Asus ROG  - Asus ROG Swift PG27UQ

Asus ROG

Asus ROG Swift PG27UQ: the first Ultra HD HDR 144 Hz G-Sync monitor

Aprox. 2486€

See specifications

If we have already tested an HDR monitor (the Dell UltraSharp UP2718Q), it is the release of the Acer Predator X27 and this Asus ROG Swift PG27UQ which inaugurates the arrival of HDR technology on PC and especially in games. Let's see if this monitor keeps its promises.

Positive points

Ultra HD 120 Hz panel.

HDR compatibility.

Bright peak.

Perfect colorimetry.

Ergonomics.

Persistence time for an IPS panel.

Open viewing angles.

Bad points

Blooming.

Low native contrast of IPS technology.

No ULMB.

Fan integrated in the screen.

High consumption.

Our review

Presentation

For once, the PCs are lagging behind what is being done on console since the release of the Xbox One S in August 2016 and the PS4 Pro in November 2016. Indeed, these consoles were the first to support - in addition to Ultra HD - HDR , a small revolution in the gaming world. HDR became accessible to the general public in April 2016 with the release of the first Ultra HD Blu-rays. Even more impressive than the gain in definition provided by Ultra HD, HDR brings relief to the image. And once you've tasted it, it's hard to go back. The revolution is underway, but the price is still high on PC. The Asus monitor - resolutely and deliberately high-end - has a 27-inch IPS panel (≈68.6 cm) displaying an Ultra HD definition of 3,840 x 2,160 px, supporting a refresh rate of 120 Hz (overclockable to 144 Hz) G-Sync compatible. It stands out from other monitors with its Full Led backlighting system made up of 384 zones. What reach and even exceed the famous light peak of 1000 cd / m² recommended to make the most of HDR content.

Only here, the Asus PG27UQ monitor is expensive, very expensive, since it is announced at a public price of around 2,500 €, but for the moment it simply has no equivalent on the market.


Ergonomics

The Asus PG27UQ monitor takes up the imposing foot of the PG348Q with its lot of settings, but also some devices such as a lighting system at the base of the foot and at the top.

The base of the foot embeds a fairly conventional cable passage system. The hole is quite narrow and once the DisplayPort, HDMI, USB, power and headphone cables are passed, there is no space left.

The head of the support has a basic projection system that allows the ROG logo to be displayed on the wall behind the screen. The wheel is used to adjust the size and height of the image on the wall. Finally, "ultimate refinement", the ROG logo is also bright.

The rear leaves no doubt about the target of this monitor. It is good for players. Note that the imposing ROG logo at the top right is bright. The upper grille lets the hot air escape. Something rather new on a monitor, the latter has a very audible fan. In a room where the background noise is measured at 35.1 dB (A), turning on the monitor turns on the fan and increases the noise to 36.2 dB (A) (50 cm in front of the monitor). The noise remains largely acceptable, but it is present.

This monitor offers all possible settings: height adjustment of 12 cm, tilt from -5 to + 20 °, rotation of +/- 35 ° and a pivot allowing you to switch to portrait mode.

The connection is classic for a G-Sync monitor. Like most G-Sync stamped models, this Asus monitor only has a DisplayPort 1.4 input and an HDMI input. There are also two USB 3.0 ports - with limited accessibility - and a headphone output.

The four buttons on the side allow you to turn on the monitor and access the various shortcuts. The joystick allows you to navigate the OSD settings very intuitively. It is simply the best system for accessing the various settings. And there are many: brightness, contrast, temperature, saturation, overdrive, blue light filter, source, position of the OSD, overclocking of the refresh rate, etc. The Game + menu displays a viewfinder in the center of the screen, a timer or a frame rate counter per second.

We measured a consumption of 52 W on our test pattern with a white calibrated at 150 cd / m². Relative consumption peaks at 268 W / m²; it is very high, especially compared to the other monitors in our comparison, the average of which is 100 W / m². This excessive consumption is explained by the use of a Full Led system composed of 384 diodes, while most monitors use a single led bar located at the base of the panel. As a result of this debauchery of power, the monitor takes on a fan to cool the whole.

The Asus PG27UQ monitor and its 384 LEDs used for the backlight system consumes more than is reasonable. This is the price to pay to display ...

The Asus PG27UQ monitor is quite bulky for a 27 inch monitor. The 27 cm deep base occupies almost half of our standard desk (140 x 60 cm).

If the Ultra HD definition on a 27 inch diagonal is very impressive by its finesse, it ultimately has little interest and we always prefer a Quad HD definition on a 32 inch diagonal for its versatility, whether in office or in games with current graphics cards. In addition, the bandwidth offered by the DisplayPort 1.4 does not allow the display of a 10-bit Ultra HD image (YUV 4: 4: 4) at 144 Hz. You must be satisfied with a frequency of 98 Hz or a 10-bit YUV 4: 2: 2 sampling or more simply 8-bit sampling, which is already very good in Ultra HD. The sampling difference is visible with text and can vary shades of color, but it has little impact in a video game.


Colors and contrast

Default: average gray temperature: 6.740 K.

Default: gamma curve at 2.2.

Default: average delta E at 1.1.

The default monitor calibration is very good - it's still a minimum for a monitor at this price. The temperature curve is stable over the entire spectrum with an average of 6,740 K, very close to the 6,500 K reference. The lack of stability on the grays at 10% is explained by the use of a dynamic backlighting system, but for the rest, the gamma is very well managed with an average which stalls on the reference value (2, 2). Finally, the colors are simply perfect, since no shade exceeds a Delta E of 2 and the average is established at 1.1. Remember that the human eye perceives a difference when the Delta E (difference between the requested color and the displayed color) is greater than 3.

Manual adjustment: average gray temperature: 7,100 K.

Manual adjustment: gamma curve at 2.2.

Manual adjustment: Delta E medium at 1.2.

By lowering the brightness to 42 in order to obtain a white close to 150 cd / m², the monitor retains the same image quality and also the same small gamma defect. The Delta E increases very slightly, but overall, the rendering remains the same. Setting the temperature to Warm does not improve the rendering since the average then drops to 5,830 K. Setting to Normal is the most satisfactory.

Calibrated: average gray temperature: 6,540 K.

Calibrated: gamma curve at 2.2.

Calibrated: average delta E at 0.9.

Calibrating the monitor to the probe with a color profile provides a perfect temperature of 6,540 K, always stable across the spectrum. It is the gamma curve which benefits most from the calibration. It is now perfectly stable with an average of 2.2 still. Finally, the colors are still a little more accurate, with a delta E less than 1, but the Delta E of red is greater than 2. You can download this color profile by following this link.

The Asus ROG Swift PG27UQ monitor is equipped with an IPS panel delivering a contrast of 990: 1, classic for IPS technology, and not necessarily impressive. It is far from being as good as the best VA screens, such as the Textorm TX32 or the AOC Q3279VWF which exceed a rate of 4,000: 1. The depth of blacks is saved by the dynamic backlighting system, but you have to do with blooming . It is not very annoying with light games and more generally in broad daylight, but it is in the dark and for watching movies. In return, the viewing angles are better than those of a VA panel, but this is not really an argument for a monitor intended for gamers. The fact remains that despite this weak contrast, this monitor displays a bright peak at 1,119 cd / m² which makes perfect sense in compatible games.

The first results of our test concerning the Asus ROG Swift PG27UQ reveal an impressive luminous peak, but a gamma which leaves for ...

The average difference in homogeneity is measured at only 5% over the entire 27-inch panel and we did not find any light leaks or clouding. On the other hand, blooming is clearly present around light objects on a black background.


Reactivity

The Asus PG27UQ does not use pulse width modulation or PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) to adjust the brightness. It therefore does not flicker and does not cause headaches or eye problems in the most sensitive people.

The screen is compatible with Nvidia's G-Sync technology which dynamically shifts the refresh rate of the screen to the number of images per second produced by the graphics card. This avoids two things: the phenomenon of tearing of the image (tearing) and micro-slowing down (micro-stuttering). The G-Sync operates between 24 and 144 Hz, therefore between 24 and 144 images per second: a very wide range which ensures constant fluidity.

If it cannot compete with TN screens whose remanence time drops below 5 ms (the Acer Predator XB252Q with its 3.5 ms), the Asus PG27UQ monitor offers one of the best times recorded on an IPS panel. With its 8.5 ms, it comes close behind the AOC Agon AG271QG and its 8 ms. As often, the overdrive set to normal offers the best compromise between afterglow and ghosting. Setting to Extreme results, for example, in a clearly visible reverse ghosting effect.

We regret the absence of a backlight scanning system of ULMB (Ultra Low Motion Blur) type, however present on other G-Sync stamped monitors. This system improves the sharpness of moving images by introducing black images between two images in order to deceive retinal persistence.

Little disappointment also on the input lag side that we measured at 23 ms. At 60 Hz, there is thus a little more than one frame per second of delay between the action carried out with the mouse or the keyboard and its repercussion on the screen. In comparison, monitors generally display an input lag of around 10 ms, or less than one frame per second.


Conclusion

As on televisions, the arrival of HDR on PC seems essential. Even more than the contribution of very high definition, HDR truly transforms the image to make it even more realistic. As is often the case, the gain is only noticeable once you return to SDR content. On a completely different note, like the transition from an HDD to the SSD, it is very difficult to go back once you have tasted it. Still, this monitor is for the moment reserved for early adopters who do not look at the expense and who absolutely want to taste some HDR compatible games on PC.


Specifications