Cooler Master Tempest GP27Q monitor review: Mini-LED to light up your games

If you're a gamer, there's no doubt you'll need a quality monitor. You probably heard of it already, but a new type of monitor that a lot of folks tend to go towards now is a mini-LED monitor. With these, you get more dimming zones, better contrast and brightness, and better image quality compared to a standard display. The Cooler Master Tempest GP27Q is an example of one you can buy.

This QHD resolution monitor is priced pretty decently and is packed with lots of gaming features. It has an ultra-fast 165Hz refresh rate, 1ms response times, HDR, and thanks to mini-LED technology, it packs incredible levels of color accuracy. Even the design is great since you get a solid metal stand and RGB lighting on the rear. It's really hard to complain about this monitor, even though there's just one issue with it, in relation to the proprietary charger. Other than that, the Cooler Master Tempest GP27Q will fit right in your home setup without issue.

About this review: XDA purchased the Cooler Master Tempest GP27Q for review. The company did not see the contents of this review before publishing.

Cooler Master Tempest GP27Q: Price and availability

As of today, you can buy the Cooler Master Tempest GP27Q from Amazon for $550. Stock appears to be limited, though. We're only seeing a few left. We currently don't see it at any other retailer. There's also a 4K resolution version of the display, which is $800, so make sure you're buying the right one.

Design

Classy, with some RGB

Overall, the Cooler Master Tempest GP27Q isn't too stylish. It is rather classic and has office-monitor looks to it since it is all black with a small chin and thin bezels along the three sides. The hexagonal stand is made of metal, though, and shined bright on my desk. It's a nice change from the plastic stands that other monitors use.

There's also a cable clip on the back of the stand, for organizing the things you have connected to it. The only hint that this is a gaming monitor is when you see the RGB effects on the back (which can be disabled). There's a circular ring of light and two LED strip bars to the left and right top. It's pretty nifty, and I'm sure serious gamers will love having a monitor that lights up just as bright as their keyboard can.

The one thing I'm unsure about with the design of the monitor is the power buttons and indicators. It's a small light on the right side of the monitor, but it's still noticeable. It flashes yellow when the monitor is on standby. I found it a little too distracting, but that's just me.

The Cooler Master Tempest GP27Q is rather classic and has office-monitor looks.

The monitor can be adapted to pretty much any setup. You can rotate it vertically all the way, and adjust it up and down to about 4.3 inches. If you want, you also can tilt it between -5 and 20 degrees, and swivel it between -15 and 15 degrees. All of these adjustments are smooth as butter, as you expect from a brand like Cooler Master.

Ports

Lots of connections

Gaming monitors are well connected, and the Cooler Master Tempest GP27Q is no exception. You'll find plenty of ports onboard for all your devices. There's the power connector, two USB 3.2 Type-A ports, a USB-B port, two HDMI 2.0 ports, DisplayPort 1.4, USB-C, and a headphone jack.

That was enough to connect everything I own to this monitor. A Chromebook over USB-C, a Mac Mini over HDMI, an Xbox over HDMI, and a Surface Laptop Studio over DisplayPort. Typically, gaming monitors don't feature USB-C, so that's a fascinating find for this display. It can charge your laptop with up to 90W of power, too.

One thing that ruined the connectivity for me, though, is the power connector. It's a proprietary barreled connector. I've seen this before on the LG UltraFine 32UN650W, and I'm never a fan of it. If the power connector cranks out, you'd have to buy one from Cooler Master instead of using the standard three-prong plug other monitors use.

Gaming monitors are well connected, and the Cooler Master Tempest GP27Q is no exception.

Do note, that you get a DisplayPort cable, a USB-B, USB-C, DisplayPort, and HDMI cable in the box. You have everything you need to get started in your gaming action right away. You'll also get a KVM functionality, too, letting you connect one keyboard and mouse for multiple PCs. This was nifty for productivity and moving between my different connected devices (though sometimes it was buggy).

Interface and buttons

Easy to use and understand

The Cooler Master Tempest GP27Q features joystick controls and a really easy-to-understand OSD menu. Press left, and you get access to the "Gaming Plus" menu for things like crosshair and FPS counters. Press right, and you get picture mode settings. Press down, to get to the KVM settings, and press up to change inputs. If you want to change the volume of the integrated 3-watt speakers, you'll have to go deeper through the OSD menu, however. I kept the volume at 50%, for decent enough sound quality.

Anyway, the OSD menu is pretty clean. When you select the main menu, you'll see a preview of all the other settings the next submenu can offer. The menu is hexagonal-shaped, matching the gaming aesthetic of the monitor's base. You'll see the resolution on the top, the status of FreeSync or GSync, HDR, and Over Drive settings.

I usually like to test monitors just as they come out of the box. Under the Picture Settings menu, I left the settings as follows. In Picture Mode settings, it was set to standard, Brightness at 27%, Contrast at 70%, Black Stabilization at 50%, and Sharpness at 5%. Under the Color Adjust settings menu, I used the User Adjust color temperature, with 50/50/50 RGB, Gamma at 2.2, and auto Color Domain and Color Space. On Gaming, Adaptive Sync was turned off, OverDrive off, and MPRT Off.

Again, the OSD is jam-packed with features. You get nine picture modes, Black Stabilization, four color temperatures, and color gamut preset. You also can turn things on like timer, crosshair, and FPS counters, and adjust Over Drive for faster response times. You also can adjust the local dimming feature. I suggest keeping it on high to make the most out of the mini-LED display.

Color accuracy and performance

Lighting up your gaming worlds

When I tested the Cooler Master Tempest GP27Q, I tried it out in three games. I played Phasmophobia, a dark-themed game, ​and a fast-paced game like Counter-Strike 2. For testing HDR, I tried out Doom Eternal. I also tested the color accuracy of the display using my Spyder 5 Colorimeter. And, I used it for casual productivity, without noticing any glaring issues like light bleeding, or bloom effects.

If you're wondering, this monitor put up crazy good results with my colorimeter. It's 80s and 90s across the board. Usually, only OLED monitors hit these levels, so this is a testament to how good this monitor is. I got 99% sRGB, 94% AdobeRGB, 88% P3, and 90% NTSC. Contrast also hit 1,000:1, which is pretty impressive.

Phasmophobia really made the most out of the colors this mini-LED panel can push out. In the training mission, which started in a cramped room, a whiteboard with the list of objectives was looking really bright and life-like, right down to the glare from the light above it. Even the blue mousepad in the computer in the room looked vibrant, so much so that I wanted to touch it, thinking it was my own, and, when I grabbed a flashlight in the game and turned it on, it lit up the next room right, with the monitor adjusting its dimming zones to catch up.

This is usually a dark-themed game that's hard for other monitors to make life-like, but when I played it on this monitor, I felt so much more into it, almost like I was wearing a VR headset. It's something you really have to see to believe

You really have to see it to believe how good games play on this monitor.

Over on Counter-Strike 2, I turned on the Over Drive mode for 1ms response times. When running across the map with a weapon in hand, I really felt how smooth the game felt. I didn't notice any dropped frames or tearing, and always felt like I was in the action. Finally, with Doom Eternal, and with HDR turned on, I had my mind blown away. In the training mission, when given the chainsaw, and killing the demons, the color of zombie blood and yellow in the zombie's eyes, felt so realistic, that I was almost afraid to continue playing.

Should you buy the Cooler Master Tempest GP27Q?

You should buy the Cooler Master Tempest GP27Q if:

• You want a decently priced mini-LED gaming monitor
• You want a monitor with tons of gaming features
• You want a monitor with a fast refresh rate

You shouldn't buy the Cooler Master Tempest GP27Q if:

• You're worried about it breaking down over time
• You want a 4K resolution monitor

The Cooler Master Tempest GP27Q is an amazing monitor designed to work great with any great laptop or great desktop. It has a mini-LED panel, and it's something you have to see to believe. I've never used a monitor like this one that can really bring your favorite games to life. It's also easy to use thanks to the multiple modes of connectivity, and the joystick controls. All in all, this is a real treat of a monitor.