Gaming

Flicker-free gaming with Lenovo's curved monitor

Improvements needed, but the reasonable price and handy features will do for now

The Y27g monitor's relatively low resolution means your PC will be able to produce the high frame rates to match its 144Hz refresh rate, which should lead to a smooth, flicker-free gaming experience.
The Y27g monitor's relatively low resolution means your PC will be able to produce the high frame rates to match its 144Hz refresh rate, which should lead to a smooth, flicker-free gaming experience. PHOTO: LENOVO

Lenovo became the latest PC vendor to launch gaming monitors last year with the Y27f and the Y27g. These two curved displays are identical in every way, except that the Y27f supports the AMD FreeSync feature while the Y27g uses the competing Nvidia G-Sync technology.

Both AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync try to synchronise the monitor's frame rates with the in-game frame rates, in order to reduce stuttering and screen tearing in games. But each technology works only with the graphics cards from the respective companies.

For the Y27g, Lenovo has sensibly opted to use a vertical alignment (VA) panel. Cheaper than in-plane switching (IPS) displays, VA screens are superior to twisted nematic (TN) screens in colour reproduction, colour accuracy and viewing angle. The Y27g ($899) is priced between IPS gaming monitors that start from $1,000, and TN models that are $600 to $800.

The Y27g's 1,920 x 1,080 pixels screen resolution is at the lower end for its size. Text and images are not as crisp as they could be.

But this resolution works for gaming, especially if you have a less-than-powerful gaming rig that may struggle at a higher resolution. In addition, the relatively low resolution means your PC will be able to produce the high frame rates to match the Y27g's 144Hz refresh rate, which should lead to a smooth, flicker-free gaming experience.

Design-wise, the Y27g offers a decent amount of swivel (up to 30 degrees left or right) and tilt (from -5 to 30 degrees). It looks a bit chunky because of its curved design. At 1800R (which is as curved as a circle of radius 1,800mm), the Y27g has a rather pronounced curvature. Despite this, I still do not find the Y27g to be more immersive than a flat display.

I did find the two USB 3.0 ports at the side handy.

There are two more USB ports at the back, along with the HDMI and DisplayPort connectors. The monitor's G-Sync feature works only with the DisplayPort.

  • TECH SPECS

  • PRICE: $899

    RESOLUTION: 1,920 x 1,080 pixels

    ASPECT RATIO: 16:9

    BRIGHTNESS: 300 cd/m2

    RESPONSE TIME: 8ms

    PANEL TYPE: Vertical alignment

    CONNECTIVITY: DisplayPort, HDMI, 4 x USB 3.0, audio jack

  • RATING

    FEATURES: 4/5

    DESIGN: 3/5

    PERFORMANCE: 4/5

    VALUE FOR MONEY: 3/5

    OVERALL: 4/5

Another handy feature is that you can pull out a hook on the left side to hang your headset when it is not in use.

You can also plug the headset into the nearby audio jack, though the Y27g lacks built-in speakers.

Perhaps I have been spoilt by monitors that have a joystick for navigating the on-screen display (OSD). But I found the navigation of Y27g's OSD to be terribly clunky.

There are five physical buttons that, when pressed, open up a different section of the settings menu. Lenovo probably intends to make each button a shortcut for specific settings, but having a single button to open the menu would be less confusing.

I also found the gaming presets in the OSD to be useless. They generally change the brightness, contrast or tint of the screen, but these tweaks do little to improve the gaming experience.

In my testing, the Y27g scored highly for colour gamut and contrast, but its colour accuracy was less impressive.

•Verdict: This curved gaming monitor is one of the more affordable Nvidia G-Sync displays in the market, but Lenovo needs to improve the clunky OSD for its next monitor.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on January 18, 2017, with the headline Flicker-free gaming with Lenovo's curved monitor. Subscribe