In my case, I haven’t taken the step to the dark side yet, upscaling to 4K resolution on my primary monitor, I’m still running 2160×1440. This is mostly because it requires a really good computer for games to run well at high resolutions, but also because I mostly play FPS games where I usually drop the resolution down to support very high framerates. Now that I’ve recently built a new computer, the idea of switching to a 4K screen is starting to come up again, so I was really excited when Cooler Master’s new show-off screen, the GP27U, showed up in the editorial office. On paper, it looks very promising, with an IPS panel, Mini-LED lighting, Quantum DOT film, HDR, all very fast with a response time of one millisecond. But does all of this justify the nearly £800 price tag.
As I said, Cooler Master really did it with the GP27U, the screen has just about everything you can imagine in terms of finesse and functionality. There’s a built-in KVM switch, which is handy if, for example, you have a home office and want to run two different computers with the same screen, keyboard, and mouse. With the touch of an on-screen button, you can easily switch between your personal PC and work computer without reconnecting any cables. The desk stand can be raised and lowered with adjustments in all directions, the base design resembles the Cooler Master logo and takes up quite a bit of space, which is something I really like instead of the wide, bulky feet that many monitors have It’s easy to get in the way of your keyboard and mouse. The design is clean, and I like the lighting on the back, which can be changed to any color, but the build quality of the screen itself leaves a bit to be desired, as it feels a bit plastic for the price, and I’d like to see more luxurious material options.
The picture on this screen is one of the absolute best I’ve seen, otherwise it would be weird, I guess considering what they put in it. Because out of the box the IPS panel with Quantum DOT film has incredibly good color reproduction and it feels like every graphic element has been hand chiseled because the clarity is top notch. It has Mini LED backlighting with 576 local dimming zones and displays in blacks and contrast that are really, really dark when needed. However, the viewing angles aren’t great, and it’s not the kind of screen you’d watch a movie with friends. But what really impressed me was the brightness, as its 1200 nits (in HDR max mode) hurt my eyes at full brightness, which is pretty unusual. Fortunately, adjusting to the proper level is easy using an in-screen menu that’s clear and easy to use.
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The panel in the screen has a refresh rate of 160Hz, which may seem a bit low, but considering it’s 3840×2160 resolution, it would take a very powerful computer to deliver more frames per second. Bottom line, if you want to max out all the graphics, you don’t need a higher frequency, I think it’s hard to see the difference compared to, say, a 240Hz screen. Response time on screen should be one millisecond like on paper but it’s not quite right in reality when you measure in game it’s stuck at a little over two milliseconds but for those who aren’t pro gamers That’s enough for me when I play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. What’s really cool is that it’s a 4K screen and games like Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Cyberpunk 2077 look absolutely amazing and everything is on ultra the graphics are unmatched and it hits another level of the gaming experience itself , with rich detail.
The Cooler Master Tempest GP27U is a very good screen, but it’s going to be a big hit on your wallet, and it’s best suited if you plan to play graphics-intensive games that support HDR. It can also be used as a graphics screen, but requires calibration as it is not optimized at the factory.
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