In today’s gaming market, where relatively cheap consoles offer Ultra HD graphics at 120Hz and 4K TVs are dropping in price, FHD monitors understandably get less attention. However, if you’re looking to buy a desktop display, it’s a fraction of your system’s budget and can deliver high levels of performance. For just over $200, you get a well-made, high-performance gaming monitor with 170Hz, Adaptive-Sync, HDR, and wide color gamut.
The Gigabyte G27F2 is the second version of the G27F we reviewed two years ago. The upgrade includes a 170Hz refresh rate instead of 144Hz, the addition of HDR, and an overall performance boost. The best part is that the prices are a little lower than before. At the time of this writing, his new G27F2 retails for $210, about $25 less than its predecessor, making it a strong contender for our ranks of the best gaming monitors.
Gigabyte G27F2 Specifications
| Panel type/backlight | IPS/W-LED, edge array |
| Screen size/aspect ratio | 27 inches/16:9 |
| Maximum resolution and refresh rate | 1920×1080@170Hz |
| Free Sync: 48-170Hz | |
| G-Sync compatible | |
| Native color depth and color gamut | 8bit/DCI-P3 |
| reaction time | 1ms MPRT |
| Brightness (mfr) | 400 nits |
| Contrast (mfr) | 1,000:1 |
| speaker | none |
| video input | 1x DisplayPort 1.2 |
| 2x HDMI 2.0 | |
| audio | 3.5mm headphone output |
| USB3.2 | 1x up, 2x down |
| power consumption | 20w, brightness @ 200 nits |
| Panel dimensions WxHxD (including base) | 24.2 x 16.1-21.6 x 7.6 inches (615 x 409-549 x 194mm) |
| panel thickness | 1.7 inch (42mm) |
| bezel width | Top/Side: 0.3″ (8mm) |
| Bottom: 0.9 inch (22mm) | |
| weight | 11.4 lbs (5.2kg) |
| guarantee | 3 years |
If you’re shopping in the FHD category, you won’t always find wide color gamut or HDR, but the G27F2 has both. According to my measurements, its IPS panel covers over 91% of DCI-P3, beating most other IPS monitors with a native contrast of nearly 1,400:1. It’s not VA territory, but it’s visually superior to most of the competition. It also added HDR which the original his G27F didn’t support. There is no dynamic contrast, so you won’t see much difference between SDR and HDR. However, the light output is around 400 nits, with slightly brighter highlights and more vibrant colors.
Improved video processing with a refresh rate of 170 Hz. This gives the G27F2 a slight advantage over its 165 Hz competitors. In fact, it’s one of the most responsive displays I’ve tested in this price range, with a very low input lag score and ghost-free overdrive. Also available is a backlight strobe option that Gigabyte calls the Aim Stabilizer. Works instead of Adaptive-Sync. Speaking of Adaptive-Sync, FreeSync can run from 48-170 Hz and G-Sync from 1-170 Hz. However, please note that the G27F2 is not certified by Nvidia.
Gigabyte’s full suite of game extensions includes aimpoints, timers, frame counters, and an information-rich dashboard that monitors CPU and GPU stats in real time. A free downloadable OSD Sidekick app also lets you control the G27F2 from your Windows desktop and create custom aiming reticles. The only thing missing here is an LED lighting feature and a built-in speaker. Otherwise, it’s a complete, full-featured gaming monitor well above its price.
assembly and accessories
The G27F2’s panel and stand assemble right out of the box, but the panel can easily be unsnapped if you want to use the 100mm VESA mount for an aftermarket solution. The base attaches with captive bolts. The resulting package is lightweight yet sturdy with no added play. HDMI and DisplayPort cables are included, and a small external power supply provides the juice.
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The styling is simple and to-the-point, with a thin flush bezel around the top and sides and a wide strip at the bottom, with only Gigabyte’s logo adorning the front and printed in a glossy area on the back. There is another logo. Also, the model number is displayed in glossy letters on one side of the back panel. A few molded shapes show the G27F2’s gaming intent, but nothing really grabs attention here. A small joystick is the only control. It efficiently navigates the OSD and also works as a power toggle. A white LED on the front indicates the power status. Lights up when on, blinks when in standby. You can beat it if you want.
The stand offers 130mm of height adjustment and 5/20 degrees of tilt. No rotation or portrait mode. The monitor is light enough that you can slide the stand and rotate it easily. The footprint is relatively small and the base is large enough to keep everything stable.
The input panels are on the top and bottom left side and contain two HDMI 2.0 and one DisplayPort 1.2. There is a 3.5mm headphone jack in the middle, along with USB 3.2 ports, one upstream and two downstream. No built-in speakers.
OSD function
The G27F2’s OSD has more features than you’d expect from a $210 monitor. Everything you need for image calibration, gaming performance and convenience.
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Game menus include many features, such as an aim stabilizer, also known as a backlit strobe for blur reduction. This reduces the light output by about 20% and creates slight fading artifacts. This is a common problem with backlight strobes I’ve experienced, but Gigabyte has a little better control. It was faint in our test patterns, but only occasionally in games – it works in place of Adaptive-Sync.
Super-resolution should be turned off as it creates obvious edge enhancement in high contrast areas. The G27F2 is sharp enough without any help. Overdrive has 3 speed options and an option called Smart OD that varies overshoot with frame rate. Very effective at reducing blur, no downsides. Neither Smart OD nor Picture Quality mode caused ghosting artifacts. This is one of the best overdrives I’ve ever had in a gaming monitor.
The Picture menu has 6 preset picture modes and 3 custom memories. The default is normal and can be adjusted with a full set of controls, color temperature and gamma. Speaking of gamma, it tracks perfectly with each preset. Selecting 2.2 will result in 2.2. The user-defined color temperature is very accurate and rewarded us with pro-level accuracy during our testing.
Other settings have some useful options, such as the option to turn off the front LEDs. Optionally, you can also set the USB port to charge your device. Once you’ve fine-tuned the G27F2 to your liking, save your settings to any of the three memory slots.
Press the joystick and left click to open the dashboard. With the OSD Sidekick app running, you can monitor all kinds of CPU and GPU information in real time using a USB connection. As far as I know, only Gigabyte has this feature.
Pressing the joystick and right-clicking opens GameAssist, which contains a series of timers, frame rate counters, and aimpoints. It includes a green cross and can load up to 3 custom shapes from the OSD Sidekick.
Gigabyte G27F2 calibration settings
The G27F2 can be enjoyed in standard mode without calibration, but the default grayscale is too blue. This can be easily fixed with the RGB sliders. No matter which method I use, the gamma is spot on with the best tracking from any monitor. Color gamut accuracy is also pretty good. Below are the settings I derived from the calibration. The HDR signal grays out all image options, but colors are solid.
| picture mode | standard |
| Brightness 200 nits | 45 |
| Brightness 120 nits | 18 |
| Brightness 100 nits | 12 |
| Brightness 80 nits | 5 (minimum 64 nits) |
| contrast | 50 |
| gamma | 2.2 |
| color temperature user | Red 97, Green 99, Blue 100 |
Games and hands-on
Whatever I did with the G27F2 gave the clear impression that it should cost over $210. Contrast and colors are so good that I almost didn’t notice the FHD resolution.The perfect gamma further enhances the contrast and gives the image a real texture feel. The only place I wanted a little more pixel density was when working with small fonts, mostly on his website and spreadsheets. With so much screen real estate to work with, it was easy to make the Word document large enough to read. Editing photos was no problem.
We experimented with different combinations of Aim Stabilizer, Adaptive-Sync and Overdrive to find the best and smoothest motion handling for our games. The Smart OD option varies the amount of overshoot to best match your current frame rate. I was running the game in detail at 170 fps most of the time, but occasionally it would drop to 160 fps. Smart OD keeps edges sharp and minimizes blur. With the Aim Stabilizer I could see a bit of frame tearing due to AS being off. We also saw slight fading artifacts in high-contrast areas, such as the outline of a dark object against a bright sky. The interior looked clean with no signs of fading. For competition, some users may prefer Aim His Stabilizer as it offers the maximum amount of blur reduction. I used Adaptive-Sync for game sessions.
In my experience the lag in response and control was non-existent. With quick and efficient mouse movements, I was able to mow down enemies at will. The G27F2 met my every wish and whim. The best player he might benefit from a 240 Hz or higher screen, but for everyone else he is fast enough at 170 Hz.
With such a tight gamma, the G27F2 takes full advantage of its wide color gamut for both SDR and HDR content. HDR doesn’t give you more contrast, but it does give you more punch and brighter highlights. The colors also pop a little more.Didn’t notice any performance degradation while playing Doom Eternal Also call of duty wwii In HDR mode, images were more vivid and engaging. At this price point, the G27F2 stands out against other cheap HDR screens.
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