Monitor
OnePlus

OnePlus Monitor X 27 review

Your plus one for gaming

₹ 27,999

The OnePlus Monitor X 27 is easily one of the best gaming monitors you can get your hands on right now and it’s only available in India which makes the deal even sweeter. Spread across 27 inches and supporting all the desirable bits for gaming, the pricing is within spitting distance of LG Ultragear and BenQ gaming monitors. How well does this stack up against the competition? Let’s find out.

Performance

The OnePlus Monitor X 27 comes in a single spec for now. It has a 2560x1440 (QHD) resolution and 165Hz refresh rate with a 1ms response time. The usual stuff right? On the flip side, LG and BenQ don’t actually have 165Hz refresh rates at this price point. The spec equivalent of this OnePlus monitor from the competition is well beyond ₹30K. 

So, you’re saving a few extra grand by opting for a monitor by a brand that has never really made one in the past. Is it as good? It’s surprisingly very good. The OnePlus Monitor X 27 has richer and better contrast than the BenQ monitors. It’s almost on par with my personal LG Ultragear 2K 144Hz monitor but somehow the OnePlus feels like the more premium of the two. The blacks are deeper and the colour uniformity is kept in check. 

It has 350nits of brightness and comes with VESA DisplayHDR 400 which does a fabulous job of producing HDR content while gaming. There’s very little stuttering or ghosting too. Especially while playing racing games like Need for Speed Unbound and Forza Horizon 5

For PlayStation and Xbox Series X games, the marketing lingo says that the monitor supports HDMI 2.1 but that’s only TMDS protocol. In short, the HDMI 2.1 on the OnePlus X 27 isn’t the real HDMI 2.1. It’s actually HDMI 2.0 in bandwidth and features. It doesn’t support ALLM and VRR for console gaming. You can run any game at 2K resolution on the PS5 and Xbox Series X. We played God of War Ragnarök and it ran oh-so-smoothly. When playing Dirt 5 on frame rate mode, there was no ghosting or screen tearing either.

The 1ms (MPRT) response time is fairly quick for most video games. It’s not as fast as our LG (1ms GtG) but it's quick enough to not feel like you’re missing the shot. It’s an IPS panel so the colours and off-axis viewing is brilliant too. 

 

OnePlus has also managed to put in a decent OSD for managing the monitor’s settings. I really wish the monitor was a bit clever though. Like any OnePlus device, I expected it to have some ecosystem chops. There’s a USB Type-C port that can do PD standard 65W charge. Surprisingly OnePlus smartphones don’t have PD fast charge support so the 65W is quite pointless for OnePlus smartphones. You can fast charge a Google Pixel 7 or anything that supports PD power delivery with the monitor’s USB Type-C port. Even the MacBook Air charges quickly with this.

Verdict

OnePlus’ first-ever monitor is a hit in our books. It’s a no-nonsense gaming monitor that adds all the flavourful features that make it tempting and slaps on a great display to seal the deal. You might have to tweak the contrast to get the most accurate colours if you’re not using it in HDR mode.

BenQ offers a remote and built-in speaker to make your life slightly easier but we like the colours on the OnePlus monitor more. It’s a trade-off you must decide. As for the LG and OnePlus, both offer great features but only one is cheaper and you will not be disappointed with either option. Whichever monitor you pick, it’ll be a great addition to your gaming den.

Stuff Says

It nails the colour and HDR performance that most gamers want with 2K resolution
Good stuff
Bad stuff
  1. Good colours

  1. Great HDR performance

  1. Fast and responsive

  1. PD 65W Type-C port is nice for Android users

  1. HDMI 2.1 is actually 2.0

  1. Heats up near the OSD buttons

Specifications
Display: 27in, QHD, 165Hz with AMD Freesync Premium
Headphone jack: 1
Ports: 1x USB Type-C (65W power delivery), 1x HDMI 2.1 (only supports TMDS protocol), 1x DP 1.4, 2x USB 3.0
Stand: Height, Tilt, Swivel and Pivot adjustable, VESA Mount