MSI MAG 256QR36 Packs 1440p and 360Hz Into a 24.5-Inch Esports Monitor

MSI has a new esports monitor, and it targets one of the most specific gaps in the market. The MSI MAG 256QR36 pairs a 2560x1440 resolution with a 360Hz refresh rate on a 24.5-inch Rapid IPS panel, a combination that barely existed until now. Competitive players have long had to choose between the sharpness of 1440p at 27 inches and the speed of 360Hz at 1080p on a 24.5-inch screen. This monitor says you can have both.

There is one catch, and it is a big one: MSI has not announced a price or a release date yet. The spec sheet is live on MSI's global site, and the monitor is reportedly already on sale in China, but for everyone else, the wait continues. Here is what we know so far, and who this monitor is actually for.

MSI MAG 256QR36: The Specs That Matter

The headline numbers are strong. The 24.5-inch Rapid IPS panel runs at 2560x1440 with a refresh rate of up to 360Hz and a 0.5ms grey-to-grey response time, with 1ms MPRT for motion clarity. Variable refresh runs from 48 to 360Hz, and the panel carries AMD FreeSync Premium and NVIDIA G-Sync Compatible support, so tearing should not be an issue on either brand of graphics card.

Color coverage is better than most esports panels manage: 94 percent Adobe RGB and 95 percent DCI-P3, with 1.07 billion colors through 8-bit plus FRC. Brightness is rated at 350 nits in SDR with a 400-nit peak under HDR, earning the monitor a VESA DisplayHDR 400 certification. That is entry-level HDR, so do not buy this for cinematic single-player games, but it is fine for competitive play where brightness and clarity matter more than contrast.

Connectivity is generous for the class. You get one DisplayPort 1.4a and two HDMI 2.1 ports, and MSI says both HDMI and DisplayPort can run 1440p at 360Hz. There is a 3.5mm headphone jack, HDMI CEC support, a dedicated console mode, and a fully adjustable stand with height, tilt, swivel, and pivot. For console players, that HDMI 2.1 support means the monitor can take a 1440p 120Hz signal from a PS5 or Xbox Series X without complaint.

Full specs are listed on the MSI product page coverage and the detailed spec breakdown.

One Monitor, Two Names

There is a small naming mess worth clearing up. Most outlets, including KitGuru, call this monitor the MAG 256QR36. MSI's own product page, spec sheet, and datasheet call it the MAG 256QP36. The specs match, so this is the same monitor with a different suffix, most likely a regional naming difference. If you go looking for it at retail, search for both names.

MSI's own pages also disagree slightly on color gamut, with the spec table listing 94 percent Adobe RGB and 95 percent DCI-P3 while the overview page quotes slightly lower figures. None of this changes what the monitor is, but it is a reminder that launch-week spec sheets are not always polished.

Who Should Care About a 24.5-Inch 1440p Panel?

The 24.5-inch size is the point. At 27 inches, 1440p gives you about 109 pixels per inch. Squeeze the same resolution into 24.5 inches and you get roughly 120 PPI, which means sharper text, cleaner edges, and a smaller field of view to scan during a firefight. Competitive players have preferred 24.5-inch screens for years because the whole screen sits inside your central vision. Until now, getting that size meant settling for 1080p.

That makes the MAG 256QR36 a direct answer to a real complaint. Valorant, Counter-Strike 2, and Apex Legends players who want sharper visuals without giving up their preferred screen size finally have an option. The 360Hz refresh rate keeps motion as smooth as the fastest 1080p panels, so there is no speed penalty for the extra pixels.

The trade-off is the GPU cost. Driving 1440p at 360Hz is demanding, and in practice you will need a strong graphics card to hit those frame rates in anything but the lightest esports titles. Our Steam hardware survey rundown shows the RTX 5070 now topping the charts, and that class of card is roughly where you need to be. If your GPU cannot push past 200 frames per second at 1440p, a cheaper 240Hz panel will serve you just as well.

The Missing Piece: Price

Everything about this monitor depends on the price MSI eventually sets. The 27-inch 1440p 360Hz monitors with similar panels, like MSI's own MPG 272QRF X36 with G-Sync Pulsar, sell for around $649.99. A 24.5-inch model without Pulsar should come in well below that, and if MSI prices it near the $400 mark, it becomes an easy recommendation for competitive players. Much above that, and buyers will reasonably ask why they should not just buy the 27-inch version instead.

Until MSI confirms pricing and availability, this is a monitor to watch rather than a monitor to buy. But the concept is right, and if the price lands where it should, the MAG 256QR36 could become the default recommendation for competitive players who want 1440p sharpness in a 24.5-inch frame. Keep an eye on our best OLED gaming monitors in 2026 roundup too, because this panel will have to earn its place against some very strong competition.