Gigabyte G27QC review: The ultimate value gaming monitor

The Gigabyte G27QC is a bit of a pioneer. It was one of the very first 1440p, 165Hz monitors with a curved VA panel, a trend that has since been gaining traction in the industry of late. These unusual monitors are ideally suited to casual PC gamers, who will be able to stomach the shortcomings of VA panel tech better than competitive gamers for whom pixel responsiveness is vital.

They also happen to represent excellent value for money, and the Gigabyte G27QC is no exception. This excellent monitor packs a remarkable amount into its aggressively stylised frame, marrying a series of fundamental specifications with some surprising extras. In short, if you’re strapped for cash and unwilling to compromise, buy the G27QC.

Gigabyte G27QC review: What do you get for the money?

The price of the Gigabyte G27QC fluctuates a lot, but tends to hover around the £300 mark (although it launched at £350). That gets you a 27in VA monitor with a 1500R curve, a resolution of 2,560 x 1,440, a refresh rate of 165Hz, a quoted response time of 1ms MPRT, official AMD FreeSync Premium support and unofficial Nvidia G-Sync compatibility.

The G27QC does support HDR, but with no official certification and a low peak luminance it’s little more than a token gesture. On the rear sits two HDMI 2 ports, one DP 1.4 port, a 3.5mm headphone jack and two USB-A 3 ports (plus a USB-B 3 port to connect the monitor to your laptop/PC).

The stand offers 130mm of height adjustment and 20 degrees of backwards tilt, which is par for the course with these kinds of monitors.

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Gigabyte G27QC review: What do we like about it?

As always, it’s nice to see the G27QC offers a bit more by way of adjustability than your average budget monitor. The inclusion of height adjustment – particularly 130mm of it – is commendable at this price. The same goes for the G27QC’s built-in speakers and the two-port USB hub on the rear. Sure, the speakers are merely serviceable, and gamers don’t necessarily need a surplus of USB ports but it’s hard to complain. These little touches push the G27QC out in front of its rivals.

The monitor itself looks good, with bezels slim enough to make a dual-monitor setup very appealing and a rear panel that mixes matte and glossy surfaces to strong effect. I’m also fond of the stand itself: the monitor travels incredibly smoothly up and down the vertical rail, which makes adjusting it that bit less painful. There’s zero wobble or creaking, too.

When tested, the G27QC produced good results in most areas, especially for a monitor this inexpensive. Out of the box the G27QC managed to reproduce 117% of the sRGB colour space and 83% of DCI-P3, with an average Delta E colour variance score of 1.67, indicating that in the sRGB colour space at least, the panel is surprisingly accurate. It’s worth noting that, even at its worst, the G27QC never returned a Delta E of higher than 3 when measured against sRGB and DCI-P3.

This is a colourful, impactful monitor, with a solid contrast ratio of 3,100:1 and the capacity to hit a perfect 6500K colour temperature in several of its available colour presets. Games look great: your PC might not be able to consistently output 165fps but it will certainly benefit at all times from the high contrast and vibrant colours. It’s a common trait of VA gaming monitors to produce excellent visuals for the price, and the G27QC is no exception.

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Gigabyte G27QC review: What could be better?

Another, less desirable trait common to these kinds of gaming monitors is the large amount of ghosting (motion blur) caused by the VA panel technology. Again, the G27QC is no exception and, as such, I’d urge competitive gamers to look elsewhere – the Acer Predator XB253QGX (£369), for example, has an IPS panel purpose-built for the eSports market. The G27QC exhibits a fair amount of backlight bleed, too, something that’s also common with VA panels.

I should also point out that this panel cannot produce HDR convincingly, despite what the marketing materials may tell you. The high contrast ratio and decent DCI-P3 coverage might suggest otherwise, but with a peak luminance of around 320cd/m² HDR content on the G27QC looks identical to SDR content (although this is not in itself a terrible figure).

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Gigabyte G27QC review: Should you buy it?

Despite this, if you need a great-value gaming monitor to complete your setup, the G27QC is a no-brainer. Of the various 27in curved VA panels I’ve tested, the G27QC represents the absolute best value for money.

You might want to consider the HP X27qc (£279) if you want superior luminance and contrast, but for sheer versatility at an excellent price, nothing comes close to the G27QC.