We first wrote about MSI's Optix MPG27C and Optix MPG27CQ monitors a couple of months back at CES, but details were scarce. The manufacturer has now spilled the beans on the pair of gaming displays, and one of them is available for sale now. The headlining feature on both monitors is integration with SteelSeries' Engine software for RGB LED illumination effects across the five lighting zones on the front of the monitor. MSI says the lights can respond to in-game timers, stats, and Discord notifications.
Both models have 27" 144-Hz VA panels with an 1800R curvature and support for AMD's FreeSync adaptive-refresh-rate technology. The biggest differences between the two are their resolution and maximum brightness. The MPG27C has a 1920×1080 panel and is rated for 250 cd/m² brightness, while the MPG27CQ packs 2560 columns and 1440 rows of pixels, and is quite a bit brighter at a touted 400 cd/m². MSI claims 178° viewing angles, 1-ms response times, and 3000:1 contrast ratios for both monitors. The company says both displays cover 115% of the sRGB color space and 100% of the NTSC space, excellent figures for gaming displays.
Both monitors have a DisplayPort 1.2 connector, two HDMI inputs, a built-in two-port USB 3.0 hub, and audio jacks. The HDMI ports on the MPG27C use the older 1.4 spec and the higher-resolution MPG27CQ has two HDMI 2.0 jacks.
MSI's Optix MPG27C is ready for purchase now from Amazon for $449. The company says the higher-resolution Optix MPG27CQ is also available now, but we couldn't find it at our favorite e-tailers yet. MSI didn't provide pricing information, but we imagine the MPG27CQ will be dearer than its 1080p sibling. MSI backs the monitors with a one-year warranty.
MSI is bundling one of SteelSeries' QcK Prism two-sided gaming mousepads with MPG-series monitors purchased between now and until April 8. That mousepad should fit in with the monitor aesthetically thanks to its own 12-zone RGB LED illumination. Buyers just need to jump through a couple of hoops to get the free mousepad, detailed here.