Gigabyte M27Q 170Hz 1440p FreeSync KVM Monitor Review

How Much Does it Cost?

The Gigabyte M27Q 27-inch KVM Gaming Monitor is available from most major retailers now. However, stock issues do persist as with most other tech these days, but it is out there in the wild and steadily being restocked. It’s showing on Amazon for £359.99, and around the same price at retailers like Scan. Don’t mix it up with the slightly cheaper M27Q though, they share the same name, but this one doesn’t have “KVM” in its full product name and only has a 144hz panel! Gigabyte could do with having a more unique naming system for their monitors!

Overview

Gigabyte has a very interesting monitor here, and their KVM switch is one that many won’t need, but for people like myself, it’s a real game-changer. I can be running my own PC, as well as a PC I have in for review or even a test bench that I’m using to benchmark memory, games, etc. With the KVM switch, I connect ONE keyboard and mouse to the monitor but connect both systems to the monitor. I can then control both computers with those peripherals, and that can really save a lot of clutter around my desk!

Build Quality

I’ll admit, the monitor isn’t overly fancy to look at. The back actually looks quite good, but the stand is fairly basic really. That being said, you’re getting a lot of interesting panel technologies here for this price range. If you plan to use your own VESA mount anyway, it’s not an issue either, but I would like some left-right rotation options.

Calibration

Out of the box, it scored 4.5/5 using my Spyder calibration tester, which is excellent! After calibration, it scored exactly the same! It hit 100% sRGB, 99% AdobeRGB, and 97% of P3, which is great. Calibration dropped the Adobe RGB to 98%, but improved colour accuracy a bit. Gamma was very good across the range, with only a slight deviation at 30%, but certainly nothing I could perceive with my eyes. Plus, there’s a fairly smooth grey ramp between 6300 to 6700K, which could result in grey banding, but honestly, that wasn’t to a level I ever noticed during usage.

Delta-E was excellent out of the box, and anything under 3 is brilliant, and it had 2 or below throughout. Calibration brought that down to an average of just 0.64, which is spectacular. However, the only real-world difference I could see was a slight green tint was removed. If you don’t have a calibrator, apply the warm colour profile in the OSD, which will get you basically the same result.

Performance

The colours are fantastic on this panel, and the contrast ratio is pretty good, but certainly a little better in HDR mode if you plan on using that for gaming. The panel’s overall brightness really pops too, which is fantastic for games, and black levels are decent for movie time.

The 2560 x 1440 panel has a good level of detail, but it’s the 170Hz refresh rate that really adds much more clarity. Your eyes are getting so much more information per second that it can often look much clearer than a 4K60 panel. Plus, FreeSync and Adaptive-Sync, as well as a slew of gaming tuning feature will ensure you get the best out of gaming experience.

Should I Buy One?

While the KVM switch may not appeal to many, it certainly is an interesting feature that I want to see in more models. At this price range, the monitor is very competitive, offering some great gaming features and a highly capable panel that’s going to tick the right boxes for work and productivity, as much as it does for competitive gaming!