MSI MPG 271QRX QD-OLED

[Editors' Note, July 9, 2024: We updated this review to mention MSI's addition of support for AMD Freesync Premium Pro via a firmware update, and removed the Con that noted its absence.]

As the saying goes, behind every great 32-inch 4K OLED gaming monitor is a strong 27-inch variant. That holds true for the MSI MPG 271QRX QD-OLED ($799.99), a 27-inch 2K display released alongside the MSI MPG 321URX QD-OLED earlier this year. But the 271QRX is more than just a smaller OLED panel. What it lacks in resolution, it makes up for with a sky-high 360Hz refresh rate, making it an ideal pick for gamers seeking to pair high-performance frame rates with high-fidelity visuals. And while it's not cheap, this MSI is one of the most affordable OLED monitors available.

Design: Don't Mess With a Good Thing

The 27-inch MSI shares just about all of its design features with its 32-inch sibling, including a thin screen, a hexagonal stand, and a kiss of RGB lighting on its back controlled by MSI's Mystic Light software. Super-thin black bezels frame the OLED screen nicely, and the stand provides ample support with no wobble, as well as plenty of tilt, swivel, and height adjustment.

Size-wise, we're looking at 16.6 by 24 by 9.5 inches (HWD), which makes the MPG 271QRX QD-OLED roughly the same size as the Alienware AW2725DF 360Hz QD-OLED. At 18.3 pounds (with stand), however, it's much heavier than the Alienware, more like the non-OLED LG 27 UltraGear Gaming Monitor (27GR83Q).

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

Turning the monitor around, you'll find a fanless ventilation system similar to the 321URX's, with a graphene film and custom heatsink to handle heat dissipation. This results in a larger back side, but nothing too outrageous. Checking out the ports, you'll see two USB-A connectors, one each USB-B and USB-C, two HDMI 2.1 ports, one DisplayPort, and the always welcome 3.5mm headphone jack. The USB-C port can charge connected devices with up to 90 watts of power delivery. Like its 32-inch sibling, the monitor has a built-in virtual KVM feature to connect to multiple PCs at once.

All these features pale in comparison to the monitor's OLED screen. The MPG 271QRX QD-OLED does turn the resolution down a notch to 2,560 by 1,440 pixels, but there's no denying the power of OLED technology. Generic IPS monitors get the job done, but they're no match for the vast color range and off-the-charts contrast of OLED. Even without formal testing (which we'll get into below), an OLED panel never fails to impress even an untrained eye.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

Like its 32-inch counterpart, the 271QRX supports variable refresh rates (VRR) but is not certified for Nvidia G-Sync; a firmware update pushed after we published this review added certification for AMD Freesync Premium Pro. It is also VESA ClearMR 13000 certified. This is not a certification we see as often, but its benefits are visible in real time. According to VESA, each ClearMR tier represents a range of blur performance based on the ratio of clear versus blurry pixels. ClearMR 13000 is defined as showing 125 to 135 times more clear pixels than blurry pixels. In short, you should be able to enjoy games' video quality without blur.

Other features that round out the package include DisplayHDR True Black 400 certification and MSI's AI Vision mode. As you're no doubt acutely aware, AI is finding its way into anything and everything tech-related, gaming monitors included. Unlike the Samsung OLED G8, which uses AI to upscale streamed content, MSI uses its AI Vision mode to enhance overall brightness and color saturation but does not perform any actual AI upscaling.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

At the end of the day, the MSI is focused on delivering peak performance. If you're the type of gamer who counts frames instead of pixels, the MPG 271QRX QD-OLED is certainly made for you, thanks to a combination of a 360Hz refresh rate and 0.03ms response time. It looks like a winner on paper, but how does it do under formal testing?

Testing the MSI MPG 271QRX QD-OLED: Not Just a Pretty Panel

We've seen a number of excellent 27-inch OLED monitors this year, including the Alienware AW2725DF and the Asus ROG Strix XG27AQDMG. To see how the MSI stacked up, we tested its color gamut, brightness, color accuracy, and contrast ratio using Calman monitor calibration software, a Murideo Six-G signal generator, and a Klein K-10A colorimeter. We also ran the monitor through a gauntlet of games to measure input lag and judge its real-world performance.

First, we tested the monitor in its default picture mode with an SDR signal. Under these conditions, it managed an average brightness of 239 nits (candelas per square meter). That's in the same ballpark as the MSI MPG 321URX (235 nits), but dimmer than the Corsair Xeneon 27QHD240 OLED (307 nits). Lower brightness numbers might give you pause, but there's no reason to fret. Compared to IPS, OLED screens can maintain contrast at lower brightness levels, so the picture will still look vibrant in low-light settings.

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

Switching over to HDR, we saw 456 nits of brightness using the Standard preset profile. These results are mostly in line with the monitor's VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400 certification. We also measured a peak brightness of 1,040 nits at a 2% window size. (We measure sustained HDR brightness at a 10% window size, but drop the test size to 2% to measure peak brightness because OLED panels become brighter as the patch size gets smaller.) MSI doesn't advertise an HDR peak, but as we can see from the results, the 271QRX can hang with its rivals.

Next, we turn to color-gamut performance. According to our colorimeter, the MPG 271QRX QD-OLED spanned 153% of the sRGB color gamut, 96% of Adobe RGB, and 98% of DCI-P3. Near-perfect ratings mean you can expect crisp, clear, and accurate colors while gaming or watching movies.

That's basically the same as MSI's 32-inch version, but note the sRGB over-coverage. Tipping past 100% of the color gamut doesn’t mean the sRGB coverage is necessarily better. In fact, excess coverage can potentially over-saturate content, even leading to color inaccuracies when viewing sRGB images (especially in applications that don't support color management).

(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)

Color accuracy proved just as good, yielding a DeltaE measurement of 1.5. The higher the DeltaE, the more colors tend to stray from their intended hue. A value under 1 is ideal, though very few gaming monitors manage that, especially out of the box. To our eyes, the resolution difference between a 2K OLED with these specs and a conventional 4K monitor are nearly imperceptible, and images certainly looked a lot more vibrant when compared to 4K IPS screens.

The 271QRX is rated for a peak contrast ratio of 1,500,000:1, even higher than Alienware's recent OLED offerings. Contrast ratio indicates the difference in luminance between the brightest white and darkest black a monitor can produce. It makes a difference in picture quality especially during dark scenes in games. OLED and Mini LED panels' truly black (turned off) pixels mean dramatically higher, even theoretically infinite, contrast than other screen types. That's a far cry from IPS panels that typically target contrast ratios of 1,000:1 to 3,000:1. 

Game Testing

So the MPG 271QRX QD-OLED proves itself to be a pretty face, but will it satisfy hardcore gamers drawn to its 360Hz refresh rate? To measure a monitor's input lag, we use an HDFury Diva HDMI matrix. We also play a handful of games from our library to check for any noticeable blemishes such as screen tearing.

The HDFury detected less than 1 millisecond (ms) of input lag for the MSI at default settings. We can only test input lag up to 240Hz because the Diva matrix can't measure lag over a DisplayPort connection, and HDMI connections on this panel are limited to 240Hz. (Learn more about the differences between HDMI and DisplayPort.) For anything above 240Hz, we have to rely on anecdotal in-game testing, and from multiplayer games like Overwatch 2 and Apex Legends to single-player experiences like Horizon: Forbidden West and everything in between, the MSI offered the best of both worlds. It was easy to forget we weren't playing in 4K.

OLED monitors still don't reach the incredible highs of esports displays like the Alienware 500Hz Gaming Monitor (AW2524H), but it won't be long until they do. We've already seen OLED screens like the soon-to-be-reviewed LG UltraGear 32 OLED Gaming Monitor that offer 480Hz refresh. But as usual with monitors, something's always got to give, which means the higher the refresh rate, the lower the resolution. After all, how many folks can run the games they want to play at 480fps at any resolution, never mind above 1080p?

Verdict: 27 Inches of Peak Performance

The MSI MPG 271QRX QD-OLED is easy to love, with excellent visual and gaming performance, and its $799.99 price makes it one of the most affordable OLED gaming displays you can buy. There may be a few blemishes that yuck the MSI's yum, such as the AI Vision mode, but this 27-inch OLED is every bit as tempting as its big brother, even if our 27-inch favorite remains the 360Hz Alienware AW2725DF QD-OLED.