Asus TUF VG27AQ: the best 27 inch Quad HD 144 Hz monitor for gamers

Presentation

In 2015 Asus released the Swift PG279Q, the first monitor equipped with a G-Sync 144 Hz Quad HD G-Sync compatible HD panel, overclockable up to 165 Hz. A real gem sold at the time around 900 €. Four years later, the manufacturer offers the TUF VG27AQ which also has a 27-inch IPS panel displaying a Quad HD definition of 2,560 x 1,440 px and supporting a native refresh rate of 144 Hz also overclockable up to 165 Hz. However, he won several innovations in passing. First, this screen is compatible with both G-Sync and FreeSync (Adaptive Sync) up to 165 Hz. In addition, its afterglow is announced at only 1 ms, against 4 ms for the PG279Q. It is also HDR compatible and supports the insertion of black images via backlight scanning with G-Sync or FreeSync activated; a first! This system makes it possible to deceive retinal persistence and thus to display objects in motion that are perfectly clear.

Finally, icing on the cake, the Asus TUF VG27AQ is sold much cheaper (€ 500) than the Asus PG279Q at launch (€ 730).

---

Ergonomics

The Asus TUF VG27AQ uses the design of the famous Swift PG279Q with less flashiness. He ignores the red and is limited to a black dress with mat black plastics rather well finished.

It comes with a relatively compact external power supply that will easily be forgotten under the desk. The use of an external power supply facilitates its replacement in the event of a problem.

This Asus monitor offers a height adjustment of 13 cm and tilt between -5 ° and + 33 °. The foot also allows rotation to ± 90 °, which is very practical.

The rear of the chassis is made entirely of good quality black plastic, which gives a little premium side. The connection is oriented downwards. The base of the foot has a relatively efficient cable passage. The screen is compatible with VESA 100 x 100 mm fixings, but for this you have to dismount the stand.

The connection consists of two HDMI inputs, a DisplayPort input and a headphone output. That's all. This monitor ignores the USB hub, yet present on the Asus PG279Q. It also has two 2 W speakers, far from being exceptional, but which even troubleshoot for system sounds and for a few videos.

The clickable joystick is always the most pleasant way to navigate the settings. Pressing the button turns on the monitor. Then, you must move the cursor to the right to validate the choices and to the left to go back. It is possible to change source, mode (presets) and access the settings (brightness, contrast, sharpness, overdrive, temperature, etc.). The menus are readable and navigation is done quickly. The other four buttons provide quick access to the various presets and a few devices for the game (timer, frame counter per second, viewfinder superimposed and even zoom in on the central part).

On our 140 x 60 cm desk, the Asus TUF VG27AQ of only 27 inches is very comfortable. The foot depth, limited to 21.1 cm, provides enough space for the keyboard and mouse. The Quad HD definition of 2,560 x 1,440 px is quite fine on this 27-inch panel (resolution of 109 dpi) and allows you to display a good level of detail.

By lowering the brightness to 4 to obtain a white at 150 cd / m², the Asus TUF VG27AQ consumes around 24 W, ie a relative consumption of 119 W / m², much higher than the average consumption of the monitors tested (100 W / m² ). At the minimum of the brightness (136 cd / m²), it consumes 23 W. At the maximum (382 cd / m²), the consumption goes to 41 W.

---

Colors and contrast

Left, average gray temperature: 6,530 K. In the center, gamma curve at 2.3. Right, Delta E average at 2.7. [/ Media]

The Asus TUF VG27AQ almost flawlessly unpacked (Racing mode by default). The temperature curve is perfectly stable over the entire spectrum and the average measured at 6,530 K shifts to the reference value of 6,500 K (video standard). With an average delta E of 2.7, the colors can be considered as faithful to those sent by the source. Only red and green exceed a delta E of 5, but overall, the rendering is more than satisfactory. It is only the gamma curve which slightly lacks stability. The average of 2.3 is slightly above the target value of 2.2. In fact, the light grays are thus very slightly blocked.

We lowered the brightness to 4 to obtain a white close to 150 cd / m², but we were unable to correct the gamma defect since the monitor does not offer any specific adjustment to adjust this parameter. The results are thus very close to those of the default mode. The opportunity to see that the variation of the backlight has no impact on the rendering.

The calibration of the screen using a probe above all makes it possible to smooth the gamma curve which is now perfectly stable on an average of 2.2. Color rendering is further improved (average delta E at 1.7), but red and green retain a delta E greater than 5. You can download this color profile by following this link.

With a native contrast of 1,220: 1, the panel of this Asus monitor is one of the best IPS on the market. However, the Asus TUF VG27AQ remains far from the contrast found on the best VA monitors on the market, such as the Textorm TX32 or the Philips BDM4037UW whose contrast ratio exceeds 4000: 1. The darkest scenes and the black areas appear grayish, especially in a dark room. However, this poses no problem during daytime use.

The average difference in white homogeneity is 7% on the 27-inch panel. There is thus no variation in the brightness perceptible to the eye. We did not find any light leaks in the corners or any clouding ("cloud effect") on our test model. IPS technology also offers very good viewing angles with very little variation in angles.

---

Reactivity

The Asus TUF VG27AQ does not use Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) to adjust the brightness; it is therefore devoid of flicker and does not cause headaches for those who are sensitive to this phenomenon. Asus has also integrated a Low Blue Light mode to reduce the emission of blue light.

This monitor manages FreeSync and G-Sync between 20 and 165 Hz and therefore works optimally when the graphics card sends between 20 and 165 images per second. Between 20 and 52 Hz, the monitor uses the LFC system for Low Frame Compensation which quadruples, triples or doubles the number of images displayed in order to maintain a feeling of fluidity. At 20 frames per second, for example, the monitor operates at 80 Hz and quadruples the number of images. At 30 frames, it operates at 90 Hz. It does not use the CFL only between 53 and 165 Hz. The range supported is therefore very wide and covers all uses. We will still recommend a fairly high-performance graphics card such as the AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT or the Nvidia GeForce RTX2070 Super) in order to take advantage of the native HD definition and a high number of images. In all cases, the fluidity is there and the image does not suffer from tearing problems or jerks (micro-stuttering).

The novelty of this screen is the possibility of activating the system for inserting black images via backlight scanning (ELMB, for Extreme Low Motion Blur) while activating the dynamic refresh technologies FreeSync or G-Sync. This system allows you to enjoy the best of both worlds: the absence of tearing and micro-jerks, while enjoying perfect clarity of moving objects. In addition, the system does not flicker, even below 80 Hz.

We measured the remanence time at 8 ms with the overdrive ("TraceFree" in French in the OSD) set to 80. This value makes it possible to limit ghosting ("ghost image effect") while avoiding the reverse ghosting effect. It is simply the best afterglow time measured on an IPS panel. In comparison, the Asus Swift PG279G - which was previously one of the best - was measured at 9.5 ms. Of course, it does not equal that of the best TN screens like the Alienware AW2518HF 240 Hz flashed at 3 ms, but the IPS panel has many qualities (viewing angles, contrast). Finally, we measured the delay in the display (input lag) at 8.7 ms (at 60 Hz). It is also the best value found on a monitor. There is therefore no lag between the action with the mouse and its repercussion on the screen.

---

Conclusion

With the TUF VG27AQ, Asus simply offers one of the best 27-inch Quad HD screens for video games. It has all the best in terms of display technology today, with a very reactive IPS panel supporting a very high frequency compatible with both the FreeSync from AMD and the G-Sync from Nvidia. Icing on the cake, these technologies can be combined with the ELMB. In the end, this screen is probably the best for playing, regardless of the type of game.

---