MSI MPG 274URDFW E16M Gaming Monitor Review - Intense Versatility for $499

TweakTown Rating: 98%

Our Verdict

MSI's MPG 274URDFW E16M is a highly versatile display that caters to both gamers and creatives at a very competitive price. It's one of the easiest monitors to recommend to almost any walk of gamer.

Pros

• Extremely versatile
• Gaming and HDR performance
• Good for creative workflows
• Stellar design
• Price

Cons

• 1080p mode is a little lacklustre

Should you buy it?

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Buy at Amazon for $499.99 USD

Buy at Amazon for $729.99 CAD

Buy at PC Case Gear for $799 AUD

Introduction & Specification Details and Close-up

The MSI MPG 274URDFW E16M is a monitor that is attempting to satisfy the best of both worlds: elite competitive gaming performance and high-end visual fidelity, all within one gorgeous white package.

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The MPG 274URDFW E16M, which is just going to be referred to as the E16M for the remainder of this review as that model name is quite a mouthful, is a monitor that is sitting in the premium line of MSI's gaming monitor offerings, as it's "MPG" branding reflects this is one of the best gaming monitors the company has to offer - and rightfully so, as the E16M is aimed at a wide variety of consumers and would be best utilized by someone that wants a monitor that is ready to perform in a myriad of tasks such as professional work, creative tasks, and, of course, gaming.

The E16M is a Rapid IPS Mini-LED monitor that sports 1,152 local dimming zones, giving users great control over brightness and contrast. Additionally, it's a dual-mode monitor, meaning it can switch from 4K @ 160Hz down to 1080p @ 320Hz, which caters to both cinematic single-player experiences and fast-paced competitive titles. Furthermore, the E16M features a 0.5ms (GtG) response time, making it well within the ideal range for exclusive competitive gaming.

Specifications

Close-up

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Design

MSI has stepped out of its comfort zone with the design of the E16M and attempted to blend a sleek modern aesthetic with practical ergonomic features, and I can say, they have knocked it out of the park here. I really appreciate how the design rides the line between a "gamer-centric" aesthetic and a "professional" aesthetic. The E16M has a two-toned look with a white chassis and black bezels. To me, this design approach really reflects how MSI is attempting to angle this monitor as a "jack-of-all-trades" style, as the design language is approachable to both gamers and professionals.

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So, what are we working with? MSI has used a flat 27-inch Rapid IPS panel that is housed within a frame that has a relatively narrow bezel. The E16M isn't as thin as the QD-OLED or WOLED monitors that are becoming ever more apparent in the gaming monitor market, but its thinness measures a little less than a thumb wide.

Moving to the back of the monitor, MSI has maintained the white and black look but has placed an RGB lighting array around where the monitor stand connects to the back of the panel. These lights can be changed within the On-Screen Display (OSD) options or switched off entirely. At first, I thought the RGB implementation was a little "loud" for the E16 M's general design, but after some time testing the display, I found it tastefully integrated and gave the E16M a little flair. I imagine if MSI had left out the RGB, the design would have been quite dull.

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As for the stand, MSI has done quite a good job in the ergonomics and adjustments departments, as users have height, tilt, swivel, and pivot angles available to them, and the inclusion of 100 x 100 VESA mounting support, meaning the E16M is compatible with the large majority of monitor arms and brackets. The stand is made of metal and has a relatively small footprint, which conserves quite a lot of desk space. However, I'm saddened to report the E16M did have some wobble when lightly knocked. This wobble never ran the risk of the monitor tipping over, but it was enough for me to notice, and given the rigidity of the stand, I was quite surprised there was any wobble at all.

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Keeping to the back of the monitor, MSI has outfitted the E16M with an array of connectivity options aimed at satisfying the needs and wants of gamers and professionals. Here's what you will be working with: 1x DisplayPort 1.4a (HBR3), 2x HDMI 2.1, 1x USB-C w/ DisplayPort Alt + 98W power delivery, 2x USB 2.0 Type-A ports, 1x USB 2.0 Type-B port, and 1x headphone jack. This is quite a solid array of connectivity, all of which can be fed through the cutout in the E16 M's stand for clean cable routing.

Moving to the front of the panel, MSI has finished the E16M with an anti-glare matte coating that assists greatly in the reduction of reflections in bright environments. I can attest to these claims by the company, as the E16M did a fantastic job at diffusing any independent light sources I shone onto the front of the panel.

With that being said, I can say the E16M would work perfectly fine in an office-type environment where there are lots of independent light sources that could be beating down on the front of the panel, or even a home office environment where natural light may be hitting the front of the display.

Panel Breakdown

The E16M panel is very impressive for what it is. I thoroughly enjoyed my time testing it, as I felt it was just so versatile. It provided more than satisfactory performance when it came to word processing tasks such as writing reviews and news, while also keeping up splendidly in gaming sessions where I switched between the 4K @ 160Hz mode when I was playing my slower cinematic titles, and the 1080p @ 320Hz when I was really locking in during my competitive games.

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The 27-inch Rapid IPS panel with a 3840 x 2160p (4K) resolution means we are working with an extremely high Pixel Per Inch of 163, and since we can switch that to 1920 x 1080, it can jump down to 81 PPI, which, honestly, isn't that bad on a 27-inch display. I have tested 32-inch dual-mode monitors with the same 4K / 1080p offering, and I can say 27-inch is far and away the better option, as the visual fidelity you get from a 32-inch in the 1080p mode is tragically bad, as the PPI drops down to just 68.

Notably, to switch between modes, users simply need to hit left on the multi-directional joystick and hit enable. The monitor will go black briefly and automatically switch to the desired mode. Another highlight of the E16M is the Mini-LED backlight, which features 1,152 local dimming zones. I found this backlight technology, while not being up there with some other monitors on the market that have higher dimming zone counts, provided adequate control over brightness, contrast, and most importantly, HDR performance. I'm happy to report that HDR performance was impressively bright, and that tests in darkness didn't result in a grey effect that many monitors can produce.

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So, what does this all mean for the typical user? With such a good HDR implementation, the E16M will still maintain its image quality even in brighter rooms with a lot of ambient light, and since it can hit such high levels of brightness, it also makes the E16M appropriate for professionals who want to edit HDR video or high-contrast photo work, as they will be able to maintain color/gamut fidelity.

As for gamers, the E16M performed greatly in 4K/HDR titles, assisting in the immersion of the game as the monitor is able to punch up highlights and maintain deep blacks, creating an awesome contrast between colors. It should be noted that this level of contrast performance doesn't hold a candle to OLED monitors, but OLED monitors can't get as bright as the E16M, meaning HDR performance is typically lacklustre.

Performance

So, how does the E16M fare in games? Firstly, with every monitor I test, I like to include several different genres of games to see where the monitor performs the best and to hopefully inform a gamer what their experience will be like if they played their favorite type of game on the display under the spotlight. For the E16M, I tested the following games: League of Legends, Apex Legends, Overwatch 2, Black Myth: Wukong, Cyberpunk 2077, The Witcher 3, God of War Ragnarok, Valorant, DOOM: The Dark Ages, Age of Mythology: Retold, Borderlands 4, and Battlefield 6.

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The E16M performed admirably in every game that I threw at it, with the particular highlights being the cinematic titles, where I could appreciate the color much more. Now that isn't to say competitive titles such as League of Legends, Apex Legends, Overwatch 2, and Valorant didn't play well; they did, but just weren't as enjoyable as the cinematic games. In those competitive titles, I switched over to the 1080p @ 320Hz mode, and while I did enjoy the boost in refresh rate, the hit in visual fidelity just wasn't worth it for me.

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Although I can see some competitive gamers being completely fine with the hit in visual fidelity in exchange for the increase in refresh rate, for me personally, it's just not my speed of gaming; I much prefer retaining visual fidelity and sacrificing some refresh rate. It's just different strokes for different folks, and the beauty of the E16M is that you have the option to choose. All at the press of a button.

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Another point of performance I would like to highlight is the pleasure of conducting creative workflows on the E16M, as this was an area I was quite impressed with. The E16M in the 4K mode was a fantastic display for writing content and editing video. I'm completely comfortable being able to recommend the E16M to professionals who also like to spend some leisure time gaming, or vice versa.

Final Thoughts

So, should you buy the MSI MPG 274URDFW E16M? Newegg currently lists the E16M for $499 on its website, and at that price, I believe this monitor, for what it offers, is an absolute steal for the right buyer.

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The ideal buyer of the E16M is someone who plans on utilizing the dual mode and is also going to be using the display for some type of creative work. Obviously, if you are looking for an exclusive gaming display, the E16M is a fine choice, but someone who is also looking for an all-in-one display that they can play games on comfortably and work on word processing or creative tasks will really get the most out of this display.

Ultimately, the MPG 274URDFW E16M is one of the most balanced and versatile gaming monitors I have ever reviewed from MSI. Between its stellar physical design and performance, it's an extremely easy monitor to recommend to almost any walk of gamer. If you are in the market for a new gaming monitor, play both competitive and cinematic titles, and need a monitor for creative workflows, the E16M is an incredible option at an affordable price. And if you manage to catch it on sale, you'll be laughing.