Msi optix mag272cqr review in Spanish (full analysis)

MSI Optix MAG272CQR was one of the most outstanding monitors introduced by Taiwanese during CES 2020, and we already have it with us to see what it offers us. A gaming essence monitor with a 27-inch diagonal and great 1500R curvature.

Its design has also been renewed, with a new frame and rear lighting system, but above all we see a VA panel with 2K resolution, HDR Ready and with more vibrant and saturated colors than the previous generation. Do not miss this review, because it could be one of the best curved monitors of the manufacturer and this beginning of the year.

Before proceeding, we thank MSI for continuing to trust us and give us their products to do our analysis.

MSI Optix MAG272CQR technical characteristics

Unboxing

This time we find a monitor that uses a rigid, neutral cardboard box of very compact dimensions, although without a handle that allows us to transport it. On the outer faces we only see some sketches of the monitor seen from above and from behind with many of its characteristics in the form of identifying icons.

We will open the box on the upper side to remove in a not too comfortable way the sandwich type mold built in expanded polystyrene (white cork) that stores the components of the monitor. At least one plastic tape keeps the two parts fixed and prevents everything from falling out by accident.

The MSI Optix MAG272CQR bundle has the following elements:

• MSI Optix MAG272CQR Display Metal Feet Hydraulic Bracket Screws for Wall and Bracket Installation Installation and Bracket Guide USB Type-B Data Cable HDMI and DisplayPort Cables Power Connector

Yes, in this case the monitor will come disassembled to save space in the box and with the complete pack of cables to make its connection.

Bracket design and mounting

The support for the screen of the MSI Optix MAG272CQR consists of two elements, on the one hand, legs with a V design and on the other the arm. Focusing on the legs, they are obviously made entirely of metal and have a fairly open "V" structure. So much so that it has been necessary to incorporate two other small legs backwards to achieve good stability.

On the part of the support, it is a simple hydraulic arm that will allow us to move the monitor down or down. It is also made of metal and for the outer faces we have plastic casings on the top and sides. There is also no need for a large hole at low height to be able to pull the cables inside so that they are correctly routed. It should be said that this support does not integrate lighting.

Turning now to the screen, we have a compatible hole for VESA 100X100 mm mounts as usual two of the 4 screws already pre-installed so that they are not lost. Likewise we have a notorious hole for other types of wall mounts provided with 4 holes with 4 screw extensions available in the bundle.

But the support in this case is faster to install, so we just have to attach it with the two tabs on top and fix it on the bottom with the two included screws. In turn, we will attach the legs to the support using a simple screw with a manual thread. Everything quite simple and intuitive.

Assembled as a whole, we have a base that occupies a relatively large depth, at 265 mm with the included screen. This is also due to its curvature so we will need a decent desk to be comfortable with.

1500R Curved Screen

As for the design of the screen of the MSI Optix MAG272CQR, we have in this case a curvature of 1500R (radius of 1.5 m), notoriously more closed than the typical monitors of 1800R. According to the manufacturer, it is the one that best adapts to the field of vision of human beings, in order to take advantage of not only our central but also the peripheral view. In this way we can take full advantage of the visual field with the screen a little closer and thus improve immersion.

Noticeable? Well yes it shows, these 27 inches and 2K resolution will allow us to enjoy a clear image closer to the panel so as to have the view fully centered on the screen. MSI continues with its design of ultra thin frames in which we only have a 25mm hard plastic bottom. The sides and top are integrated in the panel and measure about 7 mm. All aimed at optimizing setups with two or more monitors, for example for content creators or racing or flight simulators.

Its anti-glare finish is also of very good quality, and it blurs the reflections that affect the screen quite well. In addition, it is reduced due to curvature.

In the back we have a very good quality plastic shell in finishes, combining an area imitating brushed metal, another normal matte and a central polished black. Precisely in the latter we have integrated an RGB LED lighting system with Mystic Light technology that will further enliven its design.

This lighting is purely decorative, and although it has good power it is not uniform to use as a backlight against a wall, for example. Later we will see how to manage it with Dragon Center.

In the lower right area of ​​the MSI Optix MAG272CQR seen from the front we have the only control for the OSD menu, a 5-way joystick. In addition, the power button is included in the lower right edge and another button in the lower left corner to turn on the MSI Gaming OSD software as soon as we have installed it and have connected the USB-B from the monitor to our equipment.

In general we have very good finishes and it seems that the manufacturer has chosen to remove the lighting from the front frame of the screen. We really liked this update, so good work.

Somewhat fair ergonomics

We now continue with the ergonomics section of the MSI Optix MAG272CQR, which in this case has a slightly bittersweet feeling than normal for a gaming device.

We agree that it does not make sense for your screen to rotate as it is curved, but not only will we find mobility in two of the three remaining axes.

The arm has a good hydraulic system to move, which allows us vertical movement in a range of 130 mm from the lowest position to the highest. It is the highest range that we will see in this type of monitors, so in this sense it is very good news.

The clamping mechanism that is located directly on the support of the screen and the arm will allow us to move in horizontal orientation, or the Y axis if we want to call it that. We can orient the screen down -5 ⁰ or up +20 ⁰, being a wide range to cover most desktop and user heights.

But we have lost the possibility of rotating it in vertical orientation or Z axis, something useful if we change our position. So we would have to move the full support to do this. It is not the end of the world obviously, but on a gaming monitor we would appreciate this possibility.

Connectivity

We now move to the bottom of the MSI Optix MAG272CQR where we will have all the connectivity available from the monitor.

This is what we find in it:

• 1x DisplayPort 1.2a2x HDMI 2.0b1x USB Type-C 3.5mm Jack as audio output 2x USB 2.01x USB Type-B 240V power input Kensington slot for universal padlocks

Ok, we have a fairly wide connectivity as we see, in fact, the Type-C does not even come in the specifications and we will only use it for device loading and not for video. For him no cable is included.

As for the USB they are all version 2.0 and not 3.0 although it may seem so because of their blue color, but in them we can connect any storage device or peripheral. The Type-B we will use so that the data from these peripherals reaches the system and thus be able to handle them. It is also necessary to manage lighting and integrate the MSI Gaming OSD.

And finally we find a triple connector for video and sound signal, since this monitor includes speakers. On the one hand, we have HDMI in version 2.0b, so they will easily support the connection at 2K @ 165 Hz. Similarly, the DisplayPort 1.2 also supports the full capacity of the monitor due to its greater bandwidth.

Display characteristics of the MSI Optix MAG272CQR

We leave the design behind to focus now on the technical characteristics of the MSI Optix MAG272CQR, which in this case comes well loaded.

We then have a panel with VA LED technology like most 27-inch curved ones, although this time built by Samsung. This will give us a native WQHD resolution of 2560x1440p in a 16: 9 format . In this way we have a very good pixel pitch with measurements of 0.2331 × 0.2331 mm and consequently an excellent image sharpness at close range. Like most VA panels, this one offers us a typical contrast of 3, 000: 1 and dynamic of 100M: 1. Finally we have a monitor with HDR Ready and a typical brightness of 300 nits, which means that it supports HDR, but it does not include DisplayHDR 400 certification since it does not reach 400 nits peak. The HDR option is included in a predefined image mode.

As for its gaming features, what stands out most is its 1500R curvature, which allows a better immersion for games and multimedia content. But this VA panel is capable of giving us a refresh rate of 165 Hz with a response speed of 1 ms if we set it to the “ultra-fast” mode in the OSD menu. This function will double as Overdrive to improve Ghosting. All this power will be managed with FreeSync technology and being compatible with G-Sync after having verified it.

We close the main characteristics of the MSI Optix MAG272CQR with those related to color quality, because something that has caught our attention a lot in this panel is the vividness of its colors. Even without using HDR we have a spectacular contrast with very saturated and vivid colors, especially the red tones. Its color depth is 10 bits but with real 8 bit + 2FRC, and a color coverage of 90% DCI-P3 and 100% sRGB. Later we will see its calibration.

In addition to the previous basic gaming aspects, we have a lot of extra content, not for nothing is it designed to play. And to start we found an interesting Anti Motion Blur option in the OSD menu to eliminate image blur. It does the job, but it involves disabling FreeSync, and setting a fixed HCR, Brightness, and Response Time. Next to it we have anti-flicker or Flicker-Free technology and an option for blue light reduction is included.

As we will see later, the monitor includes custom crosshairs and integration with Dragon Center and MSI Gaming OSD, so all or most of the OSD options will be available from the operating system. Finally we have viewing angles of 178 ^or both horizontally and vertically, and although they are not as successful as in IPS panels, it only affects the white color.

Calibration and performance tests

We will analyze the calibration characteristics of the MSI Optix MAG272CQR, verifying that the manufacturer's technical parameters are met. For this we will use the X-Rite Colormunki Display colorimeter together with the DisplayCAL 3 and HCFR software for calibration and profiling, verifying these properties with the sRGB color space and also DCI-P3.

Flickering, ghosting and other image artifacts

In this case we have carried out several tests with the UFO test set at 960 pixels per second and a separation of 240 pixels between the UFOs, always with a Cyan background. The images taken have been tracked with the UFOs at the same speed at which they appear on the screen in order to capture the trail of ghosting that they may leave.

In this case we have only carried out the tests with the maximum available frequency, which are 165 Hz and FreeSync activated. And the truth is that we do see a black trail behind the UFOs that denote ghosting combined with motion blur. In addition, we have tested the different modes of response time obtaining very similar results in all cases.

In the last test carried out, we have activated the Anti Motion Blur function and the improvement has been less noticeable, especially to our eyes rather than to the camera. We see a much smaller trail and a sharper moving image.

As for flickering we have absolutely nothing of this nor of course bleeding being a VA panel.

Contrast and brightness

For the contrast and color tests of the MSI Optix MAG272CQR we have used 100% of its capacity, and later we have activated the HDR Ready function to measure the uniformity of the brightness.

Measurements	Contrast	Gamma value	Color temperature	Black level
@ 100% gloss	2440: 1	2.22	6239K	0.0973 cd / m 2

Starting with the small result table, we see that the contrast does not seem to reach the specified maximum of the panel, staying at approximately 2500: 1. This does not prevent seeing vibrant and vivid colors. The Gamma value itself is very well adjusted to the ideal, as well as the color temperature close to 6500K to give a neutral white. But the best of all has been the luminance of blacks, with only 0.1 nits at the maximum brightness of the panel, being a spectacular figure and close to the absolute black of an AMOLED.

Brightness without HDR

Brightness with HDR

Regarding the uniformity of the brightness, we effectively reached 300 nits or cd / m ² in the center and upper part of the panel and we stayed very close to the bottom, being in general the splendid uniformity. With HDR activated, the values ​​are still very uniform and we reach 350 nits, which is not bad, but it is insufficient for this DisplayHDR 400 certification.

SRGB color space

In the calibration test we have obtained a coverage of practically 100% in space, as promised by the Taiwanese, which is very good for its use for amateur level design. We have also been surprised by the good calibration that gives a delta E = 2 with all the splendid values, although slightly elevated grays. You only stop braking in the reds.

All this is well reflected in graphics that are very well adjusted to the ideal, demonstrating a very good neutrality in whites and an almost perfect RGB level from the factory.

DCI-P3 color space

We move on to the DCI-P3 space, where we have equally adjusted graphics to the reference with a Gamma more adjusted to this space and exceptional blacks and whites. In fact, the Delta E in this space is even better than in the other case, with an average value of 1.63 and very stable values ​​in all the samples taken by the colorimeter. Coverage in this space is 89.4%, practically 90% promised, so we are really satisfied. Even 80% coverage in Adobe RGB is a very good value for professional design.

HDR mode

We have also seen ourselves with time to do these tests with the HDR mode activated, since we wanted to see if this good calibration also extended to this mode. Obviously it is a somewhat more extreme profile that never seeks color excellence, but rather aggressive contrast and striking colors. The fact is that we have also obtained very decent results, although the grays worse mainly.

Calibration

The calibration of the MSI Optix MAG272CQR has been carried out with DisplayCAL with the monitor at 165 Hz, response time "fast" and the rest of the factory values, adjusting the brightness to about 250 nits

The results that we have obtained in the Delta E after the calibration will be the following:

sRGB

DCI-P3

It has been difficult to improve the Delta until it falls below 1 in sRGB, although it is true that in DCI-P3 it has resisted with that 1.36 on average. However, we see a huge improvement from the manufacturer in calibration and color in this new generation, and we hope to see it in more models this year. It was a weak subject in gaming monitors and he has managed to solve it with a note, good work from MSI.

OSD menu

We now continue with the OSD menu of the MSI Optix MAG272CQR, which in this case we will have to open and manage using the joystick located in the lower right rear area.

Before viewing the main menu, each of the joystick directions has a quick drop-down menu. These menus will be those of Game Mode to select a predefined image mode including HDR, the crosshair selection menu , as always the video source selection menu and an alarm in case we have to take pills.

Now dealing with the main menu which we will access by pressing the joystick button, we will find 6 sections. The first three being the most important for the user and the configuration.

The first of them has the most gaming-oriented parameters, such as the image modes seen before, the night vision mode to lighten dark tones or the modification of the monitor response time. From here we can also activate the anti motion blur mode and FreeSync.

In the second "professional" menu we will have other image modes, again the anti blur, HDCR and a way to improve the image. Finally the third menu has the basic color parameters of the monitor, such as brightness, contrast, color temperature and sharpness.

From the remaining three menus we can select the video source, configure the drop-down menus in the different directions of the joystick, and as always modify the presentation of the OSD.

A really complete section of this MSI Optix MAG272CQR that has improved a lot placing itself as one of the best next to the AORUS.

Management software

We now continue with more management elements of the MSI Optix MAG272CQR monitor such as Dragon Center and especially the MSI Gaming OSD.

In the first case, we have the brand's quintessential generic software, which already integrates RGB Mystic Light lighting management. In it we see a real-time image of the state of the monitor light on the back along with the corresponding menu from which we can select color and effects. Another possibility that we will have from this program is to be able to select one of the predefined image modes in the True Color section.

In the second software we basically have the OSD condensed into a single program with as many sections as there are predefined image modes. A total of 9 sections in this case where to modify color parameters, response time, crosshair, alarm, etc. in each case it will be adapted to the monitor's own options.

From here we also have the possibility of managing the lighting, as well as the appearance of the OSD on the screen and the possibility of creating macros and access keys for the menus. Remember that with the lower left button we can open this program directly.

User experience

As always we want to share our experience with this MSI Optix MAG272CQR monitor, in which we see many interesting features ideal for competitive players.

Gaming and multimedia

As I usually say, we have the complete gaming pack, which consists of a 165 Hz, 1ms and 27-inch panel ideal for a short average distance and being able to control the entire screen without the need to move your head and waste time. To this we must add the 1500R curvature that really makes the difference in terms of immersion in a panel, let's say medium size.

Another feature that we liked a lot is the vividness of the colors that are represented, clearly we are here before a step ahead of the brand with this new panel, which also presents an extremely good calibration for other tasks. HDR is not a very differential aspect in this case, but at least we have it as an option to use.

Perhaps we have seen some ghosting in tests with testufo, although we can also say that during game sessions the effect is greatly reduced to the point of not being noticed. For games with high refresh rates we do recommend activating the anti motion blur function to improve speed scenes and thus gain sharpness. For example in games like Doom, Wolfenstein or Need For Speed, games that we have been testing during this analysis.

And we can not forget the speakers that we have integrated, which, although they do not have a large bass section, have enough power and a clear sound for mid and high tones. This makes it a valid option both to play and to watch movies or video if we do not have headphones on hand.

In general, it is a suitable equipment for those quite demanding users who do not want to spend a paste. And realistically, 165 Hz is more than enough to play at the best level in both its native 2K resolution and Full HD with excellent rescaling. Very few cards and games reach more than 165 Hz and also the human eye loses its capacity for differentiation the higher it is.

Day by day and design

Buying this monitor for one of these two tasks and playing little is perhaps not the best option, since we are wasting almost all the power that it gives us. In fact it is not a cheap monitor, and as we have commented before, we see it as a consistent option for a competitive gamer audience.

However, it has been shown to have excellent calibration and color coverage above 80% in almost all color spaces like DCI-P3 or even Adobe RGB. This is good for hobbyist designers or even a more professional cut who are also dedicated to creating content. But we believe that for this a monitor without curvature is better and if possible 4K or Ultra Wide.

Final words and conclusion about MSI Optix MAG272CQR

And we come to the end of this analysis where we have seen one of the most outstanding monitors from MSI at CES 2020. With a new aesthetic design of its support and above all a curvature of 1500R higher than its competition. It really shows in terms of immersion, something important in a medium-sized panel like this 27-inch.

To this is added a VA panel built by Samsung where we have said ad nauseam that we have loved the saturation of colors, especially reds and greens almost as if we were in front of an OLED. In addition, the blacks are very deep and the HDR function, although it is not a wonder, gives us that extra point of contrast to increase the sensations.

As for gaming benefits, you know that we have native 2K, 165 Hz and 1 ms of response. Perhaps in the latter is where we pay a little the fact of being VA, since we have noticed some ghosting in the test carried out and a little blur. But of course, for this the monitor includes an option in the OSD that eliminates these two effects especially in games, at least that's the feeling it gives us.

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Its calibration is one of the things that has improved the most compared to the previous generation of MSI, and at least in this unit we have seen an excellent Delta E close to 2, and a very good color coverage in all design spaces and for content. on video. To this we add a good section of integrated sound that covers the needs to spare.

Another aspect to highlight is the excellent and complete OSD that we have, expandable with the Gaming OSD software in Windows and Dragon Center to manage options and rear RGB lighting. We do miss a better ergonomics of its base, with the possibility that it can turn to the sides like previous models.

And to finish we indicate that this monitor since it is for sale at a price in our country of approximately 449 euros. Taking stock of everything it offers us and its power, we see it as a very attractive price compared to the competition and to the previous models themselves. They are the prices where the 2K gaming monitors are around, and in this we have a new panel and 1500R. Great MSI job on this competitive gaming monitor.

ADVANTAGE	DISADVANTAGES
+ PANEL GOES IN VIBRANT COLORS AND EXCELLENT BLACKS	ERGONOMICS IS NOT COMPLETE
+ CURVATURE 1500R + 27 "+ 2K	SOME GHOSTING AND BLUR WITHOUT ANTI MOTION BLUR OPTION ACTIVATED
+ 165 HZ WITH FREESYNC
+ OSD MENU AND SOFTWARE MANAGEMENT
+ GOOD CALIBRATION AND HDR FUNCTION
+ GOOD PRICE FOR WHAT IT OFFERS

The Professional Review team awards him the gold medal:

MSI Optix MAG272CQR

DESIGN - 87%

PANEL - 90%

CALIBRATION - 91%

BASE - 83%

MENU OSD - 92%

GAMES - 90%

PRICE - 85%

88%