The Philips Momentum 3000 series of gaming monitors aim to provide a window into the world of HD gaming at a reasonable price and we’re about to find out if it they deliver in this Philips 27M1N3200VA review.
Finally, there’s a benefit to the GPU shortage. Raging prices and raft of paper launches have seen plenty of PC gamers take the plunge and buy a brand-new graphics card built for FHD gaming. With the likes of the AMD 6600XT and RTX 3050 dominating the entry level of the market, it sems something of a waste to splash out the best part of £1000 on a 4k screen designed to dominate your desktop. Instead, Philips is aiming to deliver a range of 1080p gaming displays that feature the superb build quality we would expect from a top tier manufacturer, blistering response times, and a refresh rate that falls firmly into the esports category. At a fraction of that cool grand, the 27-inch 27M1N3200VA seems to be a perfect fit for anybody who didn’t manage to splurge on an RTX 3080.
Specifications
- Maximum resolution: 1920 x 1080 @ 165 Hz
- LCD panel type: VA LCD
- Backlight type: W-LED system
- Panel Size: 27 inch / 68.5 cm
- Effective viewing area: 597.888 (H) x 336.312 (V)
- Pixel Density: 81.59 PPI
- Response time: 4 ms (Grey to Grey)
- MPRT: 1 ms
- Colour gamut: NTSC 101.5%*, sRGB 121.9%*, Adobe RGB 89.9%*
- Display colours: 16.7 M
Connectivity
- Signal Input: HDMI 2.0 x 2, DisplayPort 1.2 x 1
- HDCP: HDCP 1.4 (HDMI / DP); HDCP 2.2 (HDMI / DP)
- Audio Out: 3.5mm jack / 2x2W Speakers
Unboxing
Unboxing the 27M1N3200VA is something of a cinch. While everything it packed away nicely, getting into the outer layer of this display doesn’t take much more than slicing open a single tab of tape. The entirety of the innards is almost all cardboard, which makes for a nice change from so many boxes full of polystyrene and unrecyclable foam. Despite the swap out, this new Philips display slipped out of the box in mint condition. Alongside the display itself, you’ll find a rather unusual base, a solid stand, and all the requisite cables for this setup. There’s nothing missing and thankfully, the instructions come on a pamphlet rather than a CD. While there’s probably no need for a paper setup guide at all these days. It’s still far more useful than popping in a DVD.
The overall setup of the 27M1N3200VA can be watched in my late-night unboxing above but suffice to say popping thing in place only takes a few minutes. Thanks to the toolless connection on the bottom of the monitor and the clip in mount between the stand and display, things come together nicely. This is helped immensely by the fact that this 27-inch monitor is only 3.8KG before the stand is attached, making it a world away from the impressive but unyielded AOC AG324UX.
Sublime Design
While the assembly is unlikely to linger for long, the first impression of the 27M1N3200VA certainly will. The display feels far more expensive than the £219.99 RRP and manages to marry aggressive gaming aesthetics without drowning in RGB. Instead, shape and material designs allow this mono color shell to advertise its gaming credentials without taking over the room. The unique base looks like an 80s alien spacecraft come to invade your desk space, while the solid metal stand is a fitting angular accompaniment. The single bottom bezel wraps back around the rest of the monitor into a shape that is decorated with a pitted texture that just gives the 27M1N3200VA an understated flair. There’s nothing here that will fight your desktop for dominance, but this also means this series of monitors will slide into virtually any setup without compromising your color scheme or requiring another piece of lighting software for your system.
Setup
Slotting our review unit into an existing setup should be easy enough for most situations. The base looks unusual but adds stability and plenty of free space to place other accessories around it. The hinged attachment at the back of the display panel provides an impressive degree of horizontal movement, while the panel slides effortless across different heights. It’s a small note but I’m genuinely very impressed by the quality of the stand in this offering. Plugging in and getting started is also a breeze. The inclusion of two HDMI 2.0 ports, a Display Port and a 3.5mm jack allow games to get going almost immediately. There isn’t a USB hub or any other internal offerings, but the Momentum 3000 series has one job, and it seems to do it pretty well.
Testing
Initial color and calibration testing results can be found below. Even to the naked eye, out the box calibration seems almost spot on. some very minor tweaks resulted in an sRGB spread of 100%. P3 coverage came in at 92%, with AdobeRGB, and NTSC featuring lower. You might not want to drop money on this if you’re primarily working on creative content, but it’ll still hold up well enough if you’re busy streaming and making YouTube videos in your off time. What’s most impressive is the 100% sRGB coverage. This is still a relatively inexpensive monitor and we’ve seen much more expensive offerings miss the mark on this.
100% of sRGB, 84% of AdobeRGB, 92% of P3, 82% of NTSC
Image & Response
For response testing, we were able to test the out the box performance using a custom kit hooked up to a using a photosensitive element. This pushes an alternating test image to the display and measures the time taken to move through a 5% color change. It’s certainly not industrial testing equipment but it gives us a good indication of the GtG response. We ran repeated tests and found that the response time clocked in at an average of 4.3ms. Considering outside factors and our own testing variation, there’s no doubt that the 27M1N3200VA is capable of clocking in at its advertised response rates.
We doubled down on this with a run on UFO testing. While the device seems to provide fantastic and fluid images at higher frame rates, clocking down to 60Hz did see some less favourable results with a minor but visible ghost trail. It’s an odd occurrence that might be unique to us but did not seem to be an issue when running above 100Hz. The 27M1N3200VA does include adaptive synch which does seem to help eliminate any obvious issues when running into an Apex arena or blasting through the unrelenting bowels of Hell in DOOM. Color reproduction and contrast is just as impressive as the testing suggested, thanks to the choice of a VA panel and backlighting that seems to be consistently good. After several days of high refresh rate gaming, I am comfortable that this display seems more than capable of keeping up with my run and gun tactics. Ok, I actually meant shoot, panic, and run away.
When you’re looking to try something else out that isn’t staring down the end of a loaded BFG, the 27M1N3200VA includes FPS, Racing, RTS LowBlue, Reading, and two custom configurable pre-sets. These are easily actioned with a couple of clicks through a very solid OSD. While it would be nice to have a movie mode pre set, clicking the menu stick at the back of this monitor and navigating is simple enough that there is no need for desktop control software.
Sound
With 2 x 2W speakers added to this entry in the Momentum series, I didn’t expect anything outstanding, and I was not surprised. While more expensive pieces can afford to consider their soundscape, the 27M1N3200VA simply does the job. Audio is loud enough that character dialogue can be understood without blowing out the soundscape into a mess and you shouldn’t need to hit 100% to discern what’s going on. That’s probably all that you can expect from a set of 2W speakers and Philips make the best of the situation, pointing them down to your desk rather than away from the intended audience.
Conclusions
Overall, the 27M1N3200VA is a fantastic choice for 1080p gaming, but does lack flexibility in other situations. The Philips Momentum 3000 series is squarely aimed at this market and the laser focus pays dividends when gaming. There’s been no time wasted on outfitting this with RGB, extra USB docks, or other proprietary trinkets. At £219.99 the 27M1N3200VA has fantastic image clarity and color. The high refresh rate of up to 165Hz means it is the perfect companion for the most modern 1080p graphics cards and makes gaming feel fluid and responsive. Couple this with some unique but very solid design and material choices and you’re left with a monitor that compliments any setup. The 27M1N3200VA is out now for £219.99 or local equivalent. Find out more over on the official Philips website now.
