For $500, it’s finally time to take the plunge on an OLED gaming monitor

OLED prices are dropping fast — and I mean really fast. On Black Friday today, you can pick up the MSI . Keep in mind that just over 12 months ago, this exact same panel was selling for $1,000, and even with newer monitors making the rounds, this is still one of the best gaming monitors you can buy.

Now, I haven’t used this exact monitor, but I have plenty of experience to make an informed recommendation here. I’ve seen this panel at work in the Alienware 27 QD-OLED, and I’ve tested plenty of MSI OLED monitors like the MPG 321URX. That’s all to say, while I haven’t reviewed this specific monitor, I’m intimately familiar with just about every aspect of it.

Although I’ve seen this exact panel numerous times, MSI has a pretty unique configuration of it. This particular monitor has a 240Hz refresh rate, while most 27-inch QD-OLED panels use a 360Hz refresh rate — for a great price, too. Although the refresh rate is lower, the MAG 271QPX still comes with the next-gen improvements of the latest QD-OLED panels.

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If you’re not up to speed, first-gen QD-OLED panels like the one we saw on the Alienware 34 QD-OLED have a strange subpixel layout — the red, green, and blue subpixels are arranged in an odd way. That led to text clarity issues, where you’d see fringing on any fine details, particularly when working on a text document. The MAG 271QPX doesn’t have those issues with its updated subpixel layout.

In addition, these newer QD-OLED panels are truly unmatched when it comes to brightness and color. As you can read in my LG UltraGear Dual Mode OLED review, the latest WOLED options from LG Display are a bit behind with color, while the latest QD-OLED displays have some of the best color accuracy money can buy — and that’s without touching any calibration.

That’s the panel, but the MSI bit is equally as impressive. MSI has effectively undercut the competition from Asus, Alienware, LG, and Samsung, matching and sometimes even exceeding the features those brands offer. For the MAG 271QPX, you get quite the assortment of features. Dual HDMI 2.1 ports give you 120Hz refresh rate at 4K for consoles, and a powered USB-C connection is perfect for any portable device like the Steam Deck.

For me, the main draw to MSI is OLED Care, however. MSI has probably the most comprehensive list of burn-in prevention features on the market right now, which is backed up by a three-year warranty that covers burn-in.

OLED Care has a ton of mitigation features. You get some standard options like a pixel refresh and pixel shifting, but MSI goes further with a suite of automatic prevention features, too. The monitor picks up on your taskbar, your HUD in games, and even the boundaries between Windows to specifically target areas where burn-in is most likely. If you’re taking advantage of these features, you realistically shouldn’t even need to think about the three-year warranty.

In addition, MSI is one of the few brands that goes out of its way to show its work. Basically any OLED or QD-OLED monitor looks great, but MSI actually gets all of the proper certifications to prove that its display looks great. That includes DisplayHDR True Black 400, ClearMR 130000, as well as FreeSync and G-Sync support.

I’m gushing about this monitor because, frankly, this is kind of an unbelievable deal. That doesn’t mean it’s perfect. You’re limited to only 15 watts of power delivery on the USB-C input, for example, and there’s no KVM switch. MSI’s build quality isn’t the best, either. I mean, the monitor isn’t going to fall apart on your or anything, but it’s not a super premium finish like your find on the Samsung Odyssey OLED G8.

Frankly, those are extremely minor downsides considering the price here. Again, monitors in this class were selling for $1,000 just one year ago, and the fact that you can get one for $500 now blows my mind. OLED is still moving at a fast pace, but don’t let this deal pass you by.