Table of Contents
The difference between black and white is the most important thing. If you get that right, everything else will work out. Deep contrast went away when CRTs and plasma screens stopped being used. Self-emissive technologies can turn off individual pixels to make a true black. LCDs can’t do this, but things are looking up. We have LCDs that can imitate a plasma or OLED panel pretty well. Full-Array Local Dimming (FALD) panels are what we call them, and they come in two different types: LED and Mini LED.
Recently, that second one has become more important. Even though Mini LED is an expensive technology, it has made it possible to dim more zones. With more zones, you can control more and smaller parts of the image better. The best part is that the Tempest GP27U, Cooler Master’s newest 27-inch 4K panel, starts at around $800. It has a refresh rate of 160 Hz, 576 dimming zones, a Quantum Dot film for wide gamut colour, Adaptive-Sync, and HDR 1000.
Cooler Master Tempest GP27U SPECIFICATIONS
Screen Size | 27 |
Brightness | 600 nits (SDR), 1200 nits (HDR Peak) |
Lighting | Rear Cover Lighting |
VESA | 100×100 mm |
Cooler Master Tempest GP27U review: Design and Features
The Cooler Master Tempest is a machine that doesn’t stand out. The panel section isn’t very busy, with just a few accent lights and a couple stylish cutaways. The stand, on the other hand, is a simple vertical pole with a base in the shape of the Cooler Master logo. The stand comes with a simple cable tie that is easy to use.
Even though the stand looks simple, it has a lot of settings and is very stable. The monitor, on the other hand, has a lot of ports and other features that should make just about anyone happy. Two HDMI cable 2.1 ports can handle 4K/120Hz, which is great for gaming consoles. The 4K/160Hz signal can be sent through a DisplayPort 1.4 port. And there’s a USB-C port that can handle data for the display, USB data, and 90W of power. You can get this monitor from its official website.
Cooler Master Tempest GP27U review: Display Performance
There are many performance modes, so the section on response time is pretty detailed. We’ll start with the basics and look at how well 160Hz works. The Off mode works well enough, but most gamers will want to use overdrive in some way, in which case the Normal mode is really quite good.
At 160Hz, we’re already seeing an average response time of 5.83ms, no overshoot, great cumulative deviation, and even 73% refresh compliance, so this setting is very usable. We can do better, though. The Advanced mode brings the average up to 4.45ms, but it also makes the overshoot bigger. However, with such a small amount of overshoot, inverse ghosting is usually not visible.
Cooler Master Tempest GP27U review: Image Quality
The worst thing about the GP27U is that it has problems with the firmware when you use it in HDR mode. It’s kind of weird to turn on HDR in the first place, because the monitor needs to be in “Auto” mode for HDR to work, but leaving it in “Auto” mode for SDR causes problems. So it’s more of a “On” mode than a “Auto” mode. Because of this, it is hard to switch between HDR and SDR modes quickly while keeping the image quality high.
Final Words
Overall, the Cooler Master GP27U is a very good monitor. It’s great for the office because the text is clear, the peak brightness is high to cut down on glare, and the ergonomics make it easy to set up. It’s also great for gaming because it has HDMI 2.1 bandwidth for console gaming, a fast response time and low input lag for a responsive feel.
and VRR support to reduce screen tearing. It shows a wide range of colours in both SDR and HDR, which is important if you want to watch content, and it also shows deep blacks thanks to its good Mini LED local dimming. Even though it’s great for making content, you’ll need to calibrate it to get the most out of it.
Cooler Master Tempest GP27U Ratings
Pros
- Easily gets bright enough to fight glare.
- Excellent ergonomics.
Cons
- KVM feature doesn’t work well when switching sources.
FAQs
How much is Tempest GP27U?
The best part is that the Tempest GP27U, Cooler Master’s newest 27-inch 4K panel, starts at around $800. It has a refresh rate of 160 Hz, 576 dimming zones, a Quantum Dot film for wide gamut colour, Adaptive-Sync, and HDR 1000.
What is the response time of GP27U?
This monitor has a panel with a resolution of 3840 x 2160 and a colour range that covers 98% of the DCI-P3 colour space. It also has a refresh rate of 160Hz and a response time of 1 millisecond.
What is the best response time for a monitor?
Most of the time, it takes 10ms for black to white to black. But as another point of comparison, LCD screens have response times of less than 10ms. But image and motion production are better when the response time is less.