HP z27x Review
by Chris Heinonen on December 2, 2014 4:00 PM ESTThe HP z27x is a display that pushes the limits of what a desktop display can do, but it has one serious drawback that will limit its acceptance. For people that want accurate color, larger color gamuts, and the ability to really have fine control over their display the HP z27x is hard to beat. The post-calibration and pre-calibration numbers are some of the best we have seen. The built-in management makes it easy to tie users down to the correct color space and to switch between them as needed. Self-calibration removes the PC from the equation when it comes to getting colors correct.
The uniformity of the display is a big deal to me, though. Professionals need the colors they see on the screen to be accurate, even if they are at the edge of the screen and not in the center. Having to reposition anything you are looking at to the center of the screen to know it is correct is something that most people will not want to do. That the uniformity of the HP is so far off is surprising to me.
It also limits whom I think the HP z27x will apply to. If you don’t need the larger color gamut, there are other displays out there with very accurate color but also fantastic uniformity. The NEC Professional displays let you switch between color spaces easily and their uniformity is the best out there. They don’t offer the same self-calibration or management that the HP z27x does, but that might not matter to you.
If you need the larger DCI or Rec.2020 color gamuts, then I don’t know what other choices you might have. The HP can do these larger gamuts but you need to look at the center of the screen for them to be accurate. Of course, there is the chance that my sample just has a uniformity issue and most displays are much better. That same logic could also apply to the quality of the calibration; maybe every other display is worse than mine, so I don’t like to make that leap. I can only go by what I see and measure and not what might be. Even if my sample is worse than average, it says something about quality control that this sort of unit could end up shipping to a customer.
The price is quite high compared to many other 27" QHD displays, but we expect that from a professional level monitor. While many would balk at the $1500 MSRP ($1400 online), given all of the features it's actually not too bad. NEC's PA272W has a $1300 MSRP and the PA272W SpectraView model has a $1550 MSRP, so considering the wider gamut and management features the z27x is pretty competitive. Except a professional display really needs uniformity.
If the uniformity on the HP z27x was better then I wouldn’t have a reason to really criticize it. The colors are accurate, the gamut is huge, and it is very nice to use as well. It has a specific target market, and it fits that well, but the backlight uniformity holds it back. As it is, I’m conflicted on what to do with the HP. The backlight bleed on the left side is a serious issue, but it doesn't take away for everything else the HP does right. The HP z27x is an impressive display, and if HP can improve the backlight uniformity on it, it might be the best display I've reviewed to date. As it stands, it does exceptionally well in most areas but it has an Achilles' Heel that needs to be addressed.
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Wwhat - Sunday, December 7, 2014 - link
It's probably enforced by the damn HDMI consortium. But that's why it's nice to have displayport on monitors eh. Graphics cards use those and computer monitors like this one do.teddyboyd - Tuesday, December 9, 2014 - link
There are a number of higher rated monitors, I recommend seeing http://www.topreport.org/monitors/ among others.dgingeri - Tuesday, December 2, 2014 - link
I have the predecessor for this monitor, the ZR2740w, and I hate it. I had to have it replaced twice under warranty in three years. The support for it was difficult to reach and difficult to convince I deserved to get a new one because the old ones wouldn't power up at all. (Apparently, they thought I couldn't attach the cable properly, even though I'd worked in IT for over 15 years.) I am simply not getting another HP monitor again because of my experiences. I recommend the same to others.Dell makes much better monitors at has better support. Right now, they have the 27" UHD P2715Q for only $700, including a 3 year advanced replacement warranty. That sounds like a much better deal than this to me.
cheinonen - Tuesday, December 2, 2014 - link
The ZR2740w, and the Dell, are consumer targeted while the z27x (which isn't a predecessor to the ZR2740w, it's more related to the LP2480zx) is aimed at professionals. Neither the Dell not the ZR2740w have the expanded gamuts or calibration options, they're a different market.fumanstan1 - Tuesday, December 2, 2014 - link
I actually had a different experience with their support for the ZR2740w. Mine started failing where it wouldn't power up either, but they sent a technician out to my apartment to replace the monitor completely and basically came with a brand new warranty without any questions or problems at all. I came away impressed with their support.YazX_ - Tuesday, December 2, 2014 - link
Dell or HP is same rebraded crap originally manufactured in china, you could get same one as these for 300-400$, but the HP logo costs around 1k$.Things extra in this monitor:
LAN: Not important, well external USB 3.0 NIC is for 25$.
USB Hub: not important, costs around 10$.
save your money and get Qnix/X-Star, same quality for fraction of the price, also Qnix comes with Samsung PLS which is better than LG IPS.
Samus - Tuesday, December 2, 2014 - link
You're forgetting the HP logo comes with an excellent on-site warranty, and Qnix tech support doesn't even speak English (they're Korean)wolrah - Wednesday, December 3, 2014 - link
I think you missed the point on the ethernet port. It's not exposed to the PC, it's a configuration interface for the display itself. Still probably unimportant to you as it is to most, but certainly not equivalent to a random USB NIC.ijozic - Wednesday, December 3, 2014 - link
What are you on about? The z27x is a wide gamut monitor, while the ones you mention are not. Furthermore, IPS screens generally seem to have better color accuracy than PLS ones.Samus - Tuesday, December 2, 2014 - link
I had a ZR2740w, it isn't a "successor" to this monitor. The ZR2740 was never a "Dreamcolor" display. As cheinonen said, it's a cheap consumer monitor. I hated it too. I could never get it close to calibrated. But it was a cheap, name-brand 2560x1440 display, and decent for gaming (other than FPS's)