MSI MPG 274URF QD Gaming Monitor Review

The MSI MPG 274URF QD is an inexpensive 4K gaming monitor aimed at those looking for blazing-fast response times and unhindered image quality while on a budget. This MSI display is backed by a quantum dot panel designed to provide true-to-life colour accuracy while offering unrivalled brightness, making the MPG 274URF QD stand out in situations where strong visual fidelity is critical. But to see how this monitor compares to other 4K displays on the market, we’ve rigorously tested it, analysing its performance, clarity, and colour accuracy.

4K gaming monitors, while offering exceptional visual fidelity, are often geared towards the high-end side of the market. A few manufacturers provide cheaper 4K displays, but these often sacrifice performance features like responsiveness or brightness to make the monitor more affordable. However, in the current market, the MSI MPG 274URF QD is a welcome addition that could become the value king due to a lack of premium but competitively priced options. In this review, we’ll assess whether the MPG 274URF QD is worth picking up with an analysis of the specs, design, and features on offer.

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Specification

The MSI MPG 274URF QD is a 27-inch display supporting a max resolution of 3840 by 2160 pixels, otherwise known as 4K. I feel 27 inches is the sweet spot for a 4K display, as the pixels are much more compact compared to larger displays where you start to see the screen door effect (which is when the pixels look like floating blocks suspended between wires). The MPG 274URF QD offers a 160Hz refresh rate and a 0.5ms GtG (grey-to-grey) response time. The response time on this display is significant, as GtG is the closest measurement to hardware-level responsiveness, indicating that the MPG 274URF QD is lightning-fast.

The peak brightness rating of the MPG 274URF QD sits at 400 nits, which isn’t particularly impressive. However, the quantum dot panel ensures that on-screen images are bright even though it uses IPS, which doesn’t offer as much contrast as a VA panel. Because of the quantum dots, the contrast ratio is incredibly high, sitting at 100 million to 1, indicating that the colours this display can offer are highly accurate.

On the IO front, the MSI MPG 274URF QD has four inputs: two HDMI 2.1 ports, one Displayport 1.4 port, and a USB Type-C, which has a Displayport alt mode. Alternatively, this USB Type-C port can also be used for charging, offering 65W power delivery. There are also two additional USB 2.0 ports, providing an easy way to plug in any peripherals.

The MSI MPG 274URF QD uses AMD FreeSync Premium as its VRR technology, which is great to see, as this tech is GPU-agnostic. Any prospective buyer can enjoy stutter and tear-free visuals regardless of your graphics card. Regarding MSRP, the MPG 274URF QD is impressive, sitting at $429 at the time of writing. Most similarly priced monitors don’t offer a quantum dot panel or tend to sacrifice refresh rate or responsiveness to be more affordable. For this reason, the MSI MPG 274URF QD monitor looks to be a solid-value option.

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MSI MPG 274URF QD Design

Like most monitors on the market, the MSI MPG 274URF QD opts for a black finish across the display and stand, paired with a zero-frame to provide a minimalist look and feel. The top and sides of the frame are extremely skinny, housing three relatively thin bezels, while the bottom of the frame is a larger black bar where the MSI logo sits in the middle. I like the zero-frame aesthetic as it looks modern, but as the materials used on the frame are plastic, it doesn’t feel premium. However, thanks to the relatively small bezels, you’re not losing out on significant screen real estate.

Aesthetically, the MSI MPG 274URF QD isn’t fascinating to look at. While the black plastic shell blends in with darker-themed PC builds, it looks and feels cheaper, contrasting to premium monitors we’ve tested in the past, such as the ASUS ROG Swift PG49WCD. However, the more conservative look will appeal to those configuring a workstation-gaming setup.

The rear shell of the MPG 274URF QD utilises a gritty black plastic, which is also shared across the stand. However, because the stand and base are backed by metal, they feel rigid and sturdy. I’m not a fan of the plastic casing covering the stand, as it contributes to the overall cheap look of this display. Despite this, the MPG 274URF QD has a cable cutout in the middle, allowing you to thread through any wires for peripherals.

The stand also comes with a fair amount of adjustability, providing a range of ways to get the best viewing angle. This monitor has 5 degrees of downward tilt and 20 degrees upward, 30 degrees of swivel and 90 degrees of pivot, allowing you to fully rotate the monitor to a vertical position. There’s also 110mm of height adjustment, ideal for those with raised monitor setups.

Additionally, those with monitor arms or a wall mount can use the 75 x 75mm VESA mount to free up desk space. MSI also provides the screws needed to get the monitor secured to an optional mount.

On the right-hand side of the rear of the display, you’ll find the OSD joystick (on-screen display), which also doubles as the power button. Much like the MSI MAG 274QRFW, the MPG 274URF QD offers a six-way joystick to control the monitor settings. Clicking the joystick inwards will bring up an extensive menu on the screen, which can control various gaming settings, brightness, KVM switching and more.

Features We Like

Before we look at the visual fidelity and colour accuracy, it’s worth delving into the features of the MSI MPG 274URF QD to see how it compares to similarly priced options.

Vibrant Imagery

Despite being a cheaper 4K monitor, I don’t feel that MSI has made any significant sacrifices to the image quality offered by this display. The QD-IPS panel balances visual fidelity and responsiveness while providing crisp, lifelike colours that look incredibly vibrant. HDR content also looks excellent on the MPG 274URF QD despite the panel not being that bright.

Vast OSD Customisation

The MSI MPG 274URF QD OSD is accessed through the joystick on the back right-hand side of the display, which opens up a wide array of customisation options. The first page is Gaming Intelligence (or G.I.), which offers a KVM switch for those with multiple machines, a gaming crosshair, and a scope that can assist gameplay.

The second and third pages offer presets for colours and brightness along with additional settings such as ‘Low Blue Light’ and a ‘Night Vision’ setting, which brightens the display in darkness. Here, you can also change the response time and refresh rate.

The ‘Image’ tab allows for brightness, contrast, sharpness customisation, colour temperature, and screen size. This is particularly useful for those colour-calibrating this display.

The rest of the settings allow you to switch between Picture-in-Picture (PIP) and Picture-by-Picture (PBP) for the KVM switch, change the display input, customise the quick access settings when the OSD joystick is pressed in a specific direction, and general settings such as the language, OSD Time Out, and a way to reset the monitor settings back to factory defaults.

65W USB Type-C Port

While the IO on this monitor isn’t particularly impressive, MSI has included a USB Type-C port which offers up to 65W power delivery, ideal for charging various peripherals or a phone. It’s great to see a multifaceted port, but I like that the charging capability of the Type-C port is enough for a laptop.

MSI Gaming Intelligence

Upon booting up MSI Gaming Intelligence, you’re told to install Norton Antivirus, which is disappointing to see as this could be considered bloatware. However, MSI doesn’t force the install, or trick you into clicking ‘Accept’, so this can be skipped.

However, after the Gaming Intelligence software detected the monitor, all the OSD settings were immediately accessible. This requires you to plug in the USB Type-B cable, but it is a small sacrifice to change all the monitor settings on the fly with the software. Disregarding the Norton Antivirus popup, I’m a big fan of the MSI Gaming Intelligence application. It’s easy to use, isn’t bloated with loads of tabs and provides a way to access all the customisable settings without hassle.

Features We Don’t Like

USB 2.0 Downstream Ports

The lack of any high-speed USB ports is somewhat disappointing to see. Although there aren’t many peripherals that can fully use higher bandwidth ports, it would be great to see USB 3.0 on this monitor as it can improve latency for mice and keyboards with strong polling rates.

Colour Accuracy & Image Quality

After running multiple tests on the MSI MPG 274URF QD, it’s clear that this monitor is designed to offer exceptional visual fidelity while maintaining a low price point. However, a critical characteristic of monitors with quantum dot panels is their capability to provide great colour accuracy.

To see how the MPG 274URF QD handles colour-critical work, we tested it with a colour calibration benchmark. We connected the Datacolor Spyder X Pro and ran the ‘FullCAL’ test to do this. This benchmark analyses the colours shown on the display and then returns a numbered result which shows the coverage in each colour gamut. We take the results from the sRGB and DCI-P3 gamuts, as the former is used for most web content, while the latter is great for colour-critical and HDR content.

Our sRGB results show that the MSI MPG 274URF QD offered 100% coverage of the sRGB space, which is pretty standard for most monitors released within the past few years.

For DCI-P3, the MPG 274URF QD covered 97% of this space, making it one of the stronger displays that we’ve tested. DCI-P3 accuracy is vital with HDR content, as this colour gamut covers deeper darks and lighter whites. Overall, we were impressed with the colour accuracy, which shows that the MPG 274URF QD is a solid option for those with a workstation setup.

Conclusion

MSI MPG 274URF QD

Product Name: MPG 274URF QD

Brand: MSI

• Features
• Design
• Performance
• Value For Money

4.3

Summary

The MSI MPG 274URF QD is one of the market’s best-value 4K gaming monitors. Offering a QD-IPS panel that provides vibrant and crisp imagery, excellent responsiveness, and a highly competitive price point. Few other monitors can actively compete with the MPG 274URF QD. While there are some minor sacrifices to the aesthetic, this is a relatively small con compared to the value that this display offers.

It’s prevalent for manufacturers to impose restrictions on critical features, such as colour accuracy, visual fidelity, or response times, to make a display more affordable. Still, we’re not seeing this with the MSI MPG 274URF QD. In summary, if you’re looking for a solid gaming monitor but you’re on a budget, the MPG 274URF QD is the go-to option that we’d recommend.

 

Pros

✅ Vibrant and crisp visual fidelity

✅ Easy to use software

✅ Highly responsive

Cons

❌ Cheap design

❌ USB 2.0 ports

❌ Gaming Intelligence bloatware