[PCM2]

Our review of the Gigabyte MO27Q28G is now live. This is a 26.5″ 2560 x 1440 (QHD or 1440p) Tandem WOLED monitor with matte screen finish (glossy MO27Q28GR also available soon) and 280Hz refresh rate, alongside HDMI 2.1 to improve console compatibility. The brightness performance (without strong ABL behaviour) was impressive under SDR and for some scenes under HDR where things are as bright as I’ve seen. The Gigabyte was generally quite bright and performed relatively well for OLED across a broad APL range in terms of brightness, though in some scenes I’ve technically seen QD-OLEDs and other WOLEDs outperform it on the brightness front. There were also some issues with ‘black crush’ at higher refresh rates, fixable on my unit under SDR by switching gamma mode. But not something that could be addressed under HDR, though fortunately it was much less of an issue there anyway.

I was pleased with the improvements to colour volume (bright + saturated at the same time) compared to usual WOLED screens, though QD-OLED is still ahead in that respect. There were some elements that usually bother me on WOLEDs due to the lack of saturation and brightness which were presented better on this one. The improvements to colour gamut are also significant, exceeding even QD-OLED for some (not all) regions of the gamut and clearly outperforming traditional WOLED. My usual complaints with VRR flicker apply and the ‘anti-flicker’ setting is pretty basic and only useful in specific cases. Outside of that it provided a very solid 280Hz performance, including low input lag and exceptional pixel responses – and an ‘Ultra Clear’ BFI (Black Frame Insertion) setting will appeal to some for 240Hz 240fps-like clarity at 120Hz 120fps.

Overall I feel this is an attractively priced monitor which offers some benefits over the competition, so it should certainly be on your shortlist if you’re after this kind of monitor. I personally enjoy the consistent HDR experience and other image characteristics of the VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500 QD-OLEDs, but currently the ~27″ QHD models are also 500Hz (such as the MSI MAG 272QP QD-OLED X50), making them significantly more expensive than this. They clearly don’t compete in the same price bracket.

[Roostyla]

Thank you for the review! I currently own the Dell G2724D and its the second monitor I’ve purchased as recommended from this forum. It has been a great upgrade from my Dell S2719DGF TN panel however I have grown tired of the IPS glow and general poor black capabilities. I’ve always wanted an OLED and this looked to tick the boxes (nearly pulled the trigger on £480 Amazon deal) With that said I am looking for a bit more advice.

I have a dual use case, this will be my primary screen for 9-5 office work as well as my gaming monitor for after hours.

1. Is the sub pixel layout appropriate for office use as the text fringing does concern me/fatigue with panel uniformity (i use Windows dark mode)
2. Has the vertical banding reduced overtime and have you tried the 240hz trick? I’ve read that it helped reduce it by lowering refresh rate.
3. Regarding VRR flicker, I use FPS limiters and have capable hardware in a 7800x3d and Nvidia 5080 , I assume it would be barely noticeable with a consistent frame rate? I target between 120fps and 157fps in games.

Finally, I am still open to any monitor that would fit my needs if one exists in a 27 inch 1440p matte . Is there something I should consider in the QD world or a product on the horizon to shortlist?

Thanks

[PCM2]

Hi again Roostyle,

1) It’s too subjective, I give pretty extensive assessment of the subpixel issues in the review. You can probably get used to the issues, I feel it is much more accommodating than the original WOLED (RWBG) layout.

2) I only have the monitor for a few weeks to test so I can’t assess vertical banding changes over time, but I have been using another WOLED myself with the issue and it did reduce over time. This fits in with anecdotal data from others. On my unit setting the refresh rate to 240Hz didn’t significantly impact it overall. As covered in the review the gamma is refresh rate dependent, so reducing that tends to lighten up darker shades so you aren’t observing the same shade you were before. It could introduce issues on some other shades, so it’s pretty situational. I would recommend experimenting with different gamma settings or other settings if you find annoying banding for a specific shade in your workflow as you might be able to improve it so it’s less annoying.

3) That will help a lot, in consistent frame rate situations there’s only a minor gamma change that doesn’t usually result in a clear flicker. It’s mainly loading screens, in-game maps screens and suchlike where you might still notice it more strongly.

In terms of matte options you could also consider Samsung’s models like the G60SD. You won’t get the same bright scene HDR performance or quite the same peaks in performance (or indeed the DisplayHDR True Black 500 mode, if you like that). And you won’t get the same SDR brightness capability if you like particularly bright SDR screens. But you get higher colour volume for HDR (covered in the review), you should expect lower levels of DSE (Dirty Screen Effect, such as vertical banding) and different fringing characteristics which may or may not be less bothersome. It’s possible Tandem OLEDs are more forgiving in terms of burn-in resistance, if marketing is to be believed. But that has yet to prove itself in practice.

[Roostyla]

Thank you for the additional thoughts , it still seems its a bit of pick your poison with monitors as with TN IPS and VA. My research into OLED started with the release of 4th Gen WOLED so it has been a lot to take onboard. If I pick something up in the future i’ll be sure to share my feedback. Cheers

[Author]

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