Monoprice Zero-G Slim 27" IPS Monitor Review
by Chris Heinonen on August 26, 2013 12:00 AM ESTThe Monoprice Zero-G seems to be clearly aimed at those after a cheap 27” 2560x1440 monitor who don’t care about extras or frills. This market was opened up by Korean imports like the Catleap and now has a number of companies trying to compete with those eBay sellers. Monoprice is entering the fray with the Zero-G, currently available for $391. That's a good price, but what does it get you?
The Zero-G is a bit curious in its results. The out-of-box numbers are really quite bad, and the Brightness control does not function correctly. Outside of a narrow range it simply doesn’t do what it's supposed to do, and adjusting it too much causes a huge loss of contrast ratio as well as even worse gamma. The color accuracy also is very poor out of the box.
Once you calibrate it, the Monoprice puts out a fantastic image. The contrast ratio suffers due to the brightness limitation, but color and grayscale accuracy, as well as gamma, are spot-on. This behavior put the Zero-G into an area that makes it harder to recommend as a good solution for users.
If you need accuracy, you can spend $150-200 more and grab the Dell U2713HM, which is frequently on sale for around $600. You also gain an adjustable stand and multiple inputs instead of just DVI. You could spend the money on calibration gear, but by the time you have an accurate setup (which means software and a spectrometer, not just a colorimeter) you’re well past the price difference between the Monoprice and the Dell.
If you want to go cheap, for almost the same price you can find the Nixeus VUE 27 display for $485. It also has a stand and OSD that are entry-level like the Monoprice, but it has more inputs and better uncalibrated results. If you have a laptop or desktop without DVI output, you’re better off with the Nixeus as the DispayPort input alone will save you from buying a DVI-DL adapter that the Monoprice requires. I’ve seen the Nixeus selling for as little as $400 recently, and at that point the price different is negligible.
If the Monoprice had better out-of-the-box numbers I can see it being a good choice for some people. With its numbers and its lack of non-DVI inputs, that pool of users grows smaller. Factor in the strange rear-mounted controls and the competition it has, and it gets smaller still. Perhaps Monoprice can improve their firmware and get better results but right now the hardware itself doesn’t function as expected. With all the other choices available on the market, it’s hard to recommend the Monoprice Zero-G over another display that can be had for the same price and offers better performance and features.
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borderdeal - Tuesday, August 27, 2013 - link
I do not doubt it is not a 100% accurate calibration for the problem u mentioned but for sure looks a lot better than the manual calibration I tried to do. I do not do anything professional with it so I do not need 100% color accuracy or even close to it so I am happy the way it looks and I compared it to the ICCs floating around for this monitor and I though the one done with the i1 looked better to my eyes (probably because it is wrong though)HisDivineOrder - Monday, August 26, 2013 - link
Really wish companies would produce the display hardware that would go with the IPS panels capable of pumping 120hz and give us a high speed, high frames per second IPS monitor. Even if we had to overclock it ourselves, just make sure the monitor can do it.That'd be worth it. This, not so much.
kmmatney - Tuesday, August 27, 2013 - link
"Once you calibrate it, the Monoprice puts out a fantastic image. "I would say the same for my 24" Soyo Topaz, which is still running perfectly after 6 years. I just downloaded an ICC file from the internet, and a few small tweaks from there and the color was great. The only thing about my Soyo was that I did have a capacitor go bad on the power supply, and I had to order a $12 capacitor kit off Ebay to fix it. Having an external power brick actually sounds like a great idea for me as that would be very easy to replace.
L33TiZBACK - Wednesday, August 28, 2013 - link
I just got the monitor , i would like to know what your calibrations were besides brightness and contrast. I have never calibrated a monitor before and i would like to get the best experience with this monitorjb510 - Wednesday, August 28, 2013 - link
Glad you guys reviewed this, but hope you review the much higher quality Monoprice 27" IPS-Glass Panel Pro LED Monitor (PID 10489) which seem like a much better comparison to the Dell 2713HM.SeanFL - Wednesday, August 28, 2013 - link
Agree. Just bought two of the higher end monoprice 27 inch and am very impressed. They are bright and seem fairly accurate. Having displayport HDMI VGA and dvi is also nice.EMP1155 - Thursday, August 29, 2013 - link
On your next Monoprice purchase use promo code EMP1155 to receive 50+ pricing on all products. No limit to how many times you can use code. Offer ends 9/15/13Wellsoul2 - Thursday, August 29, 2013 - link
I've had the Catleap 2703 for awhile and love the color and resolution compared to a TN.I got it for $300 . The power switch doesn't always work on it after six months, but I don't care
I just switch off the power brick. (It still looks great)
I still would buy the cheap Korean one because of the price. If you want quality buy the Dell for twice the price because the $300 cheapie is probably the same as the $400 ones.
ijh - Saturday, January 18, 2014 - link
I know this is about the 27" MONOPRICE and this looks as if this is all old hashed-out stuff but.. I am going to put my two cents in for what it's worth. I purchased the MONOPRICE 30" IPS CrystalPro LCD Monitor WQXGA 2560x1600 Display last year 2013.07.13 and have been pleased with my purchase. So satisfied that I have not looked back, no wishes I had done something else, not one bit. Bang for the buck this PC Monitor is great. If you would like a complete in-depth review go here << http://toytalks.weebly.com/1/post/2013/04/review-m... >> ; If you are dissatisfied with the 60Hz RES then use a utility such as: Custom Resolution Utility [CRU] which will allow you to OverClock your 30" MONOPRICE IPS. I use my 30" piece of real-estate for work which requires rendering, AUTOCAD & some PHOTO work along with Word, EXCEL, Web Designing etc and last but not least GAMES. I utilize Dual SAPPHIRE Radeon Vapor-X HD 7970 GHZ OC 6GB and yes I can put the 30" MONOPRICE into the "Hurt Locker" in short order but that is not what I purchased this piece of real-estate for; I needed something that would be a good compromise over a broad range for different applications & this MONOPRICE 30" IPS definitely fulfills my requirements. So for what it's worth, if anyone is in need for a good all around large PC Monitor [30"] & does not have the out-lay of cash for the thousand dollar range then this is a good solid purchase.