Technologies

Sony InZone M3 Review: A Speedy Gaming Monitor for PS5 Plus PC Play

Sony’s lower-end model in its distinctive-looking InZone monitor line delivers a solid, if not standout, performance.

A cheaper, faster sibling of Sony’s $900 InZone M9 4K HDR gaming monitor, the 27-inch InZone M3 incorporates a solid 240Hz 1080p screen for its $530 (£699) price tag. In addition to its unique design, the M3’s most notable novelty is PS5 support for Auto HDR, which maps SDR games to HDR, and Auto Genre picture mode, which switches profiles from game-optimized and low-latency to movie-optimized when you launch them. It also supports HDMI 2.1 which seems like overkill for a 1,920 x 1,080 (FHD), barely HDR screen, but future proofing is always welcome — provided it doesn’t add a lot of cost.

Otherwise, the screen is comparable to models like the BenQ Mobiuz EX270M, Acer Nitro XV272, Acer Predator XB273 and a handful of others. They’re older models but slightly cheaper and lack the HDMI 2.1 and the PS5 automation. The M3 is discounted through early April to just below $500, which brings it more into line with the competition. (The M9 is also discounted over the same period, for $100 off its standard $900 price.)

Sony InZone M3 (SDMF27M30)

$498 at Amazon

$498 at Walmart

$500 at Best Buy

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Like

HDMI 2.1 with VRR support for PlayStation
Good sRGB accuracy

Don’t Like

Looks good but the connection locations and cable management aren’t
Awkward stand that doesn’t swivel

It has an identical design to the M9, which means it’s equally annoying. Striking, since it uses similar materials to the PS5 but with a more angular aesthetic common to PC gaming displays, but awkward. The metal rear legs of the stand don’t look substantial, though they are.

Sony InZone M3 (SDMF27M30)

Price	$530
Size (diagonal)	27 in. (69 cm)
Panel and backlight	IPS with LED edgelight
Flat or curved	Flat
Resolution and pixel density	1,920 x 1,080 81.6ppi
Aspect ratio	16:9
Maximum gamut	99% sRGB
Brightness (nits, peak/typical)	400/400
HDR	DisplayHDR 400
Adaptive sync	G-Sync
Max vertical refresh rate	240Hz (DisplayPort and HDMI)
Gray/gray response time (milliseconds)	1ms (overdrive)
Connections	2 x HDMI 2.1, 1 x DisplayPort 1.4, 1 x USB-C (with DP)
Audio	3.5mm out
VESA mountable	Yes, 100 x 100 mm
Panel warranty	1 year
Release date	January 2023

There’s a tiny plastic hook that can hang off one of the thin legs through which you’re supposed to feed your cables. It’s not large enough to accommodate a few thick ones though and really feels flimsy. And while setup is straightforward, it’s unnecessarily inelegant. You need a screwdriver and the included loose screws to attach the legs — at the very least make them captive — and it’s hard to insert the connections because they’re in a recess that requires some contortion to get them into, especially if you have stiff, thick cables.

The Sony InZone M3 monitor, side view showing the forward slanted stand, on a wood surface with a purple wall in the back — That slanted leg is striking looking, but not very practical.

Lori Grunin/CNET

That unusual slanted foot also makes it notably difficult to get to the DisplayPort connection and prevents the screen from being able to tilt forward. Most stands let you tilt about 5 degrees toward you, which can come in handy if you’re trying to avert glare. The design also precludes swiveling, which is annoying in a multimonitor configuration and doesn’t allow for putting things on your desk beneath the screen, such as shoving your keyboard there.

It really begs to be mounted on an arm, but at that point it looks pretty much the same as every other monitor out there.

A close up of the connections recessed in the back of the monitor — The connectors are in one of those traditional, hard-to-reach recesses in the back of the screen.

Lori Grunin/CNET

In addition to the dual HDMI 2.1 connections, it also supports USB-C for display. It’s got stereo two-watt speakers, which sound about as good as you’d expect; that is, if you expect them to sound tinny and low volume and only good for simple system sounds.

I thought Sony would have fixed the small irritation in the onscreen display, where it defaults to one of the least-needed menu entries — DDC on/off, and a level down — which makes navigating through the menus tedious if you have to do it a lot. Thankfully, everything in the OSD is accessible via Sony’s pretty well designed InZone Hub software.

Like the M9, the M3 has a built-in KVM switch, which means the USB ports depend upon the active input. That’s a perk if you’re connecting to two different systems or a PC and a console, and easy to set up in the software. The input scanning looking for an active connection seems to take a little longer than normal, though, and I got some unexpected resets (where it decides to recheck its connection) — such as between benchmark tests — that I’ve only seen with the Sonys.

Performance

The monitor performs well, with solid behavior at 240Hz and what seems like is the claimed 1ms gray-to-gray pixel refresh, and delivers excellent sRGB color accuracy in its Standard and Game 2 profiles but not in its default Game 1. (How we test monitors.)

Color measurements

	Gamut (% of P3)	White point	Gamma	Brightness (nits)	Accuracy (DE2K average/max)
Default (Game 1)	82 (111% sRGB)	7800K	2.3	245/360 (peak)	3.83/8.3
sRGB (Standard)	n/a (111% sRGB)	6300K	2.2	265	1.92/5.07
Cinema	82	6300K	2.4	337	n/a
HDR	87	6450K	n/a	473 (10% and full screen)	n/a

It nominally supports high dynamic range — it’s DisplayHDR 400 certified — but that just means it has a little extra brightness headroom and can do the math needed to display HDR content or map SDR to HDR. It doesn’t make that much of a visual difference, partly because the black isn’t dark enough. The best contrast it could hit was about 2500:1, which is good in general but not great for HDR. On the bright side, I didn’t see any light bleed around the edge as is common with edgelit backlights.

Game mode measurements

	White point	Gamma	Brightness	Contrast (static)
FPS	7850K	2.1	304 nits	861
Game 2	6300K	2.2	267 nits	1185

I’m not a huge fan of 27-inch 1080p screens for nongaming use because of their low-pixel density, only about 82 pixels per inch, because even my aging eyes object to the visible pixel grid. But it’s okay for gaming because there are rarely any single-pixel-wide lines. If you want something for long workdays as well as gaming, and you don’t need the 240Hz or HDMI 2.1 (you can still use it with a console), do your eyes and wallet a favor and get a 2,560 x 1,440 (1440p) 165Hz model.

It’s a pretty good monitor, but the InZone M3’s screen doesn’t distinguish it from the small pack of 240Hz 1080p options and its stand doesn’t help make a case for it. Overall, it’s a solid choice, especially if you can find it for a more competitive price.

The best laptops in every category

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for June 8, #728

Here are some hints and the answers for Connections for June 8, #728.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle could be tricky. The purple category is one of those «sounds like» groups, that can be really tough to figure out. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group, to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Keep at it.

Green group hint: Think Wall Street animals.

Blue group hint: Online encyclopedia subheads.

Purple group hint: $$$.

Answers for today’s Connections groups

Yellow group: Persist.

Green group: Animal metaphors in economics.

Blue group: Sidebar info on a person’s Wikipedia page.

Purple group: Homophones of slang for money.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is persist. The four answers are hold, last, stand and stay.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is animal metaphors in economics. The four answers are bear, bull, dove and hawk.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is sidebar info on a person’s Wikipedia page. The four answers are born, education, occupation and spouse.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is homophones of slang for money. The four answers are bred, cache, doe and lute.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for June 8, #1450

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle No. 1,450 for June 8.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle isn’t too tough, especially if your first guesses are heavy on vowels. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has one repeated letter.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

There are two vowels in today’s Wordle answer, but one is the repeated letter, so you’ll see it twice.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with L.

Wordle hint No. 4: Ending

Today’s Wordle answer ends with a vowel.

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer refers to a contract where someone is given the right to use something for a specific time and payment.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is LEASE.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, June 7, No. 1449 was REUSE.

Recent Wordle answers

June 3, No. 1445: ADMIN

June 4, No. 1446: CEASE

June 5, No. 1447: DATUM

June 6, No. 1448: EDIFY

Technologies

Resident Evil Requiem Revealed, but Where’s Leon Kennedy?

The Resident Evil 9 trailer showed off a new character, but not the much-rumored return of Leon.

After a fake-out earlier in Summer Game Fest on Friday, Resident Evil Requiem, or Resident Evil 9, was shown for the first time.

The new title is the first mainline entry since Capcom released Resident Evil Village in 2021, and is rumored to feature series stalwart Leon Kennedy. In the trailer, the only person we saw was a character named Grace Ashcroft, who works for the FBI and appears to have ties to Raccoon City.

For the most hardcore Resident Evil fans, the name Ashcroft will ring a bell. Alyssa Ashcroft was one of the survivors of the online-only title, Resident Evil Outbreak for the PS2. Alyssa was a journalist who was trapped in Raccoon City during the events of Resident Evil 2, and she, along with other survivors, had to escape the city before it was destroyed.

Grace is Alyssa’s daughter, and in the trailer, she is going to visit the Remwood Hotel, where Alyssa was murdered. Later in the trailer, images from what appears to be the remnants of a destroyed Raccoon City are shown — including the police department from RE2 — so it appears Resident Evil 9 will return to where the series started.

Leon’s (rumored) return is a big deal for the series, which has made some of its best games with him in the starring role. He first showed up as a rookie cop in Resident Evil 2, which built on the original game’s success with more story and improved monsters and level design.

He showed up again in Resident Evil 4, which took the series in a new direction by introducing an over-the-shoulder perspective, instead of the usual static camera angles and tank controls. Leon was also one of several playable protagonists in Resident Evil 6, a game that seemed to forget about its survival horror roots. We mostly don’t talk about that one.

But the 2019 remake of Resident Evil 2 was an excellent return to form, bringing RE4’s gameplay and much better graphics to a fan-favorite entry. The RE4 remake was a similar success.

Resident Evil Requiem is set to drop Feb. 27, 2026, for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series consoles, but we’re hoping to get our hands on it this weekend. If you want to catch up on older Resident Evil games, Capcom is having a sale that includes basically all the games, including Village and the three remakes.