We remember when ‘4K’ monitors first hit the scene and the joke about how the ‘4K’ moniker did not refer to their resolution, but their asking price. Since then 4K monitors have come down significantly in price. Sadly, while they have gotten a lot more budget friendly, 1440P still rules the 27-inch class marketplace. Obviously Nixeus wanted to change that as the all new Nixeus NX-EDG274K is a 27-inch 4K resolution FreeSync Premium certified monitor that will only set you back about twice what their 1440P NN-EDG27v2 will – or about $800 (USD).
Make no mistake. There has been a plethora of ‘cheap’ 4K monitors to hit the marketplace over the past couple years but Nixeus did not want to do cheap. They have made their reputation on being inexpensive solutions that offer most (and sometimes) more than what the competition offers and do so without being cheap about things. Round a few corners? Sure. But never cheap. This is why it should come as no surprise that this new edition to Nixeus’ Engineered and Designed by Gamers line-up offers more than just 4K resolution for the $800 (USD) asking price.
To be precise Nixeus started with a good and fast AU Optronics AHVA ‘IPS’ panel capable of both true 8-bit color resolution and 144 frames per second refresh rate at 4K resolution. Then they added in AMD’s FreeSync Premium Variable Refresh Rate abilities so that it was more than just good for static image scenarios. Then to help things along, they added in variable Over Drive to help reduce image artifacts during fast paced gaming. If this formula sounds familiar… that is because it is. Nixeus has been using this formula, albeit with lower resolution AUO panels, for quite some time now on their Engineered and Designed by Gamers models. This is a proven, winning formula. Many previous EDG branded Nixeus monitors have become cult classics because of this design philosophy. More importantly, while $800 is a good chunk of change, it actually is less than what most of the ‘other guys’ are asking for their take on 144Hz 4K gaming. So, while ‘expensive’ compared to 1080 and 1440P 27-inch monitors it really is not for its class. It actually is very, very reasonably priced.
While we have been using and recommending Nixeus for many years now, not everyone knows about them. Thus, for the average joe whose first introduction to Nixeus is the NX-EDG274K the number one question they will have is going to be either ‘why is it is cheaper?’ or ‘why is it so expensive compared to 1440P, 144Hz monitors?’. By the end of this review we will be able to not only answer both of these questions but also show who is (and is not) the optimal buyer for this monitor.
