ASUS PB278Q 1440p IPS (PLS Panel)

Thanks for the reply under , Id assume samsung would cover any pixel issues on a monitor at such a high price point tho? Shame I live in the country so no one stocks them out here cant see one first hand =\.
 
Wanted to chime in here! I received my monitor on Friday and had the chance to hook it up today along with a new build. Monitor is amazing! I don't have the problems some people are having here. Zero dead/stuck pixels, very minimal IPS glow on the edges. I am upgrading from an Asus PA248Q, another IPS screen. I will be sticking with this one for a while!
 
Surprisingly samsung does not have an outright replacement policy for the series 9 and they will determine whether to replace or repair according to their standards which means more headaches.
 
Got mine yesterday. Big shiny red stuck pixel in middle right quadrant of the screen.
Monitor is beautiful otherwise. BF3 looks insanely good on Ultra, tho I may need to add a second GPU cause at 1440p resolution my framerate drops into the 40s (7970 video card)

Anyhoo, no backlight bleed, no bright corners or edges. She's a beauty - except the one bright red stuck pixel. I called Asus, and they initially told me that 3-5 dead pixels was considered "normal". When I asked him if he was sure, and to please direct me to the policy that says that he found (as I did) that their flagship monitors (including PB278q) actually comes with a 1 year Zero Bright Pixel guarantee.

So Asus in the end, agreed to replace the monitor under warranty but recommended I simply RMA via NCIX (where I bought it) as they are bound to respect the same policy. So I'm in the process of RMAing with NCIX.
 
I think the PWM issue is going to be a deal breaker for me. I'm seeing the 'duplication' effect even more now that I'm watching for it. It was definitely evident while in motion in BF3 until I turned up the brightness and burned my retinas. I didn't have much luck keeping a decent contrast/brightness via software adjustments with the monitor at 80%+ either. The higher monitor brightness setting also seems to cause a 'bloom' effect when white windows are on dark backgrounds which is not pleasing to the eye.

I don't think it really affected my gameplay performance as I suck anyway... (seriously, does everyone have a hack with huge arrows pointing at enemy heads or what?) but movement just doesn't appear as smooth as I think it should.
 
Just got my PB278Q yesterday, and i'm loving it. The colours are so vibrant, and I haven't had any issues with light bleed, dead pixels, etc.

It has slightly better picture quality than my VG23AH monitor, and pretty much the exact same menu system (minus the 3D). Playing FPS's was no problem, and I didn't find there to be much noticeable ghosting with quick movements.

I'm happy with it. Does anyone have any recommended display settings (contrast, brightness, etc)? I've just been using the default user settings.
 
Last edited:
mojorific said:
Just got my PB278Q yesterday, and i'm loving it. The colours are so vibrant, and I haven't had any issues with light bleed, dead pixels, etc.

It has slightly better picture quality than my VG23AH monitor, and pretty much the exact same menu system (minus the 3D). Playing FPS's was no problem, and I didn't find there to be much noticeable ghosting with quick movements.

I'm happy with it. Does anyone have any recommended display settings (contrast, brightness, etc)? I've just been using the default user settings.
Click to expand...

Drop the brightness to 35%, it may appear a little dull at first, so turn the screen off for a while and when you turn it back on your eyes will adjust and it will appear just as bright as it did but without the retina burn.

Open up the menu, click "image", "trace free", the value should be set at 60%, move your mouse cursor very fast around the screen and you may see a black shadow trailing it, if you do the tf setting is too high. Try setting it to 100% and you will definitely see the shadow. I recommend 40% or lower, at 20% it disappears completely but causes motionblur.
 
Has anyone had q/c issues with this monitor? I've gotten two in a row so far with multiple clusters of dead pixels on each, right around the center of the screen... Hoping the third time's the charm or it's time to get a dell u2713hm instead...

Too bad the monitor looks great otherwise.
 
koikoikoi said:
Has anyone had q/c issues with this monitor? I've gotten two in a row so far with multiple clusters of dead pixels on each, right around the center of the screen... Hoping the third time's the charm or it's time to get a dell u2713hm instead...

Too bad the monitor looks great otherwise.
Click to expand...

My screen has a bright white spot in the lower center. Approx 4cm x 2cm. I barely see it unless i look for it but I know if I see the screen on in the future the next person would spot it too. I contacted Asus 2 weeks ago and they said they are out of stock and will contact me when they ship a new screen out. Still no word.
 
Do any of you own an Ati 7970?

When you start up Windows 7, are there horizontal tear lines that appear as the login screen fades out and the desktop fades in?

I've tried dvi-d, hdmi, formatting windows. and still they appear. I'm sure its to do with my cards memory speed, not being high enough at default clocks. I have increased the 2d clock using trixx, and because trixx only kicks in after windows has logged in it doesn't raise the 2d clocks in time to stop the tearing.
 
Last edited:
mojorific said:
Just got my PB278Q yesterday, and i'm loving it. The colours are so vibrant, and I haven't had any issues with light bleed, dead pixels, etc.

It has slightly better picture quality than my VG23AH monitor, and pretty much the exact same menu system (minus the 3D). Playing FPS's was no problem, and I didn't find there to be much noticeable ghosting with quick movements.

I'm happy with it. Does anyone have any recommended display settings (contrast, brightness, etc)? I've just been using the default user settings.
Click to expand...

Do you think PB278Q justifies more then the double price value of the VG23AH? Does 1440p makes that difference?

Thanks
 
CrabJuice said:
PWM is not cool for ergonomics. On the other hand the chance of these monitors being able to go above 60hz with custom timings are pretty high since Asus monitors usually do. Anyone tried that yet?
Click to expand...

PWM only applies to the backlight - and thus not the refreshrate of the individual pixels.

there are various ways to do propper PWM and only one way to do it wrong:

1 (correct) random distribution of dark/light
2 (correct) pre-calculated 'gray' patterns (almost random)
3 (wrong) on (x%) off (100-x %) block periods (result in flicker)

all of which require a high number of hz for the backlight to operate in eg: 6000 hz = 100sub-divisions for a 60hz monitor...
 
hffluidz said:
Do any of you own an Ati 7970?

When you start up Windows 7, are there horizontal tear lines that appear as the login screen fades out and the desktop fades in?

I've tried dvi-d, hdmi, formatting windows. and still they appear. I'm sure its to do with my cards memory speed, not being high enough at default clocks. I have increased the 2d clock using trixx, and because trixx only kicks in after windows has logged in it doesn't raise the 2d clocks in time to stop the tearing.
Click to expand...

This guy : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9fmZ9lgWe8
has the same issue (is it you ?)

ATI 7970 with a PB278Q who has issues with tearing, ghosting and tons of werid stuff
using his GTX 480 there is no problems....

I really hope its not a 7970 problem coz i just ordered a Dell U2711 instead of the PB278Q

edit
... oh it IS you :D... Fluidz aka Ben Jamin ... i've read your posts on various forums... Will get back to you when i try my monitor today...
 
Montago said:
i just ordered a Dell U2711 instead of the PB278Q
Click to expand...

I'm truly sorry for your eyes...there is a reason why none of the new 27" models use the same excessively grainy matte coating the U2711 uses...

Pretty much all 60hz displays will show mouse trailing when dragging the mouse and viewed closely like in that video. Most 120hz TN's do too.

Asus Trace Free 100 is always useless since the overdrive becomes extremely aggressive and causes very strong bright+dark overshoot.
 
Last edited:
Anyone know when tftcentral will have a review for this up? Its been out for a few days now..
 
PB278Q now available on Amazon. I think that the PB278Q is the best value WQHD monitor. It's not as pretty as the Samsung SB970 S27B970D 27-Inch Screen LED-Lit Monitor , but the PB278Q is almost half the price.
 
Last edited:
NCX said:
I'm truly sorry for your eyes...there is a reason why none of the new 27" models use the same excessively grainy matte coating the U2711 uses...
Click to expand...

I'm already ahead of you : http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/NA_Optical/Systems/Technology/DisplayFilms/

I've read a lot of posts were people pull off the coating - a thing i'm considdering.

That said, i am now in possesion of 2 of these monitor, one at work and one at home. At home i dont experience the same coating problems as i do at work. Seems like the environment you sit in has a great impact on the coating experience.

Also - The U2711 is THE BEST monitor money can buy if you are on a budget (1000$ and below) so i rather have a U2711 with a somewhat dirty white - than a PB278Q with BLB, weird ghosting and PWM Backlight...
 
best on what exactly, u2711 is the worst homeuser screen imo, got oversatured colors, slow input lag och bad ag coating. But whatever makes you happy :)
 
Got another one from newegg to see if the BLB issue and tint were any better and while this had almost no tint,though the whole right edge was lit up with the bottom corner being yellowish (though no BLB at the top), so sending it back, there seems to be a bezel fitting issue with this panel but as the right corner also houses the controls, didn't want to mess with opening it up and not being able to return it.

As tft central's review shows, there are very good units out there and I am determined to get one, if I have to 'waste' 10 screens to get it so be it, enough of this nonsense.
 
I was thinking buying this monitor, but this PWM thing, just hold me back.

From what i know there are people that are sensible to PWM artifacts and others who aren't that sensible.

Is there any way to check if one is sensible other then buying the monitor and check it after spending money? I mean any easy simulated test?

Thanks in advance...
 
It seems that ASUS still hasn't gotten the bezel fitting issue down that most major players worked out years ago and a lot of their screens still have the 'bezel pinch' bleed issue. Sad to see otherwise perfect screens being wasted because of this.
 
Just got mine. The bezel build quality is definitely a lot sturdier than my Samsung S27A850D. It is indeed semi-glossy. It can be raised as high as the 850D, but the Asus can go lower, which is useless imo.

I'm one of those people who can't see PWM dimming.

It comes with the brightness cranked, but the colours are very accurate, though it is too red just like my Samsung S27A850D was, however the Asus has more accurate gamma. Some may prefer the extra punch the Samsung offers, though it comes at the price of minor black crush. Scenery & Theater offer oversaturated colours for those who are after that.

Mine has a bit of bleeding at maximum brightness in 3/4 of the corners, my 850D has better uniformity.

Make sure to change the Trace Free (overdrive) to 40 since 60 (default) causes obvious overshoot
 
Last edited:
Been lurking here for a week or two. Based on the TFT Central review, I pulled the trigger on one from NCIX. Hopefully can pickup tomorrow at the local retail counter, as they are showing two in stock. Some things I'll comment on. Back light bleed appears to be good on this build. Some have bad ones, not unexpected. Anti Glare is top notch. Not too much, just enough. Out of the box color/gama is not great, typical Samsung. With tweaking it's stellar, better than comprable panels. Response time and Lag are in the upper end of statistics, so a great panel for folks who are used to 60hz(the majority of monitors out there.) I really dont see PWM as a deal breaker, it's so prevalent, and not really noticable unless you are sensitive to it. I would have loved USB 3.0 hub, but that's the price differential right there. I know I will see this technology cheaper in the coming months, but for me, right now, The Price Is Right.
 
It's pretty much as good as monitors get, it's just the PWM flicker may be an issue. Most displays these days have QC issues and so far this thing has far less than the Dell U2713...it's a winner.
 
How to know if one is PWM flicker sensible?

Does Apple Cinema display have it? I could test in on a store near me...
 
tfouto said:
How to know if one is PWM flicker sensible?
Click to expand...

Most people are - they might not notice the flicker, but they get eye fatigue and headaches and that sort of reactions.

Gamers will notice when doing fast movements

tfouto said:
Does Apple Cinema display have it? I could test in on a store near me...
Click to expand...

Some sources say that Apple display products are all flicker free - cant say if their new Thunderbolt LED monitor is too ?

you need to do some research on that one ;)
 
mmaker said:
best on what exactly, u2711 is the worst homeuser screen imo, got oversatured colors, slow input lag och bad ag coating. But whatever makes you happy :)
Click to expand...

Performance vs Price (at least here in Denmark were i live)
100% sRGB and 96% AdobeRGB for 900-1000$ is a good price here

Colors look beautiful and i like the saturaiton - shifting through the preset modes will let you choose whitebalance and saturation differences - and then theres a User preset were you get to decide. Maybe you are just used to TN panels and don't appreciate colors ?? :D

Total lag is 23ms and pixel update is 6ms (gtg) - i have no problems playing Battlefield3 on this monitor -- although i have never tried to play on TN panels, so i don't know if i would gain an advantage... I'd say the U2711 is good alround.

AG coating can be a little over the top but i prefer matte monitors over glossy anytime ! - really hate glossy monitors... though i would love to see a glossy mod of the U2711 to see how it looks.

3M makes display films and i've contacted them to see if they sell them to privates - with such a film i could mod the monitor and maybe get a better AG Coating - although i don't know if i dare do this :eek::eek:

I chose the U2711 now, because its the best choice at the given pricepoint in my country - i know "THE BEST" might have been a far reach :) - but after reading numerous reviews i'm happy about my choice.
 
Since I've been the one whining the most about PWM on this monitor... well I'm getting used to it. I know it's there, which is probably the majority of the issue, and yes, I can see the side effects, but only when I look for them.

I've tested at various brightness levels to see how much I see is truly side-effects of PWM. Even then, it usually required vertical objects in a high contrast to a background moving horizontally at a regular, moderate speed to make it noticeable. One test area was BF3 on Operation Firestorm, standing in the refinery, looking up at the tall tanks/silos/whatever and moving back and forth. Ignoring the (albeit very minimal) streaking, I could see the details 'breaking up' into sharp duplicated fragments panning across the view, and this effect goes away at 100 brightness. But in lower contrast, 'real gaming' situations, such as running along a wall and rounding a corner, where vertical edges of the wall slide to the periphery, I just could not detect an appreciable difference. Even after probably 50 passes around different walls/buildings, vehicles, etc, changing brightness between each, I couldn't detect it. Then, while actually trying to shoot people in the face, I noticed absolutely nothing.

So I guess if you like to play BF3 to stare blankly at buildings in the distance while shaking your virtual head back and forth, this monitor (or any other using PWM) probably isn't for you. :p

All that said, the good points of this monitor far outweigh whatever bad comes from PWM unless fluorescent lighting causes someone migraines, which means they must not have been using a CCFL-backlit LCD monitor...ever. My hopes on input lag weren't smashed, though I don't quite understand why the tftcentral review would test input lag with a tracefree setting of 100 when it's unusable in gaming scenarios...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top