ViewSonic XG270 Review: 1080p 240Hz 1ms IPS Gaming Monitor

The ViewSonic Elite XG270 is a 1080p IPS gaming monitor with a 240Hz refresh rate. It’s the first monitor to receive the ‘Blur Busters Aproved‘ certification for high-quality motion blur reduction performance.

Image Quality

The ViewSonic XG270 is based on an IPS panel by AU Optronics with the following key specifications: 178° viewing angles, 1,000:1 static contrast ratio, 400-nit peak brightness, and true 8-bit color depth with 99% sRGB gamut.

It has a Full HD screen resolution of 1920×1080 pixels, which isn’t ideal for its 27″ sized screen.

In comparison to 27″ 1440p, and even 24″ 1080p monitors, the picture quality on the XG270 will be more pixelated due to the low pixel density of roughly 81 PPI (pixels per inch).

Some users despise the pixelated details of such low pixel density while others don’t mind it all.

To reduce this effect, you can just sit a bit further from the screen, which will make individual pixels less distinguishable, or you can apply some anti-aliasing in games to cover the stair-case effect caused by low resolution.

There are some gamers who even prefer this since bigger pixels help their precision in FPS games.

Overall, for gaming and other entertainment purposes, we find 27″ 1080p monitors perfectly fine. It’s only when it comes to office-related and similar tasks that the low pixel density should definitely be avoided.

This is really the only thing we hold against the ViewSonic XG270 monitor. Its IPS panel provides vibrant, accurate, and consistent colors that remain perfect at basically any angle thanks to the 178° wide viewing angles.

The monitor can also accept and display the HDR10 signal, but since it lacks proper display capabilities for a noteworthy HDR viewing experience such as local dimming and wide color gamut, you can basically ignore its HDR support.

Performance

The main feature of the monitor is its PureXP+ Motion Blur Reduction technology, which uses backlight strobing to reduce perceived ghosting and motion blur, but sacrifices picture brightness in the process.

Thanks to the high peak brightness and vibrant colors of the ViewSonic XG270, the image will remain adequately bright while the colors will stay vivid even when PureXP is enabled.

As a result, you get CRT-like motion clarity as well as excellent picture quality.

In order to avoid strobe crosstalk (looks like duplicate images), a monitor needs to be set to strobe at a lower refresh rate than its maximum.

That’s why all 144Hz gaming monitors with NVIDIA ULMB, for instance, can strobe at 120Hz max.

For the optimal performance with MBR, we recommend setting the ViewSonic XG270 to 100Hz, 120Hz, or 144Hz depending on your preference and on what FPS your PC system can maintain.

To avoid double images, your FPS should be as close to the monitor’s refresh rate as possible.

You can use ‘VSYNC On’ to synchronize the frame rates – or ‘VSYNC Off’ with manually capped FPS if you want the least amount of input lag.

The PureXP+ technology works from 75Hz up to 240Hz, so you can experiment yourself and see what works best for you. The best settings will vary between different games too.

PureXP+ cannot be active at the same time as FreeSync/G-SYNC Compatible.

The ViewSonic XG270 also provides you with the ability to change strobe pulse-length (with four different levels) to lower the amount of sacrificed brightness at the cost of motion clarity.

Besides the impeccable MBR performance with minimal strobe crosstalk, the ViewSonic XG270 monitor offers an unnoticeable input lag of ~2ms and a rapid 1ms GtG pixel response time speed that’s on par with 240Hz TN models.

There are five different response time overdrive modes (Standard, Fast, Faster, Ultra Fast, Fastest).

When PureXP+ is enabled, you cannot adjust the overdrive settings. Instead, a custom hidden overdrive mode is used for optimal performance.

Features

Moving on, the ViewSonic XG270 is equipped with plenty of additional useful features. Its OSD (On-Screen Display) menu is well-organized and easy to work with thanks to the 5-way joystick placed beneath the bottom bezel.

You can also use ViewSonic’s Display Controller software, which allows you to make monitor adjustments in a desktop application. The app will also let you know when there’s a new firmware update available.

The monitor supports AMD FreeSync with a 48-240Hz VRR (variable refresh rate) range, and it’s certified by NVIDIA as G-SYNC Compatible, thus ensuring tear-free gaming performance up to 240Hz if you have a compatible GPU.

Other useful features include Black Stabilization (improves visibility of objects in shadows by altering the gamma curvature), Color Saturation, customizable crosshair overlays, and custom image scaling (1:1, 19″ 4:3, 22″ 16:10, etc.).

Additionally, there’s ‘Hertz Limiter’ (60Hz, 100Hz, 144Hz, 180Hz, 240Hz) and ‘OverClocking’ for overclocking the refresh rate beyond 240Hz though just how far you can overclock it will vary across different units of the monitor.

Next, there are numerous pre-calibrated picture presets such as FPS, MOBA, Battle Royale, Console, two custom modes, and a calibrated sRGB color temperature profile for accurate color output straight out of the box.

The ViewSonic XG270 also boasts advanced picture adjustment tools, including 6 gamma presets (from 1.8 to 2.8), sharpness, saturation, contrast, brightness, etc.

Lastly, the monitor has a flicker-free backlight (unless PureXP is enabled) and an integrated low-blue light filter for a comfortable viewing experience even after long gaming sessions.  

Design & Connectivity

As for the design, you get a sturdy brushed metal stand while the screen has a low-haze anti-glare coating, which eliminates reflections but doesn’t make the image seem grainy as more aggressive coatings do.

The design also includes detachable sight shields, a mouse bungee, a headphones hook, and customizable RGB lighting at the back of the monitor.

You can elevate the screen of the monitor up to 120mm, swivel it by +/- 90°, pivot by 90°, tilt by -5°/20°, or VESA mount it via the 100x100mm pattern.

Connectivity options include two HDMI 2.0 ports, DisplayPort 1.2, a headphones jack, and a USB 3.0 hub (1 upstream + 3 downstream ports).

Price & Similar Monitors

The ViewSonic XG270 price amounts to ~$430, which is a bit expensive.

We recommend getting the newer and cheaper 24″ version, the ViewSonic XG2431, that has even better Blur Busters Approved 2.0 MBR implementation, as well as a higher pixel density.

If you just want a standard 240Hz gaming monitor without backlight strobing, we recommend the Dell S2522HG, which can be found for ~$250.

Visit our best monitors for FPS games buyer’s guide for more information and the best deals available.

Conclusion

The ViewSonic XG270 offers a responsive and enjoyable gaming experience with impressive motion clarity thanks to its exceptional backlight strobing implementation.

In fact, many compare its motion-clarity to that of old CRT displays which says a lot.

On top of that, you get a bright picture quality with vibrant colors and wide viewing angles as well as plenty of features including certified G-SYNC compatibility up to 240Hz.

However, unless you prefer the low PPI of 27″ 1080p monitors, we highly recommend going with the 24″ variant.

Specifications

Screen Size	27-inch
Resolution	1920×1080 (Full HD)
Panel Type	IPS
Aspect Ratio	16:9 (Widescreen)
Refresh Rate	240Hz
Response Time	1ms (GtG)
Adaptive Sync	FreeSync (48Hz-240Hz) G-SYNC Compatible
Speakers	2x3W
Ports	DisplayPort 1.2, 2x HDMI 2.0
Other Ports	3x USB-A, 1x USB-B 3.0, Headphone Jack
Brightness	400 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio	1000:1 (static)
Colors	16.7 million (true 8-bit)
VESA	Yes (100x100mm)