Viotek GN27D Review

Specs
Screen size: 27”
Curvature: 1800R
Viewing angle: 178
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Resolution: 2560x1440p
Backlight: E-LED
Typical Brightness: 200cd/m2
Color Gamut: 95% sRGB; 85% NTSC
Contrast Ratio: 3,000:1 (typical), 1,000,000:1 (Dynamic)
Response Time: 5 ms GTG
Refresh Rate: 144Hz
Speaker: 3Wx2
Signal Input: DP x 1, HDMI x 2 (HDMI 2.0 and 1.4)
Tilt Angle: Forward 5 degrees, backward 15 degress
Dimension (with stand): 24.2x17.9x9.5 in (L x W x H)
Weight (Net/Gross): 9.9 lbs / 13.9 lbs
Other features: Picture in Picture, Gameplus mode, FreeSync

I must admit, I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with this monitor. I came from using a 24” BenQ gaming monitor that I put many hours of Call of Duty and Rocket League on and I honestly didn’t think it could get much better than that. Admittedly, I couldn’t be more wrong!

First thing I noticed was the colors. Everything had a deeper and richer color to them where they just popped off the screen compared to what I was use to. Moving up to a larger screen size with better resolution has been great as well! I truly didn’t know how I would feel about the curved screen but I had been leaning towards always wanting to stick with a flat monitor. When first loading up the computer, browsing the internet and chatting on discord felt “weird”, no other way to describe it; since then, I've grown used to it and it just feels "right" now. But who wants to know how a gaming monitor performs with browsing the internet? That's right, I did what every gamer would do when wanting to know how you will actually end up liking it: I loaded up a game.

It’s likely no secret, my favorite game for the past couple years is Rocket League. When it loaded up, the colors on the screen jumped out at me. The curve no longer felt weird. I went straight into the training mode to test how this gaming monitor felt when the ball had movement and having to make accurate contact with it. I had my doubts with it knowing that the response time was 5 ms compared to the 1 ms I came from and I thought I might have to get use to possible screen lag. That couldn’t be farther from what I experienced. I started with my wall aerial training pack and I was able to focus on the ball better, make better touches, and control the ball better than I had before. The gameplay was smoother overall, much to my surprise, with the colors screaming at you (in a beautiful way), and a higher definition with a wider screen than I was use to. I was in love!

As I went through the features, there was one feature that really stood out to me: Gameplus mode. Probably like most people, I didn’t read the manual (until now, writing the review!) and wanted to explore the settings and see what was available for me to change. I activated Gameplus mode. When you do this, it adds a reticle to your computer screen and you can move it to where you need it!


This is probably the best feature for anyone playing games with modes like Call of Duty’s Hardcore playlists where the reticles/crosshairs are removed from the screen. In the past, I would just make a dot on scotch tape and place it in the center of my screen and after a while, I noticed the adhesive had [obviously] left residue ruining my screen. Stupid little “gaming life hacks” like that are no longer needed with this monitor! I look forward to trying this feature out the next time I hop on Call of Duty as I'm a fan of hardcore mode, though, that may be a while with my Rocket League addiction, but if Modern Warfare shapes up to be as good as it is looking, that time will be in just a couple months!

I have also connected my Xbox One S to this monitor. A cool feature this monitor comes with that the Xbox One S/X can now take advantage of is FreeSync. You can enable this in your Xbox One Settings > Video Settings. The Xbox One S/X now supports the 1440p and 120Hz making this a perfect gaming monitor for your Xbox One S/X giving you smoother, higher definition gameplay. Read this article for more information and a how-to in changing the proper settings. Anyone else hearing Tim Allen’s grunting and saying “More powerrrrr!!”?


You may be wondering, “is there anything you don’t like about it?” and the answer is “yes”. The stuff I don’t like are small "Quality of life" things that most users probably won’t even notice: How long it takes when I shut my Xbox down and for my computer screen to pop up. If anything, the display for the device that just shut off should stay for 1-2 more seconds so I can go through the menu to manually select which input I want it on as that switches faster than just letting it figure out which input to choose.

At first, I didn’t like that it seemed the input slots themselves were receded so deep into the monitor that bigger hands really can't fit, until I had learned that there is a panel on the back that can be removed for easy access to the inputs. The panel helps hide the inputs to give the monitor a sleeker look. I decided to add my Firestick HDMI extender to the HDMI 1.4 slot since my monitor is in a tight space and it would be a pain to turn it around just to remove the panel and hook up another device (typically a Firestick but you never know). That’s it for my complaints.

Overall, I’m extremely happy, in fact, ecstatic with this gorgeous monitor! I love it! If you are in the market for an amazing gaming monitor that won’t break your bank, you should look no further.

Buy the Viotek GN27D on Amazon!

Here's the list of all their products; including larger monitors!