It's become a meme at this point that gamers are notorious for blaming their equipment, but in actuality our skill ceiling is bound by the devices we use. You could have the most kitted-out gaming PC possible, packed to the brim with Intel's latest and greatest, but in the end, you'll only see what your display is capable of. Thankfully, the sky's the limit with the OMEN 27i – it's one of the most versatile gaming monitors around.
The first thing you notice about the OMEN 27i is its sleek design. The 27-inch display is held up by a thin, non-intrusive stand connected to a base that echoes the shiny new rhombus-shaped OMEN logo. It feels more mature, and happily packs the specs to prove it.
Under the hood, you'll find a Nano IPS at 165Hz refresh rate and 1440p resolution, packed with both G-Sync and FreeSync for Nvidia and Radeon graphics card s to get the most out of their screen. But don't worry, we'll unpack what all of this really means for you and your games below.
To understand exactly what the OMEN 27i is offering, you need to know what refresh rate is and its relationship with frames per second, otherwise known as 'fps'. 'Refresh rate' is how many times the screen can refresh in one second, while fps is how many frames your PC can generate in the same amount of time.
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With most monitors and televisions out there stuck at 50Hz or 60Hz refresh rate, many people struggle to see more than 50 or 60fps from their games. HP's OMEN 27i doesn't suffer with this problem, however, coming in swinging with 165Hz. And trust us, 165fps can bridge the gap between life and death, allowing you to catch a mere glimpse of an enemy you otherwise wouldn't have seen in FPS games.
Usually, a higher refresh rate comes at the expense of the type or resolution, but the OMEN 27i refuses to compromise. It sports a top-of-the-range Nano IPS , which is one of the best s on the market right now. Not to bog you down with numbers and terminology, but a wide colour gamut and DCI-P3 98% colour reproduction ensures the best saturation and colour accuracy possible, ushering in a vibrancy that s of other monitors usually dream of. And at 1ms response time, the changing scenery will feel as smooth as humanly possible.
Much like high definition's leapfrogging of standard definition, the new round of hardware is likely to cement quad high definition (QHD) as the new de facto. The OMEN 27i doesn't falter here, either, boasting a striking 1440p resolution for extra clarity. To put this in perspective, that's an increase of 1.6 million pixels compared to HD, opening up a whole lot of visual oomph.
Even if your hardware helps boost fps and you get a display capable of showing it, you don't want screen tearing or frame stuttering ruining your experience. This is where G-Sync and FreeSync come in, as both of these technologies use VESA's Adaptive-Sync protocol side-step the issue and present a smoother picture. No matter whether you have an Nvidia graphics card to use G-Sync or an AMD GPU for FreeSync, the OMEN 27i caters to all who are interested in gaming to the best of their ability.
These abilities can be hindered by strained eyes and sore necks, though, making it difficult to grind out a game and climb the ranks, which is why HP has designed the OMEN 27i to be both ergonomic and stylish. Antiglare technology and five-inch height adjustment with -5 / 20-degree tilt will keep you gaming for longer without fatigue. Even the LED lighting helps reduce exhaustion when the display is placed against the wall, as the flooded light makes sure the OMEN 27i isn't the brightest thing in the room, even with 350 nits.
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This is where OMEN makes it personal – you can control the lighting using OMEN Command Center app for Windows 10, customising the colour of the LED on the back and below the logo at the front to your liking. You can also fine-tune the picture and performance of the OMEN 27i, adding a real-time fps counter in the corner or perhaps even editing your crosshair.
Whether you're a competitive gamer looking to squeeze as many frames as possible and gain the edge over your enemies, or a casual gamer that enjoys the cinematic experience of a narrative-driven game, the OMEN 27i proves to be a versatile beast with impressive quality across the board. It's perfect for gamers unwilling to compromise, packing tremendous value for money, costing just £499.99 in the UK.
If you want to see more from OMEN, head over to the HP Store or check out the OMEN Command Center, but do note that its features are exclusive to OMEN products.
If you want to benchmark your PC, with a counter, check the PCGameBenchmark best gaming monitor.