MSI MAG 274QRF QD E2 monitor review: A solid gaming workhorse
Table of Contents
MSI is one of the best gaming monitor manufacturers in the game, offering numerous models across different price points, and the MAG 274QRF QD E2, released in 2024, is aimed at the lower-mid-range gaming market. The successor to the original MAG 274QRF-QD, which had a 165Hz max refresh rate, this latest model caps out at 180Hz plus comes with additional features like a KVM switch and improved USB-C power delivery.
Like its predecessor, it uses a quantum dot layer to enhance its peak brightness and color vibrancy beyond what a standard IPS display would typically manage, and this tech has been improved further with the E2 variant.
Take a look below to see how this screen measured up in our testing, whether it's the best gaming monitor for your needs, and if it's worthy of a place on our best 27 inch monitor guide.
- Refresh rate: 180Hz
- Response time: 1ms
- Screen Size: 27″
- Resolution: 2560 x 1440
A solid performer that's solidly-built, the MSI MAG 274QRF QD E2 is a nice option for those looking for a lower-mid-range IPS gaming monitor with vibrant colors, that can also be used for general productivity display.
Price increases across the different retailers that sell it since its release mean it's no longer priced particularly competitively, however if you can pick one up for around the $280 mark then it's a good buy.
- Respectable SDR brightness
- 100% sRGB & 99% DCI-P3 coverage
- Light matte coating reduces glare whilst not being obtrusive
- 65W USB-C Power Delivery & KVM switch
- decent array of ports for the size
- Good adjustability
- Underwhelming response times
- Only comes with basic FreeSync
- Panel uniformity on our model wasn't great
- Lacks HDMI 2.1
- Some of the OSD presets look terrible
Pricing & availability
The MSI MAG 274QRF QD E2 was released in the second half of 2024 with an MSRP of around the $280 mark, though its price on online retailers has increased since that time, which is likely a testament to its popularity. $310-$330 is the likely price you can expect to pay at the time of writing (summer 2025) for a new model, or £298 if you're in the UK.
It can be a bit tricky to find the correct version of this display if you're a US customer, as you'll be bombarded with all the similarly named variants when you search for it (which are different monitors), though at the time of writing, we managed to find one for sale on Amazon US. The latest, rapid VA version of the display (the 275CQRF QD E2) is what typically comes up when you search on Amazon US.
For UK customers, the monitor is a bit easier to find. You can also pick up the MAG 274QRF QD E2 at Newegg though for slightly above the asking price.
The original MAG 274QRF can also be found on Best Buy.
Design & specifications
The screen of the MAG 274QRF QD E2 comes with a matte coating but a relatively light one, compared to some out there, which does a decent job of minimising glare without causing the image to appear too grainy. The bezels surrounding the active area of the display aren't extremely thick but could be thinner, given the relatively modest size of the screen.
OSD controls consist of a single red joystick on the lower right of the rear of the monitor. We wouldn't say it’s the sturdiest-feeling one we've used but it does the job. Generally, the build quality of the monitor on the whole feels solid – it's almost entirely made of plastic but feels well put together. The plastic also helps to keep the weight down and it's a fairly easy monitor to move about.
The screen is thicker than what you'd see in an OLED panel (given their lack of backlighting), but is fairly reasonable for an IPS display. The stand column is fairly chunky, and there's a fair bit of protrusion from where the screen meets the stand, so for a smaller-sized monitor, it does take up a bit more space than average – even though the dimensions of the base are fairly standard. Alternatively, the stand can be replaced with a 75mm x 75mm VESA mount, should you wish to otherwise mount the screen.
Adjustability is as you’d expect for a modern display, offering a tilt of -5° to +20°, a swivel of ±45°, height adjustment of 0-130mm, and a pivot either way of 90°.
Connectivity is reasonable overall: on the positives you get a USB-C port that has 65W power delivery, which you can use to attach your phone/tablet to, this also provides DisplayPort connection alongside the dedicated DisplayPort 1.4a socket. On the downside the two HDMI ports are limited to HDMI 2.0b, so it's not ideal for console gaming as you won't be able to use features like VRR on the PS5.
The monitor lacks speakers entirely, and this isn't something we mind, given that monitor speakers are invariably terrible and are rarely used.
OSD, features, settings & warranty
The MSI monitor interface is one of the better ones out there – fairly easy to navigate and with a minimum of pointless features.
The MAG 274QRF QD E2 comes with the same presets you get on most recent MSI displays, with a split between the ‘Game Mode' ones and the ‘Pro Mode' options.
MSI MAG 274QRF monitor OSD. Source: PC Guide
MSI MAG 274QRF monitor OSD. Source: PC Guide
Some of these presets were pretty poor to be honest, not just in terms of the technical measurement (which we'll discuss below), but from a subjective user experience, with FPS (Game Mode) being absolutely dreadful, but Premium Color (Game Mode) was decent for gaming and general use, as were some of the others.
You only get base-level FreeSync with this monitor, rather than the Premium option. There are three different Overdrive settings, which we'll touch on more later.
The display comes with a 3-Year warranty covering the globe.
Screen testing & performance
Color gamut
We recorded a gamut coverage of 99.5% for the sRGB space, which is effectively 100% for all intents and purposes, plus a 94.9% DCI-P3 coverage and an 88.3% Adobe RGB coverage – we wouldn't recommend trying to do any color-accurate work in these latter two spaces.
Color accuracy, contrast, gamma & brightness
Below are the results we recorded for the different presets we tested that are available within the monitor's settings menu. We tested for white point, black point, contrast ratio, average deltaE*00 (a measure of color accuracy), gamma, and brightness. In the top row, we've listed what is considered the ideal value for each of these data points, though to an extent this is just from a technical standpoint: the preset you actually prefer ultimately depends on your subjective preference and what you happen to be viewing on the monitor.
| Preset | White | Black | Contrast | Average deltaE*00 | Max deltaE*00 | Gamma | Brightness |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IDEAL | 6500K | 0/m² | infinity:1 | 0 | 2.2 | ||
| Premium Color (Game Mode) | 5775K | 0.2858cd/m2 | 1330.2:1 | 5.75 | 2.11 | 381.60cd/m2 | |
| FPS (Game Mode) | 6658K | 1.4766cd/m2 | 283.1:1 | 7.01 | 1.72 | 418.04cd/m2 | |
| Movie (Pro Mode) | 6723K | 1.4492cd/m2 | 290.3:1 | 6.87 | 1.73 | 420.74cd/m2 | |
| sRGB (Pro Mode) | 5919K | 0.2624cd/m2 | 1294.1:1 | 1.55 | 2.59 | 2.08 | 339.58cd/m2 |
| DCI-P3 (Pro Mode) | 5919K | 0.2627cd/m2 | 1292.7:1 | 2.87 | 6.66 | 2.05 | 339.47cd/m2 |
| Adobe (Pro Mode) | 5913K | 0.2627cd/m2 | 1290:1 | 3.46 | 7.44 | 2.05 | 339.01cd/m2 |
The best result overall was in ‘sRGB' mode, followed by the ‘DCI-P3' preset, with the formal having a particularly good average deltaE*00 score of 1.55 – significantly below the 2.00 or lower that you'd ideally want if doing color-accurate work.
Most of the presets (besides FPS and Movie mode) showed respectable contrast for an IPS, but substantially below what you’d get in a VA or OLED panel, the same is true for the black point. The white point wasn't great in any preset, and though calibrating the monitor improved this along with the black point (getting a result of 6297K and 0.087cd/m2 respectively), this was actually to the detriment of the average deltaE*00 score, which rose to 3.57. The gamma results weren’t great across any preset.
SDR peak brightness peaked at 421.50cd/m2, which we recorded at 100% brightness under the ‘Premium Color' preset – whilst not earth-shattering, this is a solid result and about double what you could expect from most OLED screens. The lowest 0% brightness we recorded was 46.08cd/m² under the same preset and the brightness setting which most closely equates to 120cd/m² (the approximate value for natural light) was 17%.
Panel uniformity
Panel uniformity measures the consistency of the luminance and color replication across the whole screen. The screen is split into a 5×5 grid, the central square acting as the reference point from which every other square is tested for variance.
A recorded variance below 1.00 shows up as green, which is the ideal result, being imperceptible to the naked eye. Yellow represents a greater degree of variation between 1.00 – 3.00, though at the lower end of this range this is still unlikely to be discernible to the untrained eye, and doesn't necessarily preclude the display from color color-accurate work. Greater variance is more of a problem and shows up as red.
Looking at the results above, the MAG 274QRF QD E2 was less than impressive in this particular area, with two red panels across the bottom and one in the top left of the screen. This probably precludes the use of the monitor from any professional-grade color-accurate work, with the caveat that not every unit of this screen might score as poorly (there is always a bit of a lottery when it comes to panel uniformity).
Viewing angles & backlight bleed
Given it's an IPS panel, the MAG 274QRF QD E2 has decent viewing angles, with noticeable change to the colors or contrast all the way up to the 178° mark. Some backlight bleed was noticeable along the top edge of the monitor when viewing dark scenes, but by IPS standards it was no worse than average – those looking to completely remove it should consider an OLED display.
Gaming performance
We put this MSI display through our usual qualitative testing of trying it out in various games, specifically CS2, Doom Eternal, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, and Cyberpunk 2077.
The IPS panel does lag behind when it comes to the depth of blacks in darker sense compared to an OLED or VA panel as you'd expect, but by IPS standards it's pretty decent. The nice and high peak brightness plus the solid color replication thanks to the quantum dot tech does help to make the images pop nicely in spite of this, even with the slight matte finish on the screen.
180Hz isn't the fastest refresh rate out there, but it's absolutely fine for singeplayer titles, and even for competitive online shooters it's certainly good enough for your average gamer. In terms of response times it could certainly be better however, and in our tests, the monitor achieved closer to 5ms GtG rather than the advertised 1ms. Of the three overdrive options within the settings, we'd only really recommend the standard ‘Fast' option, with the ‘Fastest' one showing ghosting and ‘Normal' not giving enough positive benefit.
The basic implementation of FreeSync removed some of the screen tearing but we did still experience it in fast-paced scenes.
General performance & productivity
The MAG 274QRF QD E2 is chiefly a gaming monitor, but it does have multiple features that make it a solid productivity monitor as well. The modest matte coating combined with respectable peak brightness of over 400 nits means you can use it in brightly lit environments with little screen glare. The built-in KVM switch, 65W USB-C charging, and USB-A and B ports are also useful for day-to-day tasks.
Text clarity is good – certainly better than what you'd get on an OLED. Color accuracy was the best on the sRGB preset as discussed and you can work in both the sRGB and DCI-P3 spaces quite nicely with this screen.
MSI MAG 274QRF QD E2
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