Razer upgrades Raptor 27 gaming monitor to 165Hz

New Razer Raptor 27 monitor images — (Image credit: Razer)

Razer has announced a brand new Raptor 27-inch gaming monitor at its E3 2021 show, a follow-up to its sleek gaming monitor from a few years back.

The new monitor is very much a like-for-like swap for the previous model, although there is one notable improvement. The new Raptor is capable 165Hz, a step-up from the 144Hz previously. It's not clear whether that's the result of a whole new panel or a moderate overclock out of the box, but I would guess the latter as the remaining specs are near-enough identical.

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Header Cell - Column 0	Razer Raptor 27
Display size	27-inch
Display type	IPS
DCI-P3	95%
Brightness	400-nits
Refresh rate	165Hz
Response time	1ms
Price	$800 / £800 / €1,000

That said, Razer's now touting the Raptor as the world's first with THX certification. What that means is Razer put this panel through a heap of tests, 400 of them, to ensure it hits certain image quality standards.

Seeing as not much has changed specs-wise between the old Raptor and the new Raptor—DCI-P3 remains at a steady 95% on seemingly evenly-matched IPS panels—I'm not sure if much has materially changed to secure THX certification. Still, you can at least be confident that this monitor is up to a good standard.

A little while ago I used the older Raptor model, and I have to say it's the stand that will win most over. It's sleek, it must be said, and comes with rear channels for cables and a foldable arm design. Oh, and RGB, of course. It does take up precious desk space over a regular gaming monitor stand, but hey, what some will do for a 1337 gamer setup.

The stand is sticking around for the new Raptor 27, so you'll want to check the refresh rate before hitting the checkout to ensure you're getting the latest version. Conversely, if the older model goes for a bit cheaper, 144Hz is pretty darn great, too.

Before you go, there's a new Razer VESA Mount Adapter, if you want to get rid of the nice stand you paid for in favour of a mount arm or something similar. To each their own. That's $100 (£100/€100).

Both will be available early Q3, 2021.

Jacob earned his first byline writing for his own tech blog, before graduating into breaking things professionally at PCGamesN. Now he's managing editor of the hardware team at PC Gamer, and you'll usually find him testing the latest components or building a gaming PC.