Gigabyte G27FC Monitor Review

Conclusion

When we tested the QC pair we came to the conclusion that, whilst there are obvious limitations to a pair of monitors with that feature set and raw size coming in at their respective price points, they made for perfect large format, fast response, gaming displays.

The G27FC differs from the G27QC in only two real ways. Firstly it lacks the HDR of the QC model, although as we discussed there the G27QC didn’t make enough of the HDR function for it to be a useful addition. Secondly the G27FC is 1080P rather than 1440P. In every other regard it’s the mirror of its sibling. It might not have the raw resolution of the QC, but it’s otherwise indistinguishable, for good and bad.

Let’s get the good up on deck first, because these elements are the ones that really matter to people looking for a big monitor with a high refresh rate at this price point. The G27FC undeniably has great presence on your desk. 27″ is a big step up from 24″ or even 22″, and if you haven’t gamed on something this big then you’re really missing out on that vision filling glory. Secondly the curve, 1500R, is just right on the 27″ models. Anything lower and it would be like looking at a banana, but anything higher and you’re starting to get into the world of subtle curves. Certainly it takes a bit of getting used to, as your windows suddenly have a pincushion effect that requires adaptation. You don’t need much time adapting though as after a couple of days gaming on this my non-curved display suddenly looked like it was bulging. If you’ve been avoiding curved panels as a gimmick then, from someone who’s also fairly skeptical, it not only has a brief time before you’re so used to it you don’t notice, but also helps that vision filling ability. If you’re regularly doing non-gaming activities it might become a thing, but for pure gaming it’s a whole vibe and one we’re on board with.

You need a fairly decent amount of GPU horsepower to maximise the 165Hz refresh rate, but if you can then the benefits in responsiveness are exactly what you’d expect. You’ve got nearly three times as much visual input than someone running at 60FPS, and those extra couple of frames reaction time can be the difference between a glorious victory and an ignominious defeat. The 1080 resolution goes a long way towards helping your GPU do its thing, with only 2 million pixels to shift in comparison to the ~3.7 million on the G27QC. Thus you’re more likely to see all of that refresh rate in suitable games. The stand only has height and tilt adjustment, with no pan or rotate available. We know that rotating a curved display is perhaps asking a lot, but it’s worth noting if you have vertical aspect games or like to browse in portrait mode.

There are, as is always the case when the price is this low, some caveats. A VA panel will never compete with an IPS for colour accuracy, although the G27FC is certainly no slouch, it’s just worth bearing in mind if you’re an enthusiastic photo/video editor who demands absolute perfection. Although if that’s you you should be looking at a pro monitor in the four figure range. Similarly Gigabyte have done an excellent job with the options available for tweaking the picture, both in terms of the number of presets and how you can adapt those to your needs, but like any display you don’t have to go far from the defaults before it becomes unusable. Thankfully out of the box it’s pretty much spot on and only requires a tiny bit of tailoring, but then I despise warm whites. I understand it’s not a popular view otherwise things would have red light filters instead of blue light ones. Lastly the GxxQC monitors both had a little bit of ghosting on fast moving text, and a tendency to make the image momentarily dark if there is a lot of contrast. This is something that also affects the G27FC, but not so badly that it’ll drive you crazy and once in game you don’t notice too much unless your game is particularly in the sweet spot of heavy contrast. Hardcore players of Return of the Obra Dinn, look away now.

If you’re in the market for a new 1080P display, perhaps taking your first foray into the world of curved panels, then the Gigabyte G27FC brings a massive panel to your desk at a very affordable price -currently under £240- and is perfect for the “mainly gamer”s in the audience.

  

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