Gigabyte's new OLED gaming monitor debuts 'HyperNits' brightness tech, so are screens with regular nits now second best?

Along with just about every other monitor brand on planet earth, Gigabyte has unleashed a load of new OLED gaming displays at CES 2026. Question is, how to stand out from all that competition? Gigabyte's answer, it seems, is "HyperNits."

Yup, kiss goodbye to plain old regular nits. Say hello to HyperNits. Well, maybe. According to Gigabyte, HyperNits is, "a smart tuning feature leveraging a unique algorithm to intelligently reshape the EOTF curve. HyperNits boosts brightness by up to 30% while preserving critical highlight detail. Users can choose between HyperNits High for maximum brightness enhancement or HyperNits Medium for a gentle 20% lift in darker environments."

It's not totally clear, but this very much looks like a similar technical solution to MSI's EOTF Boost feature, as seen in multiple MSI OLED monitors, including and most recently the excellent MSI MPG 341CQR QD-OLED X36 I reviewed a week or so ago.

If it's not too recursive to quote myself, I explained then that, "EOTF or Electro-Optical Transfer Function is essentially the map that determines how electrical signals are translated into actual light output on a display and it's particularly important for getting HDR calibration right."

MSI's EOTF Boost mode is, "designed to combine the best attributes of the certified DisplayHDR 500 mode, which gives the highest full-screen brightness, and the panel-native EOTF mode, which enables the brightest peaks for small details on the screen."

Long story short, the problem thus far with most OLED monitors is that of the available HDR modes, the one that allows the brightest peaks for small details actually results in a generally dim image. MSI's EOTF Boost mode maximises both full-screen and small detail brightness at the same time. And I suspect that's exactly what Gigabyte's HyperNits tech does, too.

In other words, in neither case do these technologies increase the outright brightness of an OLED monitor, be that full-screen or small highlights. Instead, they optimise existing capabilities.

For the record, the first new Gigabyte OLED monitor with the HyperNits tech is the Gigabyte MO34WQC36. That's a 34-inch ultrawide model based on a Samsung QD-OLED panel with very much the same specs as the MSI I mentioned above. It definitely has the same brightness and refresh specifications and the new ambient light filter designed to reduce the purple tint of previous QD-OLED.

Gigabyte doesn't mention the RGB stripe subpixel structure seen in Samsung's latest QD-OLED panel tech. But I suspect, like the MSI, it's also present in the Gigabyte MO34WQC36. Gigabyte hasn't quoted pricing, for now. But it has firmly established itself as probably the most aggressive of the big monitor brands when it comes to price. So, here's hoping the Gigabyte MO34WQC36 can match the MSI MPG 341CQR QD-OLED X36 on performance, including the EOTF boost stuff, but beat it firmly for cost.

Best gaming monitors 2026

1. Best overall / 4K:
MSI MPG 321URX

2. Best budget 4K:
Asus ROG Strix XG27UCG

3. Best 1440p:
MSI MPG 271QRX

4. Best budget 1440p:
KTC H27T22C-3

5. Best 1080p:
AOC Gaming C27G4ZXE

6. Best Ultrawide:
Gigabyte MO34WQC2

7. Best budget ultrawide:
Xiaomi G34WQi

8. Best 32:9:
Samsung Odyssey OLED G9

9. Best dual-mode:
Alienware AW2725QF

👉Check out our full gaming monitor guide👈