Aorus is Gigabyte’s answer to full-fledged gaming brands such as Asus’ ROG, Acer’s Predator and Lenovo’s Legion. Aorus started as a gaming laptop line which originated the thin and light gaming trend we come to know this 2019. Aorus then entered the monitor market with a bang thanks to the outstanding AD27QD. Aorus has officially become a gaming brand that offers every PC components and peripherals for a full Aorus branded desk setup. The success of the AD27QD as the first gaming monitor from the brand. It’s the very first gaming monitor of the brand aimed for the professional, gamers. Its specs rivaled flagship 1440p models from both ASUS ROG and MSI. The AD27QD offered the best of both worlds from the fastest response time of TN panels and the color quality of IPS ones. The descendant of the AD27QD takes on the 240Hz market. The Aorus KD25F’s 240Hz Panel is equipped with the tactical feature pack found on the AD27QD. Let’s take a closer look at what it brings to the table.
Unboxing and First Impressions
The Aorus KD25F has the same packaging design with the first AD27QD Tactical Gaming monitor. Both the front and back side are identical with only the text on the bottom-left to distinguish which monitor is which.
The packaging of the KD25F contains the following
- 2-part RGB Stand
- DisplayPort Cable
- HDMI Cable
- USB Passthrough
- 3x Power cables
- KD25F manual and driver disk
Compared to the previous AD27QD, the Aorus KD25F has more power cables included. This is to account for the different types of sockets depending on the region.
Despite the large neck and the very thin V-shaped base, it still rigid enough to support the panel when attached.
The stand is completely identical with the AD27QD. It’s still one of the bulkiest-looking stand we’ve seen in the market.
The back panel of the KD25F sports the same layout with the AD27QD. It does differ, however, on the I/O ports located underneath. The KD25F has only 1 USB 3.0 port instead of 2 that are found on the AD27QD. This is probably due to the smaller 25″ frame factor of the KD25F.
Stand Flexibility
The KD25F’s stand is sturdy and holds the monitor in-place after setting it to the desired adjustment. It supports height adjustment, tilt, rotate and swivel. Though one thing to note is the KD25F can only rotate clockwise and not the other way around.
Viewing Angle
The KD25F Gaming Monitor’s viewing angle is very impressive for a 240Hz screen. There’s no noticeable discoloration except when viewed from very extreme angles.
RGB Lighting
OSD Menu
The Aorus Sidekick software is used to control the AD27QD or the KD25F’s OSD Menu without having to navigate with the joystick. Everything can be set from brightness, lighting profiles all the way to the joystick shortcuts. It still features the same crosshair maker, ANC function and RGB lighting control.
Display Analysis
The KD25F will be subjected to a deeper analysis using our Spyder 5 Elite Tool. This tool will measure the monitor’s color accuracy, brightness and screen uniformity. This will allow us to see the absolute values which will be used as a basis to determine the panel quality of the KDF25F.
Color Space is important for monitors as it displays the range of colors it can produce(which is the triangle) out of the millions of colors that our eye can see which is measured through the sRGB coverage. An sRGB coverage of 96% is commendable for a 240Hz monitor. The 71% AdobeRGB coverage beats most high refreshrate monitors setting the KD25F above the pack.
Color and Screen Uniformity tells us how the monitor is able to keep its colors and light uniform throughout the display. The DeltaE is a value that notes the total color difference from 3 parameters(green/red, blue/yellow and light/dark) that provide a quantitative color measure. The closer the values are to 0 means better. Based on the charts, the KD25F’s highest DeltaE value is 3.5 at 83% brightness located at the top right region. The DeltaE values of the KD25F are nothing to worry about. Color Uniformity is very impressive for a 240 Hz panel. The Brightness levels shouldn’t pose an issue for color quality.
The Luminance Uniformity results show that the KD25F has more light coming in from the top-center of the display at various brightness levels. DeltaE values of the remaining regions remain within the margin of error at various brightness levels. This shows that there’s no apparent backlight bleed. Overall, the KD25F sustains its Screen and Color Uniformity at acceptable values which is impressive for a 240Hz TN panel.
The Aorus KD25F is G-Sync Compatible making it one of the very few 240Hz panels who support the said feature.
User Experience and Conclusion
Performance. A 240Hz panel is not something new and surprising. We are already seeing gaming laptops opting for a 240Hz panel instead of a higher resolution panel or the standard 144Hz. What Aorus brings to the table with the KD25F is the Color Accuracy of its panel acquired from AU Optronics. Older monitors such as Zowie’s XL2546 hold the hertz per dollar title but at great sacrifice when it comes to picture quality. Aorus minimizes the trade-off between a high refresh rate TN panel and an IPS monitor.
Build Quality. Looking back at the Aorus AD27QD, there hasn’t been any changes with regard to the build quality of the monitor when compared to the KD25F. It’s basically a 25″ variant when it comes to looks and build quality. If the stand and base can support a 27″ panel, then using it for a smaller display should pose no issue at all.
Functionality. We have not seen any other gaming monitor that sports the “tactical” features found in the Aorus AD27QD. The gaming crosshairs are found on other brands such as ROG and Alienware. But there are no monitors that have a very convenient software for OSD commands. The ANC microphone feature is a hit or miss but helps if you have a subpar microphone especially if you’re in a noisy environment.
Bundle. The Aorus KD25F is equipped with the standard tactical gaming monitor package from Aorus. Even if you disregard these arguably gimmicky features, the 240hz panel is reason enough to consider the KD25F in your 240Hz monitor selection.
Value. An SRP of Php 27,900 of the Aorus KD25F competes with 1440p 144hz IPS panels and 240Hz TN ones. Back in the days, a 240Hz panel was what you would consider as overkill. There was a trade-off in having a 240Hz refresh rate at the cost of the loss in color accuracy. Since then, the IPS market flourished as brands were able to produce 144Hz panels without the disadvantage of TN which is color accuracy. The KD25F on the other hand, has a color accuracy that’s above average than a typical TN monitor. It can be used outside gaming thanks to its 96% sRGB and aRGB ratings.
The KD25F is an excellent 240Hz monitor thanks to its panel alone. The addition of the “Tactical” features make it exemplary as an eSports monitor. It has the strengths of a TN panel which is speed shown by its response time and refresh rate without the drawbacks of a typical TN monitor. The Aorus tactical gaming monitor formula is a market disruptor not only in the 1440p segment but also in the 240Hz eSports line as seen with the Aorus KD25F. We expect the Aorus Tactical monitor line to grow and offer a little-to-no compromise solution in the remaining monitor market segments such as 4K and Ultrawide.
The Aorus KD25F is backed up with 3-years warranty. We give it our Editor’s Choice Award!
2 Comments
Your review is incorrect about it not being VESA compatible. You should double check your facts.
Its 100×100 standard monitor VESA compatible. If your bracket is anything larger, you either need standoffs or you need a smaller bracket.
See image: https://www.back2gaming.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/AORUS-KD25F-GAMING-MONITOR-0079.jpg