The Sceptre U275W-UPT offers 4K visuals with a generous overclock at a price that usually gets you a 1080p alternative. It’s not marketed explicitly as a gaming variant, but its specifications and overview from the company put some emphasis on it. Let’s take a closer look to know what you can expect from a $200 4K monitor.
Sceptre U275W-UPT Specifications
- Screen Size: 27 Inches
- Resolution: 3840 x 2160 4K
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Panel Technology: In-Plane Switching (IPS)
- Refresh Rate: 70Hz
- Response Time: 5ms
- Contrast Ratio: 1200:1
- Brightness: 350 cd/m²
- Built-in Speakers: Yes (2 x 2 Watts)
- Stand: Height – No
- Stand: Tilt – Yes
- Stand: Swivel – No
- Stand: Pivot– No
- VESA Compatibility: Yes (100 x 100)
- Connectivity: DisplayPort 1.2 x 1, HDMI 2.0 x 1, HDMI 1.4 x 2, 3.5mm Audio Jack
- Dimensions With Stand (WxHxD): 24.19″ x 17.75″ x 8.06″
- Weight: 11.46 lbs
Design and Features
The Sceptre U275W-UPT has a simple design, but it doesn’t look cheap or plasticky like the brand’s older models. It has a matte black finish, so it doesn’t look flashy or conspicuous in a workstation or gaming setup. The display is bezel-free save for the bottom edge, but you still get inner borders on it.
The monitor, when fully assembled, isn’t gigantic by today’s standards even if it’s bigger than a typical office display. It only needs 8 inches of depth from your desk, plus its base is hollow, so you can use it to secure small peripherals or your phone. It only weighs 11.46 pounds, so it is easy to move around or bring with you to a LAN party.
Its build quality is nothing like we’ve seen before on budget monitors that normally had thinner materials or rough craftsmanship. This model’s chassis was surprisingly smooth and sturdy, and there were no signs of cosmetic defects. We expected the monitor to wobble because of the stand’s low attachment point, but it is surprisingly very stable compared to similar models.
The Sceptre U275W-UPT’s OSD controls use buttons instead of a user-friendly and tactile joystick. The labeled keys are under the bottom bezel, so you can easily access them. There aren’t many options in there, but it still takes more time to get to a specific setting since it involves multiple presses to get something done.
The included stand only offers tilt, but it’s acceptable to lose creature comforts like this when the price is low enough. We’d like to have height adjustments at the minimum, but this model doesn’t sit too low compared to similar offerings. We highly recommend buying a VESA mount for this model since it’s cheap enough to allow an additional purchase.
Another simplified aspect of the Sceptre U275W-UPT is its connectivity layout. You get a slot each for DisplayPort 1.2 and HDMI 2.0, along with two HDMI 1.4 slots. The latter only supports up to 30Hz in 4K, so they are practically useless for modern applications.
You also get speakers with the package, but they are severely limited in audio quality. Their lack of bass makes them unusable for entertainment purposes. However, it is still nice to have a backup set in case you don’t want to use headphones.
Display and Performance
The Sceptre U275W-UPT sports a 27-inch IPS panel with a 3840 x 2160 resolution, a 70Hz max refresh rate, and a 5ms response time. The backlight has a 350 cd/m2 output, while the contrast is listed at 1000:1, like most IPS panels. This model doesn’t advertise HDR capabilities, but that’s natural since it is a super-budget model.
27-inch 4K monitors are very sharp and detailed, so they are perfect for imaging work or gaming. It can get difficult to read walls of text or browse, but you can quickly solve that with scaling solutions in your OS. It also may be limited to 70Hz, but not many systems or graphics cards can sustain 70FPS in newer games.
The Sceptre U275W-UPT covers 99% of the sRGB gamut, which is decent for a daily-driven display. Its default accuracy could use some improvements, but the deltaE average of 2.88 isn’t so bad for movies, games, and basic computer usage. Most users will only feel the need to make basic adjustments before continuous use.
Calibrating the monitor reduced its dE average to a more decent 1.45. That makes it usable for content creation and basic editing, but professionals will demand better fidelity. If that’s the case, then we highly advise against getting this monitor and going with a prosumer variant like the Asus PA279CRV instead.
The screen’s backlight reached 341 cd/m2 at 100% brightness, so it can fight off a decent amount of glare. However, its contrast ratio is unremarkable since it only reached 944:1 at 32% brightness. That means that it’s incapable of deep blacks or dark scenes, mainly when its used at night.
Panel uniformity for the test sample had some issues due to backlight bleeding at the top corners of the screen. They can become noticeable in dark scenes, but well-lit or full-color images are not as affected. Note that this can vary between every monitor made due to tolerances, so there are better units out there.
The Sceptre U275W-UPT’s 70Hz maximum added a small degree of smoothness to its motion clarity. Its pixel response time was also decent, so blurring and persistence are not as bad as they are on a VA panel. Utilizing the overdrive can help with this limitation, but setting it too high can add overshoot.
The Sceptre U275W-UPT is compatible with FreeSync and G-Sync for stutter and tear-free gaming. This dual compatibility is essential for 4K gaming, so you don’t have to ditch the monitor in case you switch to the other GPU brand. Its input lag is at 10ms at 70Hz, so users won’t have that sluggish or delayed feel while using it.
Thoughts on the Sceptre U275W-UPT
The Sceptre U275W-UPT is a fantastic monitor by virtue of its current $200 price point. It offers a decent image and builds quality, plus a welcome surprise in the form of an overclockable refresh rate. It is not the most premium out there, but it’s one of the best when it comes to physical quality in the budget segment.
Our main gripe with it is its inclusion of two HDMI 1.4 slots instead of just tripling its HDMI 2.0 connectivity. HDMI 1.4 is limited to 30Hz at 4K, so they are virtually unusable for users who are buying it because of its resolution. However, we think it’s a steal at its current price, even if there are some missing creature comforts and performance characteristics like wide gamut coverage.
Pros:
- Very Affordable Price (Summer 2023)
- Decent IPS Image Quality
- FreeSync and G-Sync Compatible
Cons:
- HDMI 1.4
- Low Contrast
- Tilt-Limited Stand
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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