Philips launches new budget gaming monitor with 425Hz refresh rate

Philips has been on a roll these past couple of days, launching new monitors one after another. The company recently launched the 27E2N6900QW, a 4K 120Hz monitor built around a Penta Tandem QD-OLED panel with 1,000 nits of peak brightness, alongside the Evnia 32M2N6901A, a 32-inch 4K QD-OLED monitor running at 165Hz with an RGB Q-Stripe layout aimed at improving text clarity.

Now, the company is back with its third release, the 27M2N5500X, a 27-inch gaming monitor that pairs a 1440p resolution with a 425Hz refresh rate.

The 27M2N5500X is currently up for sale on JD.com for 1,899 yuan (around $280) and features a 2560 x 1440 resolution on a Fast IPS panel with a native speed of 400Hz and an overclock up to 425Hz. To help offset that speed, Philips has outfitted it with a claimed 1ms gray-to-gray response time and a 0.3ms MPRT rating to reduce motion blur.

Supporting standard variable refresh rate technology such as G-Sync compatibility to prevent screen tearing during fast-paced gameplay. Philips has also added a feature it calls Zero-Sense Sync Acceleration, which is designed to reduce input lag between the graphics card and the display.

In terms of colors, the 27M2N5500X has a color depth of 10 bits and covers 100% of the sRGB and 97% of the DCI-P3 gamut. Philips says each unit is factory calibrated to a Delta E of less than 2. The brightness is slightly better than standard at 350 nits, with a typical 1,000:1 contrast ratio. It has a basic DisplayHDR 400 certification, which is a less impressive spec than the higher-end HDR certifications on some of Philips' other recent monitors.

Philips has also bundled a few gaming-centric software tools, including an AI-assisted crosshair that changes colors based on the background and a digital zoom tool called Sniper Window, plus a shadow enhancement feature that brightens up darker areas of the screen. It also offers circular polarization and a low blue light filter for everyday use, which may help to reduce eye strain.

It fits standard VESA 100 x 100mm mounts and provides 130mm of height adjustment along with tilt, swivel and pivot rotation. Connectivity includes one DisplayPort 1.4 port, two HDMI 2.1 ports, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and support for Picture-in-Picture and Picture-by-Picture for anyone running multiple inputs at once.