HP Introduces X Series Gaming Monitors from $259

The HP X32c gaming monitor with a game on the screen.

Buying a new gaming monitor isn’t easy, especially with such a wide range of options available on the market. Today, HP is introducing seven new models to complicate that decision further, though they come with a softener to make the decision easy: Price.

The new monitors fall under the X Series line (Which isn’t at all confusable with Microsoft’s Series X), with four 27-inch models, two 32-inch panels, and one 34-inch ultrawide model. The difference between these models is in the details, with some packing higher-quality IPS panels and/or higher resolutions, or they have a curve, as denoted by the c in their name.

	Size	Panel type	Resolution	Refresh rate	Curve	Price	Availability
X27	27 inches	IPS	1920 x 1080	165Hz	N/A	$259	Now
X27q	27 inches	IPS	2560 x 1440	165Hz	N/A	$339	Now
X27c	27 inches	VA	1902 x 1080	165Hz	1500R	$259	October
X27qc	27 inches	VA	2560 x 1440	165Hz	1500R	$349	October
X32	32 inches	IPS	2560 x 1440	165Hz	No	$389	August
X32c	32 inches	VA	1920 x 1080	165Hz	1500R	$309	October
X34	34 inches	IPS	3440 x 1440	165Hz	1500R	$459	September

All things considered, this is quite a complete monitor lineup — they all feature 165Hz refresh rates, 1ms response times, along with FreeSync/G-Sync support, and there’s a choice for most gamers out there. Admittedly, the high-end is left out, but that doesn’t appear to be the target market with this release.

Of this lot, the flat IPS panels will serve those well that work in daylight and value color performance, whereas nighttime gamers who want more immersion might be more inclined to lean towards the curved VA panels for their deeper black levels and greater immersion.

The main catch with these displays is the HDR implementation, which is limited to DisplayHDR 400. This doesn’t really offer any significant HDR performance, though it does ensure the displays will be comfortably bright enough.