MSI Pro MP273QP 27in monitor review: A fine value 27in WQHD monitor

MSI's Pro MP273 27in monitor is available in three versions. Two with a 1,920 x 1,080 panel and one with a 2,560 x 1,440 panel. The difference between the two Full HD models is that the cheapest MP273 has a basic stand while the MP273P has the same more advanced stand as the higher res MP273QP.

Both the Full HD models sell for around £150 exc VAT no matter which stand you go for, while the WQHD model costs £165 making it by far the best value of an already good-value bunch. If 27in is too big there is also a brace of 23.8in models in the same range, both Full HD and again with differing stands called the Pro MP243 and MP243P.

Physically the MP273QP is a typically clean, modern monitor design. The panel weighs just 3.4Kg without the stand and the whole assembly only tips the scale at 5.7Kg. The solid base measures 225mm wide by 195mm deep which is pretty compact for something supporting a 27in monitor and means there will still be plenty of free space on even a small desk.

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The top and side bezels are a nicely slender 8mm so you could genuinely describe the MP273QP as frameless and you won't be looking at too much black plastic should you put two of them side-by-side. The chin below the screen is deeper at 19mm but not excessively so.

MSI Pro MP273QP review: Ports

All the connecting ports are mounted facing downward at the rear of the unit which is a standard if hardly convenient arrangement if you regularly need to plug or unplug anything. The list of video inputs only runs to two HDMI 1.4B and one DisplayPort 1.2 connector (MSI only bundles a cable for the former) and there's a 3.5mm audio jack. Given the price, it's hard to bemoan the absence of a Type-C video input but given the increasing prevalence of laptops that only have Type-C video outputs it should really start to become a standard feature regardless of price.

The MP273QP uses a proprietary power jack rather than allowing for a traditional C13 power cable to be plugged directly into the unit. No doubt this has been done to keep the body of the monitor as slender – it's only 48mm thick at its deepest – and light as possible but it still means you will have an external power brick floating around. There's no USB connectivity of any sort but again, given the cost that's not much of a surprise.

When it comes to physically connecting the MP273QP to a stand or wall mount MSI has eschewed a quick-release mount in favour of a good old-fashioned four-bolt 100mm x 100mm VESA bracket. This does involve some faffing about to set the monitor up because you have to screw the stand to the monitor but there are obvious security benefits because – assuming some thieving herbert breaks the Kensington lock – stealing a monitor is harder when there's a 2.3Kg stand bolted to it.

MSI Pro MP273QP review: Display quality

Thanks to its 2,560 x 1,440 resolution the MP273QP has a very crisp pixel density of 109ppi. That may not sound like much more than the 82dpi you get from a 1,920 x 1,080 27in panel but it is. It's the difference between visible pixelation and absolute pin sharpness. The 75Hz refresh rate means that text flows across the screen just that little more smoothly than at a bog standard 60Hz.

Beyond those basic specifications, the display is very good. Not only is it impressively bright with a maximum luminescence of 375cdm/2 but thanks to a reasonably low black level of 0.3cdm/2 the contrast ratio is a very solid 1236:1. Of course none of that is good enough to earn the MP273QP any sort of HDR certification but you need to spend considerably more than the MSI's asking price to get those sorts of features.

Uneven illumination and backlight bleed can often be problems with cheaper IPS panels but not with the MSI. Measuring both the average brightness and ISO 14861 across the panel all 25 swatches fell into either the Recommended or Nominal tolerance categories, the vast majority into the former.

When it comes to colour the panel displayed 93% sRGB gamut coverage from 102.8% volume which most users will be more than happy with. The Adobe RGB and DCI-P3 gamuts are narrower at 68.5% and 72.5% respectively but since the MP273QP is not designed for serious creative work those are still decent enough numbers. There's not much wrong with colour accuracy either with a Delta E variance of 1.9 against the sRGB profile. Generally speaking anything under 3 but higher than 2 is very hard to detect other than with a highly trained eye so the MSI can be used out of the box for even quite colour-critical jobs.

MSI quote the response time as 4ms grey-to-grey which is perfectly fine for a non-gaming monitor though you can adjust that between Normal, Fast and Fastest should you need to reduce motion blur. In the standard setting there is a noticeable amount of ghosting present during the UFO test and to be honest, increasing the overdrive doesn't have much of an impact on the situation. The display also supports AMD's FreeSync adaptive synchronisation technology and has a crosshair feature in a nod to casual gaming.

Of more use to the average user are the TÜV Rheinland certification and the various features wrapped up in MSI's Eye Care suite which reduce flickering and minimise blue light emissions as well as giving the display an anti-glare coating. What all that means is that you can stare at the MP273 for a long time experiencing eye strain or getting a headache.

MSI Pro MP273QP review: Features

For what is, after all, a pretty cheap office monitor, the MP273QP offers an impressive range of adjustments. With 30 degrees of swivel to left and right, 110mm of height adjustment and 25 degrees of tilt (from 5 to -20) the basics are well covered but you also get a full 90 degrees of rotation to both left and right which is a great feature if you need to view content in portrait rather the landscape.

The OSD menu is navigated through four buttons below the right side of the display. It's not as easy a system to use as one based on a joystick but it's still relatively straightforward to hop through the various menus without inadvertently turning the screen off by accidentally pushing the fifth button in the row.

MSI also offers a Windows app called MSI Display Kit which lets you swap between display modes (you can choose between Standard, Gaming, FPS, RTS/RPG, Cinema and Eye-Saver) as well as manage the various multi-panel options on offer and such technical settings as the refresh rate and resolution. You can even use it to adjust the speed of your mouse pointer.

The stereo speakers don't have much to offer in terms of volume – 69.8dB(A) was the most we got out of them – and the sound they make is rather tinny and brittle. The output also gives the distinct impression it's coming from the left side of the monitor rather than from both sides which is a little disconcerting. If all you want them for is Zoom or Teams calls they will do the job but for anything more demanding a headset or external speakers will be required.

MSI Pro MP273QP review: Price

Considering the low asking price of £165 for the WQHD model, there's very little not to like about the MP273QP. It excels in the two key areas that are vital for a good quality work or office monitor, namely display quality and ergonomics. With a sharp, colourful and colour-accurate panel built onto a light and compact stand with plenty of adjustment options the only criticism that can be made is in regards to what the MP273QP lacks, namely a Type-C input and any form of USB connectivity but the latter would certainly increase the price while the former is hardly a deal breaker when the answer is simply to buy a Type-C DP cable.

MSI Pro MP273QP Specifications

MSI Pro MP273QP – FAQs