Corsair Xeneon 27QHD240 review: 27 inch OLED gaming just got better
Corsair deliver yet another stunning OLED gaming monitor to the ever expanding marketplace - this time equipped with a blistering 240Hz refresh.
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Our resident gaming monitor specialist finally got his hands on Corsair’s latest Xeneon 27QHD240 OLED. This is a stunning 27″ 240Hz OLED gaming monitor that is set to go toe to toe with the LG 27GR95QE and ASUS ROG Swift PG27AQDM. It’s the most recent arrival in the brand’s Xeneon line up, looking to offer a more conventional design when compared to the hugely popular – yet fairly expensive – Corsair Xeneon Flex. In this review we will take you through all aspects of the monitor from build quality, screen and gaming performance to ensure that you have all the information to make an informed decision.
Before we get into the detailed hands on review below is a summary of the Corsair Xeneon 27QHD240 review.
Corsair Xeneon 27QHD240
Corsair Xeneon 27QHD240 review specifications
Alongside a 240Hz OLED display, the Xeneon 27QHD240 monitor also feature a 2560 x 1440p screen resolution, 0.03ms G2G response time, and adaptive sync for variable refresh rate technologies – which includes both AMD FreeSync (unfortunately it doesn’t come with AMD Freesync Premium) and NVIDIA G-Sync compatibility. As you’d expect, Corsair has equipped its latest OLED monitor with a fairly comprehensive OSD that offers all the usual color, brightness, picture, and game settings.
Like always, we’ll be testing the Corsair Xeneon 27QHD240 in a variety of areas to see how it stacks up against some of the market’s leading alternatives. We’ll conclude the guide with our thoughts on value, performance, user experience, and aesthetic appeal.
Refresh rate
240Hz
Response time
0.03ms GtG
Screen size
27″
Resolution
2560 x 1440
Aspect Ratio
16:9
Panel Type
OLED
Brightness
1000 nits (peak)
Contrast ratio
Infinite
Viewing angles
178/178
Color gamut
100% sRGB, 99% DCI-P3
Corsair Xeneon 27QHD240 OLED review: hands on photos
What’s in the box
As you’d expect, the Corsair Xeneon 27QHD240 comes in a fairly robust box that features some of the monitor’s core specifciations on the exterior. Inside, the monitor sits within two thick layers of polystyrene with thin layers of foam acting as a last scratch-resistant barrier.
Unboxing the monitor was relatively straightforward with little problems in the physical construction. The V-shaped base screws into the neck of the stand via a single thumbscrew. The neck of the stand is then clipped into the back of the monitor with a simple plug-n-play toolless design.
Inside the box, users will find two power cords, a HDMI cable, DisplayPort cable, USB Type-C cable, and a user manual.
Corsair Xeneon 27QHD240: design and features
Corsair have knocked it out the park when it comes to aesthetic design once again. The 27QHD240 looks absolutely flawless from every angle – boasting a true bezel-less design that really does add to the immersive qualities this monitor provides.
The monitor features a wide V-shaped stand, relatively thick neck, and a fairly basic all-black color scheme. The rear of the monitor offers little in the ways of aesthetic features, however, it does come with the brand’s trademark geometric pattern on the rear.
Unlike the Corsair Xeneon Flex, there are no inputs on the front of the stand – neither are there any on the rear. Instead, the 27QHD240 features its inputs at the back of the monitor, facing outwards. While it’s not quite as clean as the Flex, it’s certainly a step up from the more generic underside placements.
While the monitor does feel incredibly well made, it does utilize a fair bit of plastic. That said, we noticed very little flex or wobble during testing. All stand functionality and ergonomics felt purposeful and tactile, resulting in a premium feel that is always welcomed. It has as you would expect tilt and swivel options so you can optimise your viewing experience. There is plenty of connectivity with four USB-A ports and one USB-C port.
The OSD control panel can be found on the underbelly of the bottom bezel. Corsair have decided to utilize the joystick approach in this monitor, allowing users to easily navigate through the various menus at hand. There are two buttons to the right of the joystick which allow you to access different areas of the OSD or switch the panel off entirely.
Corsair Xeneon 27QHD240 – Color Accuracy & Picture Quality
We extensively test every monitor we review for color reproduction to see how it would perform in color-sensitive situations. Despite this monitor being tailored towards gamers, it features a wide color gamut (100% sRGB according to specs) which means both accuracy and HDR performance should be relatively decent.
Like always, we started off the color accuracy testing section of this review by loading up our colorimeter and running a test right out of the box.
Below are the results.
| Preset | White Point | Black Depth | Contrast Ratio | Average ΔE*00 | Gamma | Luminance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IDEAL | 6500K | 0.00cd/m² | Infinite | 0.00 | 2.2 | 120cd/m^2 |
| Racing Mode (out of the box) | 5883K | 0 cd/m² | Infinity:1 | 5.78 | 1.71 | 120cd/m2 |
| sRGB mode | 5933K | 0 cd/m² | Infinity:1 | 4.72 | 1.71 | 120cd/m2 |
As you can see from the results above, the 27QDH240 OLED performed to an average standard right out of the box. We recorded a 5883K white point, perfect black depth, and infinite contrast ratio in the panel’s factory settings. As far as average deltaE was concerned, the Corsair Xeneon offered a 5.78 deviation across the testing spectrum (pretty poor accuracy when compared against other OLED alternatives). Gamma was recorded at 1.71 and luminance out of the box was 103 nits – less than the recommended for daily consumption over extended periods of usage.
We wasted no time and moved onto the sRGB emulation preset that was said to be calibrated to a deltaE of 2. Upon testing, that didn’t seem to be the case, with the OLED panel offering an average of 4.72 – almost double the target accuracy. It’s worth mentioning that the picture and color quality of the monitor looked absolutely fantastic – it just wasn’t perfect in terms of accuracy. As you can imagine, black depth and contrast remained the same, offering a perfect score.
| Preset | White Point | Black Depth | Contrast Ratio | Average ΔE*00 | Maximum ΔE*00 | Gamma |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IDEAL | 6500K | 0.00cd/m² | Infinite | 0.00 | 0.00 | 2.2 |
| Calibrated Profile | 6465K | 0 cd/m² | Infinity:1 | 0.34 | 1.27 | 2.2 |
At this stage, we decided to throw the panel through a deep calibration to see what levels of accuracy we could produce. For best results, we left the sRGB values at 100/100/90.
Looking at the results, it’s safe to say that a calibration helped improve the overall accuracy of the monitor exponentially. We ended with an average deltaE of 0.34 (with a maximum value of 1.27) which is more than enough for even the more stringent of content editors.
Once calibrated, the Corsair Xeneon 27QHD240 OLED showcased good accuracy that would certainly be acceptable for color accurate editing.
Panel Uniformity
Panel uniformity is a test we run to check how uniform the luminance and colors are across the entirety of the screen. During this test, the center square is used as the reference space. Every other square is then tested to see how far it differentiates from the reference.
In an ideal world, we want every square to be green, meaning it hasn’t broken the differential threshold – something we can set at the start of the test.
Note: results will differ from panel to panel.
Viewing Angles
Again, being an OLED panel, the viewing angles on the Xeneon 27QHD240 OLED were exceptional. We viewed the panel from extremely wide angles and didn’t really notice any color shift whatsoever. This is normally the case with OLED panels, with viewing angles being one of the pros.
Corsair Xeneon 27QHD240
Refresh rate
240Hz
Response time
0.03ms GtG
Screen size
27″
Resolution
2560 x 1440
Color Gamut
As part of the calibration process, the DisplayCal will give an accurate measurement of the color gamut the monitor can provide. Below are the results of the color gamut test:
As you can see from the graph above, the Xeneon 27QHD240 OLED returned an impressive 99.9% sRGB gamut coverage – exactly what the marketed specifications said it should.
More impressively, however, was the wide 89.4% Adobe RGB and 95.5% DCI-P3 color gamut coverage – more than requirements needed for a true HDR experience.
Above we’ve included the physical graphs for each color space, showcasing the exact coverage we recorded in the sRGB spectrum. The colored line showcases the size of the gamut this monitor provides. It clearly exceeds the sRGB spectrum which can be seen via the dotted line.
Maximum and minimum peak brightness
We ended the color accuracy and picture quality testing by checking the maximum brightness, minimum brightness, and 120 candelas level on this panel. The results are below:
| Brightness | Candelas |
|---|---|
| 100 Brightness | 288.77cd/m2 |
| 0 Brightness | 65.34cd/m2 |
| 26 Brightness | 120 cd/m² |
Corsair Xeneon 27QHD240
Refresh rate
240Hz
Response time
0.03ms GtG
Screen size
27″
Resolution
2560 x 1440
Corsair Xeneon 27QHD240 OLED: Gaming Performance
With color accuracy and panel uniformity out of the way, it’s time to put the Corsair Xeneon 27QHD240 OLED through a number of different gaming and response time tests to see how it stacks up in gaming scenarios. Like always, we’ll be testing the monitor across a variety of games to get a greater understanding of how this monitor performs overall.
For this portion of the testing, we enabled Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and set the refresh rate to its max 240Hz.
Competitive gaming
Corsair have definitely landed on the picture quality/ responsiveness sweetspot with this panel. It performs to an incredibly high standard when playing some of the industry’s most competitive games – with CS:GO being our main port of call. We ran a number of different tests to see how the monitor would react in fast-paced settings and it excelled in all.
This should come as no surprise, however, as the LG Displays OLED panel at its core offers a 0.03ms response time – about 3 times quicker than the industry’s fastest TN alternatives. Pair that with the monitor’s impressive 240Hz refresh rate, it’s easy to see why we were so impressed by this monitor’s gaming performance.
We played CS:GO, COD, and PUBG for extended sessions and were never once met with screen tear, ghosting, or any other annoying screen artifact. The 27-inch OLED display also offered up enough real estate to encapsulate your vision in its entirety – allowing you to reach a high level of immersion when playing.
General gaming
I decided to put the competitive gaming aside for a short time while we ran the monitor through a number of more immersive based single player titles. Despite not offering a huge 42-inch display, that didn’t stop the Xeneon 27QHD240 OLED from producing a truly immersive experience. The color accuracy of this panel really offered up an excellent visual experience with not noticeable motion blur when playing a variety of different games – and that’s before enabling the panels HDR functionality. We did hit a slight roadblock when enabled said feature – resulting in a weird washed out block in the center of the screen. Fortunately, simply restarting the monitor resolved this issue quickly.
We played a number of different titles on Corsair’s latest OLED monitor and each offered equal levels of colorful and tear-free enjoyment as the last. Speaking of which, enabling the monitor’s G-Sync (unfortunately it doesn’t AMD Freesync Premium) resulted in a buttery smooth gaming experience – even when frames dropped to around 30 FPS.
Corsair Xeneon 27QHD240: our verdict
So, there you have it, our comprehensive review of the Corsair Xeneon 27QHD240 OLED – Corsair’s latest stab at the OLED gaming monitor marketplace. Overall, we were extremely happy with the gaming performance, colors, and user experience this monitor offered – despite not featuring a huge 42-inch display that we’re slowly being conditioned to want. Instead, the 27-inch OLED display offered stunning image quality and color vibrancy in both gaming and entertainment scenarios.
Gaming performance was crisp, sharp, and artifact free – exactly what you’d want for competitive and single-player gameplay. Additionally, colors felt natural and balanced – not over-saturated like some of the gaming monitor’s we’ve tested over the last 12 months. Additionally, navigating the monitor’s OSD was incredibly easy and fine-tuning the visual experience within it was very intuitive. The display’s port layout was also easily accessible and plentiful – offering up a number of different options for both gamers and editors alike.
But let’s talk about the elephant in the room – the price. This monitor hits shelves for $999/ £1049/ AU$1,749 – making it one of the market’s most expensive 27-inch monitors. Having said that, I dont feel this monitor showcases bad value for money – the features and performance clearly speak for itself. Additionally, the Xeneon 27QHD240 OLED seems to have been priced in alignment with the market’s other 27-inch 240Hz OLED panels – making its pricing understandable. Every though it commands a premium price you get the comfort that Corsair offer 3 year zero dead pixels warranty.
Overall, if you’re looking for a stunning 27-inch OLED gaming monitor, the Xeneon 27QHD240 will be hard to beat and is available now. It features all the features and specifications you could want for a truly exceptional gaming experience, alongside a tonne of additional features which make the day-to-day usage of this monitor a joy. If you can stomach the pricing, this monitor could be the perfect way to futureproof your setup.
Corsair Xeneon 27QHD240
Refresh rate
240Hz
Response time
0.03ms GtG
Screen size
27″
Resolution
2560 x 1440
