ASUS ROG Swift PG278Q G-SYNC Monitor Review
by Chris Heinonen & Jarred Walton on February 13, 2015 10:00 AM EST
The ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) line includes everything you want for building a high-end gaming PC: GPUs, Motherboards, Keyboards and Mice, Sound Cards, Headsets, and now Monitors. The ROG Swift PG278Q is a 27” WQHD display that has both a 144Hz maximum refresh rate and NVIDIA G-SYNC. Combining both of these technologies provides the potential of a silky-smooth image that doesn’t get choppy if the frame rate happens to drop in demanding sequences.
My prior demonstrations of G-SYNC involved displays that fell below a 60Hz refresh rate. Even when falling down to 40-45fps, the G-SYNC displays manage to remain smooth when compared to a standard 60Hz display. With a 144Hz display, G-SYNC enables you to run at these very fast refresh rates without noticeable stuttering or tearing if your refresh rate falls below that. You might have the GPU power to run at 144Hz most of the time, but if you suffer slowdown during certain sequences the ASUS ROG will still appear as smooth as it did before.
Ergonomically the ASUS ROG offers a very well designed experience. The display has good height adjustment, tilt, swivel, and pivot. Since it is a TN panel and prone to color shifts when you move off-axis, being able to set it up to be perfectly even with your eyesight is a very good thing. There are a pair of USB 3.0 ports on the bottom of the rear panel, good for a keyboard or mouse, but none on the side to provide easy access for flash drives and other accessories.
The worst ergonomic feature of the ASUS ROG is that it utilizes an external power supply brick. The external brick is compact compared to others that have passed through, but it still means yet another cable and device to have to deal with on a desktop.
The On-Screen Display for the ASUS ROG is good though not excellent. It offers quick access to a few items, like refresh rate, but to do so it uses icons on the screen. Since the keys are on the back of the monitor, unless your face is level with the lower bezel (an unlikely occurrence) it is hard to determine which button is the correct one. If the buttons were on the front this would work well, but I just found myself always hitting the wrong option. Simply going to the main menu and selecting the item there is faster.
The main menu is controlled with a 4-way joystick on the back of the display. This is nice and easy to use, and lets you move around the menus quickly. The layout is a nice three-column variety that lets you see which submenu you are in without having to navigate all the way back out, which is nice. Menu systems have come a long way since I started reviewing monitors and the ASUS would beat anything I had to look at four years ago.
ASUS ROG SWIFT PG278Q | |
Video Inputs | 1x DisplayPort 1.2 |
Panel Type | TN |
Pixel Pitch | 0.233mm |
Colors | 16.7 Million |
Brightness | 350 cd/m2 |
Contrast Ratio | 1000:1 |
Response Time | 1ms GtG |
Viewable Size | 27" |
Resolution | 2560x1440 |
Viewing Angle (H/V) | 170 / 160 |
Backlight | LED |
Power Consumption (operation) | <90W |
Power Consumption (standby) | <0.5W |
Screen Treatment | Anti-Glare |
Height-Adjustable | Yes |
Tilt | Yes, -5 to 20 degrees |
Pivot | Yes |
Swivel | Yes |
VESA Wall Mounting | Yes, 100mm |
Dimensions w/ Base (WxHxD) | 24.4" x 14.3" x 9.4" |
Weight | 15.4 lbs. |
Additional Features | 2x USB 3.0, G-SYNC |
Limited Warranty | 3 Years |
Accessories | DisplayPort Cable, USB 3.0 Cable |
Price | $790 |
101 Comments
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Antronman - Saturday, February 14, 2015 - link
The picture quality still won't be hugely impressive with IPS, because the color palettes used in games have saturation gradients, and the areas of a map or character that should be noticeable will be extremely heavily oversaturated, whereas the less important, insignificant parts will have very, very little saturation and less polys than the important parts that the saturated colors will be on.bznotins - Friday, February 13, 2015 - link
Currently still rocking a 3007WFP from 2006. Best $1100 I ever spent on electronics. Love the zero input lag and 16:10 resolution.Once we see a 60hz+ 32" 4K monitor, I will finally upgrade. GSync would be awesome.
I just can't bring myself to go down to 27" now, GSync or not.
zodiacsoulmate - Friday, February 13, 2015 - link
Linus just reviewed a 31 inch 4098x2160 LG 31UM97, seems very niceyefi - Friday, February 13, 2015 - link
Ditto that. I'd love gsync on a 30" 2560x1600 monitor, but these gamers are apparently satisfied with tiny little monitors and their 16:9.Antronman - Saturday, February 14, 2015 - link
A large monitor just means I have to move the monitor farther back and move my chair farther back.rtho782 - Saturday, February 14, 2015 - link
I went from a 3007WFP-HC, to a RoG Swift. The size drop was a little annoying, but when my 2nd Swift failed last week the 3007 seemed weird because of the aspect ratio, and I missed 144hz.TheEkorn - Friday, February 13, 2015 - link
I`m wondering where the input lag graph on page 6 is?JarredWalton - Friday, February 13, 2015 - link
"Like the other G-SYNC displays I have tested, the ASUS ROG has no inputs aside from a single DisplayPort. Because I have no CRT monitor that can run at the same native resolution as it, nor a DisplayPort compatible lag tester, I can’t produce an accurate input lag measurement for the display. Obviously this is not an ideal result for a gaming display, but any number I could produce I would have zero faith in."TheEkorn - Friday, February 13, 2015 - link
Thanks :)i4mt3hwin - Friday, February 13, 2015 - link
No talk about the inversion issue this monitor has? Between this:http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?50004-PG2...
and
http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?52705-PG2...
This monitor clearly has some issues at the panel level. http://gyazo.com/ff54f6a888ded6aac5472ac3d480ffba
The vertical lines going through the grey part of the rifle (looks like a crosshatch) appears on all bright colors when the monitor is in motion.