Aorus AD27QD Review: 27″ 1440p 144Hz IPS FreeSync HDR Gaming Monitor

For most people, 27″ 1440p 144Hz IPS monitors provide the perfect gaming experience.

You get a good screen size that’s neither too big nor too small, while 2560×1440 WQHD resolution ensures the ideal pixel-per-inch ratio with maximum details as well as plenty of screen space and no scaling necessary.

Further, 144Hz is more than enough to make fast-paced games more enjoyable and responsive, while IPS offers vibrant colors, wide viewing angles, and no problems with ghosting like similarly-priced VA panels.

So, it makes sense that Gigabyte’s very first monitor, the Aorus AD27QD, features exactly these specs – plus a bunch of cool and unique gaming features such as 1ms MBR (Motion Blur Reduction), FreeSync/G-SYNC support, HDR, and more!

Image Quality

Based on an IPS panel by Innolux, the Aorus AD27QD monitor is capable of 10-bit color depth via dithering (8-bit + 2-bit FRC) for 1.07 billion colors with a wide 95% DCI-P3 color gamut.

This means that you get accurate, consistent, and vibrant colors, which offer a noticeable improvement over the previous-generation 27″ 1440p 144Hz IPS panels that were limited to 8-bit color (16.7 million colors) and standard sRGB color gamut.

Note that to get 10-bit color, you will have to limit the refresh rate to 120Hz.

Additionally, the Aorus AD27QD supports entry-level HDR (High Dynamic Range) with VESA’s DisplayHDR 400 certification.

Now, you won’t get a mind-blowing HDR viewing experience but rather just a glimpse of what HDR does. For the ‘true’ HDR viewing experience, a display would need a decent local dimming solution, which would help it achieve higher brightness and contrast.

However, such monitors are also a lot more expensive.

HDR400 support of the Aorus AD27QD display will provide you with a small but noticeable boost in peak luminance from the typical 280-nits up to ~450-nits for HDR content, which nicely complements the wide color gamut.

Lastly, the display is factory-calibrated, and we didn’t detect any excessive IPS glow nor backlight bleeding on our unit of the Aorus AD27QD gaming monitor; there were no dead or stuck pixels either.

Performance

The Aorus AD27QD input lag performance is excellent with just below 5ms of delay, which is imperceptible even by professional gamers.

What’s more, the response time speed of 4ms (GtG – Gray to Gray pixel transition) is sufficient to eliminate most of ghosting and motion blur of fast-moving objects in fast-paced games.

You can also enable the Aim Stabilizer feature, which via backlight strobing provides a CRT-like motion clarity. Note that while this feature is enabled, the screen’s maximum brightness is reduced, and the backlight is no longer flicker-free.

Moving on, the Aorus AD27QD features AMD FreeSync, which allows you to synchronize the monitor’s refresh rate with the GPU’s frame rate.

In turn, there’ll be no screen tearing nor stuttering within the variable refresh rate (VRR) range which is 48-144Hz/FPS (Frames Per Second).

In case your FPS drops below 48, LFC (Low Framerate Compensation) will make the display multiply its refresh rate according to the frame rate for a smoother performance.

For FreeSync, you will need a compatible graphics card by AMD or NVIDIA (RTX 20-series, GTX 10-series, GTX 16-series, or newer). The Aorus AD27QD is certified by NVIDIA as G-SYNC compatible, and VRR works like a charm with compatible cards.

Naturally, you can’t use FreeSync/G-SYNC simultaneously with the Aim Stabilizer backlight strobing technology.

Features

Gigabyte deems the Aorus AD27QD as a ‘Tactical’ gaming monitor due to its plethora of useful features.

First of all, the monitor has a unique feature called ‘Dashboard’ which allows you to display important system parameters such as GPU/CPU temperature, frequency, usage, fan speed, etc on the screen. For this feature, you will need to connect the upstream USB port from the monitor to the PC.

Other gaming features include Black Equalizer which increases visibility of objects in dark parts of video games. There are also several pre-calibrated picture presets such as FPS, RTS/RPG, Movie, Reader, Standard, sRGB, and three customizable modes.

In addition, you can place custom timers, counters, and crosshairs on the screen as well. You can even draw your own crosshair in the OSD Sidekick desktop application that also allows you to adjust all the OSD (On-Screen Display) related settings.

Finally, there are three RGB LEDs at the back of the monitor which you can customize to shine in different patterns and colors in the RGB Fusion 2.0 application.

Design & Connectivity

The Aorus AD27QD 144Hz IPS gaming monitor has a versatile design with up to 130mm height adjustment, +/- 20° swivel, -5°/21° tilt, 90° clockwise pivot, and 100 x 100mm VESA mount compatibility.

Display connectors include two HDMI 2.0 ports and a single DisplayPort 1.2 input. FreeSync works over both ports with a 48-144Hz range at 1440p (with NVIDIA cards, FreeSync works over DP only).

Other connectivity options include a dual-USB 3.0 hub (two downstream plus one upstream), a headphones jack, and a microphone jack with active noise cancellation (ANC).

The monitor has a joystick for menu navigation. When the OSD menu is not open, you can use the joystick as a hotkey for shortcuts that you can assign in the Quick Switch section of the menu.

Price & Similar Monitors

The Aorus AD27QD price ranges from around $500 to $550 which is too expensive considering that the Acer Nitro XV272U features the same panel with 1ms MBR, HDR400, DCI-3, and FreeSync for just $250 – $300.

To learn more about monitors and ensure you’re getting the model most suited for your personal preference, visit our comprehensive and always up-to-date best gaming monitor buyer’s guide.

Conclusion

Overall, the Aorus AD27QD is a decent 27″ 1440p 144Hz IPS gaming monitor for the money if you absolutely want its premium features. If you can do without them, there are better options for the money.

Screen Size	27-inch
Resolution	2560×1440 (WQHD)
Panel Type	IPS
Aspect Ratio	16:9 (Widescreen)
Refresh Rate	144Hz 120Hz (10-bit color)
Response Time	4ms (GtG)
Motion Blur Reduction	1ms (MPRT)
Adaptive Sync	FreeSync (48Hz-144Hz) G-SYNC Compatible
Ports	DisplayPort 1.2, 2x HDMI 2.0
Other Ports	2x USB 3.0, Headphone Jack, Microphone Jack
Brightness	350 cd/m2
Brightness (HDR)	400 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio	1000:1 (static)
Colors	1.07 billion (8-bit + FRC) 95% DCI-P3
VESA	Yes (100x100mm)
HDR	VESA DisplayHDR 400