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HyperX Armada 27: A hands-on first look at HyperX's first gaming monitor
HyperX has expanded its lineup of gaming peripherals with the Armada 27 monitor. The company's first foray into displays is an excellent, and affordable, option for both PC gaming newcomers and anyone looking to upgrade their current battle station. And since it comes packaged with a mounting arm that permits a lot of flexibility in placement.
The Armada 27 provides up to 1440p resolution, 165Hz refresh rate, and 1ms response time, making it a great choice for anyone who wants higher-resolution gaming but isn't quite ready to invest in a 4K monitor. The IPS panel is capable of producing 95 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut, which means you'll get incredible color volume and range for more lifelike images. During our testing, bright colors popped against dark backgrounds, and whites and grays never looked washed out; combined with the QHD resolution, you'll be able to see more details than with a 1080p display.
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It's also compatible with G-Sync VRR technology, which means that the refresh rate of the display will match the refresh rate of your Nvidia GPU, preventing annoying screen tearing and stuttering that can ruin the immersion and your online matches.
With a brightness of up to 400 nits, the Armada 27 is bright enough to see clearly in well-lit rooms without being blinding, and the 178-degree viewing angle means you'll get a good image even when the screen is tilted or you're sitting to the side.
The screen comes packaged with a mounting arm that's as impressive as it is practical. It comes with both a C-clamp and a grommet desk mount system, giving you plenty of options for placement no matter what kind of desk you use. When fully assembled, the arm can give you up to 18 inches of height, which is plenty of room to have another 27-inch monitor underneath it, as I have with my personal setup.
The main mounting arm can support up to 20 pounds and displays up to 32 inches wide, which is more than strong enough for the 8-pound, 27-inch HyperX screen. The arm attaches to the back of the display with a simple and intuitive snap plate, though it does come with a VESA plate if you want it for another display. The snap plate lets you mount and remove the display in just seconds, which is great for when you need to run cables or clean.
Also: The 6 best gaming monitors
The arm itself also has an excellent range of motion, letting you rotate, tilt, raise, lower, and shift the monitor from side to side for the perfect placement on your desk. I do wish the arm extended to just another few millimeters of height to ensure clearance above bigger monitors, but tilting the screen back prevents displays from knocking into one another.
The Armada 27 sells for $499.99, which puts it in the same tier as the 27-inch Acer Predator XB1 and 27-inch Asus ROG Strix XG27AQ-W. Both competing displays also provide 1440p resolution, as well as similar refresh rates, response times, and VRR compatibility. The Asus ROG Strix display has built-in speakers, whereas the Armada 27 does not, so keep in mind that you'll need a dedicated headset or set of external speakers when shopping.
Also: Best gaming headset: Immersive sound for an extra edge
In all, the Armada 27 is an excellent display for gaming as well as everyday work. The high resolution and refresh rate create stunning images and smoother playback while the 1ms response time gives you near-instant reactions to your keypresses and mouse clicks. And with the included mounting arm, the Armada 27 is well worth the $500 price tag.