The 27R94 ships in blocks of crumbly foam in its three component parts. The base is very wide and deep and attaches to the upright with a captive bolt. The panel then snaps on. Arm users get a 100mm VESA mount with fasteners included. The cables are neatly packed into their own little box in a bundle that includes two USBs, DisplayPort, and HDMI. Also in the box is a very large external power supply.
(Image credit: TCL) (Image credit: TCL) (Image credit: TCL) My favorite angle of the 27R94 is the back with its lined black center and white bits. It’s almost a retro-Star Wars vibe, and it stands out from the hundreds of black displays that cross my desk. The transitions are marked with LED strips both on the panel and the stand. You can change the colors and effects in the OSD.
The stand has a large, wide, and deep base. In fact, it is wider than the panel. It could easily support a larger monitor. It’s rock-solid and very well-made, with full ergonomics. You get 5/15 degrees tilt, 20 degrees swivel and a 90-degree portrait mode. The height adjustment covers a 3.7-inch range. Movements are firm and smooth, showing excellent build quality and durability.
You’ll note in the side profile photo that there is a small protrusion near the top of the panel. It’s a slide-out headphone holder that is quite substantial. That’s a nice touch to go with the 3.5mm jack on the down-facing input panel. You also get two HDMI 2.1 s, a DisplayPort 1.4 and a USB-C with 90 watts of power. Peripherals connect to one upstream and two downstream USB 3.0 ports.
GameMode has all the video processing and game enhancers. You can toggle FreeSync/Adaptive-Sync/G-Sync/VRR, brighten the dark areas of the image for better visibility, activate a crosshair, turn on a timer, and control the LED strips’ colors and effects. Ambient Light has static modes and three animated settings for your entertainment. The Response Time option is a three-level overdrive that works precisely to remove motion blur. When frame rates are in the 165fps range, Fast works the best. The 27R94 does not include any form of backlight strobing.
Local Dimming is available for both SDR and HDR. When it’s off, the contrast ratio is just under 3,000:1. Standard ups that to around 5,000:1 by lowering the black level. Medium and High shut off the LED completely when there is a zero-level signal, which makes contrast unmeasurable. You can also tweak luminance with two gamma presets.
KVM is supported with either the USB-C or B ports acting as the hub point. There are two Type A downstream ports to connect a keyboard and mouse, or any other USB device you wish.
In HDR mode, the 27R94 switches over automatically and leaves brightness and local dimming available. You can also tweak the color temp and the saturation level, which is unusual for an HDR monitor.
Having read up on HVA (High-value VA) panel tech, I was expecting a smooth experience and I got one. The 27R94 is impressively smooth for 165 Hz. Though I noted average response times in testing of around 4ms GTG, the addition of TCL’s precise overdrive delivered blur-free gameplay. I was able to lock the framerate at 165fps when playing on a GeForce RTX 4090-equipped PC. Lower rates will introduce some blur. And there is no backlight strobe here, so if you can’t keep it over 140fps, you’ll need to upgrade your video card to pair it with this monitor.
Input lag was also very low. The 27R94 tested and played extremely well on that count with no perceptible delay for any control input, mouse or keyboard. It is much quicker than any 144 Hz LCD and easily keeps up with many 240 Hz panels. When considering bang-for-the-buck performance, this TCL has lots.
The image was stunning, especially in HDR mode. A 27-inch 4K monitor boasts 163 ppi, which is more than enough to hide the pixel structure from view at any distance. Add in the 27R94’s tremendous brightness and you have HDR with a lot of impact. The Quantum Dot color helps too by bringing high saturation and vivid hues throughout. Many users, including myself, would find this image very close to an OLED in quality and definitely brighter.
The 27R94 is one of the rare monitors that lets you adjust color temp and saturation for HDR content. It was nice to be able to amp up the color if I wanted for specific games like Doom Eternal. Many of its environments are either monotone or drab in color. Upping the saturation slider made them more three-dimensional. I also tried the different local dimming options and settled on Medium as the best and most accurate one. When playing at night, I was able to lower the brightness slider to reduce eye fatigue.
This is an excellent monitor for daily tasks as well. If you’re spoiled by 4K like I am, you won’t want to use anything with less pixel density. The 27R94 has more density than my 32-inch reference screen and that is a visible difference. Coupled with its insanely bright highlights, the picture really pops with a texture and dimensionality that few LCDs can match.
I also appreciate TCL’s inclusion of internal speakers, USB ports and LED lighting in a value-oriented product. At $550, the 27R94 is a really good deal that sacrifices nothing on the altar of value.
Takeaway: The 27R94 is a superb gaming monitor that is also well-suited for productivity and other kinds of entertainment. It’s super smooth with better-than-average LCD panel response and class-leading input lag. Though value-priced, it still includes extras like LED lighting, speakers and USB ports. In practice, there is nothing to complain about here.
Current page: Features and Specifications
Key considerations
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Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/monitors/gaming-monitors/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/monitors/gaming-monitors/tcl-27r94-27-inch-4k-165-hz-gaming-monitor-review#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com
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Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.