Gigabyte Aorus CV27F Monitor Review: 27" Of 165Hz Curved Gaming Bliss

Most people don't have the luxury of keeping separate PCs and monitors for gaming and productivity. If that describes you, then you may need to use that top-shelf gaming display for real work, too. In this case, work means development in Microsoft Visual Studio 2019 and WebStorm, reading and writing documents in Microsoft Word and Excel, email, web browsing, and watching the occasional video (YouTube is productive, right?). To really get a feel for how the CV27F fares as a productivity monitor, it became our primary workstation display for the duration of our testing period.

In short, the CV27F does a great job for productivity tasks. The high contrast ratio makes reading text a joy, and the accurate colors makes browsing the web a great experience. The curvature of the CV27F's panel never caused a problem while working, either. Never did my eyes get tired throughout my work day, and during the evenings, this entire review was produced with the CV27F as the PC's main display. If you're looking for a best-of-both-worlds gaming display that can also handle day-to-day productivity duties, the Aorus CV27F is up to the task.


That said, 1080p is a bit of a low-resolution for a 27" monitor. Personally, I miss the extra vertical space afforded by my regular 1440p display. In the 21" range, 1920x1080 is just over 100 DPI, which is pretty comfortable, but when you scale that same resolution up to 27", the DPI drops to just over 81. While that lower DPI certainly aids reading for folks that need it, pixels were just a little too big for us and we found the resulting 1080p resolution a little constraining. 1440p is a comfortable 108 DPI for most folks, and we think it's the sweet spot for a display that could potentially last through multiple system builds. 

The good news for those who want more vertical pixels is that Aorus also makes the CV27Q, which is a 27" QHD 1440p display that otherwise matches the CV27F spec for spec. This higher-resolution model isn't available at e-tail just yet, but based on our experience with the CV27F, it should be worth checking out. Presumably it'll ring in at a somewhat higher price than the $399 CV27F, but those with bigger budgets may want to opt for a higher resolution. 


At $399, the Aorus CV27F is obviously not a cheap proposition. However, it really pays to get the best PC monitor you can afford when you're shopping, because a good display can potentially last you through multiple upgrades and system builds and it is something that you'll interface with constantly while at your PC. Such is the case with Aorus's CV27F. Its sturdy build quality, features, and most importantly that 165Hz VA panel with variable refresh rate support should keep buyers happily gaming for a long time to come.


We really liked the accuracy of its panel. After calibration, the CV27F covered 90% of the wider DCI-P3 color space with very low delta values and good-enough backlight consistency to make images look stunning. All of the extra features baked in, like the OSD Sidekick configuration utility, two-port USB hub that helps reduce cable clutter, and built-in noise canceling microphone array, add value to the package. The CV27F's understated looks ensure that its presence on a desk doesn't distract or detract from the gaming experience. 

Speaking of the gaming experience, playing our favorite games on the CV27F was a joy. The display's deep blacks, accurate colors, very fast response times, and incredibly smooth frame rate combined to show PC games in the very best light. NVIDIA's G-Sync worked without a hitch across a wide variety of games that used all of the popular graphics APIs. While the 400-nit peak brightness level isn't going to sear any retinas with HDR content, the monitor's compatibility with HDR content will at least ensure that videos and games that support wide color gamuts look good. Those same characteristics make work look good, too.
So many folks unthinkingly pair a $300-500 graphics card with a cheap 1080p display and just don't realize how much performance they're throwing out the window when the monitor's panel just can't keep up. What good is all that graphical horsepower if you're not outputting it to something that won't discard more than half of all the frames your graphics card can pump out? The CV27F removes the display bottleneck people most often forget about by outputting those pixels rapidly and making them look good in the process. If you're in the market for upgrading your graphics card and you still don't have a fast monitor, you might want to upgrade your display first. If you need a fast display that looks great and has tons of features, we heartily recommend the Aorus CV27F. 

Screenshots just don't do high frame rates on the CV27F justice. For that matter, 60 fps video on YouTube doesn't, either. The best way to really appreciate what high-refresh rates do for games is to go look at one in person. We'll warn you, though, you better take your credit card along, because you'll be walking out of the store with one of these suckers under your arm. 

Impressively smooth 165 Hz panel Excellent contrast ratio  Great color accuracy FreeSync 2 and G-Sync Gentle curve adds to immersion Configurable RGB LED accents	Low 1080p for a 27" display RGB LED array isn't very bright