Hello Everyone,
I've been beating my head against this issue and have exhausted over 5 hours in tinkering, deep diving forum discussions, watching youtube tutorials for monitor calibration, and most recently, contacting MSI directly for technical support. I am at my wit's end and I am seriously considering returning my monitors if I can't find an answer - please help!
Product Name:
MSI G274QPF-QD 27" 1440p 170 Hz Gaming Monitor
Summary of issue:
I purchased two of these monitors recently and set them up side by side for gaming and CAD work. I was very satisfied with them until I noticed the drastic color difference from one monitor to the other, and once I was aware of the issue, I couldn't unsee it. I was able to enter the "User" mode to calibrate my displays and I was pleased with the results, but I apparently cannot keep the color calibration profile and operate HDR at the same time.
Phone capture of monitors side by side with no color calibration:
Summary of troubleshooting steps:
1) Currently using the display port cables that came with the monitors. I have tried my old display port cables (BenQ), switching the cables, switching the inputs into my GPU (7900xtx), changing main display, and operating one monitor at a time. All steps seem to have the same result.
Thanks all!
I've been beating my head against this issue and have exhausted over 5 hours in tinkering, deep diving forum discussions, watching youtube tutorials for monitor calibration, and most recently, contacting MSI directly for technical support. I am at my wit's end and I am seriously considering returning my monitors if I can't find an answer - please help!
Product Name:
MSI G274QPF-QD 27" 1440p 170 Hz Gaming Monitor
Summary of issue:
I purchased two of these monitors recently and set them up side by side for gaming and CAD work. I was very satisfied with them until I noticed the drastic color difference from one monitor to the other, and once I was aware of the issue, I couldn't unsee it. I was able to enter the "User" mode to calibrate my displays and I was pleased with the results, but I apparently cannot keep the color calibration profile and operate HDR at the same time.
Phone capture of monitors side by side with no color calibration:
Summary of troubleshooting steps:
1) Currently using the display port cables that came with the monitors. I have tried my old display port cables (BenQ), switching the cables, switching the inputs into my GPU (7900xtx), changing main display, and operating one monitor at a time. All steps seem to have the same result.
- 2) sRGB color calibration. I can't recall the exact number values but it was something like... Left display R=49, G=47, B=50 & Right display R=46, G=44, B=50. After calibrating for color, contrast, brightness, and gamma, it wasn't a perfect match, but it was very close and I was happy with it. The right monitor still appeared to be darker with poorer contrast, and the text didn't seem as clear - but this is being very picky.
- 3) Checked firmware and attempted update. The monitor that apparently has good out of box color accuracy is Firmware Version FW.106 and the monitor that I am struggling with is Firmware Version FW.014 (likely out of date?). I found a few MSI guides for updating firmware but they were outdated or did not work for my specific device. In a youtube video, where there was a button within the MSI application to "Update Firmware", there was no option for the MSI application that I downloaded directly from MSI under the product support for my model number.
- 4) HDR is a feature that I would like to use for gaming, but I apparently have to choose between using my color calibration profile or HDR.
- 5) I contacted MSI Support directly concerning this issue and was following their troubleshooting steps. The service representative did not seem to have an adequate technical understanding of the problem. I had a busy work week and replied 6 days after their last response with my troubleshooting results to find that they had closed my ticket. This was deeply disappointing given the amount of time I have exhausted and my previous respect for MSI. Overall, there seems to be a complete lack of instructions and guidance material from MSI with this product specifically. For instance, the monitors did not include a manual to navigate the configuration settings accessible with the toggle on the back side and it was challenging to find this online.
- Is there a way to achieve color accuracy while using HDR without the purchase of aftermarket products or software?
- Could the firmware versions explain my perceived issues with color accuracy?
- Why do $500 monitors not come with better factory calibration or at the very least, an instruction manual?
- Why is it so difficult to find resources online to update my drivers, calibrate the monitors, or descriptions of the use cases for the various confirmation settings
Thanks all!
