High refresh rate, aggressive looks and gaming-oriented features are usually the main highlights when one speaks of a gaming monitor. Curved display on the other hand, isn’t as widely accepted compared to the mentioned features. While it does deliver enhanced gaming experience for specific game titles, the majority of the curved gaming monitors in the market doesn’t come with an appealing price point.

We’ll be looking into a curved gaming monitor in this review, the HKC G27. The HKC G27 features a curved display panel of R1800 curvature and a whopping 144Hz refresh rate. What really interests us is that the G27 comes with a rather interesting price point of $342 – surprisingly reasonable at first glance.

Thanks GearBest for provisioning the HKC G27 monitor for us for review. Check out the deal here!

Specifications

GeneralBrand: HKC
Product DetailsDisplay size: 27 inch
Display Technology: LED-backlit
Display Resolution Maximum: 1920 x 1080
Panel Type: VA
Interface: DP,HDMI,VGA
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Horizontal View Angle: 178 Degree
Vertical View Angle: 178 Degree
Monitor Contrast Ratio: 50000000:1
Response Time: 4ms
Refresh Rate: 144Hz
Curvature: R1800
Technical ParametersPlate Thickness: 15mm
Dimension and WeightProduct weight: 5.8100 kg
Package weight: 8.9400 kg
Product size (L x W x H): 61.80 x 45.20 x 19.30 cm / 24.33 x 17.8 x 7.6 inches
Package size (L x W x H): 71.00 x 47.00 x 22.00 cm / 27.95 x 18.5 x 8.66 inches
Package ContentsPackage Contents: 1 x 144Hz Gaming Display, 1 x DP Cable, 1 x Power Line

Unboxing

Unlike the rest of the gaming monitors we’ve reviewed previously, the HKC G27 ships in a rather simple packaging. At the front of the box, you’ll find the highlighted features of the monitor itself. In addition, we can see that the G27 is currently endorsed by Team WE eSports team from China.

HKC G27 - 03

Inside the box, you’ll find the monitor of course, along with its monitor stand, user’s guide, DisplayPort cable, and the power cord. The monitor stand does look very familiar, but we’ll leave that for you to judge.

Design

HKC G27 - 06

While the name Ant Gaming might sound ridiculous to some, the HKC G27 looks pretty neat actually. It features a matte finish frame and anti-glare display, which greatly reduces reflection that will affect your gaming experience.

HKC G27 - 07

Unlike any previous China branded gaming monitor we’ve seen in the past, the back of the HKC G27 is surprisingly clean. Minus the ‘Ant Gaming’ print, the rest of the design aren’t overly exaggerated, which is good.

HKC G27 - 10

Seriously, these aren’t the best-looking controls around, but it’ll still work as intended.

Video input consists of DisplayPort, DVI-D and HDMI, but that’s pretty much you’ll get from the HKC G27. It’ll be great if it comes with an extra USB hub, especially for those who are always in need of more USB ports.

On-Screen Display Menu

The on-screen display (OSD) menu comes in the Chinese language by default, but the simple UI makes changing the language to English is a piece of cake. Though, do bear in mind that some of the translation isn’t exactly accurate. That aside, you’ll find a number of useful ones such as gaming mode adjustment, overdrive and AMD FreeSync.

Viewing Angle

HKC G27 - 12

While HKC claims to have a viewing angle of 178°, it’s very unlikely for one to actually use a monitor at more than 45° under normal circumstances. It doesn’t really affect much if you’re sitting in front of the monitor, staring straight at it.

Of course, the 178° viewing angle it’s not just talk. The colour distortion is very minimal even when it’s viewed from near to 180°. This feature will benefit party games that run on the same display, as it enables all players from a different angle to view the game clearly.

User Experience

HKC G27 - 11

Truth to be told, the curvature of the HKC G27 doesn’t really affect much of the overall gaming experience. Unlike the ultrawide curved gaming monitor from BenQ we’ve reviewed back then, the difference is hardly noticeable on most games.

However, the 144Hz refresh rate and overdrive function do makes a difference for fast-paced games. Racing games, FPS games, rhythm games are some of the games that benefit from the high refresh rate and low input lag. If you’ve been gaming on a 60Hz monitor for all the while, you’ll notice that the ghosting is greatly reduced on the G27.  It’ll get a while to get used to the sudden change, but it’s hard to go back to 60Hz once you got used to 144Hz.

The only issue we have while reviewing the monitor is the extremely limited adjustments. Minor tilt adjustment aside, there’s no way for you to adjust the height nor rotate the monitor at all.

Final Thoughts

There’s no denying that we’re quite sceptical with HKC at first, but we’re quite surprised with what the G27 is capable of after using it as one of our daily driver for a while. Minus the limited adjustments and odd looking ‘Ant Gaming’ print, the HKC G27 is able to perform just as good as other 144Hz monitors we’ve tried to date. It might be optional, but it’ll be nice if HKC would consider adding a USB hub and height adjustment to the G27.

If you’re planning for an upgrade with a 27-inch curved monitor, the HKC G27 is one of the reasonable choices to consider for. Optional features aside, $342 doesn’t seem to be an unreasonable price for the HKC G27, especially when it’s a 27-inch curved display.

Where to buy the HKC G27 monitor? Check it out over at GearBest right here!

Pros

  • Surprisingly affordable for a 27 inch, 144Hz curved monitor
  • Good viewing angle
  • Good response time
  • Simple but intuitive UI for its OSD menu

Cons 

  • Could really use some extra USB hub
  • Lack of height adjustment

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