MSI MPG 271QRX QD-OLED review

[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.]

In other words, behind every great 32-inch 4K OLED gaming monitor is a powerful 27-inch variant. That’s true of 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 small OLED panel. What it lacks in resolution, it makes up for with a sky-high 360Hz refresh rate, making it an ideal choice for gamers looking to combine high-performance frame rates with high-fidelity visuals. And while it’s not cheap, this MSI is one of the most affordable OLED monitors out there.

Design: Don’t mess with a good thing

The 27-inch MSI shares all of its design features with its 32-inch sibling, including a thinner screen, a hexagonal stand, and a kiss of RGB lighting on its back controlled by MSI’s Mystic Light software. Ultra-thin black bezels frame the OLED screen nicely, and the stand offers ample support without wobble, as well as plenty of tilt, swivel, and height adjustments.

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

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

All these features pale in comparison to the monitor’s OLED screen. The MPG 271QRX QD-OLED ups the resolution 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 OLED’s huge color gamut and off-the-charts contrast. Even without formal testing (which we’ll get to below), an OLED panel never fails to impress an untrained eye.

Like its 32-inch counterpart, the 271QRX supports variable refresh rate (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. It’s not a certification we see often, but its benefits are visible in real time According to VESA, each ClearMR layer represents a range of blurring performance based on the ratio of clear versus blurred pixels. ClearMR 13000 is defined as showing 125 to 135 times more clear pixels than unclear pixels. In short, you will be able to enjoy the video quality of the game without blurring.

Other features in 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, the MSI uses its AI Vision mode to increase overall brightness and color saturation but not actual AI upscaling.

At the end of the day, MSI focuses on delivering maximum performance. If you’re the type of gamer who counts frames rather than pixels, the MPG 271QRX QD-OLED is definitely made for you, thanks to the 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 several 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 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 manages an average brightness of 239 nits (candela per square meter). It’s in the same ballpark as the MSI MPG 321URX (235 nits), but dimmer than the Corsair Xeneon 27QHD240 OLED (307 nits). The low brightness numbers may give you pause, but there’s no reason to fret. Compared to IPS, OLED screens can maintain contrast at lower brightness levels, so the image will still look vibrant in low-light settings.

Switching 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 get brighter as the patch size gets smaller.) MSI doesn’t advertise an HDR peak, but we get results like As you can see, the 271QRX can hang with its rivals.

Next, we return to color-gamut performance. According to our colorimeter, the MPG 271QRX QD-OLED covers 153% of the sRGB color gamut, 96% of Adobe RGB and 98% of DCI-P3. The near-perfect rating means you can expect crisp, clear and accurate colors when gaming or watching movies.

It’s essentially the same as MSI’s 32-inch version, but note the sRGB over-coverage. Exceeding 100% of the color gamut does not necessarily mean that sRGB coverage is good. In fact, excess coverage can potentially oversaturate content, and even cause color inaccuracies when viewing sRGB images (especially in applications that don’t support color management).

Color accuracy proved just as good, resulting in a DeltaE measurement of 1.5. The higher the DeltaE, the more colors deviate from their intended color. A value below 1 is ideal, although very few gaming monitors handle this, especially out of the box. To our eyes, the difference in resolution between a 2K OLED and a conventional 4K monitor with these specs is almost imperceptible, and images certainly look much more vibrant than on a 4K IPS screen.

The 271QRX is rated for a peak contrast ratio of 1,500,000:1, even higher than Alienware’s latest OLED offerings. Contrast ratio refers to the difference in brightness between the brightest whites and darkest blacks a monitor can produce. This makes a difference in picture quality especially during dark scenes in the game. The true black (off) pixels of OLED and Mini LED panels mean dramatically higher, even theoretically infinite, contrast than other screen types. That’s a far cry from IPS panels that typically aim for contrast ratios of 1,000:1 to 3,000:1.

game test

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 play a few games from our library to check for noticeable blemishes like screen tearing.

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

OLED monitors still don’t reach the incredible heights 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 LG UltraGear 32 OLED gaming monitor that offer a 480Hz refresh. But as usual with monitors, something always has to give, meaning the higher the refresh rate, the lower the resolution. After all, how many people can run the games they want to play at 480fps any Resolution, don’t mind anything above 1080p?

Verdict: Maximum Performance 27 inches

It’s easy to like the MSI MPG 271QRX QD-OLED with excellent visual and gaming performance, and its $799.99 price makes it one of the most affordable OLED gaming displays you can buy. MSI may have some yum-like flaws, such as AI Vision Mode, but this 27-inch OLED is just as enticing as its big brother, even if our 27-inch favorite 360Hz Alienware AW2725DF remains QD-OLED.