Skip to main content

HP announces seven X-Series gaming monitors starting at just $259

One of the HP X series monitors next to an HP desktop.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

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.

Recommended Videos

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.

The entire family of HP X Series gaming monitors.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The first X Series monitors are available today starting at $259, with the remainder coming out between now and October 2021.

Niels Broekhuijsen
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Having failed to grow up, Niels never quit his gaming hobby and decided to turn it into his work as a freelance technology…
Samsung blew me away with its 3D gaming monitor prototype last year — now, it’s a real product
Lies of P on Samsung's glasses-free 3D gaming monitor at CES 2024.

Flash back almost exactly a year to the day. I was sitting in a half-built demo area playing on a Samsung prototype gaming monitor. The company had loaded up Lies of P -- one of my favorite games of last year -- and I was proceeding through a midgame Mad Clown Puppet mini-boss. It wasn't just standard gameplay, though. It was glasses-free 3D, and it worked well enough that I was able to play a game as difficult as Lies of P amid construction noise and blinding lights without breaking a sweat.

At CES 2025, Samsung is turning that prototype into a real product with the Odyssey 3D.

Read more
I’ve been gaming on a 27-inch 4K OLED monitor for the past week, and it’s glorious
Path of Exile 2 running on an Asus gaming monitor.

A 27-inch 4K OLED gaming monitor is a big deal. Samsung just announced its own version, and we'll likely see more at CES. Based on what Asus has told me, I'm one of only a few reviewers who've been gaming on one of these new monitors for the past week or so. I’m talking about the Asus ROG Swift PG27UCDM, and the sharpness it brings is incredible to play on.

But before I continue gushing -- a caveat.

Read more
OLED gaming monitors are about to get a lot brighter
Path of Exile 2 running on an Asus gaming monitor.

One of the biggest criticisms leveled against OLED monitors, despite being some of the best gaming monitors you can buy, is how dim they are. Although brightness is steadily increasing, it looks like the next crop of OLED gaming monitors will make quite the leap when it comes to HDR performance. Ahead of CES 2025, VESA has revealed a new tier of its DisplayHDR standard that's focused squarely on the brightness of OLED monitors.

The certification is DisplayHDR True Black 1,000. Most OLED gaming monitors, such as the MSI MPG 321URX or Alienware 27 QD-OLED, are certified with DisplayHDR True Black 400. This certification level is reserved for OLED -- or extremely high-end mini-LED -- displays that achieve nearly perfect black levels. According to VESA's specifications, the display has to reach 0.0005 nits with a checkboard pattern. Now, VESA is focusing on the other end of the spectrum, adding a more demanding tier that maintains those low black levels while pushing brightness higher.

Read more