Tag Archives: Curved

"The Lenovo G27c-10 is a great entry-level option to get into the fluidity of high FPS games."

• Affordable

• 165 Hz: Smooth playing

• Remarkably accurate colors

• Immersive size and curve

• Bare minimal I / O

• Low-maximum brightness

• Limited color gamut

• No DisplayPort cable included

If you are buying a fast gaming monitor on a budget, there is a good chance that you will or will come across the Lenovo G27c-10 in your efforts. It is a 27-inch full HD gaming monitor with a VA panel and a refresh rate of 165 Hz. This is a promising start to a great gaming experience.

The display's biggest selling point, of course, is its price, which comes in at $ 219 MSRP but often drops below $ 200, which is absolutely outstanding value for a 165Hz monitor.

How does it work in practice? Can the panel keep up with the refresh rate of 165 Hz? Is the picture quality good? And will it end up on our list of the best monitors? Let's find out.

design

When you unpack the G27c-10, you will find that it is an extremely simple monitor. The stand plugs into the bottom with a hand-turned screw and the monitor simply falls onto it. The locking mechanism takes care of the rest. The stand comes with height and tilt adjustments – and that's it – but you probably didn't intend to use this in portrait orientation. A cutout to pass cables through would have been nice, but no big deal.

Then there is the curve. Lenovo doesn't provide a curve radius, but we estimate it's in the range of around 1500R. It's certainly not as aggressive as the 1000R curve on Samsung's G7 monitors, nor as subtle as LG's curved displays either. Overall, it offers a good balance for its panel size and should please most gamers. The bezels are slim, which is very much appreciated at this price point, although we would have preferred not to see the pointer and performance graphics for the on-screen display (OSD) on the lower bezel as it adds no value and is a nuisance otherwise causes a clean design.

Other than that, the G27c-10's design doesn't offer much to comment on – it's about as clean as possible.

Connections and controls

Like the general design of the monitor, Lenovo didn't go to great lengths to give you extensive connectivity. The G27c-10 has an HDMI port and a DisplayPort port (which you need to use if you want G-Sync on an Nvidia GPU) and an audio-out jack in case you decide to run your headphones over your monitor.

The G27c-10's OSD is simple but has everything you need for a budget gaming monitor. Operation is via a direction switch at the lower right end of the monitor and is divided into four main sections: image settings, color settings, inputs and system settings. Inside you will find basic color controls, color temperature adjustments, brightness and contrast, FreeSync on / off, overdrive settings, game mode and a dark gain setting to brighten dark areas and gain a competitive edge in gaming.

picture quality

For the G27c-10, Lenovo opted for a VA panel with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, which is not particularly high for a 27-inch panel. This means that you will not get a sharp picture that is good for photo editing, although it will be enough for everyday use. Also in the game you are more interested in the high refresh rate of 165 Hz (keep in mind that most "normal" monitors are updated at 60 Hz), and the lower resolution means your GPU can pump out more frames and actually produce more frames using that high one Refresh rate.

We released our Spyder X Elite colorimeter on the G27c-10 and it was reported that the panel covered 96 percent of the sRGB space and 75 percent of the AdobeRGB. This isn't impressive and certainly won't please the photo editors, but it is enough. If you're buying a $ 200 gaming monitor, you probably won't mind that this isn't a wide range. If you're looking for a large color space, then you should check out something like the Acer ConceptD CM2.

The G27c-10 is remarkably color accurate with a Delta E of just 1.32.

However, when we tested the panel for color accuracy, the G27c-10 achieved a surprising Delta E (difference to the real) of 1.32. Any Delta E below 2 is considered good enough for image editing programs. Although the G27c-10 does not cover a large color space, the colors displayed look accurate.

The G27c-10 doesn't offer retinal-scorching brightness, which can be a problem depending on usage. We recorded a maximum of 328 nits, which is below the 350 nits stated by Lenovo, and subjectively the display wasn't very bright. For a good experience, make sure you're in a relatively dark room with maximum brightness play. For example, we don't want to use this monitor directly across from a window.

VA panels are known for their impressive ability to darken dark colors and create ink blacks rather than the dark gray that IPS panels create. Unfortunately, the G27C-10's best contrast ratio was 2350: 1, which is below the expected 3000: 1 value. Even so, most VA panels don't even come close to the 3000: 1 specification. In that regard, 2350: 1 is a reasonable achievement and for the most part leads you towards black and white. It's also better than you'd expect from a TN or IPS panel, especially at this price point.

The calibration of the G27c-10 had little to offer – it is as good as ex-factory.

We calibrated the display with the Spyder X Elite, but only lost more contrast, failed to achieve any color gamut and actually deteriorated the color accuracy. So it's safe to say that calibrating the G27c-10 is challenging. However, the out-of-the-box color accuracy is solid so this is less of a concern.

Gaming performance

As you'd expect from a 165Hz monitor, games look silky smooth when you have a GPU powerful enough to handle high frame rates. You want to dive into Windows settings and configure the panel to run at 165 Hz (Windows is 60 Hz by default on new monitors). Once you've done this and checked in the monitor's OSD and Nvidia's GeForce Control Panel (or AMD's Radeon Control Center) that G-Sync or FreeSync are running properly, your games will run smoothly with no stuttering or tearing . Note that to use G-Sync on an Nvidia card you need a DisplayPort cable, which is not included in the scope of delivery.

Since this is a VA panel, it can easily lag when bright objects move across a dark screen (like a mouse on a black background image). However, for the price of the display, the blurring is quite acceptable. If you want close to zero VA pollution levels on a gaming monitor, you'll have to increase your budget significantly for something like Samsung's 27-inch G7, but that monitor costs a whopping $ 650, which is just not worth it at that most buyers.

It's also worth noting that the display doesn't support HDR, which together with the relatively low brightness and limited color space means it won't blow you away with its image quality.

Once you stop pecking, the G27c-10 provides an extremely enjoyable gaming experience

Once you stop looking over the little flaws, the Lenovo G27c-10 is a good monitor. The curve is great for immersion and at 27 inches, it's the right size for most desks.

A great GPU to pair with this monitor would be Nvidia's GTX 1650 Super or AMD's RX 5500XT, which while not flagships, will get most of the games on this monitor into high frame rate areas without breaking the bank. You don't need the latest Nvidia RTX 3000 series card for this monitor unless you want to play a game like Metro Exodus with maximum ray tracing capabilities.

Our opinion

The Lenovo G27c-10 is by no means a perfect monitor, but it only costs $ 220. Prices often drop below the $ 200 mark, which is an incredible price for a 165Hz curved gaming display. It's not small either, measuring 27 inches diagonally, and it will work wonders for entry-level, high-FPS (frames per second) gaming setups.

The shortcomings are limited I / O connections, a modest color gamut, a little VA smear on the move, and a less sharp picture. However, these issues are easily excused by the monitor's very affordable price.

Are there alternatives?

Absolutely, but you will have to spend a little more to get them. Gigabyte's G27FC has similar specs but costs $ 50 more. Same goes for the MSI Optix MAG271VCR, which costs $ 260 but gives you a wider gamut of color and some luxury RGB items. The Lenovo is priced very competitively with other budget gaming monitors.

How long it will take?

Lenovo's G27c-10 should last as long as any monitor today: At least 5 years. Lenovo offers a one year warranty. However, aside from its fast refresh rate, it doesn't impress with its technology. So don't be surprised if you're looking for an upgrade about three years later.

Should I buy it?

Yes. If you're just looking for a fast gaming monitor on a budget with no needs other than gaming, the G27c-10 won't disappoint.

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