Expert’s Rating
Pros
- Attractive and strong design
- Four video inputs together with USB-C
- Great colour efficiency
- High movement readability at 144Hz and 165Hz
Cons
- Limited picture high quality adjustment
- Speakers not included
- HDR mode is barebones
Our Verdict
The Canvas 27Q is a wonderful debut from NZXT into the show market. While its lack of picture quality control might flip off some content material creators, the opposite parts it brings to the desk akin to a lovely design, nice colour efficiency, and distinctive movement readability will attraction to even probably the most demanding of avid gamers.
Price When Reviewed
$319.99
Best Prices Today: NZXT Canvas 27Q
There’s a brand new competitor within the packed monitor market: NZXT. The firm launched a pair of debut shows, the NZXT Canvas 27Q and Canvas 32Q, in July of 2022. I’m reviewing the smaller of the pair right here. NZXT isn’t turning the monitor world on its head with these new choices, however the Canvas 27Q is an efficient selection if you wish to recreation at 1440p.
This overview is a part of our ongoing roundup of the best gaming monitors. Go there for data on competing merchandise and the way we take a look at them.
NZXT Canvas 27Q: The specs
The NZXT Canvas 27Q’s specs are typical of a 1440p gaming monitor. It has an IPS show panel, a refresh fee of as much as 165Hz, and helps adaptive sync on each AMD and Nvidia {hardware}. Video connectivity is a bit higher than regular, with USB-C becoming a member of a pair of HDMI ports and a lone DisplayPort.
- Display dimension: 27-inch
- Native decision: 2,560×1,440
- Panel sort: IPS
- Refresh fee: Up to 165Hz
- HDR: Yes, HDR10
- Adaptive sync: AMD FreeSync Premium, G-Sync Compatible
- Ports: 2x HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.2, 2x USB Type-A, USB-C with DisplayPort Alternate Mode, USB-B (Upstream), 3.5mm audio
- Stand adjustment: Height, tilt, swivel, pivot
- VESA mount: Yes, 100x100mm
- Speakers: No
- Price: $359.99 MSRP ($319.99 with out stand)
The Canvas 27Q carries an MSRP of $359.99. That’s not extravagant however in the direction of the higher finish of pricing for a 27-inch, 1440p monitor with a refresh fee of 165Hz. Is NZXT’s debut 27-inch monitor value paying a premium?
NZXT Canvas 27Q: Design
The NZXT Canvas 27Q is accessible in certainly one of two colours: white or black. Such a selection is uncommon on this planet of pc displays. Alienware has provided white and black choices previously. Only a handful of displays, like Samsung’s Smart M8, are offered with a number of choices.
The NZXT Canvas 27Q is obtainable in two colours with the stand offered individually.
Matt Smith
NZXT lets customers purchase the stand within the reverse colour of panel, if desired. That means you possibly can mix a white stand with a black monitor, or vice-versa, for stormtrooper vibes. This pairs properly with NZXT’s H-series PC enclosures.
Plastic dominates the monitor’s supplies. NZXT has opted for thick panels and a satisfying, shiny texture that appears engaging at a distance. Bezels are skinny on three sides, however giant on the underside chin. The monitor’s branding is delicate, because the shiny NZXT emblem is borderline invisible till the sunshine hits at simply the correct angle.
The stand, which is a $40 add-on choice to the panel’s $319.99 MSRP, is extra sturdy than the monitor itself, with full metallic development and a sublime, engaging look. A sequence of holes drilled alongside the stand’s backbone present additional aptitude and are used to connect a cable administration hook.
A minimalistic design that provides model and performance.
Matt Smith
It’s useful too, with changes for peak, tilt, and pivot, plus 90 levels of rotation to be used in portrait orientation. The stand base is small and sits flat, so you possibly can stack issues on high of the bottom.
NZXT additionally sells the monitor with a monitor arm that enables a fair wider vary of adjustment. I didn’t obtain an NZXT monitor arm for overview, nevertheless, so I can’t touch upon its high quality.
NZXT Canvas 27Q: Features and menus
A strong vary of connectivity is discovered on the NZXT Canvas 27Q’s rear panel. It has two HDMI 2.0 inputs and one DisplayPort 1.2 enter, plus a USB-C port with DisplayPort Alternate Mode. That’s a complete of 4 video inputs, which is superb for a monitor on this value bracket.
The USB-C port doesn’t assist Power Delivery, so it received’t cost a related laptop computer. Though disappointing, that is to be anticipated given the Canvas 27Q’s value. The USB-C port can act as an upstream port for the 2 USB-A ports, nevertheless, so the monitor does present some utility when a USB-C laptop computer is related.
A joystick on the left flank controls the monitor’s menus. It’s a big joystick, which makes it straightforward to make use of, and the menu system feels responsive. A handful of shortcuts could be accessed by shifting the joystick to the left, proper, up, or down.
Image high quality changes embrace the same old array of brightness, distinction, sharpness, and saturation choices, plus exact gamma presets and three colour temperature choices (regular, cool, and heat). Color could be tweaked throughout crimson, inexperienced, and blue.
The monitor has quite a lot of preset modes, however they fail to impress. Most wildly alter picture high quality in methods I didn’t discover pleasing. The “Professional” setting is the largest miss. I hoped this is likely to be an sRGB mode. Instead, it merely adjustments colour temperature to heat, lowers brightness, and makes some ill-advised tweaks to distinction and sharpness.
This is a small, however not trivial, concern. NZXT’s advertising suggests the monitor is extra versatile than its competitors. That’s not the case. It helps a spread of image-quality adjustment that, if something, is barely much less versatile than most mid-range displays.
What about audio? Well, there isn’t any – a minimum of, not within the type of audio system. The 3.5mm audio-out jack is all you get. Some opponents, such because the Gigabyte M27Q X and Acer Nitro XV272, embrace audio system.
NZXT Canvas 27Q: SDR picture high quality
The NZXT Canvas 27Q is a 27-inch, 1440p monitor. It has an IPS panel and lacks the premium panel know-how, akin to Quantum Dots or IPS Black assist, that may be present in most costly competitors. Still, the monitor’s SDR picture high quality is commendable.
Matt Smith
Brightness is available in at a really respectable 379 nits. While removed from record-setting, this degree of SDR brightness is greater than is typical of a 27-inch monitor on this value vary. It’s very vibrant out of the field, a lot in order that I needed to flip it right down to about 25 p.c of its most for regular use.
This, together with the display screen’s matte end, makes the NZXT Canvas 27Q an important possibility if you want to use a monitor in a brightly lit house. However, Gigabyte’s M27Q X is even brighter and can seem extra sensible.
Matt Smith
Contrast is available in at a ratio of 1080:1, which is okay however not distinctive for an IPS monitor. There’s a good sense of depth and dimensionality when utilizing the monitor in a vibrant room.
The IPS panel’s black-level efficiency shouldn’t be nice and the dreaded “IPS glow,” which creates a hazy grey look in darkish scenes, is seen in a darkish room. It’s no worse than the competitors, nevertheless.
My overview monitor had good luminance uniformity. The corners seem barely brighter than the middle if examined carefully, however that is solely apparent if you happen to go in search of it. I didn’t discover any giant, distracting vibrant spots alongside the sides of the monitor.
Matt Smith
The NZXT Canvas 27Q dashes forward of the pack in colour gamut, reaching 97 p.c of DCI-P3 and 87 p.c of Adobe RGB. These are glorious outcomes that present the Canvas 27Q can show a wider vary of colours than most opponents. Gigabyte’s M27Q X is superior but in addition costlier.
The result’s a vibrant expertise. Colors are a bit oversaturated at instances, particularly when viewing content material designed for a extra slim colour gamut, however most individuals received’t discover this to be a difficulty. On the opposite, it seems nice straight out of the field.
Content creators will love the broad colour gamut. The added vary of colours makes it attainable to work with a broader vary of colour important content material. It’s inferior to displays that use an IPS panel with Quantum Dots, or an OLED monitor, but it surely’s strong for the worth.
As talked about, there’s no devoted sRGB—or, actually, any mode that targets a selected colour gamut. It’s arduous to exactly goal a selected colour gamut with out software-based calibration, which is able to restrict the monitor’s attraction to some customers.
Matt Smith
Color accuracy can also be very good, with a median colour error beating all comers, together with the Gigabyte M27Q X. That’s an important end result and, as seen on the graph, it’s on the high of the aggressive set. This means colours will look very near what was supposed.
Color temperature is a bit wonky, nevertheless. The “normal” setting, which is the default, is available in at round 7300Okay. That’s above the popular goal of 6500Okay and results in a considerably medical, sterile look. The actual drawback, nevertheless, is that the “warm” setting is much too heat, coming in at 5300Okay. This leaves you with two unsatisfactory choices: ‘regular,” which seems too stark, and “warm,” which appears too mellow, even dusty.
The Canvas 27Q’s 1440p decision is an efficient mid-point between 1080p and 4K. It packs a decent 108 pixels per inch, which is excessive sufficient to look sharp in most conditions. And in contrast to 4K, which requires a high-end graphics card for acceptable efficiency, 1440p is playable on mid-range choices like the Nvidia RTX 3060 and AMD Radeon RX 6600.
The Canvas 27Q’s total efficiency shouldn’t be far off the Gigabyte M27Q X which, although superior, carries a a lot greater MSRP. The Canvas 27Q beats some older options, just like the BenQ EX2710Q. It even retains up with the Asus TUF Gaming VG289Q, a way more costly 4K 144Hz gaming monitor.
In brief, the NZXT Canvas 27Q delivers nice picture high quality for the worth. Gamers will love its vibrant, punchy look. Content creators will even get pleasure from it, however some might discover its quirks (like colour temperature) annoying.
NZXT Canvas 27Q: HDR picture high quality
The NZXT Canvas 27Q helps HDR however lacks any degree of VESA DisplayHDR certification. NZXT, to its credit score, downplays HDR compatibility. The official Canvas 27Q web site mentions HDR10 assist however, except for a single HDR10 emblem within the monitor’s promotional trailer, it’s in any other case stored low-key.
That’s good, as a result of the monitor’s HDR10 assist is primary. An HDR sign is detected robotically, flipping the monitor to HDR mode, however the monitor lacks options essential to benefit from HDR. The monitor doesn’t appear to be brighter in HDR mode than in SDR mode. It additionally lacks a dynamic backlight. This, mixed with the IPS panel’s mediocre distinction, makes for a moderately flat expertise.
That’s wonderful. Good HDR efficiency shouldn’t be accessible in displays offered across the NZXT Canvas 27Q’s value level. The greatest HDR displays, just like the Alienware AW3423DW and Asus ROG Strix PG32UQX, are priced above $1,000.
NZXT Canvas 27Q: Motion readability
The NZXT Canvas 27Q has a most refresh fee of as much as 165Hz and helps both AMD FreeSync Premium and Nvidia G-Sync Compatible. The full 1440p at 165Hz is simply accessible over the DisplayPort and USB-C connections, nevertheless: The HDMI ports cap at 1440p and 144Hz.
Motion readability is strong at both 165Hz or 144Hz and continues to look first rate right down to round 60Hz. There’s some ghosting round fast-moving objects however readability is excessive sufficient that the majority wonderful particulars stay seen.
The monitor helps a backlight strobing mode labeled “MPRT.” This rapidly glints the backlight to cut back movement blur at the price of brightness. It works properly, decreasing movement blur noticeably in comparison with the usual mode. There’s a slight “double image” impact, which is frequent to backlight flicker modes, but it surely’s subdued. The mode locks brightness management however is vibrant sufficient to stay usable in most conditions.
This is a robust exhibiting for the NZXT Canvas 27Q. Motion readability is sweet at default settings and could be additional improved by the MPRT mode. A monitor with the next refresh fee will carry out higher, after all—however the Canvas 27Q’s movement is superb for the worth.
Final ideas
NZXT’s Canvas 27Q is an excellent debut. It’s a lovely, well-designed, and durable monitor with a pleasant stand, nice colour efficiency, and glorious movement readability. The monitor additionally helps 4 video inputs and USB-C, although the USB-C port lacks Power Delivery.
The Canvas 27Q would profit from a wider vary of image-quality controls, and the controls which can be current want to supply extra room for adjustment. This will disappoint content material creators who need extra management over the monitor.
Still, it’s an important monitor for avid gamers and, regardless of a number of limitations, stays a good selection for content material creators on a funds. It’s priced greater than most opponents, however that is justified by the monitor’s characteristic set, construct high quality, and SDR picture high quality. NZXT is off to a strong begin.