There are some interesting announcements coming out of Gamescom, one of which pertains to HP's Omen X 27 (opens in new tab), 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.
