The Gigabyte M27U aims to break the 4K 144Hz+ segment pricing and bring it down below the $500 price mark. It basically offers what the M28U has, although it has a slight refresh rate boost and a smaller display-diagonal. Let’s look closer at how it compares to its slightly larger sibling and the cutthroat competition out there.
Gigabyte M27U Specifications
- Screen Size: 27 Inches
- Resolution:3840 x 2160 UHD
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Panel Technology: In-Plane Switching (IPS)
- Refresh Rate: 160Hz
- Response Time: 1ms
- Contrast Ratio: 1000:1
- Brightness: 400 cd/m2 (680 cd/m2)
- Built-in Speakers: Yes (2 x 3 Watts)
- Stand: Height – Yes
- Stand: Tilt – Yes
- Stand: Swivel – No
- Stand: Pivot– No
- VESA Compatibility: Yes (100 x 100)
- Connectivity: DisplayPort 1.4 DSC x 1, HDMI 2.1 x 1, USB-C PD18W x 1, USB 3.2 x 4, 3.5mm Jack x 1
- Dimensions With Stand (WxHxD): 24.24″ x 15.26″ x 7.62″
- Weight: 14.29 lb
Design and Features
The Gigabyte M27U doesn’t have a lot of changes to its aesthetic, so it looks neat and discrete. The monitor has a matte black finish, which may make it look like an office monitor, but that’s desirable compared to the gaudy options. It has a bezel-free design, but you still have that thick bottom bezel and inner borders on the panel.
It’s not a very large monitor, and Gigabyte even found a way to lessen its footprint. The boomerang base is smaller on this model, so it’s less intrusive than the 28-inch version. The monitor only weighs 14.29 pounds, so it’s portable enough to be brought to LAN parties or gaming events.
What remained constant with this model is its build quality which is quite comparable with the previous models. It’s plasticky, but it is durable enough to prevent cracking and flexing. The stand is stable enough for regular use, but it can still slightly wobble if you nudge it accidentally or hard enough.
The Gigabyte M27U has a joystick for its settings and features along with a dedicated KVM button to switch between sources. it also has OSD Sidekick support, so you can manipulate some display options using your keyboard and mouse. That’s a pretty convenient combination already, so tweaking your monitor to suit the current game at hand should be easy as peas.
The stand included in the package only offers tilt and height adjustments, but that’s sufficient in most instances. It’s understandable for these Gigabyte offerings since they are usually lower priced than their competitors. You can alternatively use VESA mounts, but that’s unnecessary in most instances.
The Gigabyte M27U’s connectivity layout was upgraded when compared to the M28U. It has DisplayPort 1.4, but its two HDMI ports are now both version 2.1. It still has that low-wattage USB-C slot with DP Alt Mode and the 3.5mm jack, but its USB now has more slots and is at version 3.2.
The monitor has built-in speakers, but they are limited to 3 watts of power per channel. Vocals are clear, but they are incapable of gaming-grade characteristics like bass response. This monitor deserves a properly tuned headset for better immersion and focus, but it is always nice to have an extra set.
Display and Performance
The Gigabyte M27U sports an IPS panel with a 3840 x 2160 resolution, a 160Hz refresh rate, and a 1ms boosted response time. The backlight has a 400 cd/m2 output and a 680 cd/m2 peak, while the contrast is still listed at 1000:1. This monitor has HDR 600 certification since it has local dimming, but it is limited to 8 zones, so it won’t be doing much.
4K monitors are great for gaming since they are crisp and sharp but are quite demanding on the GPU. It’s harder to reach the full frame rate with most builds unless they are upgraded with a top-end card. Some may not love them for productivity since letters and numbers appear smaller, but you can use scaling to solve most of that.
The Gigabyte M27U covered 100% sRGB and 92% of the DCI-P3 gamut, so it’s decently vibrant compared to other budget models. The monitor had a high deltaE average of 3.15, so it is not accurate out of the box for editing work. Most of that is because of the wider gamut, but that’s always welcome for gaming and entertainment purposes.
Calibrating it improved the dE average to 1.97, which is decent and more in line with the ideal 2.2 threshold. The downside is that you will need a colorimeter, which isn’t cheap to achieve something similar. We can only recommend the purchase for professional use, but it is not a good idea for a gaming model like this.
The Gigabyte M27U’s backlight reached 381 cd/m2 at 100%, and it reached a peak of 572 cd/m2 when its HDR mode is active. It was only able to produce 1034:1 at 30% brightness, so it was incapable of deep blacks like its VA counterparts. It has local dimming, but the limited 8-zone implementation only produces clouding in most cases.
Panel uniformity for the test sample had some issues, like clouding in some quadrants of the screen. Some may want to turn off that local dimming feature off since the limited zones don’t really do much to increase the contrast for HDR. Note that this can vary for every monitor made, so there are better units out there.
What’s great about the Gigabyte M27U is its pixel response time, which is considerably better than the IPS panels out there. Setting its overdrive to either Picture Quality is best here since the two other levels add relative levels of overshoot. It is great for fast-paced games, although 4K 144Hz isn’t the best pick for E-Sports games.
The Gigabyte M27U is compatible with both FreeSync and G-Sync, which are necessary for 4K gaming. It’s good to have dual compatibility so you don’t have to buy another monitor in case you switch to the other GPU brand. Input lag sits at 4ms at 160Hz, so it is just as fast as the best gaming monitors out there.
Thoughts on the Gigabyte M27U
The Gigabyte M27U is a fantastic choice if you want to upgrade to 4K 144Hz+ without breaking the bank. You get a capable gaming display with vibrant colors for almost half of what the M28U used to cost, so it’s a steal in our eyes. It also has upgraded features like dual HDMI 2.1 to make it more worth every dollar spent.
However, it is far from perfect, just like most budget monitors out there. What we dislike about it is its HDR implementation, although the handicap is understandable since it’s a budget model. But overall, it’s a fantastic, value-oriented buy for both PC and console gamers.
Pros:
- Very Attractive Price for 4K 144Hz+
- USB-C and HDMI 2.1 Connectivity
- Extended Gamut
- Fast and Responsive
Cons:
- Limited HDR Features
- Inaccurate Color
- USB-C Limited to 18W
About the Author: 
Paolo has been a gaming veteran since the golden days of Doom and Warcraft and has been building gaming systems for family, friends, and colleagues since junior high. High-performance monitors are one of his fixations; he believes that every citizen’s right to enjoy one. He has gone through several pieces of hardware in pursuit of every bit of performance gain, much to the dismay of his wallet. He now works with Monitornerds to scrutinize the latest gear to create reviews that accentuate the seldom explained aspects of a PC monitor.
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