A wallet-friendly 27in IPS monitor,
but with too many drawbacks
At $544, Hazro’s HZ27WB is the joint
cheapest monitor on test, yet it boasts the same panel as our long-time Elite
list favorite, the Dell U2711. However, it lacks the Dell’s swoon worthy glass fronted
panel, and its stand only offers tilt adjustment, enabling it to be sold for a
lower price.
In addition to lacking adjustment, the
stand doesn’t do a particularly good job of providing a firm base for the
large, heavy panel either, and it’s generally poor compared to the competition.
Thankfully, it does have a 100mm x 100mmVESA mount should you want to use a
better stand. The rest of the specification is similar to the others on test,
though, with a 16:91 PS CCFL-backlit panel sporting a 2,560 x 1,440 resolution.
Given
its size, we were surprised to see an external power brick too
Given its size, we were surprised to see an
external power brick too - these are normally reserved for super-budget
monitors. It isn’t a deal-breaker, but you’ll need to find a home for one more
adaptor, rather than just using a kettle lead. The HZ27WB also only features
DVI-D inputs too, limiting use with consoles or other inputs out of the box.
Sadly, Hazro al sonly offers the standard
Class 2 pixel policy - a bit of a kick in the teeth for an outlay of $544.
Warranty is a serious concern with monitors, as you don’t want to be stuck with
dodgy pixels. You’ll have to rack up five bright or five dead pixels per panel
for it to be replaced.
There isn’t much in the way of adjustment
options for the actual panel either. There’s no OSD and, apart from brightness,
there isn’t a lot else to tweak, leaving you to fiddle with your graphics
card’s desktop color settings, which is far from ideal.
Our calibrator wasn’t too harsh on the
HZ27WB, though, and it showed the color temperature to be close to perfect. The
876:1 contrast ratio was also commendable. However, the stock color accuracy
was disappointing, with green and cyan both deviating by over 7.5 dE94 from the
ideal mark.
Although
this resulted in black areas during dark scenes being spoiled on occasions, the
backlight proved to be very even with no discernible bleed
Meanwhile, the gamma deviation was 0.1,
which was the highest of any panel on test here, but still within reasonable
limits. Although this resulted in black areas during dark scenes being spoiled
on occasions, the backlight proved to be very even with no discernible bleed.
Conclusion
The Hazro HZ27WB has a cheap price, high
resolution, neutral color temperature and high contrast ratio. However, most
other areas were disappointing-in particular, the wobbly stand, lack of inputs
and disappointing overall color accuracy. While the DGM IPS-2701WPH isn’t
perfect either, it’s a better buy for those on a budget.
While
the DGM IPS-2701WPH isn’t perfect either, it’s a better buy for those on a
budget
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Information
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Price: $544
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Supplier: www.overclockers.co.uk
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Manufacturer: www.hazro.co.uk
Specifications
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Size: 27"WS
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Color : 1.07 billion color (8-bit+AFRC)
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Aspect Ratio: 16:9
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Color Gamut: 102% NTSC color gamut
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Resolution: 2560 x 1440
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Viewing Angles: 178/178
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Response Time: 6ms G2G
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Panel Technology: H-IPS
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Contrast Ratio: 1000:1, 3000:1 DCR
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Interfaces: Dual-link DVI (HDCP)
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Brightness: 350
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Color: Black metal bezel and stand
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Special Features: Tilt, height and rotate
adjustments
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