HP is releasing a 27-inch 240Hz QHD gaming monitor with HDR for $649

There are some interesting announcements coming out of Gamescom, one of which pertains to HP's Omen X 27, a new gaming monitor featuring a 27-inch TN panel with a wicked-fast 240Hz refresh rate.

TN (twisted nematic) panels are not terribly exciting now that IPS (in-plane switching) and VA (vertical alignment) displays are much more commonplace, both of which typically offer better color reproduction and viewing angles. Interestingly, however, HP is claiming a respectable 90 percent coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut, a metric that MSI believes is the "new standard."

Going with a TN display was the only way to achieve a 240Hz refresh rate—there aren't any IPS or VA panels that scale that high, at least not yet. You'll need a graphics card that can keep up, too, but for esports and less demanding games, the ultra-fast refresh rate can come into play.

Here's a rundown of the pertinent specs:

Panel—TN
Size—27 inches
Resolution—2560x1440 (1440p, QHD)
Bit depth—true 8-bit
Refresh rate—240Hz
Response time—3ms (1ms w/ overdrive)
Brightness—400 nits w/ HDR (300 nits typical)
Contrast ratio—10,000,000:1 (dynamic), 1,000:1 (typical)
Viewing angles—170/160 degrees horizontal/vertical

This is also a FreeSync 2 HDR display, though at just 400 nits, I wouldn't expect a whole lot of pop from HDR visuals. Nevertheless, it's technically there.

The resolution and refresh rate combo is appealing on a 27-inch monitor, as is the ability to essentially overclock the stock 3ms response time to 1ms. Many high-speed monitors in this category stick to 1080p.

For connectivity, the Omen X 27 touts HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort 1.4 ports (one each). It also offers up a pair of USB 3.0 ports and a 3.5mm audio jack. It doesn't look like there are built-in speakers, which is no big deal as far as I'm concerned.

The Omen X 27 will be available sometime next month.

Paul has been playing PC games and raking his knuckles on computer hardware since the Commodore 64. He does not have any tattoos, but thinks it would be cool to get one that reads LOAD"*",8,1. In his off time, he rides motorcycles and wrestles alligators (only one of those is true).