The TCL 27C2A Pro is a Mini LED gaming monitor geared to compete with some of the hottest 4K gaming monitors on the market. It offers a 4K panel with quantum dot pixels and a dual-mode that can trade off resolution for speed, much like some other high-end monitors. The TCL 27C2A Pro promises a lot, but its $999 price tag raises a lot of questions.
The TCL 27C2A Pro is a fairly tame monitor with a white-and-black color scheme that seems to chase after either Alienware’s or Samsung’s approval. Other than some RGB lighting, it’s not terribly gaudy, but it’s not incredibly pretty either.
The display squeezes in a 27-inch 4K panel that runs at 160Hz in its native mode or 320Hz when swapped down to 1080p. This kind of dual-mode technology has been popping up on more and more 4K monitors, and it’s great to see as it gives them more flexibility to serve as platforms for AAA titles with gorgeous graphical assets as well as competitive esports games where speed is almost all that matters. The panel features quantum dots and Mini LED backlighting with over 2,300 dimming zones (2,304 to be exact). That gives it a rated 98% coverage of the DCI-P3 color space and rated peak brightness of 2,000 nits — more on that later.
The TCL 27C2A Pro might have a $999 MSRP, but little about the monitor’s constructions feels like it ever should have. It builds on the earlier 27C2A non-pro model, which was cheaper and had fewer dimming zones and a lower peak brightness. But that this more expensive model was built on the bones of a cheap display makes it feel cheap as a result.
The stand and back of the monitor are covered in flimsy plastic. Though, TCL includes some colorful and modestly bright RGB lighting on the back of the monitor that at least makes it look more fun.
The monitor has an adjustable stand that gives you all the height, swivel, tilt, and rotational adjustment you’d expect from a high-end monitor, but it’s terribly jiggly. Any motion to my task transmits up through the stand. Thankfully, the monitor can be placed on a VESA mount.
Rather than having a sturdy, rigid hole through the stand for cable routing, the back of the stand has a little rubber strap that slides down to form a small loop that the cables can go through, but they don’t end up looking super tidy in practice. The monitor also uses an external power brick that you’ll need to find space for on or under your desk.
The monitor gets a couple things right in its design, at least. It includes DisplayPort and two HDMI ports. It also offers a USB-C connection that can handle video input and up to 90W of power output to a connected device. All of the ports can work with the display’s 4K/160Hz peak, though you’ll want to make sure you have cables that can do the job too.
سەرچاوەی فەرمی بە زمانی ئینگلیزی: https://www.ign.com/articles/tcl-27c2a-pro-review
