ViewSonic Elite XG270

amazon ViewSonic Elite XG270 reviews

For years, gamers have had to compromise the monitor they choose: fast refresh rates with poor picture quality or rich details and slower speeds. However, the ViewSonic Elite XG270 is set to change as one of the first 240Hz IPS monitors to hit the market. During our time using the 27-inch, 1080p display, we found it to be both lightning-fast and beautiful to look at, thanks to the combination of the IPS panel and HDR 10. If you’re interested in upgrading to a high-refresh-rate monitor, wait no more: the XG270 is the fastest, prettiest product on store shelves.

One more good thing

The ViewSonic Elite XG270 and its sibling, the 1440p Elite XG270QG, are among some new monitors developed by the company that is shifting the brand in a completely new aesthetic direction. Gone are the grays and reds of years past, replaced by an all-black finish accented on the back with a single RGB LED ring.

Throughout our testing, I found that both functionally and aesthetically, the XG270 and XG270QG were identical in design — and you won’t find me complaining about that. Everything I love about the QG is back in the VESA-mountable XG270, including a stand that can swivel left or right 45 degrees with a tilt range of -5 to 20 degrees. The screen can also rotate a full 90 degrees for anyone who wants to use it as a secondary display.

At the bottom of the unit are two RGB strips that can be controlled independently of the one on the back, and all RGB bands can be synchronized to one of three different control schemes thanks to a membership of ViewSonic in RGB Alliance: CoolerMaster’s MasterPlus+ (Case Light), Razer’s Chroma (keyboard, mouse, and headset) and ThermalTake’s TT RGB (case and accessories).

A hexagon on either side of the RGB is two mouse buttons (for left- and right-handed players). These, when set up properly, make it easy to manage mouse cables if you want to stay away from the lag some wireless mice can introduce into your game. When you’re gaming at 240Hz, I don’t blame you either.

On the back of the device are a pair of 3-watt speakers (which is rare) that don’t sound terrible. At this point, nearly any gaming monitor with speakers would be better off without them due to the small output, lots of trebles, and almost no bass. But the extra power the XG270 has compared to the XG270QG seems to make a bit of a difference. Any gamer will eventually opt for a headset for both the built-in microphone and the ability to hear your enemies before seeing them on the screen.

In terms of ports, the ViewSonic Elite XG270 is equipped with one HDMI 2.0 port and one DisplayPort 1.4b slot, three USB 3.1 Type-A ports, and a single USB 3.1 Type-B downstream port for connecting the monitor to your PC.

Elite test: Lacks color, but super fast speed

Color gamut range

To evaluate the ViewSonic Elite XG270’s color accuracy, I tested the sRGB gamut using Portrait Displays’ CalMAN calibration software. The Murideo SIX-G signal generator, the Klein K10-A colorimeter, and the spectrophotometer X-Rite i1Basic Pro.

Almost any current gaming monitor performs well on this test that measures how web-based content will appear (average is usually between 95 and 100 percent). Things are no different here, with coverage of the XG270 reached 99.7 percent.

In the Adobe RGB measurement, which typically tells you how the display will perform when dealing with content creation tasks like editing photos or videos or creating 3D models, the XG270 starts to lose out to its larger sibling (record 88.8% for gaming monitors). Here, the XG270 only achieved a score of 78.1%, lower than what gaming monitors usually achieve.

Then there’s the DCI-P3 test, which measures how accurately a monitor can display movie and TV content in creative editing applications:

Again, the results aren’t the same as what we’ve seen from other gaming monitors, only going well above the last level of 78.8%.

Check input brightness and lag.

At a peak reading of 413.8 nits in HDR mode, the XG270’s brightness levels fell in line with the expectations set by its HDR 10 specs. A black level of 0.15 gives the monitor a total rated contrast ratio of 2,759:1, much higher than ViewSonic’s advertised ratio of 1,000:1.

Finally, using the HDFury 4K Diva, I recorded a near-record input lag figure of 1.6ms. That is slower but imperceptible than the 1.4ms of our current champ, the MSI Optix MPG341CQR, but that monitor tops out at 144Hz. That means that if you’re looking for a 240Hz gaming monitor that delivers on all fronts — response time, refresh rate, and input lag — then the XG270 is a top contender.

Basic test: Let’s Play!

To begin our basic testing, I ran the G-Sync-certified ViewSonic Elite XG270 through various games, including multiplayer and single-player titles, from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive to Shadow of the Tomb Raider.

This monitor is the first to pass Blur Buster’s PureXP tuning program, a certification process specifically designed by that team to reduce motion blur as much as possible in any monitor they use to check and adjust. That is achieved thanks to a lot of special backlight flicker adjustment that occurs in the display’s firmware; the details are a bit too complicated to get into here, but this is my experience of it.

In general, the higher the screen refresh rate, the more prone to motion blur. I’ve tested several 240Hz monitors that use TN or VA display technology. None have been immune to the problem of motion blur when quickly rotating the camera in a certain direction to arrange footage in titles FPS. The XG270 is not immune to this problem; however, it’s much less obvious than what I’ve seen in competing models.

Not only that, as I mentioned in reviews of monitors like the HP Omen X 25f, gaming at 240Hz is the way to go if your main concern is beating everyone else in the lobby a lot of players. The higher your refresh, the faster you can react to threats, and with ViewSonic’s strong contrast ratio and motion clarity, I feel like I’m ahead of the competition one step for every kill I achieve in my test rounds in CS: GO.

As far as the implementation of HDR 10, which is as important to a more immersive single-player experience as Shadow of the Tomb Raider, I can take it or leave it. One of the reviewers believed that any level of HDR below HDR 600 was not worth implementing simply because the contrast levels were too low for further investment. The same goes for the XG270, as HDR movies and games don’t exceed what they would on a non-HDR display.

Don’t get me wrong — this is easily the best-looking 240Hz display I’ve ever seen. However, that’s more because of the IPS panel than HDR, as the picture quality easily surpasses other 240Hz panels in standard mode and HDR.

Beautiful to watch, beautiful to play

The ViewSonic Elite XG270 is even more of what I love about the XG270QG, crammed into a screen that’s both faster and with less motion blur than its sibling. As its color results fall short, it loses a few points as a dual-purpose display for gamers and content creators (an area the XG270QG has surprisingly mastered). However, bringing IPS technology into the world of 240Hz gaming is a game-changer.

With the new Blur Busters certification, it’s the first and only monitor that can say with certainty that it’s ahead in the fight against motion blur. The XG270 is a trusted, expertly built gaming monitor that’s built to do what it’s good at getting you the fastest gaming with the sharpest visuals possible at 240Hz.

where can you get a ViewSonic Elite XG270 online

ViewSonic ELITE XG270 27 Inch 1080p 1ms 240Hz IPS G-SYNC Compatible Gaming Monitor with Elite Design Enhancements and Advanced Ergonomics for Esports , Black: Buy it now