It is funny but the first game we used had that whole Nvidia ‘The way it was meant to be played’ intro that we all have heard a billion times in the past and typically ignore. Looking back on well over 100 hours of PC gaming enjoyment that is a good summary for the Nixeus EDG-27240X. Games really are meant to be played at 240Hz… and we say 240 because they still do not make a 1000Hz monitor, and we are not fond lovers of 1080P gaming (even if it is at 360Hz). Even when compared against 160Hz-range monitors games can be much, much more immersive as everything is buttery smooth. The ‘lag’ that is mostly prevalent at 60Hz but even exists at 140Hz simply becomes so small as to be all but unnoticeable at 240Hz. So, if maximum gaming enjoyment is the only criteria you have for your next gaming monitor you can stop right here. The EDG-27240X can be noticeably superior to both the more expensive EDG274K and the less expensive EDG-27X when it comes to gaming immersion. Furthermore, it will be just as good as most of the more expensive 1440P 240Hz monitors.
We say ‘can be’ and ‘most’ rather than ‘is’ and ‘all’ because there are a few caveats that go along with that statement. Caveats that may or may not apply to you. Though, one thing is for certain. When you properly harness the power of the EDG-27240X it is a gaming powerhouse. One that will, almost assuredly, make all your previous monitors look rather outdated in comparison. It just is properly harnessing it is not an easy endeavor. Hitting 240 frames per second at a resolution of 2560×1440 means you need a video card that is capable of processing 884,736,000 pixels per second. That is the same as pushing a 4K monitor to 106.7 frames per second.
Yes, that does technically make the EDG-27240X a ton easier to properly push than the 144Hz EDG-274K. That is not the same as saying it is easy. You will need a top-of-the-line Nvidia, or AMD video card, and you are still going to need to rely upon DLSS (Nvidia), or FidelityFX Super Resolution (AMD)… and/or the monitor’s built in ‘Free/G-Sync’ abilities. Of these three options the one that is going to be used the most, even if you refinanced your home to pay for your shiny new GPU, is the ‘Sync option. It is going to be the Free/G-Sync option as even when internally converting 1080P to 1440P that still is nearly half a billion pixels a second your card will have to push (~497.67 million to be more precise) in order to satiate this monitor’s need for speed. That is a lot of pixels. So, forget the idea of x70, and lower, class cards giving you all that you paid for.
When it comes to FreeSync abilities, the EDG-27240X is not as good as the less expensive EDG-27X. The ‘240X has a FreeSync Variable Refresh Rate range of 48 to 240Hz, whereas the ‘27X has a VRR range of 30 to 165Hz. Put another way the EDG27X will keep on trying to make a silk purse out of sow’s ear long after the ‘240X gives up. With that said we do not consider this a deal breaker. VRR at 30 frames per second is noticeable. Less noticeable than no VRR, but not exactly a great result either. Thus, you need to have a lot of good gaming horsepower for both monitors. It is just that if you are on the bubble and not 100 percent certain you have enough GPU for either monitor the ‘27X will give you more wiggle room for error and allow you to keep more eye candy on than with the ‘240X.
Thus, some will consider the $200 savings that go along with the 27X’s better low framerate a nice bonus and consider the 27X the better value. Others will not, as they understand they need a ton of video card horsepower either way. Others still will have a firm opinion that AMD’s FreeSync Premium standard is not as good as Nvidia’s hardware-based G-Sync ecosystem. These consumers will consider (some of the) $900 versions of this monitor to be ‘better’ due to the inclusion of the G-Sync hardware module. We believe that both camps will be rather small, and most will find the EDG-27240X to have the better overall blend of abilities. Just with a few niggles that should have been worked out before this monitor was released.
With all that said, if just frames per second was all that mattered… well… TN would still rule the roost and ‘hardcore’ gaming enthusiasts would not even be using 1080P monitors they would be using 720P monitors as… Image quality matters. For some it will matter more than frames per second. Others the opposite is true. It will come down to what games are being played and how sensitive to random frame rate changes you are. We thought we were not all that sensitive but in fast twitch games like Call of Duty Modern Warfare… we had to change out our loadout as a ‘good enough’ aim down sight speed was suddenly anything but ‘good enough’ when using the ‘240X. So, do not rule out IQ just because you have never used a 200+ frame rate monitor in the past. It may just surprise you.
Thankfully the EDG-27240X offers both superior frame rates and superior color fidelity… as the ‘27X and its KSF backlight technology is a bit more finicky. It does require you have a good colorimeter to adjust for the redshift issue that goes along with KSF backlighting. Even then it is going to be slightly inferior to the W-LED based ‘240X. We are not talking about the overall width of the color gamut the 240X offers… as being slightly smaller than the 27X is pretty much a non-issue for games (which cater to the lowest common denominator standard – aka ‘sRGB’). No. We are talking about the inability to hit 100 percent on blues that most KSF monitors suffer from. Yes, we are splitting hairs. Yes, either monitor is going to be great for gaming. Yes, you probably will never notice the difference… but in side by side “pixel peeping” testing of in-game captured images the EDG-27240X was slightly better in water environments (e.g. Assassins Creed: Let’s Pretend I’m a Pirate/Viking/Argonaut editions). Even skies just looked a tiny bit more ‘correct’ and made for a slightly bit more immersive experience. We would not pick one monitor over the other because of this small difference, but much like the 27X is technically superior to the 240X in VRR, the opposite is true for color fidelity. For the record neither hold a candle to the 274K… as 4K gaming goodness is why we stopped using 1080P and 1440P monitors a few years ago.
Overall, the Nixeus EDG-27240X is a fantastic monitor for gaming enjoyment. The vast majority of potential buyers will love what it has to offer – be it frame rates, color fidelity, or even price. It just is not perfect. You need to understand the trade-offs that had to be made in order to keep the price significantly lower than the usual 9-bill entry fee this level of performance requires. If any of the trade-offs are deal-breakers for you, then you may end up second guessing your purchase. So, think about your system’s GPU performance abilities, what games you play… and what you prioritize most before opting for any 27-inch monitor.
