Hazro
HZ27WC
Ratings:
5/5
Price: $950
Website:
www.overclockers.co.uk
Hazro HZ27WC
HZ27WC is Hazro’s cheapest 27inch screen and equipped with a single
dual-link DVI connector, 3.5mm audio input and one DC power connector. The only
one dual-link connector is essential to HZ27WC’s enormous natural resolution of
2560x1440. It spares a great amount of space for operating system and makes
everything seem sharp.
IPS has
better viewing angle and color reproduction than standard TN thus HZ27WC isn’t
disappointing. Hazro has claimed viewing angle was
178 degree and color was still accurate when watching nearly side-on. HZ27WC
also display more colors than whichever monitors we’ve ever seen. A big gamut
means objects look realer and contrast is vastly improved. Over saturated
images on other monitors appear livelier on HZ27WC, and the glossy surface is
also helpful.
It’s a pity
that the glossy finish is reflective. To be actually appreciated, HZ27WC
should be used in dark rooms – natural environment of gamers. There’s no wonder
that gamers is one of Hazro’s target market for this
monitor. The panel has pretty slow 6ms response time, which suits fast actions.
What we
didn’t mention was movie playing, and there’s a reason for which. HZ27WC
doesn’t support HDCP so you can’t play Blu-ray discs from PC on this screen
though you can play downloaded HD content from such as iTunes.
You may
think a $658 screen with no HDCP, a single input and no visual calibration
except brightness control is bad value. However, HZ27WC’s image quality should
be trusted though new cheap IPS ones make it seem obsolete.
Although
glass screen and lack of HDCP support limit its applications, we still suggest
gamers HZ27WC due to its large resolution and low response time. S27A950A has
120Hz support and supporting stuff but it’s far more expensive. If you just
want a high-quality monitor, HZ27WC is a great choice and it wins Best Buy
award.
Overviews
Consideration: HZ27WC is wonderful for gaming with
amazing colors but it doesn’t support playing Blu-ray movies.
27-inch
LCD widescreen:
2,560x1,400 resolution; DVI input; 3.5mm audio socket
Samsung SyncMaster S27A850D
Ratings:
5/5
Price: $950
Website:
www.dabs.com
Samsung SyncMaster
S27A850D
We rarely
review any over $784 monitor. But Samsung’s S27A850D is not a normal monitor.
Beside 2560x1440 resolution, fully adjustable stand and 3-port USB hub, it’s
been the first screen using new PSL (Plane-to-Line Switching) technology of
Samsung to produce deeper colors, better viewing angle and stronger contrast.
In fact,
colors are too deep and lively. Reds especially owns a nearly radioactive look.
In some image test displaying fruit, the strawberries were likely to explode.
In other simpler image, color depth increasing means it’s possible to raise contrast,
which gives objects or shape and depth. Our only complaint was with
black-and-white images, showing a lack of vigor in whites.
Menu
controls are clearly marked and put right beneath the screen and the menu
itself is very comprehensible. S27A850D has a full set of image quality
controls. This seems a little abundant because PLS screen doesn’t need much
configuration. However, we preferred Game mode which polished the images and
didn’t saturate colors much.
In our test
with movie, never had Bond looked such muscular. The screen performance in game
was also very impressive with larger color palette adding more depth and
reality to multi-player maps of Call of Duty 4.
All ports
are sideways, making it ideal for either wall-mounting or multi-screen setup. You
can connect 2 monitors and enjoy backgrounds next to each other, which really
comforts your because of large resolution.
Eco options
include 1 visual art notice informing you how many trees have been saved,
motion sensor which automatically turns the screen off when you leave and a
light sensor adjusting brightness according to nearby lighting condition.
Many
cheaper monitors own completely adjustable stand or big resolution or USB hub
but there’s few which have all of those three features and no monitor having
the amazing PLS screen of S27A850D. It’s the best one you can buy and it wins
Ultimate award.
Overviews
Consideration: Huge resolution, fully adjustable,
3-port USB hub and colorful Super-PLS screen make it Ultimate award winner.
27-inch
LCD widescreen:
2,560x1,400 resolution; DVI input; 3-port USB hub; case for power supply; DisplayPort; 3 Dual-link DVI
Acer HN274Hbmiiid
Ratings:
3/5
Price: $693
Website:
www..co.uk
Acer HN274Hbmiiid
3D monitors
use either passive glass or active glass, and the active field is now dominated
by 3D Vision technology of Nvidia. Acer’s new HD274H
comes with official glasses of Nvidia and an
integrated transmitter so you don’t have to plug in an USB box. It has a 27inch
screen with Full HD resolution and LED backlight, VGA, DVI, HDMI inputs and
120Hz refresh rate.
The glossy
black plastic finish attracts dust and although it’s not ugly, you still don’t
want it situated at the center of the living’s entertainment center. With 3
HDMI inputs given, Acer seems to want that. Two more ports on the sides, and
while this allow easy access it also mean cables are required.
Setting up
3D for game is easy. Nvidia has listed supported
games on its website. Games are ranked according to how well they support the
standard but even fully supported games still encountered problems during our
tests. In Aion, for example, we noticed particular
objects didn’t appear at relative level like other objects, causing the
double-image effect whenever we tried to see them.
One main
matter is crosshair handling; it happens mostly at the level of the monitor’s
screen instead the place it should appear in the game. To fix the problem, you
can set up a 3D cursor in 3D Vision setting (available via Nvidia
Control Panel) and disable in-game cursor. In games like Aion,
there’s no way to turn it off, which moves independently of the direction
you're facing, so we found it hard to choose objects.
Fortunately,
Blu-ray watching is very simple. You are notified to wear 3D glass and it
works. We found 3D Vision effect more convincing than passive glasses due to
its higher resolution, but there’s till evidence of crosstalk happening.
Overall,
visual quality is good but HN274H is just a TN monitor so images seem washed
out compared to vibrant IPS ones which we’ve viewed recently. The backlight is
a bit irregular has a slightly cold nature although color temperature is set at
Warm by default. Menu is fairly basic relative to HN274H’s price and you can
only control brightness and contrast as well as select Graphics, Movie, User or
Eco. Luckily, color accuracy is quite good and contrast is pretty impressive
for a TN screen. In airport’s night scene in Casino Royal, we managed to see
the seams in the leather black boots of Bond’s foe. Viewing angle is so
acceptable.
Our main problem
with HN274H is the price, reflecting the inclusion of Nvidia’s
glass. The modern S27A950D of Samsung owns a more vibrant and brilliant screen,
3D glass working with AMD cards as well as Nvidia
ones and lower price.
Overviews
Consideration: Image quality is pretty good and Nvidia technology is easy-to-use however it’s pricey.
27-inch
LCD widescreen:
1,920x1,080 resolution; inputs for VGA, DVI, HDMI; 3.5mm audio socket; 3xHDMI
display extra
