The HP Pavilion 27XI  is one intense monitor!

The HP Pavilion 27xi is a sleek, affordable 27-inch monitor that easily meets simple monitor needs. That is, movie-watching, gaming, and general Web browsing as well as productivity. It’s a no-frills monitor that includes the holy trinity of connections and satisfying picture customization options.

While the Pavilion 27xi delivers great performance for a $289.99 monitor, it’s not the monitor to use if you have precision color-critical needs. There are a few more expensive 27-inchers better suited to those tasks. However, for those with simple needs, the 27xi doesn’t disappoint.

Design and features
Bearing more than a passing resemblance to Apple’s 27-inch Thunderbolt Display, the HP Pavilion 27xi is aesthetically striking at first glance. The 27-inch monitor features a 1,920×1,080 resolution and an incredibly glossy IPS-based (in-plane switching) screen. The monitor’s chassis acts as its outer skeleton with the screen panel encased inside and as cool and sleek as the 27xi looks, upon touching it, there’s no doubt that it’s made primarily of plastic. The edging measures 0.5 inch, while the width of the body checks in at 24.5 inches. At its thinnest the panel’s depth measures 0.6 inch; an incredibly thin value given the screen size.

The monitor features a 20-degree back tilt, but no pivot or screen height adjustment. There’s also no swivel, but the panel slides around so easily, that the lack of one isn’t of any great concern. The foot stand is 7.8 inches wide and 7.6 inches deep, but the display is unstable when knocked from the sides. The connections face back and include HDMI, DVI, and VGA. The monitor also feels extremely light for its size, weighing 11.5 pounds.

Anyone familiar with HP’s OSD (onscreen display) design, won’t find many surprises here. Brightness, Contrast, and Sharpness are present. Three color temperature options are included: Warm, Cool, and Standard (somewhere in between warm and cool). RGB color controls are also included, allowing for the fine-tuning of red, green, and blue.

The OSD array is located in the lower right corner and consists of five horizontally aligned buttons. Each button is represented by a white LED that turns off when not in use. The far left button activates the menu, followed to the right by the auto-adjust (usable only in VGA), Quick View/Minus, Source/Plus, and Enter buttons with the power button at the far right. Navigating the OSD takes some getting used to. I wouldn’t call the interface clunky; it’s just not as intuitive as it could be. The power button sits directly to the right, and when powered on a turquoise power light glows in the lower right bezel.

HP Exclaimed that an edge-to-edge display was one of the many features to be put into the Pavilion 27xi, but apparently, edge-to-edge does not mean what i think it would. At least not as I define it. In my head edge-to-edge simply means no visible edging. Or at least, the minimalist of edging and the 27xi clearly features an edging. It’s a thin edging to be sure, but there’s no denying that its screen doesn’t quite stretch to the bodies edge.

Tech Spec’s