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PCM2Our review of the MSI MAG 274QRF QD E2 is now live. This is a 180Hz 2560 x 1440 (QHD or 1440p) IPS LCD with QD-LED backlight. This provides a wide gamut with near-complete DCI-P3 and relatively good Adobe RGB coverage. There’s strong vibrancy and saturation, with excellent colour accuracy potential for colour critical work within extended colour spaces – more so on the DCI-P3 side in this case. As I’ve seen with other MSI models, there are multiple colour space emulation settings (DCI-P3, Adobe RGB and sRGB) which worked quite well and as intended. This makes the monitor a versatile option for both work and play, with other attractive additions including KVM functionality and USB-C (65W PD). For gaming the monitor provided low input lag and good pixel responses for up to 180Hz. I don’t consider it a true ‘single overdrive mode experience’ under VRR, though some would be happy to stick with the ‘Fast’ setting throughout the VRR range.
Some points of comparison with the ViewSonic OMNI VX2728J-2K:
– The MSI is based around the same panel but has a different backlight.
– It offers USB functionality including USB-C with 65W PD and KVM functionality with easy switching. The ViewSonic offers a more basic array of ports without USB of any type.
– The ViewSonic has integrated speakers. They’re nothing to shout about, but at least they’re there if you want to use them.
– The ViewSonic includes 100 x 100mm VESA mounting rather than the 75 x 75mm VESA used on the MSI. Many mounts will support both, but not all do and 100 x 100mm VESA is a bit more widely supported.
– The ViewSonic offers tighter ‘2.2’ gamma tracking.
– The MSI offers a higher peak brightness of ~500 nits vs. ~300 nits for the ViewSonic. Contrast also appeared higher, peaking ~1400:1 vs. ~1100:1 for the ViewSonic.
– The MSI has a wider colour gamut which provides stronger vibrancy and superior coverage of DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB. This is nice if you prefer a punchier look to general content or if you’re into wide gamut content creation. In contrast the ViewSonic covers ~95% DCI-P3 and 87% Adobe RGB.
– The MSI also offers effective sRGB, Adobe RGB and DCI-P3 emulation settings. Whereas the ViewSonic lacks any emulation settings.
– The strobe backlight setting performs better with lower central strobe crosstalk and no KSF phosphor flickering or fringing due to the QD LED backlight.
– The MSI supports VRR at 180Hz, whereas the ViewSonic does not.
– The MSI retails at a bit under $300 whereas the ViewSonic sits closer to $200 or a bit below.
– The MSI is also priced quite competitively in other regions such as Europe, where availability of the ViewSonic is patchier.
losttarnI got the MAG 274QRF QD E2 and it’s as I expected to be, colourful and good. It doesn’t blow my mind but it’s really solid and I am happy with it. Couple things I noticed; it has bluish tint, as with LG GP850-B I had but I am guessing that is to do with the way IPS panels are compared to VA (with their higher contrast). Something tells me it may have to do with how backlight works on IPS vs on VA. I can’t say this bluish tint is to a degree it’s obnoxious though. Another thing, small and Linux specific (Plasma 6 desktop), is that when changing brightness via system tray icon there is delay with the MSI compared to AOC. With AOC it was near instant. Below, if I formatted correctly, is picture showing the extent of IPS glow/backlight bleed on my unit. Note that the image is deceptive as it’s not as cloudy smear as phone camera makes it ought to be. I have used transparent blue bars to indicate where the IPS glow is perceivable. I dare say my screen is far below moderate amount. Cheers!
PCM2Glad you’re happy with the monitor overall – and thanks for sharing your feedback. 🙂
losttarnIf you play FPS games and have a competitive nature take note that MAG 274QRF QD E2 has many crosshair to choose from. It wont make you a better player but I think it is useful. It’s not very smart though, despite it’s naming “Smart Crosshair” as I can’t seem to find a way to have it be toggled on and off for games I would want to use it with. Pictures with the crosshair enabled on monitor can be seen here. It becomes more useful during night maps, in realistic games, especially if you’re playing with low brightness and with a low blue light software like Flux or one OS provides.
PCM2I suppose “Smart(ish) Crosshair” isn’t as catchy. 😉 The “Smart” part is maybe that it can automatically change colour to try to better contrast with the background shades being displayed.
losttarnI didn’t notice that part, that would be awesome but one problem; I don’t get the colour option to show when I go to screen assistance > icon > crosshair of choice > ???? (colour). Any help there? Also what do you think of these crosshairs from a technical perspective? Are they technically well implemented or do they incur a side effect or problem? I have previously used software for fan control and such from different vendors and I found them to be somewhat bloated mess and not that good. Another example is reports of Armory Crate (Asus) causing issues. I haven’t found any particular issues (yet) with crosshair myself but I am no monitor technician either.
PCM2The crosshairs are rendered on the monitor (not by the GPU) and there are no specific consequences of that as far as I’m aware. It doesn’t affect the performance of the monitor or system.
I think it’s only the software which (incorrectly) calls this a “Smart Crosshair”. It’s mislabelled as that is a specific feature of some MSI models, but not models like the MAG 274QRF QD E2 where I believe it’s just referred to as “Screen Assistance” on the OSD. You can either select a red or white icon for each crosshair design. On models that actually have the “Smart Crosshair” there is an option for ‘Color’ which you can set to ‘Red, ‘White’ or ‘Auto’ – and that last option is what makes it a “Smart Crosshair” as it means it adapts to the background shade.
losttarnGood to know it doesn’t affect performance in any way. I have already tried white and red, just looked for auto as even the manual shows it.
losttarnPlayed with crosshair alot (Hunt Showdown) and I prefer to play with it now, especially with low blue light (Flux or OS provided). Down UP to enable (on joystick), Down Down to disable.
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