MSI Optix MAG274QRF-QD: gaming monitor with pro features

Details

We have recently looked at several multimedia-oriented, design or professional monitors, but most of you will probably be most interested in gaming models. We got a hot news from MSI with the complicated designation Optix MAG274QRF-QD. It has a 27″ QHD 165 Hz display with Quantum Dot and G-Sync support, which are really solid features. Are we looking at a new go-to monitor for passionate gamers?

Basic specs

Packaging and accessories

The monitor comes with a dual-use packaging, while the inner cardboard with simple visuals shows the monitor itself and a few of its basic specs.

In addition to the monitor, the package includes a power adapter, documentation, HDMI, DisplayPort, and USB Type B cables for connection to a PC. Screws are not missing either.

A polygonal stand has the longest dimensions of 30 × 20.5 cm and at first glance shows that it will allow you to rotate the monitor sideways. You can also see that the leg screw does not require the use of a screwdriver.

The black stand itself offers an opening/organizer for cable management.

Attaching the stand to the legis a matter of a few seconds and requires no tools, thus I like it.

The back appeals in the traditional spirit of MSI, so one part resembles brushed aluminum, other part is shiny and hides the backlight as well as a kind of printed circuit board and the rest is matte. The red manufacturer’s logo must not be missing either. In the middle is a traditional VESA 100 × 100 mount.

Mounting the stand to the monitor body is somewhat clumsy. Half of the mounting is ideal, but the other half is not. You can fit the stand into the body by simply inserting it, but you need screws to attach it.

The bottom of the VESA mount therefore requires the use of screws from the package, which is not an ideal solution. We saw the same mounting method with Optix MAG272CQR, so this is the standard of this manufacturer. However, I would welcome it if the entire installation was tool-free and did not require the use of any screws. If other manufacturers can do it, why not MSI?

After the mounting is done, we can look at the front. It offers an elegant design without frames on three sides and a relatively compact lower chin. The design is dominated by sharp edges and lines, which we see on the stand and the chin itself at the bottom of the display.

The back, as with other MSI monitors, features an aggressive design that is complemented by RGB backlight, which we’ll look at in a moment. Interestingly, the back of each monitor is a little different, but you can always see more or less the same combination of materials and design elements.

The monitor connectivity is one of the best we’ve ever seen on a gaming monitor. There is a DisplayPort 1.2 (165 Hz), two HDMI 2.0b (144 Hz), USB-C with DP Alt mode, audio jack for headphones, two USB type A for accessories and USB type B for connection to a PC. More or less I have nothing to complain about the monitor, four video inputs are more than enough, I am especially pleased with the presence of USB-C and the USB hub itself is definitely a great feature, especially for connecting a mouse and keyboard.

If I wanted to be very critical, I would point out that USBs are only older 2.0 (this will not limit mouse and keyboard in any way though) and they could be 4 and not just 2. Furthermore, it might not be bad if the ports were split on both sides of the monitor and not in one place, or if at least the USB ports were somewhere on the side for easier access. However, these are really just small things, and rather than negative criticism, they could be ideas for improvement for a future model.

I criticized the manufacturer for having to use a screwdriver to attach the stand, but now I commend them. I appreciate that MSI has long used a combination of the power button and a 5-way joystick for controls in the OSD menu. I think this is currently the best combination for working and controlling the monitor, so I’m giving it a thumbs up.

Let’s move on to the positioning options. The monitor untraditionally offers relatively large possibilities of sideways rotation by up to 75 degrees. Usually, monitors offer a range of only about 30–35 degrees, so it’s interesting to see a larger range of motion.

There is also the possibility of tilting the display by the usual -5 to +20 degrees or height adjustment in the range of 100 mm. At the lowest point, its bottom edge is 65 mm above the pad and 432 mm for the top edge. In the highest position, it is 165 mm and 532 mm above the pad.

The monitor also offers a pivot function, i.e. rotation to a vertical position. This is possible in both directions and not just one, as usual.

It would not be a gaming monitor without RGB backlight that you find on the back as traditionally.

You can control it via the company’s Mystic Light application, where you have a choice of several modes and there is also the option of synchronizing or turning off the backlight.

Backlight bleed can be seen mostly around the edges of the display, but it is nothing extraordinary and I would describe it as normal.

Of course, as always, each panel is different and your piece can be better, but also worse. In the next chapter, we will also measure the uniformity with a color analyzer.

We have recently looked at several multimedia-oriented, design or professional monitors, but most of you will probably be most interested in gaming models. We got a hot news from MSI with the complicated designation Optix MAG274QRF-QD. It has a 27″ QHD 165 Hz display with Quantum Dot and G-Sync support, which are really solid features. Are we looking at a new go-to monitor for passionate gamers?

Range of settings

The already mentioned power button in combination with the 5-way joystick, which you can see in the photo in the article header, is used for controls. Again, I think this is the best way to control the monitor, and I have no choice but to praise it.

When you move the joystick to the sides, you have several quick actions at your disposal, which you can also pick yourself.

After pressing the middle button of the joystick, you will get to the already known OSD menu, which is mostly gaming-oriented, which you would also expect from a gaming monitor. The very first item is therefore focused on purely gaming functions.

The following are two sections for image settings.

And last, the source settings, the adjustment of quick actions of the joystick and settings, where you will find the language, length and transparency of the OSD menu display or the direct control of turning the RGB LED on and off.

In addition to being able to control the OSD menu with the joystick directly on the monitor, you can download the Gaming OSD 2.0 application and control the monitor’s functions using a USB cable connected to the PC.

In the application you will find all the options from the OSD menu and several others. It is worth mentioning the macro buttons and keyboard shortcuts. You can create your own profile as well as adjust parameters such as monitor auto-off or on-screen program layout. Perhaps the biggest advantage, however, is that you can control all these functions with the mouse and you don’t have to reach for the monitor and control them manually with the joystick.

We have recently looked at several multimedia-oriented, design or professional monitors, but most of you will probably be most interested in gaming models. We got a hot news from MSI with the complicated designation Optix MAG274QRF-QD. It has a 27″ QHD 165 Hz display with Quantum Dot and G-Sync support, which are really solid features. Are we looking at a new go-to monitor for passionate gamers?

Image properties

We tested the properties of the display using the Datacolor Spyder5Elite color analyzer. The display has an IPS matrix with a diagonal of 27″ and a traditional aspect ratio of 16:9 and a flat panel, the resolution is 2560 × 1440 px, anti-reflective treatment and minimal frames from three sides. I currently consider 27-inch monitors to be the gold standard of the gaming sphere, 24″ are already too small and 32″ are large and expensive. Therefore, most gaming displays are 27 inches. The novelty from MSI impresses with a 165 Hz refresh rate and G-Sync Compatible support with a range of 48–165 Hz. The manufacturer refers to the panel as Rapid IPS and speaks of a 1 ms GTG response. Interesting is certainly the use of Quantum Dot and the fact that the monitor should offer a very good color spectrum, up to 97% DCI-P3 and 147% sRGB, which is not usual at all with gaming monitors. With a brightness of 300 nits, the HDR Ready label is again just a marketing strategy, but we are used to it.

We compared the displaying quality in the basic mode, i.e. the one in which the monitor will be immediately after unboxing. In this case, it is the User mode. The color analyzer showed us 100% sRGB, 100% AdobeRGB, 100% DCI-P3 and 98% NTSC. These are excellent values and perhaps the best we have measured in a gaming monitor. Of course, this is a panel with 8bit + FRC, so it does not catch up to a full 10-bit graphics-oriented monitor, but compared to other gaming and non-gaming monitors, it is really a great display that many monitors would envy.

The numbers show that the monitor is not only suitable for gaming, but it will not be a problem to edit photos or videos on it. The low color difference Delta E with a value of only 0.82 is also very good, which is again top-notch and gamma with a value of 2.1 without any deviation is also very accurate. If I hadn’t known these values belong to a gaming monitor, I would have never guessed it wasn’t a graphics-oriented monitor. The maximum measured brightness was 325 nits, which is a little more than the specifications say. It’s more than enough for normal use, but it’s still not enough for HDR content. The uniformity more or less confirms the findings when the black color is displayed, and thus we see some deviations at the top of the display.

Input Lag and Response Time

We’ve also measured input lag on the monitor in several Response Time modes.

The default setting is Fast, where the input lag is 8.7 ms. In Normal mode it is then 8.9 and in the Fastest only 8.5 ms. Again, these are above-average values and perhaps the best we’ve measured. They are all below 9 ms, which I don’t think we’ve seen here before.

On the manufacturer’s website you will find information about the 1 ms response time GTG, i.e. the pixel refresh speed. Response Time in the basic Fast mode seems to be an ideal value, in Normal ghosting has become a little visible and, conversely, inverse ghosting is starting to appear in Fastest. I would therefore leave the Response Time mode at the default value, where according to the tests the panel achieves the best results. Mention should also be made of the Anti Motion Blur mode, where ghosting has been eliminated even more, but at the cost of a significant reduction in brightness due to flickering of the display – backlight strobing. This eliminates ghosting a bit more, but the brightness is significantly reduced. I would therefore recommend using this mode only for really competitive gaming and ideally in a dark room.

We have recently looked at several multimedia-oriented, design or professional monitors, but most of you will probably be most interested in gaming models. We got a hot news from MSI with the complicated designation Optix MAG274QRF-QD. It has a 27″ QHD 165 Hz display with Quantum Dot and G-Sync support, which are really solid features. Are we looking at a new go-to monitor for passionate gamers?

Conclusion

MSI Optix MAG274QRF-QD is a very neat gaming monitor. It offers great specifications such as 165 Hz, the popular 27″ QHD resolution, solid brightness and surprisingly good color accuracy, which even graphics-oriented monitors would not be ashamed of.

I can also highlight the G-Sync support, simple controls using the joystick or application and a wide range of positioning options. We must not forget the very good connectivity and the traditional gaming design with RGB backlight. Specifications, measured values and equipment are top-notch and negatives are hard to find.

In comparison with MAG272CQR we tested last year, it is definitely a step forward and thanks to a more affordable price it will also be a better choice than Aorus FI27Q-P, which has so far been one of the top gaming monitors on the market in my opinion. Compared to these two pieces, I can blame the novelty for just one or two things.

The predecessor from MSI offered a headphone holder, which was an interesting detail that you will not find on this model. The second thing is that Aorus offered several display and control options, including PiP or PbP, which the new Optix does not have. It also doesn’t offer any dedicated graphics mode, but the values measured in the basic User profile were great, so this is not such a problem.

In any case, the MSI Optix MAG274QRF-QD ranks at the top with its features. This monitor thus receives a new Top-notch award from us, which is intended for products with no trade-offs.

You can buy this monitor at our partner’s website czc.cz za 14,990 Czk/575 Eur

• Contents
• Details
• Range of settings
• Image properties
• Conclusion