HP's new PC gaming monitor is a surprisingly affordable beast

The Omen 27c is a QHD gaming screen with a 240Hz refresh rate

The HP Omen 27c
(Image credit: Hewlett-Packard)

If you’re in the market for a decently sized gaming screen that won’t set you back an absolute fortune, the new HP Omen 27c could well be worth a look.

As the name suggests, the Omen 27c is a 27-inch monitor, and it packs a 2,560 x 1,440 resolution, which is entirely sensible for the screen size for gaming. It’s a VA panel with a 1000R curvature, and fans of curved screens will tell you how immersive that much bend can be in the heat of the action – it's the same curve as your eyes' field of vision.

The ace up its sleeve, however, is the 240Hz refresh rate which means your PC can output games at up to 240fps, assuming you have a GPU with enough grunt to keep up. While this is only on offer over DisplayPort, an HDMI cable will still offer a perfectly respectable 144Hz.

On top of this, HP says the panel supports HDR400, and boasts a contrast ratio of 3,000:1. It should get plenty bright as well, with the company promising a peak of 450 nits with HDR enabled or 400 with it off. Colour accuracy should also be enviable, with HP promising that the Omen 27c covers over 99% of the DCI-P3 colour space. To round off the package, a response time of 1ms is listed. 

To be clear, at $530, it’s not exactly impulse purchase territory, but considering the high specs, it’s a pretty damn appealing price. At the time of writing, we couldn’t find a UK price, or even if it will ever reach this side of the Atlantic, but in a direct dollar-to-pound conversion, that comes in at just under £400 — albeit without VAT taken into account.

If that sounds like pocket change to you, you may want to consider taking advantage of the three-sided micro-edge design, which allows you to link panels together for the ultimate in ultra-wide screen gaming, as demonstrated in the image below. 

Three HP Omen 27c monitors together on a desk

(Image credit: Hewlett-Packard)

Whether you want one or three, the Omen 27c is available from today.