Sony's new Inzone gaming monitors are equipped with a trick stand design that defied all my attempts to knock it over.

When it comes to design, gaming monitors are often very similar. You'll find the occasional ill-advised projector or hidden ports, but they all look the same when you look past the panels.

The Sony Inzone M10S & Inzone M9 II bring something different to the table. The only thing that touches your desk is a circular plate, designed to have the smallest footprint possible. This allows gamers to move their keyboards and mice into the most comfortable position without having the monitor stand in the way.

With such a small design for the base, I couldn't but think that they looked very precariously near to falling over. During the product demonstration I was asked to knock them around and test their stability. They looked like a pretty but ineffective stand. They are actually much more stable in practice than I expected, thanks to clever mechanical engineering.

The center of gravity lies behind the panel. This means that all of the weight is evenly distributed in a line from the panel to the middle of base. You can wobble these things, but as soon as you let go, they return to their upright positions almost immediately. Clever, that.

In terms of specs the Inzone M10S doesn't just look good. It has a 27-inch OLED panel with a 1440p resolution, a 480Hz refresh rate and a DCI-P3 rating of up to 98.5%.

There is also a "professional mode" of 24.5 inches that reduces the size of the displayed image. The Fnatic esports (with whom Sony collaborated to design the display) team explained that 24-inch monitors were the standard size for competitions. This allows you to practice your skills before taking the stage.

The whole ethos seems to be esports. There are several monitor modes that can be used to gain an edge in competition, including FPS modes tuned specifically by Fnatic to display certain colour contrasts better in games like Valorant. On the default setting of the game, I was shown an effect where a character in distance would blend into the smoke. The FPS Pro+ mode enabled, however, allowed you to just barely make out an elbow in the mist. This gave away the location of your opponents.

It sounds silly, I know. It is said that every little advantage counts in esports. Who was I to doubt all the gaming superheroes around me? I'm only a mortal after all.

The Sony Inzone M9 II will likely be more appealing to the more sedate gamers (and that includes me). It's a 4K IPS 27-inch display with a 16 Hz refresh rate, a 1 ms GTG reaction time and the self-balancing design. It looked great in action, but comparing it to an OLED panel of the same size, I was blown away by how much better an OLED looks compared with even an excellent IPS display.

There's no doubt that the Inzone M9 II has a great-looking display. But, in a dimly-lit conference room, that OLED looked stunning. The 480 Hz refresh rates looks as smooth as glass in gaming conditions. I was envious that my monitor had a lower refresh rate.

The two monitors are both premium looking, and have some clever features to make them stand out. They also have some very high refresh rates. The only thing left to discuss was price. I must admit, when I saw it, I did a double-take. Let me begin by saying that the Inzone M9 II was $100 cheaper than its predecessor, the Inzone M9. This was a pleasant surprise.

The bad news? It's $799. It's $799. While it looked great, the LG Ultragear 26GR93U retails at $630. I don't see why you would choose the Sony. It's a great stand, but I would want something that would blow me away for that kind of money. In my brief time with the Sony, I couldn't figure out where all the money went.

What about the OLED M10S? You'll have to pay $1,099. We still expect OLED monitors--particularly ones with mega fast refresh rates and esports credentials--to command the big bucks, so it came as less of a shock. It's still a lot of money for a 27-inch screen.

In person, the trick stands were impressive, and it was a pleasure to watch the M10S in action. With prices like these, I can't but think that, unless your goal is to maximize performance to the nth extent, you are likely paying more for the Sony brand and the Fnatic affiliation here. A 480 Hz refresh rate is nice, but at this price? This is a lot of money.

We'll test them to see how they perform, but one thing is for sure: They'll have to work hard to earn all that money.