ViewSonic Elite XG270 review

At $429, the ViewSonic Elite XG270 gaming monitor comes in hot with all 27 inches of its colorful panel clocked at a 240Hz refresh rate topped off with numerous display settings. It's definitely a showpiece. That said, the Elite XG270's design is a little impractical if you have a small desk, and the speakers don't sound great. However, if you're looking to get into competitive gaming, the Elite XG270 is one of the best gaming monitors you can buy.

ViewSonic Elite XG270 design

The ViewSonic Elite XG270 looks pretty discreet compared with other gaming monitors, as it doesn't boast a flamboyant RGB lighting system or a wacky metal design. And then you look down at its ridiculously long base.

The ViewSonic Elite XG270 features relatively thin bezels, with a thicker bottom bezel that shows off the Elite logo and leaves some room below for the controls. There are RGB lights running along the bottom bezel surrounding the controls on the right and left side. But they're barely noticeable unless you're gaming in a dark room. In the box, you'll also get a pair of privacy panels you can screw into the sides and reduce glare.

The ViewSonic Elite XG270's matte-black back panel is slightly curved and ringed by a RGB-lit hexagonal LED strip where the arm is connected. Just above the lights is an engraved glossy ViewSonic logo. On the right (left if you're facing the display) of the panel is a headphone hook that comes out of the side. And just behind the bottom bezel are two mouse bungees that you can use to clamp down your mouse wires.

There's a T-shaped metal base that is 10.4 inches long, which creates a hell of a lot of unusable desk space. Part of the base is matte black, while half of the upper T section sports a brushed aluminum design with an Elite logo stamped on the right side.

In addition, the stand protrudes from the very end of the base to meet the arm, which lets the monitor do a bunch of cool tricks, like swivel (40 degrees), pivot (90 degrees right or left) and tilt (5 to 20 degrees forward and back). You also get 4.7 inches of adjustable height; the height between the ground and the bottom bezels starts at 3 inches and rises to 7.7 inches. If you're looking to hang up this monitor, you'll need a 100 x 100 mm VESA compatible mount.

At 25.6 pounds and 24.2 x 18.06~22.5 x 10.4 inches, the ViewSonic Elite XG270 isn't as heavy as it looks. But due to its elongated stand, it makes a multi-monitor setup a little difficult.

ViewSonic Elite XG270 installation and setup

Although the ViewSonic Elite XG270 doesn't come preassembled, it's easy to set up. There are three pieces: the base, arm and display. First, you'll slide the arm down the base, using the included screw to keep the arm attached. 

Then, simply latch the display onto the arm where the hexagonal space is, and you're all set. You can attach the two provided panels by screwing them into the sides of the display.

ViewSonic Elite XG270 ports, cabling and interface

The easiest way to access the ViewSonic Elite XG270's ports is by pivoting the display 90 degrees left or right. 

The monitor has two HDMI 2.0 ports, one DisplayPort, a headphone jack, a Kensington lock slot, a power jack, three USB 3.1 Type A ports and one USB 3.1 Type B port. When you're not using these ports, you can cover the monitor by attaching an included plastic lid.

The ViewSonic Elite XG270 comes with a DisplayPort cable and a USB Type-A to USB Type-B cable. If you need an HDMI cable, you'll have to buy one separately.

The interface is simple to navigate thanks to its joystick and neatly laid-out tabs. When you click it, it'll reveal a transparent menu, detailing your monitor's refresh rate, whether adaptive sync is enabled and what game mode you're currently using. 

In the Game Mode tab, there are a number of display presets. They include Standard, FPS, MOBA, Battle Royal, Realistic, Vibrant, Console Speed and Console Color. There are also two Custom settings that you can tinker with.

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There's an Input Select tab, and past that is the ViewMode tab, which offers non-gaming presets like Standard, Movie, Web, Text, Mac and Mono. After that is the Audio Adjust tab. Last but not least is the Setup Menu, which covers language select, general information, crosshair options, RGB lighting, sleep, ECO mode and more. 

ViewSonic Elite XG270 performance

The ViewSonic Elite XG270 is rocking a 27-inch, 1920 x 1080 display clocked at a 240Hz refresh rate with a 1 millisecond response time. This IPS panel also comes with HDR10 support and is compatible with both Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync.

I took a dive in Shadow of the Tomb Raider and found myself in… a tomb. Lara Croft's blue-and-gold tunic popped on the Elite XG270’s panel, and I could even spot the stitching on her sleeves. My co-worker pointed out that the monitor has great viewing angles, as she could see the picture clearly while sitting far to the right of me. The panel was also bright enough to pick up the details of the stalagmites in the tomb.

In Hitman, I spawned on a bench in Sapienza, Italy. The Elite XG270 highlighted the lovely red, yellow and blue paints of the buildings around me. I lurked in a dimly lit corridor near the restrooms, waited for my prey, and thanks to the bright panel, I could make out the facial features of each NPC walking into the room. The panel showed off its 240Hz refresh rate nicely, as I lit up a cafe with my pistol and started throwing stone busts at the patrons.

I played Grand Theft Auto V, and while robbing the dullest-looking bank in the world, there was a woman with red lipstick lying on the ground who shined in contrast to the dismal gray surroundings. When Trevor took off his mask, I could see each strand of hair coming off the ends of his mullet.

In the Black Widow trailer, the green-and-yellow train in the subway station was so vibrant that it caught my attention immediately. The security room with red dots on several displays was dark as all hell, but I could still make out bottles of liquor on a desk. And at 1080p, the screen is sharp enough to show details in the panels clamped onto Natasha Romanoff’s suit of armor.

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The best settings I found that made the display shine were Brightness: 100, Color Temperature: sRGB, Gamma: 2.2, Color Saturation: 75 and Sharpness: 75. I went a little extra on the saturation, but I love the vibrancy.

ViewSonic Elite XG270 audio

Packed behind the ViewSonic Elite XG270 are two 3W speakers that were loud enough to fill a small conference room, but didn’t sound that great.

I listened to Rise Against's "Prayer of the Refugee," and the opening guitar was a little congested compared with the vocals, which were slightly brighter. The drums were incredibly light on bass, and when the chorus hit, all of the instruments muddled together into one audio glob. And some of the higher pitched notes were a little sharp on the ears.

While eavesdropping on a conversation in Hitman, the voice came off clear and bright. When I decked a couple in a stairwell, the thuds that emanated from my fist hitting their faces made a pleasant sound, and the following neck snaps were equally so. But it's clear that it could have benefited from some more bass. Similar to the guitar in the song, the gunshots sounded slightly muted, and the full force of the impact wasn't heard as they entered some poor suit's skull.

Unfortunately, there aren't any onboard audio settings or software installed on the Elite XG270 to tinker with.

ViewSonic Elite XG270 lab testing

The ViewSonic Elite XG270 did a decent job on our benchmark tests, but it did not get as bright as advertised, which isn't uncommon in monitors.

We tested the display on the default settings — Game Mode: Custom 1, ViewMode: Standard, Brightness: 100 and Contrast: 70.

The Elite XG270 got an average of 277 nits of brightness, which is far from its projected 400 nits. However, the XG270 decently bright, as it crushed the Asus ROG Swift PG27A (234 nits). That said, it is still short of the Razer Raptor 27 (295 nits).

It did, however, beat the 99% projected color rating, covering 132% of the sRGB color gamut. Once again, the Elite XG270 slides past the ROG Swift PG27A (130%) and is beaten by the Raptor 27 (162%).

When measuring the DCI-P3 color space, the Elite XG270 covered 94%, which isn't too bad. We have a limited selection of monitors that ran the DCI-P3 test, but it came close to Alienware's OLED AW5520QF (101%). However, it's still not as colorful as the Raptor 27 (115%).

The ViewSonic Elite's color accuracy was also impressive, hitting a Delta-E rating of 0.27 (lower is better), which beats the Raptor 27 (0.3) and the ROG Swift PG27A (1.96).

Bottom Line

For just $429, the ViewSonic Elite XG270 offers a colorful 27-inch display with a 240Hz refresh rate, a ton of display settings and provides support for both AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync. But the speakers aren't that great and the stand is a little too big for some desks.

If you're willing to pay a little extra, you can get the Razer Raptor 27 for $699, which offers a sharper and more colorful display, as well as HDR400 support and a sleek design.

However, if you need that sweet 240Hz refresh rate, the ViewSonic Elite XG270 is one of the best gaming monitors you can buy.