most usable at 165Hz. Performance improves significantly to a 6.13ms grey to grey average, and although overshoot has also increased, it's to a minimal level that you won't notice while gaming. Cumulative deviation is also now around a more acceptable level, with a score of 500 being around the average we like to see for this class of monitor. Ordinarily, we’d advise looking for monitors with a refresh rate of 144Hz. Given the price point, however, that might be a struggle, but don’t worry: 60Hz (or even 75Hz) is still very smooth indeed. It's also not that different from products like the Pixio PX277 Pro, given the differences in inverse ghosting performance. Another product we often recommend is the Gigabyte M27Q, and the HP X27q we feel delivers the better experience.

The static contrast shows the ratio between the brightest and the darkest color, which the display can reproduce simultaneously, for example, within one and the same frame/scene. Information about the maximum vertical viewing angle, within which the image on the screen is of acceptable quality.

Maximum brightness is good, at a touch under 400 nits, which is what HP advertises. Most budget monitors of this class get around this bright, which is sufficient for indoor usage in most conditions. Minimum brightness is also solid at 43 nits, great for users in darker conditions. What we're left with is the monitor being unable to provide a single overdrive mode experience. This is pretty typical for a budget monitor, we don't expect perfect overdrive optimization here, it's a standard area of compromise as integrating features like variable overdrive would increase the cost.FreeSync is more common among budget gaming monitors, as it costs nothing to implement – there’s a hefty premium on Nvidia’s G-Sync. While there is a list of monitors that support G-Sync, nowadays both technologies are supported by graphics cards from both AMD and Nvidia. Meanwhile at 60Hz, we have to drop down the overdrive setting and as there's no option between Level 2 and Level 1, we basically have to disable overdrive. This hurts performance and doesn't make the X27q a very suitable low refresh rate monitor. If you're mostly playing around 60 FPS I'd recommend you get the M27Q instead, or even the S2721DGF depending on your budget.

The average Delta E colour variance score didn’t drop below 2.5 in any colour mode and the culprit was the same corner of the colour spectrum every time. Given the HP X27qc seems to be fairly accurate elsewhere this isn’t completely damning but it’s a shame nonetheless. We're keen to see what areas are cut down to reach this price point, and if there are notable compromises, because on paper it seems like a steal. Full adaptive sync support with FreeSync Premium, nice size and resolution, and IPS technology promising "1ms" class response times. The maximum number of colors, which the display is able to reproduce, depends on the type of the panel in use and color enhancing technologies like FRC. Information about whether the stand can be dismounted. Usually, this is required for wall mounting. Compared to other monitors all using their highest refresh rate and optimized overdrive settings, the HP X27q performs quite well. The monitor is able to deliver a similar experience to products like the Dell S2721DGF, which we've recommended as a budget 1440p monitor in the past.Dimensions, weight and color Information about the dimensions and the weight of the specific model with and without stand as well as the colors, in which it is offered to the market. Width The modes higher than Level 2 are pretty unusable due to high levels of overshoot. While response performance does improve, overshoot gets significantly worse, especially in the Level 4 mode, and it's here you'll see massive inverse ghost trails behind moving objects. These modes are only included so HP can claim the monitor has a 1ms response time - which it can achieve, just with insane and unusable levels of overshoot. There are various panel technologies. Each has its own specific features - viewing angles, color reproduction, response time, brightness/contrast, production cost, etc. The image quality depends directly on the type of the display panel used. HP Inc UK Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA FRN 973346) and acts as a credit intermediary and not a lender, offering credit products provided by a limited number of finance providers. Such credit products may not be suitable for everyone. Borrowing more than you can afford or paying late may negatively impact your financial status and ability to obtain credit.