Skip to Main Content

MSI Optix MPG27CQ Review

3.5
Good
By Tony Hoffman

The Bottom Line

With its high refresh rate and quick pixel response, the MSI Optix MPG27CQ is a good choice for high-performance esports gaming, but it lacks HDR and was only so-so in our video testing.

MSRP $499.99
PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing.

Pros

  • 144Hz native refresh rate over either DisplayPort or HDMI connection.
  • Support for AMD FreeSync.
  • Good pixel response.
  • Nifty RGB lighting.

Cons

  • Lacks support for HDR.
  • Ho-hum video-playback performance.

With multicolored RGB strip lights pulsing along the bottom bezel and in back, a wide tripod base, and a wickedly curved screen, the MSI Optix MPG27CQ flies its flag high and proud: This is a serious gaming monitor. To that end, it supports AMD's FreeSync adaptive-sync technology, has a 1ms pixel-response time, and features a maximum 144Hz refresh rate over either its DisplayPort or HDMI interface. Its video-playback performance may be merely so-so, and it lacks HDR capability, but MSI did a decent job here with one of its early entries into the gaming-monitor market. The Optix does well as a pure-play pick for PC gaming.

A Gaming Monitor With Flair

The Optix MPG27CQ takes up some major desk space for a 27-inch panel. It measures 21.9 by 24.1 by 14.9 inches (HWD). That last number may sound like a mistake, but the depth includes the extension of the back leg of its tripod-like mount. The display weighs 16.8 pounds.

Our Experts Have Tested 39 Products in the Monitors Category in the Past Year
Since 1982, PCMag has tested and rated thousands of products to help you make better buying decisions. See how we test.

The panel proper has narrow (quarter-inch) bezels on top and to either side, making it a good choice for a minimum-seam multi-monitor setup. Its sturdy tripod stand supports 40 degrees of swivel adjustment to either side, tilt adjustment from 5 degrees down to 20 degrees up, and 4.7 inches of height adjustment.

Meet the MSI Optix MPG27CQ

The panel is highly curved, with an 1800R curvature rating. What that means: If you were to place enough Optix MPG27CQ monitors side by side to form a full circle, its radius would be 1,800mm (1.8m). The curvature helps to make the gaming experience feel more immersive.

MSI Optix MPG27CQ

The RGB lighting along the bottom bezel pulses through a series of colors by default, and it can be programmed with SteelSeries' GameSense software. If you're running one of the few games compatible with GameSense—Counter Strike: Global Offensive, DOTA 2, Gigantic, Minecraft, and Utopia 9 among them—the lights can alert you to in-game changes to various stats or levels. That might include (among plenty else) ammo supply, health, or the status of spells. The Optix MPG27CQ also has a pattern of RGB lighting on its back. The lights are pretty, but you can turn them off, if you find them distracting.

MSI Optix MPG27CQ

A Panel at the Goldilocks Resolution

With a QHD (2,560-by-1,440-pixel) native resolution for its 27-inch vertical alignment (VA) screen, the Optix MPG27CQ strikes a happy balance between pixel density and attainable frame rates for most gamers.

Its pixel density is 109 pixels per inch (ppi), matching the Editors' Choice Samsung CHG70 and the Dell 27 Gaming Monitor (S2719DGF) ($249.99 at Dell) , which have the same screen size and resolution. Another MSI model, the Optix MPG27C, which is very similar to the MPG27CQ but with a 1,920-by-1,080-pixel native resolution, has a lower pixel density (82ppi), so its content may not appear quite as sharp. But running games at a high refresh rate at 1080p should be more realistic with a typical mainstream graphics card.

At the other extreme is the Acer Predator X27, our Editors' Choice high-performance gaming monitor, whose 4K UHD (3,840-by-2,160-pixel) resolution packs pixels densely (163ppi) into its 27-inch screen. To run your games at the high refresh rates that the X27 ($3,061.80 at Amazon) demands (and to make such a primo panel worth your considerable investment), you need to have a gaming rig with a powerful graphics card. (See our guide to the best graphics cards for 4K gaming.)

The monitor's viewing angles, both from the side and above, are wide, typical of an VA panel, with little to no dimming or color shift at extreme off-center angles.

The Optix MPG27CQ includes two HDMI inputs and one DisplayPort, plus one USB 3.0 upstream port, two USB 3.0 downstreams, and separate audio-out and microphone-in jacks. A pervasive design issue among gaming and business monitors alike is port accessibility, and on this score the MPG27CQ's results are decidedly mixed. As with most monitors, ports are in a recessed bay in back, facing downward and difficult to reach.

But with this monitor, the ports are also positioned very close to the back of the bay. In my testing, I found it unusually hard to insert a DisplayPort cable connector into the port. I had to turn the monitor upside down to do so, and even then it was a bit of a squeeze. The bright side? The Optix MPG27CQ does have four sideways-facing connectors: the two USB 3.0 ports and the two audio jacks.

MSI covers the MPG27CQ with a three-year warranty.

Controls and the OSD

The Optix has only two physical controls: the power button, which is a short bar at the right-hand end of the bottom bezel, and a four-way mini-joystick with a central button of the kind that has become commonplace on gaming monitors. Pressing the controller straight in takes you to the onscreen display's (OSD's) main menu. If using the joystick is too much of a hassle, you can also control monitor functions from the MSI Gaming app with an iOS or Android smartphone.

Across the top of the OSD are listed the resolution, the refresh rate, the active game mode, whether Zero Latency is turned on or off, and the current signal source. Down the menu's left-hand edge is a column listing the main menu categories (Gaming, Professional, Image, Input Source, PIP/PBP, Navi Key, Setting).

MSI Optix MPG27CQ

From these, you can access submenus. For instance, in Gaming, you can select the Game Mode (User, FPS, Racing, RTS, or RPG), turn Zero Latency and Anti Motion Blur on and off, and change the response time and refresh rate. For the most part, navigating the OSD's menus and submenus is easy, although I ran across one instance in which it took several times entering a command for it to register.

The Zero Latency setting helps minimize input lag by turning off some non-essential functions that can increase processing time. Input lag is the time delay between when a monitor receives a signal and when the scene is rendered onscreen. If your system has high input lag and you're, say, shooting at an opponent, your enemy may have already moved on but the scene does not yet reflect that, so your opponent may always be a step (or more) ahead of you. That makes for frustrating gaming.

In addition to the Zero Latency setting, you can reduce input lag by turning off some functions (such as dynamic contrast) that increase processing time, but that may come at the expense of image quality. Fortunately, the Optix MPG27CQ's input lag as tested (discussed below) is low enough that it's unlikely that you will even want or need to employ the Zero Latency setting.

Color and Luminance Testing

I perform our luminance, color-fidelity, and contrast-ratio testing using a Klein K10-A colorimeter and SpectraCal CalMAN 5 software. The Optix MPG27CQ's luminance (brightness per unit area) measures at 310.9 nits (candelas per meter squared) in its default Gaming (User) mode, a bit short of its 400-nit rated brightness. The measured contrast ratio calculates out at 3110:1, a hair better than its 3000:1 rating by MSI.

MSI Optix MPG27CQ

The chromaticity chart above is produced with the Optix MPG27CQ in its default Gaming (User) mode. The area within the triangle represents all the colors that can be made by mixing the primary colors red, green, and blue. The circles, representing our measurements, lie outside the triangle and are fairly evenly spaced, indicating an expanded color gamut typical of a gaming panel.

Gaming Chops

Gray-to-gray pixel response is 1 millisecond in fast mode, and input lag, as measured with a Leo Bodnar Lag Tester, comes in at a very respectable 12ms. Both are very good figures; slow pixel response can cause ghosting and motion blur, and high input lag can create a disconnect between where you, say, are shooting and where your opponent actually is. (See my discussion near the end of the Controls and the OSD section.)

As mentioned earlier, the maximum refresh rate is 144Hz, whether you're using a DisplayPort or HDMI connection. With the Editors' Choice Samsung CHG70 ($599.99 at Amazon) 27-inch monitor, its 144Hz refresh rate is only good over a DisplayPort connection; over HDMI, it is capped at 100Hz. I took the Optix MPG27CQ through its paces in games such as the 2016 version of Hitman, Far Cry 5, and Rise of the Tomb Raider (and their associated benchmarks). Colors were bright, and the monitor did well in rendering detail in both bright and dark areas. I saw no trace of tearing or other artifacts. The Optix MPG27CQ does lack HDR capability, which you will find on the CHG70.

Related Story See How We Test Monitors

I viewed a series of YouTube videos that we commonly use in testing on the Optix MPG27CQ in Cinema mode, and while most looked good, colors seemed a bit off in a couple of them. Also, I noticed some minor motion and rendering artifacts. The Optix MPG27CQ is okay for casual movie watching, but video hounds will want to look elsewhere.

An Able Early Entry

The MSI Optix MPG27CQ is built for high-performance gaming—with QHD resolution, a 144Hz refresh rate over either DisplayPort or HDMI, and AMD FreeSync compatibility. I enjoyed gaming with it in our testing, and noticed no significant issues. It does lack HDR and its attendant image-quality improvements, but its brightness and contrast both proved decent in our testing. Its video performance is mediocre, though, unlike the Editors' Choice Samsung CHG70 27-inch, which did a stellar job with both games and video. At this screen size, that model still gets our nod.

Like What You're Reading?

Sign up for Lab Report to get the latest reviews and top product advice delivered right to your inbox.

This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links. Subscribing to a newsletter indicates your consent to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.


Thanks for signing up!

Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!

Sign up for other newsletters

TRENDING

About Tony Hoffman

Senior Analyst, Hardware

Since 2004, I have worked on PCMag’s hardware team, covering at various times printers, scanners, projectors, storage, and monitors. I currently focus my testing efforts on 3D printers, pro and productivity displays, and drives and SSDs of all sorts.

Over the years, I have reviewed iPad and iPhone science apps, plus the occasional camera, laptop, keyboard, and mouse. I've also written a host of articles about astronomy, space science, travel photography, and astrophotography for PCMag and its past and present sibling publications (among them, Mashable and ExtremeTech), as well as for the PCMag Digital Edition.

Read Tony's full bio

Read the latest from Tony Hoffman

MSI Optix MPG27CQ