Mini LED lighting is beginning to expand its presence in both monitors and televisions, and not a moment too soon—it offers numerous benefits over traditional LED backlighting, and while still not on par with the image quality that OLED screens deliver, mini LEDs can shine much brighter. As it begins to permeate the market, there is an opportunity for display makers to lay claim to 'firsts' as MSI has done with its 27-inch MEG 271Q Mini LED monitor.
MSI touts the 271Q as the world's first 27-inch mini LED gaming monitor with a 300Hz refresh rate. That's a notable achievement, even though we're sure other models with similar specs (or perhaps even better) will follow suit in relatively short order. Being the first to deliver such a product isn't what's truly notable, though, and instead we're intrigued with the delightful combination of technologies.
For one, this is an IPS screen. For the most part, we have pretty much abandoned cheaper TN panels, as IPS and VA screens have become better adept at
gaming over the years. We're also starting to see OLED displays enter the monitor market at a faster clip.
Second and third are the mini LEDs and speedy 300Hz refresh rate. MSI hasn't shared all the details just yet, and namely the brightness rating. But being that it is DisplayHDR 1000 certified, we know it can hit at least 1,000 nits. There are also over 500 local dimming zones to fine tune where on the screen these LEDs light up (which can reduce blooming).
The display is not only built for brightness, but also high-speed gaming. It rocks a 2560x1440 resolution with a 300Hz refresh rate, and if you have the GPU muscle to push frames into triple-digit territory at 1440p, this monitor will keep up. It also supports G-Sync (G-Sync Ultimate) and
NVIDIA Reflex.
MSI's MEG 271Q checks a lot of the right boxes and we'll certainly be keeping an eye out for its retail debut. As to when and how much, those details are not yet available.