MSI MAG 272UP X24 Review (4K/240Hz QD-OLED)

1. Introduction2. Design3. On-screen Display (OSD)4. Panel Analysis: SDR5. Panel Analysis: HDR6. Response Times & Motion Clarity7. Input Latency8. Closing Thoughts9. View All Pages

We always knew there'd be some element of compromise when it comes to MSI's MAG 272UP X24. Designed to offer the same 4th Gen QD-OLED panel as the more expensive MPG 272URX, it cuts down or strips back a number of other areas in order to meet the lower price-point.

There's no USB hub, for instance, while the DisplayPort is of the 1.4 spec, rather than the newer 2.1 standard. USB-C power delivery is also capped at just 15W, while there's no KVM functionality or RGB lighting. Those are the key differentiators, and you may well be thinking that none of those are overly significant, as it very much comes down to personal preference and how often you'd make use of those features.

What I wasn't expecting, though, is that the factory calibration would be as different as it is. Now, don't get me wrong, we've seen worse – but out of the box, the colour balance is just too warm, and the gamma is also higher than it should be, and that has a knock-on effect for colour accuracy. While there is a built-in sRGB mode, too, it doesn't fully rectify the colour temperature and gamma issues.

The good news is that a manual colour balance fixes a lot of those issues, while some people out there may be calibrating the screen anyway. So while the out of the box experience could certainly be improved, we can't get away from the fact that this is a 4K/240Hz QD-OLED panel that's currently less than £500, and it brings with it all of the hallmarks of OLED technology – things like effectively infinite contrast, near-instant response times meaning zero ghosting, per-pixel dimming for highly impressive HDR… the list goes on.

Considering other monitors using the same QD-OLED panel are typically selling for around £600 and often closer to £700, that alone makes the 272UP an attractive proposition. Some people may still want to pay more, both to get an increased feature-set and for a stronger factory calibration, but at just £499 currently, it's hard to ignore the bang-for-buck on offer with MSI's MAG 272UP X24.

We found the 272UP listed for £499 on OCUK HERE. We're told this is a temporary deal lasting until April 22nd, but PCPartPicker pricing history shows it frequently drops below MSRP anyway.

Pros

• Very wide gamut.
• Effectively infinite contrast ratio.
• Very fast response times.
• 4K resolution coupled with 240Hz OLED makes for a very sharp experience.
• HDR hits 1000 nits along with a True Black 400 mode and EOTF Boost.
• 2x HDMI 2.1.
• Feature-rich OSD.
• Cheapest 4K/240Hz QD-OLED on the market (as far as we can see).

Cons

• Default colour balance is too warm.
• Gamma is also a touch high, though not terrible at 2.341.
• sRGB emulation mode doesn't fix those errors.
• Only DisplayPort 1.4, among other cut-back features like no USB hub.

KitGuru says: There's clearly room for improvement when it comes to the factory calibration, but for £500 it's hard to ignore the sheer value on offer from MSI's MAG 272UP X24.

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