The Lenovo Legion R27fc-30 offers an enticing proposition: a 240Hz refresh rate at a budget-friendly price. But does this gaming monitor deliver on its promise? This review dives deep into its design, features, image quality, and performance to help you decide.
Design and Features
The Lenovo Legion R27fc-30 sports a typical gamer aesthetic. The front features slim bezels on three sides with a small chin at the bottom. The back is plain matte black plastic. While the front looks modern, the plastic construction reveals the monitor’s budget-oriented nature.
The stand, while offering excellent ergonomic adjustments like height, tilt, swivel, and pivot, feels bulky and takes up considerable desk space. Its truss-like design also makes it difficult to place items on the base. Thankfully, a 100x100mm VESA mount is available for using alternative stands or arms. Unfortunately, the stand attaches with screws rather than a quick-release mechanism.
The 27-inch display features a noticeable 1500R curvature. This might be appealing to some, but it’s a matter of preference and doesn’t significantly enhance immersion on a screen this size.
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Connectivity options are basic, with two HDMI 2.1 ports, one DisplayPort 1.4, and a 3.5mm audio jack. Conspicuously absent are USB ports, a disappointing omission for a modern monitor. All video inputs support the maximum 280Hz refresh rate at 1080p.
The on-screen menu is controlled by a responsive joystick, and the menu itself is well-organized. This is a welcome change from the clunky menus often found on budget monitors. However, the options are limited, with basic controls for refresh rate, pixel response time, brightness, contrast, and color saturation. Advanced adjustments for color temperature, gamma, and calibration are lacking.
The built-in 3-watt speakers are adequate for casual use but lack bass, making them unsuitable for gaming or enjoying music. Most users will likely prefer a headset or external speakers.
Image Quality
The Lenovo Legion R27fc-30 uses a VA panel, known for good contrast. SDR brightness peaks at a respectable 353 nits, sufficient for most environments. However, the curved screen can reflect light sources behind the viewer, which might be problematic in brightly lit rooms.
The VA panel delivers a strong contrast ratio of 6030:1, resulting in deep blacks and good shadow detail. This is a significant advantage over IPS panels, which often suffer from IPS glow.
lenovo legion r27fc 30 brightness
Color gamut coverage is a weakness. While the monitor covers 99% of sRGB, it falls behind competitors in DCI-P3 (86%) and AdobeRGB (81%). This might limit its appeal for content creators, but casual users likely won’t notice a significant difference.
lenovo legion r27fc 30 contrast
Color accuracy is reasonable for a budget monitor, with a gamma of 2.1 and a color temperature of 6400K. However, the lack of fine-grained controls makes precise calibration challenging.
lenovo legion r27fc 30 colorgamut
The 1080p resolution on a 27-inch screen results in a pixel density of 81 PPI, which can appear slightly pixelated, especially with small text and in games without anti-aliasing.
lenovo legion r27fc 30 color accuracy
HDR and Motion Performance
While the Lenovo Legion R27fc-30 technically supports HDR, its performance is underwhelming due to the limited brightness and color gamut. HDR content doesn’t look significantly different from SDR.
The 240Hz refresh rate (overclockable to 280Hz) and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro support are the highlights of this monitor. Motion clarity is excellent, providing a smooth and responsive gaming experience. However, the VA panel’s slower pixel response times can cause some ghosting, though less noticeable than on cheaper monitors. The backlight strobing feature, while present, introduces a double image effect and isn’t recommended.
Conclusion
The Lenovo Legion R27fc-30 provides impressive value for budget-conscious gamers seeking a high refresh rate experience. Its strengths lie in its 240Hz refresh rate, good contrast, and affordable price. However, compromises are made in areas like color gamut, HDR performance, stand design, and lack of advanced image adjustments. If smooth gameplay is your priority and you can overlook these shortcomings, the R27fc-30 is a compelling option.
