In order to play the latest games in Ultra-High-Definition (UHD), you need a system with a powerful graphics engine that can provide smooth gameplay at the highest settings, and you need a UHD display, like the ViewSonic XG2700-4K ($619.99), capable of handling high-resolution workloads without displaying artifacts such as ghosting, blurring, and motion stutter. This 27-inch gaming monitor uses In-Plane Switching (IPS) panel technology to deliver rich, accurate colors, solid grayscale reproduction, and outstanding gaming performance. It may not look as sleek as the LG 27UD88-W ($699.99 at Amazon) , another top pick, but it's a better performer and a little easier on the wallet. As such, it's our Editors' Choice for large-screen gaming monitors.
Design and Features
There's nothing flashy about the matte-black cabinet on the XG2700-4K ( at Amazon) , other than a couple of thin strips of red trim on the stand. The 3,840-by-2,160 panel has a non-reflective coating and is framed by 0.8-inch bezels. It has a brightness level of 300cd/m2, a 16:9 aspect ratio, a 60Hz refresh rate, and a 5-millisecond (gray-to-gray) pixel response. The 11.8-pound cabinet has four VESA mounting holes around back and comes with a fully adjustable stand that offers 4.7 inches of height, 25 degrees of tilt, and 175 degrees of swivel adjustability. It also allows you to pivot the panel 90 degrees for Portrait-mode viewing.
Around back is a nice assortment of I/O ports, including one HDMI 2.0 input, two HDMI/MHL inputs, a full-size DisplayPort input, a Mini DisplayPort input, a USB 3.0 upstream port, and two USB 3.0 downstream ports. Two more USB 3.0 downstream ports are located on the right side of the cabinet. The XG2700-4K lacks speakers, but it does offer a headphone jack and a red hook to hold your headphones.
ViewSonic XG2700-4K
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On the right side of the front bezel are five touch-sensitive buttons used to turn the monitor on and off and to access its numerous image settings. Basic settings include Brightness, Contrast, Sharpness, and Gamma, and there are six picture presets: Standard, Game, Movie, Web, Text, and Mono. The Game preset offers two optimized First-Person Shooter (FPS) settings, one Real-Time Strategy (RTS) setting, and one Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) setting. There's also a Black Stabilization setting that enhances shadow detail in dark scenes. Color adjustments are made up of sRGB, European Broadcasting Union (EBU) standard, Native, Cool, Bluish, Warm, and User. In the User menu you can access advanced color settings, including 6-Axis-Hue and -Saturation adjustments and Red, Green, and Blue Gain and Offset adjustments, to help keep the panel calibrated and accurate. ECO power-saving modes include Standard, Optimize, and Conserve, and there's a Blue Light Filter mode to help ease eyestrain. You don't get the gamer-friendly aiming reticles that you get with the Acer Predator XB271HK ($586.46 at Newegg) , another favorite of ours, but there are three Input Lag settings that can help reduce input lag (the time it takes for the monitor to react to a controller command).
The XG2700-4K comes with a three-year warranty on parts, labor, and backlight. Inside the box are a USB cable, a Mini DisplayPort cable, a resource CD, and a factory-calibration report.
Performance
The XG2700-4K is calibrated before it leaves the factory, and it delivered very accurate colors out of the box in testing. As shown on the chromaticity chart below, red, green, and blue colors (represented by the colored dots) are very closely aligned with their ideal CIE coordinates (represented by the boxes). Colors appeared rich and uniform on my test images and while displaying scenes from Marvel's Deadpool movie on Blu-ray disc.
Grayscale performance was impressive. Every shade of gray in the DisplayMate 64-Step Grayscale test appeared well defined and sharp, with no crushed blacks or clipped whites. This resulted in excellent shadow and highlight detail in my test photos. Viewing-angle performance was also top-notch, with no evidence of color shifting or loss of luminance when viewed from an extreme angle.
The XG2700-4K may not look like a gaming monitor, but its gaming performance stands out. It aced my Crysis 3 (PC) tests, displaying fast-action sequences without a trace of ghosting, blurring, or any other motion artifacts. Results were similar in my Grand Theft Auto V tests on the Sony PlayStation 4 ($799.95 at Amazon) . Screen tearing was not an issue, but enabling FreeSync made gameplay appear noticeably smoother and more fluid. With the Input Lag setting set to Off, input lag was relatively long (26.8 milliseconds), as measured using a Leo Bodnar Video Signal Lag Tester. It was better (18.9 milliseconds) at the Advanced setting and even shorter (11.2 milliseconds) at the Ultrafast setting. The LG 28UD88-W was a bit shorter (9.8 milliseconds), but not as short as our leaders, the BenQ XL2430T ($470.69 at Walmart) and SW2700PT ($529.99 at Amazon) ( 9.5 milliseconds).
The XG2700-4K is relatively energy efficient. It consumed 35 watts of power during testing while set to the Standard ECO mode, 27 watts in Optimize mode, and 18 watts in Conserve mode. In comparison, the Acer XB271HK used 52 watts in Standard mode and 40 watts in ECO mode, while the LG 27UD88-W used 27 watts in sRGB mode (it does not offer an ECO mode).
Conclusion
With the ViewSonic XG2700-4K, you not only get the benefit of AMD's FreeSync technology, which eliminates screen tearing and provides silky-smooth gaming action, but you also get excellent all-around performance. The IPS panel delivers a crisp UHD picture, with wide viewing angles and very good grayscale performance, and the monitor is equipped with lots of I/O ports and a stand that can be adjusted for optimal comfortable viewing. Picture settings are plentiful and include advanced color adjustments that allow you to calibrate the panel to maintain a perfect picture. Although the XG2700-4K lacks the sleek aesthetics that you get with the similarly sized LG 27UD88-W, it does offer better color accuracy, a more-generous warranty, and killer gaming performance, all for around $80 less. It's our new Editors' Choice for large-screen gaming monitors.
The well-equipped ViewSonic XG2700-4K is a 27-inch gaming monitor that uses AMD's FreeSync anti-tearing technology and an In-Plane Switching (IPS) panel to deliver ultra-smooth gaming performance and rich, accurate colors.
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