Cooler Master GM2711S Gaming Monitor Review - 27-inch QHD at 180Hz for $280

Introduction & Specification Details and Close-up

Cooler Master is typically known for its innovative work on cooling systems, power supplies, and case manufacturing. Yet, over the years, it's steadily built up a reliable repertoire of products across neighboring categories.

A quick look at the Cooler Master GM2711S Gaming Monitor

Mouses, keyboards, headsets, accessories - there's something for everyone, usually at a budget-conscious price point. As of 2019, Cooler Master began manufacturing monitors, and six years later, we've had the chance to play around with the latest in their range: the Cooler Master GM2711S.

Featuring a 27-inch 1440p IPS display, a 180 Hz refresh rate, and 0.5/2ms response times, there's plenty to catch your eye here. In Australia, this unit currently retails for approximately $450 AUD, roughly $280 in US dollars. Utilizing our review methodology, we'll break down what works and what doesn't and help you determine whether this display is suitable for you. There's no such thing as a one-size-fits-all when it comes to gaming monitors, so we'll place plenty of emphasis on finding out the type of user it's best suited for. And most importantly, whether it deserves your hard-earned money. Let's get started.

Specifications

Close-up

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Design

In terms of physical design, the way I'd describe the GM2711S is simple, sturdy, and functional. You won't find any flashing RGB lights illuminating the display on startup. Nor accent lines or flashy visual flair in the construction of the stand, bezels, and back panel. What you'll find is Cooler Master's purple hexagon on the bottom bezel, a subtle blue LED to indicate that the monitor's on, and a sturdy, minimal construction.

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Depending on your stylistic preferences, this can come as a pro or a con. However, personally, I'm a fan of an unobtrusive approach to both design and branding. Inserted into my own setup, the display and stand slotted in nicely. Contrasting this with very 'techy,' multi-pronged stands and blinking startup lights of other gaming monitors - I don't particularly fault simplicity. Especially within the mid-budget category, where you'd prefer to see the unit's expense allocated towards technical components rather than aesthetics.

The construction itself consists of hard plastic and a slightly textured dark finish. While it isn't steel or glass, these ingredients come together in a premium way. It's easy to construct: with only a Phillips head screwdriver that's required to fix four screws into the stand and twist tightening to assemble the rest.

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Moving to the back of the display, the lack of HDMI 2.1 is a notable omission, with the GM2711S featuring two HDMI 2.0 ports and one DisplayPort 1.4 port on the back panel. We'd advise PC gamers to stick to DisplayPort 1.4, as we can confirm the HDMI slots on the GM2711S only support up to 144Hz on PC. On consoles, you'll, unfortunately, miss out on a few of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X's HDMI 2.1 features, such as higher bandwidth, full VRR support, ALLM, and eARC. Your console experience on the GM2711S will still include 1440p at 120Hz, which is no different from what you'd get on HDMI 2.1. Nonetheless, the omission of full VRR and some of these console's other features are important considerations.

Noting: it is uncommon to find HDMI 2.1 at this resolution and price point on a display, as HDMI 2.1 is largely geared towards 4K and higher-end 2k monitors.

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I'd also like to mention the well-designed navigation button at the bottom of the display. Operating like a joystick, it allows you to intuitively toggle through the monitor's menu and settings. While perhaps a small feature, it's a welcome one in terms of making things easier for the user.

Panel Breakdown

Taking a look at the panel itself, the GM2711S IPS panel offers a strong combination of speed, color accuracy, and viewing angles. With a typical 350 nits of brightness, the output is effective for most indoor environments. The anti-glare coating does a solid job of blocking out any light reflections from within my workspace.

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The contrast ratio of 1000:1 performs as you'd expect for an IPS monitor. However, I will note that the brightness does leave something to be desired at times. Even with the setting cranked to 100%, there were a few instances where I wanted just a little bit more illuminative output. If you're in a room with lots of natural light, things hold up okay through browsing and productivity tasks. However, the gaming experience is where it noticeably suffers.

Diving further into color, the color performance of the GM711S includes 95% DCI-P3, 99% sRGB, and 91% AdobeRGB color gamut coverage, leaving you with vibrant and accurate colors. For gamers, this is strong and will leave you with a visually rich in-game experience, particularly in bright, colorful virtual worlds - which we'll explore further in the performance section. From a general productivity standpoint, you'll have no complaints either.

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Looking at creative workflows (photo/web/video editing), these specs will also keep hobbyists, and entry-level designers happy. However, for advanced/professional-grade designers, you're better off looking for color calibration and HDR in more expensive displays. These features simply aren't something you can expect to find at a $280 price point.

Speaking of HDR, the GM2711S features HDR400 in its display tech. While in some instances, for example, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, it led to a more natural looking color output. It still resulted in a generally dimmer, more washed out image. This pattern echoed across most of the titles we tested, and given the inconsistency, you'd have no trouble leaving HDR off for most instances with this display.

Performance

In terms of how the GM2711S actually handles in-game, you'll have a great time with cinematic single-player experiences. The sprawling jungles of Indiana Jones, the streets of Saint-Denis in Red Dead Redemption 2, and the landscapes of Horizon: Forbidden West all look and feel exactly as you'd like from a monitor at this price range. Rich, bright environments are where this display thrives, and though some might argue the base image verges on oversaturation, it should cater effectively to most tastes.

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In the nightlife of Cyberpunk 2077, you can notice some of the display's limitations. Blacks come in a little grey at times, and I found I needed to do quite a bit of gamma tweaking to hit that sweet spot between visibility and immersion. However, this is to be expected from an IPS display, and the contrast of brighter features like neon lighting still looked stunning even in darker settings. With the GM2711S, you'll find some limitations with horror games and movie viewing. But overall, you'll be in for a serviceable experience across the board.

Shifting over to multiplayer, the response times on this display leave something to be desired. The manufacturer claims 0.5ms (MPRT) / 2ms (GtG). We tested multiple shooters, next to an older 165Hz MSI display (Optix AG32C) with a 1ms response time. The lack of responsiveness on the GM2711S was very noticeable. Even with extra frames on the GM2711S, there was a sluggishness - lack of pinpoint precision, on the new model that we didn't find on the MSI.

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The display is claimed to be 'Ultra-IPS', which reportedly improves the grey-to-grey response to 2ms. However, based on our testing, the experience feels far closer to the IPS standard range of 4ms, despite manufacturer claims. It was a disappointing outcome, given that the monitor's specs otherwise support a fantastic single-player and multiplayer experience. Although this won't matter to the average casual gamer, but if you thrive on the competitive scene, or if you're used to a response time equal to / quicker than what this monitor advertises - I'd proceed with caution.

Final Thoughts

With a vibrant and colorful 27" 1440p IPS display, the Cooler Master GM2711S provides a rich visual experience for single-player gaming and productivity. However, it's let down in competitive gameplay by a lack of responsiveness and, at times, underwhelming brightness.

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On that basis, I can safely recommend this monitor to anyone that's looking for vivid, colourful visuals in vast open worlds. However, if you skew heavily towards first-person shooters, and value precision above all - I'd advise looking for something that's a little tighter on the response curve. For console gamers: this will work for the casual gaming audience, but the lack of HDMI 2.1 support is a notable drawback.