Xiaomi G27i Gaming Monitor Review - 1080p, HDR10, FreeSync, 165Hz 1ms gaming for under $150

TweakTown's Rating: 89%

The Bottom Line

Xiaomi's G27i is a 1080p and 165Hz gaming monitor with a 1ms response time that can be picked up for a shockingly low price. The G27i offers incredible value for its price and nails what it intends to do.

Pros

• Great gaming performance
• Visuals
• OSD settings
• Price!

Cons

• Poor port placement
• May require a power adapter
• Minimal manoeuvrability

Should you buy it?

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Buy at Amazon for $129.99 USD

Introduction & Specification Details and Close-up

Cheap is sometimes all a gamer needs, and with many monitors on the market, there is an ocean of affordable gaming monitors to choose from. So, which one do you choose?

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According to the Steam Hardware Survey the vast majority of gamers are still enjoying games at 1920 x 1080p (FHD), and every day the percentage drops as gamers adopt higher resolutions such as 2560 x 1440 (QHD). While the transition is currently occurring, 1080p PC gaming is still incredibly popular, and with the influx of gaming monitors solutions into the market gamers can now score a very impressive 1080p display without breaking the bank.

Xiaomi has recently debuted its G27i gaming monitor, a 27-inch 165Hz IPS display that is one of the most barebones gaming monitors I have come across. However, with all of the concessions Xiaomi has made with its design, the G27i has been priced extremely competitively at $159.99, or currently at Walmart at $109.99 (31% off). 1080p gaming at above 144Hz can now be achieved for less than $150, but is the price a reflection of the overall quality? Does buying cheap mean you will just have to buy again sooner rather than later? Perhaps. But perhaps Xiaomi will surprise you as it did me.

Specifications

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Close-up

Xiaomi G27i Gaming Monitor

	Today	7 days ago	30 days ago
	$129.99 USD	$134.99 USD	$149.99 USD	Buy
* Prices last scanned on 10/24/2024 at 3:55 am CDT - prices may not be accurate, click links above for the latest price. We may earn an affiliate commission from any sales.

Design

I have previously described a barebones gaming monitor like this - when someone says to picture a generic gaming monitor in your head, the image that you see is exactly what the G27i looks like. Xiaomi stripped the G27i to its uttermost basics, housing the IPS panel inside a hard plastic shell that doesn't have anything remotely aesthetic about it besides its uniformity and perhaps the indented "Xiaomi" text on its back. Besides its boring appearance, the G27i does feel sturdy in the hand and feels like it's built to last. I wouldn't be worrying about any housing breaking on the G27i.

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Moving to the back of the G27i, I immediately noticed a curiosity. Xiaomi has decided to place the ports for the gaming monitor vertically, meaning when cables are plugged in, they protrude out towards the wall that the display is positioned in front of. I would consider this a poor design choice as it means the monitor won't sit flush against a wall. The DisplayPort cable I'm using protrudes out at least 2 inches, and you would want to give it some clearance with the wall to avoid putting pressure on the male end. An unfortunate and considerable problem.

Another issue I found wasn't with the physical design of the monitor, but its power brick and cord. While this won't affect buyers in the US, the G27i arrived with a two-pin US plug without any notice. My location is Australia. This problem was easily solved with an adapter, but I thought it would be worth knowing for any potential buyers outside the US - be prepared with an adapter.

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Back to the physicality of the monitor. The only splash of color Xiaomi has placed on the G27i is its purple multi-directional joystick located on the back of the monitor that is used to navigate OSD options. Keeping to the back of the G27i, you will find just three ports: 1x DisplayPort, 1x HDMI, and 1x 3.5mm headphone jack. There are no speakers.

That is about it with the design of the G27i, and it's clear for the lack of features that Xiaomi has thrown its cost of materials into the performance of the monitor and not its aesthetics.

Panel Breakdown

I would imagine the largest cost of the G27i is the 27-inch 1ms response time (GtG) IPS panel that makes this gaming monitor worth talking about, as its performance is much more than satisfactory given its price. Despite just being 1080p, the G27i IPS panel pushed 165Hz extremely smoothly and without any hitches. Additionally, the color accuracy of the G27i is truly impressive given its price, with it scoring 99% of the sRGB color gamut, 80% of Adobe RGB, and 81% of P3. However, it is slightly lackluster when it comes to brightness, with it scoring 275 nits, but that is enough for everyday tasks and gaming in a well-lit room.

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HDR is available for as the G27i supports HDR10, but it's not something I would recommend you enable if you want to retain the ability to control the brightness of the display as HDR disables brightness customization. Furthermore, I found the HDR performance to be quite impressive for the price of the G27i.

Another positive for the G27i is its OSD options, which are very cleanly outlined and have no lag between different options being selected. Xiaomi has organized the OSD settings in a way that all of the most important setting such as brightness, HDR, color, and more right in front of you, instead of being buried in suite of settings that takes digging to locate. Additionally, you can lower response time with Game Mode, while also enable FreeSync Premium within the OSD settings.

Performance

As with all of my gaming monitor reviews, I test the monitor in the spotlight in a variety of different games to determine where it performs best, which gives me the type of gamer I can recommend it to. I tested the G27i in the following titles: Apex Legends, Overwatch 2, Cyberpunk 2077, Red Dead Redemption 2, Hellblade 2, Elden Ring, Age of Empires IV, DOOM Eternal, and The Witcher.

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The G27i provided an impressive gaming experience in all of the aforementioned titles, with it particularly shining most in titles that were able to take advantage of that 165Hz refresh rate. I enjoyed the G27i the most in Apex Legends, Overwatch 2, and DOOM Eternal, which is where I was able to take advantage of all of its gaming-orientated specifications (1ms response time / 165Hz refresh rate). From my testing, I'm able to determine that the G27i is best suited for a competitive gamer who typically plays first-person shooter titles.

However, it should be noted the G27i didn't disappoint in any of the titles I tested, and it would be a perfectly fine monitor to play any of the aforementioned genres of games given its fitting size of 27-inches. I'm just saying that competitive shooters are what I enjoyed most throughout my time with the G27i.

The G27i doesn't do anything spectacular gaming wise, but it provides more value than what it's worth on the market - and that's a massive plus in my book.

Final Thoughts

Should you buy the G27i? Overall, the G27i is an incredible monitor for you get, which is the absolute barebones of PC gaming at 1080p. I can happily recommend the G27i to anyone that is looking to get a 1080p gaming monitor 144Hz or above without breaking the bank.

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For under $150, you can now get 1080p gaming at more than 144Hz, and it's not terrible picture quality either. It appears the overall standard for gaming monitors has recently gotten much better, and with many more options flooding onto the market, buyers are reaping the rewards of there being bountiful options available that are all competing with each other - driving the price down and forcing brands to really think what provides a buyer with value.

The G27i is an example of that. A gaming monitor that has been stripped of all the bells and whistles and left with what a gamer would consider the most important specifications in a gaming monitor - resolution, refresh rate, response time, and size. The G27i is an incredible purchase for the price of $109.99, and I would even consider it as a second monitor option in your setup - especially while the 30% off deal is on.

Fantastic work here Xiaomi. Now show me a similarly priced 4K, 32-inch variant, along with a 3440 x 1440p, 34-inch ultrawide variant. Both at least rocking 165Hz refresh rates.