HP 25-27" CW & XW: Almost-Glossy Overclock-able 1080p IPS

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NCX

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HP 27CW & HP 25XW Review (missing settings & ICC profiles). Can be overclocked to 75hz.

HP 27CW Product Page
HP 25XW Product Page

The HP XW series monitors cost more than the CW series monitors, but I do not know why. Only the 25 & 27" monitors use the almost-glossy (Low Haze) coating which HP describes as:

"The reflectiveness typical with glossy screen surface is appreciably reduced with the Low Haze Screen enhancement, without losing clarity and contrast of screen imagery."

The fact that the 25XW I reviewed is slightly better than the 27CW may be a coincidence (the result of panel lottery), or perhaps the XW series monitors use the better quality panels from the same batches.

Best Reviewed Monitors.
 
I recently purchased a HP 27CW for work and am entirely satisfied with it. Absolute steal at this price point.

Pros: No dead pixels, the least glow I've seen on an IPS, and proper brightness controls without PWM are HUGE for working with documents.

Cons: Matte may have been a better choice for fluorescent office lighting, but I can live with this semi-gloss. The stupid black, glossy "bezel-less" space between the panel and the bezel is probably the only reason I can detect any IPS glow-- if I did color work I might get some grey tape and mask it. Lack of VESA is a minus, but I'll probably get a monitor stand to deal with that drawback.
 
Picked up a 25xw and have been quite pleased with it, other than it's resolution after being so low after being accustomed to 2560x1440.

I'm not sure what manufacturer is making these panels, but I hope they make a 2560x1440 120hz or 144hz soon.
 
Vittra said:
Picked up a 25xw and have been quite pleased with it, other than it's resolution after being so low after being accustomed to 2560x1440.

I'm not sure what manufacturer is making these panels, but I hope they make a 2560x1440 120hz or 144hz soon.
Click to expand...

Did you get it directly from HP?
 
No, Staples.ca had it on sale recently which could be stacked with a $20 off coupon. Prices appears to have gone up now.
 
I grabbed the 27VX, uses the same LG Ah-IPS panel as the CW and XW. It uses PWM under 100% brightness, so forewarned for those looking at it.

It is super glossy though, very clean looking display and everything NCX says in his review also works for the 27VX except that it has PWM under 100% brightness. In a fairly bright room, 100% brightness is totally usable!

Really enjoying this panel alot, much much better then the Samsung PLS panels like the d590p's. The IPS glow is even less then the Benq BL3201pt that I had and ALOT less glow then the PLS panels, even at full brightness!

Also this is the most uniform panel I have ever seen, gaming shows this flaw in tvs and monitors and I am happy to say that this panel blows away all other panels I have seen for uniformity!

I am going to keep the VX, even though it has pwm under 100% brightness as I will just run it at full brightness ( works for my mildly lit setup and has better blacks then the Benq Bl3201pt and Benq GW2408 that I had recently!! ).

I also checked with the Leo Bondar and it gets 9.5ms on the middle bar, the lowest score I have seen after testing dozens of displays with it.
 
I'm interested in the 25xw, but also the 25vx due to it being black and fitting in a bit better with the multimedia setup. Do we know if the 25vx also uses PWM at <100% brightness? It's $150 @ bestbuy right now and i can get it locally, may be its worth it just getting both the 25vx and xw and testing both and just picking the better panel. If the xw ends up winning i can always paint it black xD
 
man. The 25 is perfect except for the low refresh. I play bf 4 a lot so i am holding out for a 120 version of this too. Been waiting a looong time for an affordable 120 hz ips.
 
I'm very interested in the 25XW but it seems that you can't buy it anywhere in Europe?

EDIT:

HP Denmark just told me that they do not sell the 25xw in Denmark. Only the 24xw and 27xw.

NCX: Do you know anything about the 24xw? Does it have the same good properties as its bigger siblings? 27 inch fullHD is simply too low a resolution for such a big screen.
 
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Hey guys, just trying to confirm as I can't find it in the specifications, are you able to mount the HP 27CW in a monitor stand?
 
Dammit, must be one of the reasons why this monitor is priced so well... Thanks for the response.
 
Hey, quick question about this monitor. I've been using it for a few days and love the overall clairty and color of the display, I've noticed that brighter colors still look a little "foggy" when in motion. Upon closer comparison to my old monitor, an MX239, I can pretty safely rule out the coating being the issue. I also looked at my older, absolutely massive 1920 x 1200 27" all-in-one, and I noticed a similar thing to the slight fogginess I am noticing.

I had used a 21.5" iMac for a long time before this, and got a bit spoiled on the clarity. I know for a fact it wasn't a retina display because it was from 2009. But, I started reading up on monitor stuff and after noticing a less noticeable, but still there issue with really bright, solid colors, I'm beginning to think what I am seeing is the screen door effect. I sit roughly two feet from my monitor. Is it possible that the 25" screen is too big for my eyes at 1080p, and that I adjusted to the higher pixel density on my iMac?
 
Prankman said:
Hey, quick question about this monitor. I've been using it for a few days and love the overall clairty and color of the display, I've noticed that brighter colors still look a little "foggy" when in motion. Upon closer comparison to my old monitor, an MX239, I can pretty safely rule out the coating being the issue. I also looked at my older, absolutely massive 1920 x 1200 27" all-in-one, and I noticed a similar thing to the slight fogginess I am noticing.

I had used a 21.5" iMac for a long time before this, and got a bit spoiled on the clarity. I know for a fact it wasn't a retina display because it was from 2009. But, I started reading up on monitor stuff and after noticing a less noticeable, but still there issue with really bright, solid colors, I'm beginning to think what I am seeing is the screen door effect. I sit roughly two feet from my monitor. Is it possible that the 25" screen is too big for my eyes at 1080p, and that I adjusted to the higher pixel density on my iMac?
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I agree that it's probably not the coating. I suggest you RMA it, these things cannot be unseen, only accepted. SDE shouldn't be an issue as it in your case happens on a almost-glossy monitor - all the more reason to RMA/refund.
 
coolhandm3 said:
I grabbed the 27VX, uses the same LG Ah-IPS panel as the CW and XW. It uses PWM under 100% brightness, so forewarned for those looking at it.

It is super glossy though, very clean looking display and everything NCX says in his review also works for the 27VX except that it has PWM under 100% brightness. In a fairly bright room, 100% brightness is totally usable!

Really enjoying this panel alot, much much better then the Samsung PLS panels like the d590p's. The IPS glow is even less then the Benq BL3201pt that I had and ALOT less glow then the PLS panels, even at full brightness!

Also this is the most uniform panel I have ever seen, gaming shows this flaw in tvs and monitors and I am happy to say that this panel blows away all other panels I have seen for uniformity!

I am going to keep the VX, even though it has pwm under 100% brightness as I will just run it at full brightness ( works for my mildly lit setup and has better blacks then the Benq Bl3201pt and Benq GW2408 that I had recently!! ).

I also checked with the Leo Bondar and it gets 9.5ms on the middle bar, the lowest score I have seen after testing dozens of displays with it.
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This one seems like a hard-hitter for the very low price. I suppose you have tested this one for gaming, and under 100% brightness, I have to ask: do you notice any haze, patterns, etc when you pan around on bright surfaces? Or is it glossy in the sense that "nope, there's basically no AG here.".

I am clinically averse to AG-induced things which"follows" you in motion, that's why I ask.
 
Prankman said:
Hey, quick question about this monitor. I've been using it for a few days and love the overall clairty and color of the display, I've noticed that brighter colors still look a little "foggy" when in motion. Upon closer comparison to my old monitor, an MX239, I can pretty safely rule out the coating being the issue. I also looked at my older, absolutely massive 1920 x 1200 27" all-in-one, and I noticed a similar thing to the slight fogginess I am noticing.

I had used a 21.5" iMac for a long time before this, and got a bit spoiled on the clarity. I know for a fact it wasn't a retina display because it was from 2009. But, I started reading up on monitor stuff and after noticing a less noticeable, but still there issue with really bright, solid colors, I'm beginning to think what I am seeing is the screen door effect. I sit roughly two feet from my monitor. Is it possible that the 25" screen is too big for my eyes at 1080p, and that I adjusted to the higher pixel density on my iMac?
Click to expand...

Boilgens said:
I agree that it's probably not the coating. I suggest you RMA it, these things cannot be unseen, only accepted. SDE shouldn't be an issue as it in your case happens on a almost-glossy monitor - all the more reason to RMA/refund.
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It in all likelihood is the screen coating. NCX observed this in the models that he tested (25XW and 27CW). I observed it in mine (25XW).

The 25/27 XW/CW lines use a glossy surface chemically treated for anti-glare. No form of AG is perfect, and what we've observed on this one is a slight fog/haze on lighter colors.

If you want to really be certain, try to get your hands on either the Acer G257HL or the ASUS MX259H. They use the same panel as the HP 25XW, but they use a different coating.

I don't think that you can rule out the coating when you compared it to other monitors with different coatings that don't exhibit the issue. You stated that your AIO had the same issue, but you didn't state (or I missed where you stated) which AIO you had. Was it an HP?
 
Daniel_Chang said:
It in all likelihood is the screen coating. NCX observed this in the models that he tested (25XW and 27CW). I observed it in mine (25XW).

The 25/27 XW/CW lines use a glossy surface chemically treated for anti-glare. No form of AG is perfect, and what we've observed on this one is a slight fog/haze on lighter colors.

If you want to really be certain, try to get your hands on either the Acer G257HL or the ASUS MX259H. They use the same panel as the HP 25XW, but they use a different coating.

I don't think that you can rule out the coating when you compared it to other monitors with different coatings that don't exhibit the issue. You stated that your AIO had the same issue, but you didn't state (or I missed where you stated) which AIO you had. Was it an HP?
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Ah, yes, my bad. The AIO is an HP, and is fully glossy. I don't have the opportunity to double-check right now, but I'll grab some screenshots of brighter games later and try jerking them around on both displays later again to confirm. I'm not sure how accurate of a read I'll get from the AIO, though, as its a touch screen model, and don't know if that would effect anything or not. If I had my old iMac around I'd use that to test, but ironically, it was the iMac's display dying for the like, fourth time that spurred me to quit repairing the money sink and build a rig of my own. I haven't ever had to actually purchase a monitor before, not since CRTs were still around, so sorting out all of the different panel types and pixel densities and coatings and such has proven...enlightening, to say the least.

I can safely say, though, that if it is indeed the coating, that I might be able to learn to deal with it, because I plugged my MX239H back in yesterday and physically flinched at how greasy it looked by comparison. I couldn't believe I'd been looking through that for almost a full year, now! The fact that I'm seeing a similar thing on my full-glossy AIO and, if I look close enough, on my iPad, is leading me to believe that it might be SDE, possibly made worse on lighter colors by the presence of the coating.

It's frustrating, because this thing is absolutely magnificent otherwise for me. It's got minimal backlight bleed in the corners, reflections are hardly an issue even with a window immediately behind me (with blinds drawn of course), the colors are amazingly vibrant and there's no ghosting or disrupting stuff to speak of. Like, it's leaps and bounds above the MX239H, but being so close to perfection just makes the couple of blemishes even more noticable.

The one thing that makes me doubt it being SDE is the fact that I could sit back like, four or five feet away and still pick it out. In any case, I appreciate the help in narrowing things down, as again, I've been out of the loop for awhile and truckload of information when first diving into things is a little overwhelming. Not being very familiar with things means I'm not always sure exactly what I'm looking for, either.
 
HP uses this chemical AG on all of their glossy displays, whether it's their AIO lines, their prior XI lineup that used a clear plasic (instead of glass, like on Apple's display) coating, or their new XW/CW lineups that use a more flexible membrane that is still essentially glossy. This chemical coating does cause a haze/fog on lighter colors and this has been confirmed by NCX, others, and even I've noticed it in my tests.

So if we're seeing the same things, it's the coating. If you're seeing something else entirely, then who knows?

If you want a straight glossy with no chemical treatment, you'll need to step up to 27" (I don't know of any full glossy non-chemical 25" displays, but they may exist). Here's a few recommendations if you go this route (all of these are IPS):

Dell S2715H - 27", 1080p, full glossy. Kind of costly for this segment, but if you want full glossy, the options are few and far between. I've seen them in stock and on display (typically hooked up to an Xbox One) at various Microsoft Stores, so see if they have one in your area.

Upstar M27A2 - Can be found in a Fry's on display. Very basic 27" 1080p glossy panel with shoddy build quality. If you get a good one, it's a great value for what you're looking for.

Monoprice Glass Panel Pro - Typically $368.50, so a bit pricey, uses a 1440p LG panel (not 6-bit FRC like the HP and the other recommendations) with a solid sheet of glass (think Apple). I used a variation of this and it was near identical to my $1,000 Apple Cinema Display, just slightly lower quality. It's a panel lottery with this one though, so go into it knowing that. If you get a good one, given your affinity for Apple's displays, you'll like this. But, you'll want more GPU muscle to run at 1440p.

Dell MAY (not sure) have a glossy 25" panel, but I haven't see one to be certain. The universally best accepted glossy 25" displays right now are the HP 25xi and 25XW. The xi is the prior year's model and has a clear plastic coat rather than the flexible membrane of the XW, but both use the same chemical treatment. You could search for the 25xi though, as some brick and mortar office stores may still have it.

Either way, best of luck, and I hope you enjoy whatever you get or stick with.
 
Daniel_Chang said:
HP uses this chemical AG on all of their glossy displays, whether it's their AIO lines, their prior XI lineup that used a clear plasic (instead of glass, like on Apple's display) coating, or their new XW/CW lineups that use a more flexible membrane that is still essentially glossy. This chemical coating does cause a haze/fog on lighter colors and this has been confirmed by NCX, others, and even I've noticed it in my tests.

So if we're seeing the same things, it's the coating. If you're seeing something else entirely, then who knows?

If you want a straight glossy with no chemical treatment, you'll need to step up to 27" (I don't know of any full glossy non-chemical 25" displays, but they may exist). Here's a few recommendations if you go this route (all of these are IPS):

Dell S2715H - 27", 1080p, full glossy. Kind of costly for this segment, but if you want full glossy, the options are few and far between. I've seen them in stock and on display (typically hooked up to an Xbox One) at various Microsoft Stores, so see if they have one in your area.

Upstar M27A2 - Can be found in a Fry's on display. Very basic 27" 1080p glossy panel with shoddy build quality. If you get a good one, it's a great value for what you're looking for.

Monoprice Glass Panel Pro - Typically $368.50, so a bit pricey, uses a 1440p LG panel (not 6-bit FRC like the HP and the other recommendations) with a solid sheet of glass (think Apple). I used a variation of this and it was near identical to my $1,000 Apple Cinema Display, just slightly lower quality. It's a panel lottery with this one though, so go into it knowing that. If you get a good one, given your affinity for Apple's displays, you'll like this. But, you'll want more GPU muscle to run at 1440p.

Dell MAY (not sure) have a glossy 25" panel, but I haven't see one to be certain. The universally best accepted glossy 25" displays right now are the HP 25xi and 25XW. The xi is the prior year's model and has a clear plastic coat rather than the flexible membrane of the XW, but both use the same chemical treatment. You could search for the 25xi though, as some brick and mortar office stores may still have it.

Either way, best of luck, and I hope you enjoy whatever you get or stick with.
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Thanks for correcting on that. This is a highly subjective matter, but to which extent are you bothered by it while gaming? If you are not actively looking for it, I mean.
 
Boilgens said:
Thanks for correcting on that.
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To be fair, I didn't mean to come across as correcting anyone, and I sincerely apologize if my prior posts had any hint of that. I meant to add another perspective. If you guys are seeing what NCX and I saw, then you're probably seeing the side effects of that chemical-based anti-glare coating. But it's possible you're seeing something else.

Boilgens said:
This is a highly subjective matter, but to which extent are you bothered by it while gaming? If you are not actively looking for it, I mean.
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Speaking only from personal experience, it didn't bother me while gaming at all. My only issue with this monitor, the one that was my desk anyway, was the horrible glow. It wasn't as bad as the Monoprice that I tried, but it was many times worse than my Apple Cinema Display, which would be almost non-glow in comparison. Granted, we're comparing a $1k panel to a $200 panel, but still.

I absolutely love the XW series and can't recommend them enough to people who want a budget 60hz 1080p panel that isn't TN. On the flipside, the BenQ EW2750ZL is my current VA recommendation in that same bracket (I disagree with NCX on the inner black bezel. I don't notice it).
 
You brought in some experience to the discussion, that's all I meant :)

Good to know that the coating isn't obtrusive, at least in one case. I actually have the EW, unfortunately my unit has AG which make some, but not all games, unplayable for me. That's one of the reasons why I want to get a "complementary" monitor with non-obtrusive AG. Some old local store's got a 27VX for a nice price, so I figured I'd give it a try - I'd get a hassel-free refund if the glow is too substantial to bear.
 
Boilgens said:
Good to know that the coating isn't obtrusive, at least in one case. I actually have the EW, unfortunately my unit has AG which make some, but not all games, unplayable for me. That's one of the reasons why I want to get a "complementary" monitor with non-obtrusive AG.
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The AG on the EW is light by most standards. It's considered to be mostly sparkle/grain free, but you can still see it if you look for it (dimly lit room, all white image, up close and off-angle). But I can understand why you wouldn't like it. I prefer glossy panels, as you seem to. That's why I went with the Monoprice, and then the HP 25XW. But glossy panels are a dying breed (except in AIOs and laptops, where they're the vast majority). So, I settled for this. The AG rarely bothers me, especially during gaming. It's a good all around monitor, but I'm insistent that my next gaming display is glossy - even if that means my next gaming display is a 40"+ OLED mounted to the wall near my PC.
 
Daniel_Chang said:
HP uses this chemical AG on all of their glossy displays, whether it's their AIO lines, their prior XI lineup that used a clear plasic (instead of glass, like on Apple's display) coating, or their new XW/CW lineups that use a more flexible membrane that is still essentially glossy. This chemical coating does cause a haze/fog on lighter colors and this has been confirmed by NCX, others, and even I've noticed it in my tests.

So if we're seeing the same things, it's the coating. If you're seeing something else entirely, then who knows?

If you want a straight glossy with no chemical treatment, you'll need to step up to 27" (I don't know of any full glossy non-chemical 25" displays, but they may exist). Here's a few recommendations if you go this route (all of these are IPS):

Dell S2715H - 27", 1080p, full glossy. Kind of costly for this segment, but if you want full glossy, the options are few and far between. I've seen them in stock and on display (typically hooked up to an Xbox One) at various Microsoft Stores, so see if they have one in your area.

Upstar M27A2 - Can be found in a Fry's on display. Very basic 27" 1080p glossy panel with shoddy build quality. If you get a good one, it's a great value for what you're looking for.

Monoprice Glass Panel Pro - Typically $368.50, so a bit pricey, uses a 1440p LG panel (not 6-bit FRC like the HP and the other recommendations) with a solid sheet of glass (think Apple). I used a variation of this and it was near identical to my $1,000 Apple Cinema Display, just slightly lower quality. It's a panel lottery with this one though, so go into it knowing that. If you get a good one, given your affinity for Apple's displays, you'll like this. But, you'll want more GPU muscle to run at 1440p.

Dell MAY (not sure) have a glossy 25" panel, but I haven't see one to be certain. The universally best accepted glossy 25" displays right now are the HP 25xi and 25XW. The xi is the prior year's model and has a clear plastic coat rather than the flexible membrane of the XW, but both use the same chemical treatment. You could search for the 25xi though, as some brick and mortar office stores may still have it.

Either way, best of luck, and I hope you enjoy whatever you get or stick with.
Click to expand...

Thank you so much for all of the info!

I was afraid I might have to bite the proverbial bullet and jump to a 27". I was trying to avoid that and stick with 1080p so I wouldn't have to upgrade my rig so often, but I'm running a first gen GTX 980 STRIX in this thing so I'm not too concerned. If I have to toggle Cryengine games down from Ultra to "only" High, then so be it. Might as well jump to 1440p at that point if I'm gonna use a monitor that size, right? I can notice slight SDE even on my iPad, so I already know 1080p at 27" would drive me bonkers.

I was still hoping I could find a smaller glossy, but I guess, again, I got spoiled with my older iMac display. If I might ask, would you happen to know what the HP 25VX that's been mentioned uses? I've seen it locally and it looks to have an extremely glossy screen. My current 25XW has the sort of "fuzzy" reflections that semi-gloss comes with, while the 25VX I saw looked more like a slightly darkened mirror.

@Boilgens Having used the 25XW for a little over a week now, I can say that thus far the fogginess is somewhat noticeable, especially in darker conditions without any reflections on the screen, but is far, far less obtrusive than a traditional AG. My MX239 looks like its slathered in butter constantly, this looks way more natural. There's a hint of fog on brighter, solid colors, but nowhere near the grainy, dust-covered look of a matte coating. The fact that I, at first, confused the coating with seeing individual pixels should tell you a lot. It's even better than, say, the semi-gloss on a television. Like, if you've ever sat a couple of feet too closely to an LCD TV and seen a bit of fog on the lighter stuff, its even lighter than that. To be honest, this low haze coating would make an amazing semi-gloss on televisions if HP ever decided to sell the stuff, as its not noticeably more reflective than what I've currently seen used and is even less obtrusive.

It's a shame I can't just find a full-glossy monitor in a smaller size. Seems odd that so many manufacturers are pushing for clarity and yet insist on matte on anything not made by Apple. Like, it's not like everybody's using different stuff, right? From what I've come to understand, a lot of companies are using each other's panels and things are standardized enough that a lot of the pieces are interchangeable. Makes no sense to me that you can't just order a monitor tailor made to your needs with your preferred resolution, panel type, coating, size ect when so many parts are interchangeable already.
 
Prankman said:
If I might ask, would you happen to know what the HP 25VX that's been mentioned uses? I've seen it locally and it looks to have an extremely glossy screen.

@Boilgens Having used the 25XW for a little over a week now, I can say that thus far the fogginess is somewhat noticeable, especially in darker conditions

It's a shame I can't just find a full-glossy monitor in a smaller size. .
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Thanks for the input.

It is possible that the VX's are glossy like the Dell S2415H. That is, glossy with tinted glass. Unlikely, though. I guess I'll find out the next week, getting the 27VX then. They use PWM under 100% brightness). I'll report here then.

This is just my personal input; you're probably way above average in the seeing-things section. Try moving half a foot extra away from the screen and experiment with room-light. It seems more or less impossible to get a non-tinted no-nothing glossy high quality monitor today, without breaking your wallet. Therefore, try to mentally (and physically) adjust to the coating/SDE before looking into other monitors

That's just my 2 cents as a clinically AG-averse individual.

Even if I occasionally detect some fogginess on the 1-3% haze value, I'd try to deal first. Matteness has become institutionalized in the markets, and it won't get better anytime soon.
 
Boilgens said:
Thanks for the input.

It is possible that the VX's are glossy like the Dell S2415H. That is, glossy with tinted glass. Unlikely, though. I guess I'll find out the next week, getting the 27VX then. They use PWM under 100% brightness). I'll report here then.

This is just my personal input; you're probably way above average in the seeing-things section. Try moving half a foot extra away from the screen and experiment with room-light. It seems more or less impossible to get a non-tinted no-nothing glossy high quality monitor today, without breaking your wallet. Therefore, try to mentally (and physically) adjust to the coating/SDE before looking into other monitors

That's just my 2 cents as a clinically AG-averse individual.

Even if I occasionally detect some fogginess on the 1-3% haze value, I'd try to deal first. Matteness has become institutionalized in the markets, and it won't get better anytime soon.
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Yeah, I've always been finicky with stuff. I returned a first generation PSP like, three times due to dust getting under the screen and driving me nuts, and sometimes I can even see the grain from the projector backing when I go to the movies. Surprisingly, I've become less stingy with dirt on my glasses despite this...

I've got until about the end of the month to test this monitor, so I'm going to give it a fair shake. Keep me posted on the VX model though, as I know my local Best Buy still has them in stock. The XW is so far above my old monitor though its not even funny. Even factoring out the vastly superior coating, the vibrancy of colors on this thing caught me off guard. It's easy to see why the XW line is getting so much praise, because even with minimal fiddling around with settings the the thing is a delight to look at. I could only stand to go back to the old matte monitor for about three minutes before I knew I was just done.
 
I saw a VX at Best Buy today. Until recently I wasn't even aware of this line. Initial impressions are that it's an XW (in black) with the addition of DVI and a clear plastic coat instead of a membrane (what I touched felt like plastic, like last years' XI lineup, and not glass). So, it could be glossy with no chemical-AG, or it could have the chemical treatment. I couldn't tell. It also has a higher retail price than the XW lineup, so if HP bins their panels (as NCX implied when comparing XW and CW), this could be good. Just a couple of notes:

-Please remember that these are 1080p AH-IPS panels, and as such are 6-bit + AFRC, not 8-bit. They still look excellent next to real 8-bit panels.
-The addition of DVI makes me question if these will have the same low input lag as the XW/CW models, or if more input lag could come into play. I doubt it would be more than 1-2 frames total at 60hz, but still something to be aware of if you're sensitive to it.
-I haven't looked at the data sheet on it to know what else may have changed from the XW lineup.

So, the tradeoff is that you pay more for a black stand/bezel, DVI input, and POTENTIALLY higher input lag, better panel, and/or a clearer coating. I look forward to your impressions.
 
Daniel_Chang said:
I saw a VX at Best Buy today. Until recently I wasn't even aware of this line. Initial impressions are that it's an XW (in black) with the addition of DVI and a clear plastic coat instead of a membrane (what I touched felt like plastic, like last years' XI lineup, and not glass). So, it could be glossy with no chemical-AG, or it could have the chemical treatment. I couldn't tell. It also has a higher retail price than the XW lineup, so if HP bins their panels (as NCX implied when comparing XW and CW), this could be good. Just a couple of notes:

So, the tradeoff is that you pay more for a black stand/bezel, DVI input, and POTENTIALLY higher input lag, better panel, and/or a clearer coating. I look forward to your impressions.
Click to expand...

coolhandm3 said:
I grabbed the 27VX, uses the same LG Ah-IPS panel as the CW and XW. It uses PWM under 100% brightness, so forewarned for those looking at it.


I also checked with the Leo Bondar and it gets 9.5ms on the middle bar, the lowest score I have seen after testing dozens of displays with it.
Click to expand...

From NCX's review: "The Leo Bodnar device measures 9.7ms in the middle of the screen".

So yea, I don't think there's a difference based on this. The screen is probably not 100% glossy either, because HP's home page says "AG-tech". It is a bit of a mystery why the differences are so slight. At any rate, I'm planning on doing a subjective sort of gaming review of this thing. From what I've seen on youtube, this is basically a mirror, so I'm hoping that there's no smeariness/fog. I was getting the 27VX at a local store, but someone beat me to their last unit, now I have to wait a whole week :mad:
 
Ok, so the 27VX is in. I've never owned an IPS before, but I can only reason that the large glowing left bottom corner isn't IPS glow. It's not evident anywhere else on the screen, and blacks look fine in every other area, even compared to my average VA.

So I'm fairly certain that this is BLB, or a fiercly uneven glow? Can you tell based on the pics? The only thing making me skeptical is that the bottom goes back to normal when when I tilt my head directly at it.

I could not for the life of me see any traces of AG-tech in any of the games I tested, and I love every aspect of this monitor in terms of gaming (no trailing, ghosting, e.g.). So I really want this bleedy thing to settle somehow.

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If you have bright spots that do not adjust based on the angle you're looking from, then you have backlight bleed. If the bright spots move based on your viewing angle, then you have panel glow. Welcome to the world of IPS glow. That looks similar to but much worse than the glow that was on my 25XW.

But here't the thing, panel variance (especially in cheaper monitors like the ones you and I are going for) can be pretty extreme. You could have brought home 3 of those VXs from Best Buy and ended up with three distinctly different monitors. So, you can either keep it and deal with it, exchange it, or return it and look for something else. entirely.
 
That's definitely an abnormal amount of bleed. For comparison, here's the 25XW I'm currently using.

You say there's no AG whatsoever on your VX? I'm wondering if it would be worth it to return my 25XW while I still can and grab a 25VX from my Best Buy...
 

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There is some AG, I presume, but I can't see it while gaming. Thanks for the photos!

I'll think what to do with it, probably I'll keep it, but that's being very generous.
 
Prankman said:
That's definitely an abnormal amount of bleed. For comparison, here's the 25XW I'm currently using.

You say there's no AG whatsoever on your VX? I'm wondering if it would be worth it to return my 25XW while I still can and grab a 25VX from my Best Buy...
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I think I see what you're seeing, the SDE-ish feeling, but that's looking real close. Now, I've heard some say that there's no AG what so ever, so that might be the case. My AG-test consisted of looking at piercingly bright surfaces, while panning around (2) Dim, gray surfaces. (3) Foggy surfaces, like fog of war in XCOM 1. I could not (1.5 foot to 2 feet away) see it. When viewing it from the side on white bright surfaces, I could see something, up close, but I can't verify what I saw - could be pixels too.

you can return both you know, so if you're quick you grab the 25VX and do a direct comparison.

It should be mentioned that PWM is used under 100% brightness on the VX-series, and I wasn't able to OC mine to 75 Hz. I got to 72, though.

It is also a friggin mirror, so if you have any direct lightsources behind the monitor, you'll have a bad time.

In my country, the VX is a cheap version of the XW, so I really feel that this one blows away any other budget panel. While playing Firewatch, I really got a wow-factor walking around at night, because I've never seen dimly lit surface not be an absolute smeary mess before.
 
Boilgens said:
I think I see what you're seeing, the SDE-ish feeling, but that's looking real close. Now, I've heard some say that there's no AG what so ever, so that might be the case. My AG-test consisted of looking at piercingly bright surfaces, while panning around (2) Dim, gray surfaces. (3) Foggy surfaces, like fog of war in XCOM 1. I could not (1.5 foot to 2 feet away) see it. When viewing it from the side on white bright surfaces, I could see something, up close, but I can't verify what I saw - could be pixels too.

you can return both you know, so if you're quick you grab the 25VX and do a direct comparison.

It should be mentioned that PWM is used under 100% brightness on the VX-series, and I wasn't able to OC mine to 75 Hz. I got to 72, though.

It is also a friggin mirror, so if you have any direct lightsources behind the monitor, you'll have a bad time.

In my country, the VX is a cheap version of the XW, so I really feel that this one blows away any other budget panel. While playing Firewatch, I really got a wow-factor walking around at night, because I've never seen dimly lit surface not be an absolute smeary mess before.
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Yeah, I figured at least some of what I was seeing was SDE because I could see similar stuff even on my iPad/iPhone if I looked for it hard enough. I think I might be seeing something more than that on the XW though, especially after confirmation from NCX and Daniel that bright colors do show some haze. I think I'll try and get to a Best Buy later in the week and see if they still have the VX on display there and do a comparison. I do have a window behind where I have the screen, but I used an iMac for years in the same set-up, and I'd rather take reflections any day than deal with a distorted picture.
 
Prankman said:
Yeah, I figured at least some of what I was seeing was SDE because I could see similar stuff even on my iPad/iPhone if I looked for it hard enough. I think I might be seeing something more than that on the XW though, especially after confirmation from NCX and Daniel that bright colors do show some haze. I think I'll try and get to a Best Buy later in the week and see if they still have the VX on display there and do a comparison. I do have a window behind where I have the screen, but I used an iMac for years in the same set-up, and I'd rather take reflections any day than deal with a distorted picture.
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If you wanna buy it, and you have the liquidity, get three of 'em as Daniel_Chang told me - then pick the one with the least glow. As you know, mine was quite glow-y.

The glossiness and responsiveness for this thing makes it such a delight for gaming. I probably can't discern colors too well to appreciate the color-emitting effect of the gloss, but there's a 'smooth' sort of feeling you get when panning around in games.

We should all be sending praises to HP's costumer feedback, so that they keep making glossier monitors :)
 
Boilgens said:
If you wanna buy it, and you have the liquidity, get three of 'em as Daniel_Chang told me - then pick the one with the least glow. As you know, mine was quite glow-y.

The glossiness and responsiveness for this thing makes it such a delight for gaming. I probably can't discern colors too well to appreciate the color-emitting effect of the gloss, but there's a 'smooth' sort of feeling you get when panning around in games.

We should all be sending praises to HP's costumer feedback, so that they keep making glossier monitors :)
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Amen to that! I also would want to praise them for the AG on the XW. The fact that I'm still considering keeping it despite being a die-hard for glossy screens and picture clarity should speak volumes. This new semi-gloss they're using needs to become the industry standard for semi-gloss, because it's honestly stellar. The fact that I'm leaning towards the VX instead is purely personal preference, me being nitpicky, and me being spoiled by an equivalent to a Thunderbolt display for several years. I didn't hand-pick the parts of my first custom rig just to settle on one of the most important parts. :p

If I do anything it'll have to be quick, as my free return window ends on the 27th for the XW and I'm unsure on if I can return it at all after that, even if its for a price. I'll have to look into that to see how much time I've got. I've got a friend who expressed interest in the XW, so I might end up sending them a late Christmas present if I end up going with the VX...

Any possible SDE will likely be less obtrusive for me as well, as I'm using the 25" variant and not the 27".

If the colors and response times are anything like the XW (which they should be, as they're basically the same with a different AG treatment, to me understanding), then the VX will hopefully be perfect for me. Curiously, I've heard that the VX's reflections aren't even that bad. Something about the screen pointing reflections down or something. Do you have any input on that?
 
There's a compromise for you guys as well, if you are able to find any (there's some in the B&M retail space). HP 27xi. It's the older model, uses the same covering as the 27VX (hard clear plastic) as opposed to the 27XW (seems to be a flexible membrane film). It doesn't use PWM at any brightness, based on the few reports I've seen. It's their prior flagship in this space, similar to the 27XW.

Based on NCX's reports and my own experience, I suspect there's some degree of panel binning going on here with XW > CW > VX. The glow on that VX was horrid compared to the XW that I had, and even the CW that NCX tested (which was inferior to his XW). But, that's speculation based on a very small sample.
 
Prankman said:
If the colors and response times are anything like the XW (which they should be, as they're basically the same with a different AG treatment, to me understanding), then the VX will hopefully be perfect for me. Curiously, I've heard that the VX's reflections aren't even that bad. Something about the screen pointing reflections down or something. Do you have any input on that?
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I can't really speak on behalf of all glossy monitors, but I have a incandescent light-thingy in the roof in my office, which is quite strong. It's a small room, and I don't notice it at all - I prefer having it on, versus off. I tried turning on a strong desk lamp right behind me.. it's pretty obtrusive, even when shining light downward.

It works really fine for non-direct sunlight too.

What I'm trying to say is, as long as the light sources aren't direct, it's really good.

Also, the response times are the same, as it measured 9.7 ms versus the VX's alleged 9.5.
Daniel_Chang said:
There's a compromise for you guys as well, if you are able to find any (there's some in the B&M retail space). HP 27xi. It's the older model, uses the same covering as the 27VX (hard clear plastic) as opposed to the 27XW (seems to be a flexible membrane film). It doesn't use PWM at any brightness, based on the few reports I've seen. It's their prior flagship in this space, similar to the 27XW.

Based on NCX's reports and my own experience, I suspect there's some degree of panel binning going on here with XW > CW > VX. The glow on that VX was horrid compared to the XW that I had, and even the CW that NCX tested (which was inferior to his XW). But, that's speculation based on a very small sample.
Click to expand...

Can't get no XI in Scandinavia, I tried : /
 
Daniel_Chang said:
There's a compromise for you guys as well, if you are able to find any (there's some in the B&M retail space). HP 27xi. It's the older model, uses the same covering as the 27VX (hard clear plastic) as opposed to the 27XW (seems to be a flexible membrane film). It doesn't use PWM at any brightness, based on the few reports I've seen. It's their prior flagship in this space, similar to the 27XW.

Based on NCX's reports and my own experience, I suspect there's some degree of panel binning going on here with XW > CW > VX. The glow on that VX was horrid compared to the XW that I had, and even the CW that NCX tested (which was inferior to his XW). But, that's speculation based on a very small sample.
Click to expand...

I might give the XI a shot as well, but VX might come first as I can obtain one locally in person rather than having to play monitor tag via UPS. I'm definitely on the right track right now, though, as the XW's color quality has already spoiled me, especially compared to my Asus MX239. I'll likely keep the XW I've got and either package it away with the old Asus or give it to one of my, like, at least three friends trying to scrounge together new rigs right now. The XW's coating is still fantastic, even though I'm picky, and I'd much rather use it while I continue searching up other stuff than stick with the MX239 and it's greasy mess of a front. The XW looks crystal clear with a tiny bit of haze on solid colors, the Asus looks literally dirty.

Whatever I choose to stick with in the long run, it will almost certainly be from this line of monitors. HP really knocked it out of the park with this line-up, panel lottery not withstanding. Thank you and every else in the thread for being so informative! I'll be sure and update if I do in fact get my hands on a VX.
 
Prankman said:
I might give the XI a shot as well, but VX might come first as I can obtain one locally in person rather than having to play monitor tag via UPS. I'm definitely on the right track right now, though, as the XW's color quality has already spoiled me, especially compared to my Asus MX239. I'll likely keep the XW I've got and either package it away with the old Asus or give it to one of my, like, at least three friends trying to scrounge together new rigs right now. The XW's coating is still fantastic, even though I'm picky, and I'd much rather use it while I continue searching up other stuff than stick with the MX239 and it's greasy mess of a front. The XW looks crystal clear with a tiny bit of haze on solid colors, the Asus looks literally dirty.

Whatever I choose to stick with in the long run, it will almost certainly be from this line of monitors. HP really knocked it out of the park with this line-up, panel lottery not withstanding. Thank you and every else in the thread for being so informative! I'll be sure and update if I do in fact get my hands on a VX.
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I'm glad it's working out for you. I would have kept the 25XW or swapped for a 27XW if the BenQ EW2750ZL didn't win me over. You guys and myself are just further proof that there is no perfect monitor and it's up to the individual's tolerances. I can't stand IPS glow, and I was willing to accept the BenQ's mild AG (I also prefer glossy) in exchange for the lack of glow (to me, it's gamma/contrast uniformity).
 
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