Review – HP OMEN 27u 4K Monitor

Today’s list of available monitors can  quickly become overwhelming. Enter the Omen 27u gaming monitor. This monitor is one of the few 4K monitors I have used and tested that made it enjoyable to game on my PC or console and do the daily workload for my job. The 4K display, with its vibrant colors, makes all the content more enjoyable and lifelike.

Specifications

Before I go into my experience and opinion for the Omen 27u, let’s take a look at the specs:

• 27″ Panel size
• IPS Panel 4K UHD (3840 x 2160)
• Up to 144Hz refresh rate
• 1ms response time
• AMD Freesync™ compatible
• Integrated speakers
• Connection: 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x DP 1.4, 1x HDMI 2.0, 2x USB-A 5Gbps (out), 1x USB-C (in), 1x 3.5mm Jack
• DisplayHDR 400 certified (450 nits)
• VESA Mounting 100 mm x 100 mm
• With stand 24.1″ x 20.3″ x 10.26″
• Weight: 17.24 lb

Design

The Omen 27u has a modest but well-thought design. The thin bezels allow the IPS panel to take center stage. Some cable management is built into the stand with a place to store your headphones. The stand connects to a diamond-shaped bump-out that is highlighted with a stylish RGB strip. The RGB is bright enough to satisfy most enthusiasts and there is an additional RGB spotlight on the bottom. The inputs and speakers are placed in the rear of the diamond shape allowing easy access to both ports and speakers for connection changes. The speakers face downwards towards the desk to help enhance audio quality, but that brings me to the first knock on the 27u.

The sound quality of the speakers is just poor. The best way I can explain the sound would be the equivalent of listening to a mid-tier pair of headphones that are just resting on your desk. I do not recommend using the built-in speakers as the primary audio source. There is a 3.5mm jack to connect headphones or external speakers, and you should make good use of it. My recommendation to HP would be to forgo speakers in future iterations and use those cost savings on other upgrades within the monitor.

Connections

The monitor has enough connections to get you up and running. One DisplayPort 1.4 for the PC folks is the only way to take advantage of the 144Hz refresh rate. A single HDMI 2.1 for the new consoles (Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5) that allows up to 120 FPS and Variable Refresh Rate(VRR ). A standard HDMI 2.0 port, two USB Type-A, 3.5mm headphone jack, and a USB Type C port round out the bunch.

The USB ports can turn the monitor into a USB hub. The USB-C connection runs to the PC and allows a mouse and keyboard connection using the additional USB ports on the back. You may need a longer USB cable to run between the PC and monitor if you decide to use the monitor as a USB hub. My setup has my PC way off to the side, and I found the included cable was not nearly long enough.

Remember when I said the port placement makes things easier to swap out connections when needed? Well, if you have both consoles, you will need to. With a only single HDMI 2.1 port, you will need to swap cables to take full advantage of the Omen 27u while gaming. I am sure this was to help keep costs down, but it is more than a little bit of an inconvenience. You could purchase HDMI switches to avoid doing this, but they are hard to find and rather expensive at this time.

Setup and Performance

I had only the Xbox Series X available for console testing, and my computer is currently running an EVGA FTW3 Ultra 3080 graphics card. However, both were able to put the 27u to the test.

Connecting the Omen to my computer using a display port was simple, and the system recognized it without issue. With that said, you will need to go into the display settings and adjust the resolution and refresh rate accordingly. Whatever the last display device you had connected will be the settings the Omen displays. The Xbox Series X also needed to adjust the settings and go through the compatibility process, though this occurs without a hitch. The only missing checkmark was for Dolby Vision.

Let the Games Begin

Once I had everything configured, the gaming commenced. Playing Forza 4 and Doom in 4K at max refresh rate on the Xbox was pure heaven. With its realistic scenery, Forza 4 was on full display, and motion blur when racing past cars performed flawlessly. Doom was glorious! Running around and not having any lag or screen tearing on the console was unbelievably satisfying, and the IPS panel did not disappoint. The vibrant colors and responsive nature made my playing experience almost as enjoyable as playing on an OLED. If you know me, you know that I hold OLEDs as the gold standard in gaming and the Omen 27u was right there.

I played several additional games including Cuphead, MLB the Show, Hollow Knight, and Slay the Spire. My experience using the 27u for any console gaming left me with a smile. I would have no problem using it as my daily driver.

PC gaming was a similar experience, if not better. Having the ability to boost frame rates to 144 FPS is otherworldly. Again, the IPS panel impressed with the ability to provide almost inky blacks when playing Resident Evil VII or Visage. The bright and vibrant colors of Cyberpunk 2077 and PowerWash Simulator were also on full display.

The controller experience was on par for most uses. The Omen 27u may not be your monitor if you are a hyper-competitive or pro gamer. There was some perceptible lag in a few games, but nothing that broke the experience. However, it would be enough to throw off pro gamers and cause that crucial move or shot to be missed. For the rest of us, this is right in the sweet spot for input performance.

HDR…

I am going to be frank with this one. If you are buying a monitor for HDR, you are in the wrong market. My experience with HDR ratings on monitors has been disappointing at best. Unfortunately, the Omen 27u kept the tradition going. With its DisplayHDR 400 rating, I found that it mainly brightened the screen a bit and not much else. Your mileage may vary, but the HDR rating on monitors, I feel, is more of a talking/selling point than an actual feature. I believe a rating of 600 nits or higher is needed to obtain an actual HDR experience.

Content Consumption and The Daily Grind

Using the Omen 27u for working and content watching was just as enjoyable as gaming. I had no noticeable display issues with the text. Editing and viewing videos using Filmora was also not an issue. Having a monitor that displays content in 4K while editing was perfect. Watching videos on YouTube or content from Netflix and HBO Max was as fun as watching on a bigger screen. As with most streaming services, you will see some ghosting or artifacts, but it was handled well by the 27u.

Working on that crucial project from work, you will have very few issues with eye fatigue or picture quality. However, one thing missing is the ability to swivel the monitor into a portrait using the stand. The height and tilt adjustments are acceptable, but it would have been nice to have the swivel. So if you grab two of these, know you will need a monitor arm and the monitor is Vesa compatible (100 x 100).

Pricing

We do need to talk about pricing. The Omen 27u is currently retailing for $699 (USD). That puts it in the mix with the ASUS TUF 28″ VG28UQL1A (USD 743), Samsung Odyssey G7 (USD 799), and the Acer Nitro XV282K 28″ (USD 699). All of those monitors are around the same size and have (kind of) HDR, with HDMI 2.1 connections (the ASUS monitor has two 2.1 ports) for console gaming. Having played on two of the three (Samsung and ASUS), I can say the Omen 27u provides the best value out of the bunch.

Conclusion

Overall, my time with the Omen 27u was great. Having a single monitor, I can connect to both my PC and a console is great for space-saving. In addition, the picture quality and performance were top-notch. Besides the internal speakers and the lack of true HDR, the 27u performed well above most expectations.

*Note: HP provided the monitor for review purposes. No input or editorial choices were made or provided by HP for this review.

Final Score: 8.6 / 10