ASUS PG279Q 144hz 1440P IPS G-Sync

How are the colors on this thing compared to a regular TN ROG Swift?
Been looking at the reviews on Amazon seems to be more positive then when first released.

I'm sorely tempted to pull the trigger and get this out of my system.

I love my NEC 2490wuxi but it's pushing 8 years old and I've had a taste of G-sync and higher refresh rates that's haunted me ever since. I have ot admit I am a bit put off by the QC and QA issues on way too many of these monitors and not just confined to Asus but I guess as an Amazon Prime customer it would be relatively hassle free.
 
It will be hassle free coming from Amazon. I played the monitor lottery with them and they were more than happy to send me exchange units free of charge.
 
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I would like to chime in here in regards to returning/exchanging monitors that Newegg Premier is hassle free as well. I purchased the Acer XB270HU from the egg last summer and it was a dud. Not wanting to wait for an exchange, I purchased a second unit, and it was perfect. Sent back the first one after having it a few weeks, and was refunded without question.

So, if you are looking to save a few bucks by avoiding sales tax via Newegg instead of Amazon, I highly recommend signing up for Premier.

Playing the lottery until you find a perfect unit is more than worth it for these panels!
 
Playing the lottery until you find a perfect unit is more than worth it for these panels!

This is why I keep sitting on the fence.

Something is wrong somewhere when everyone has to feel lucky to get a good panel. How many times did you have to spin the wheel before you got a good one?

For $800 and up it just shouldn't be that way IMHO. Even for less quite frankly.

I'd love to get this monitor or something like it but I definitely don't have a high confidence level. I am tracking what seems to be a sense of improvement on possibly later monitor build dates but it's sketchy.
 
Most people are going with the 27" Acer but I like ASUS when they work

I'm still debating between these two and a handful of others.

I still am working with the idea that the bulk of the issues are more the fault of the AU Optronics panel itself vs either Acer or Asus's but it's hard to gauge.
 
This is why I keep sitting on the fence.

Something is wrong somewhere when everyone has to feel lucky to get a good panel. How many times did you have to spin the wheel before you got a good one?

For $800 and up it just shouldn't be that way IMHO. Even for less quite frankly.

I'd love to get this monitor or something like it but I definitely don't have a high confidence level. I am tracking what seems to be a sense of improvement on possibly later monitor build dates but it's sketchy.

I agree, the fact that one must be mentally prepared to play the panel lottery to get a good sample, for a $800+ monitor, seems absurd. However, if one wants IPS + 144 Hz that seems to be the name of the game.

I had a Dell S2716DG that I ended up returning as I couldn't live with a TN panel coming from a IPS panel, even though the gaming features (144 Hz, GSYNC) were amazing. Neither the ASUS or ACER panels really grab me, so I'm waiting to see if Viewsonic's offering that is coming out in July will be an improvement.

Eizo has a 1440P, IPS, 144 Hz panel, but it's Freesync; if Polaris is a win that's always a possibility.
 
I agree, the fact that one must be mentally prepared to play the panel lottery to get a good sample, for a $800+ monitor, seems absurd. However, if one wants IPS + 144 Hz that seems to be the name of the game.

I had a Dell S2716DG that I ended up returning as I couldn't live with a TN panel coming from a IPS panel, even though the gaming features (144 Hz, GSYNC) were amazing. Neither the ASUS or ACER panels really grab me, so I'm waiting to see if Viewsonic's offering that is coming out in July will be an improvement.

Eizo has a 1440P, IPS, 144 Hz panel, but it's Freesync; if Polaris is a win that's always a possibility.

I just can't buy a monitor right now, as much as I want one :(

Im more than fine spending up to 1K, but I need 27", and I need Gsync, and I need IPS, and I need 144HZ, and I need sRGB.
Now, thats a hefty list of demands, but for 1K man... you would think its doable.

But the quality of these things appears to simply be horrendous. I do not understand.
 
I just can't buy a monitor right now, as much as I want one :(

Im more than fine spending up to 1K, but I need 27", and I need Gsync, and I need IPS, and I need 144HZ, and I need sRGB.
Now, thats a hefty list of demands, but for 1K man... you would think its doable.

But the quality of these things appears to simply be horrendous. I do not understand.


NEED!? For some perspective...The very first 27" 1440P G-Sync IPS came out by Acer just over a year ago. No, the specs aren't perfect. Yes, there are quality control issues. But the fact is that these monitors don't have to exist at all which means you don't have to buy them at all. If you want to wait, that's your prerogative. I can guarantee the future will be better: better video cards will be available to more easily drive 4K monitors. There will eventually be zero backlight bleed because a better technology than IPS will become available, and it will probably be much cheaper than it is today! On top of that, software will probably become more optimized and games will run even smoother in the future with less bugs than they do today.

So you have two options: fret about what's not perfect about today's tech and wait forever, or just learn to enjoy how awesome things are today.

Sorry, not trying to sound rude or harsh, but, I don't know...constantly obsessing over small issues over these "luxury" items on forums day in and day out are just silly to me.
 
NEED!? For some perspective...The very first 27" 1440P G-Sync IPS came out by Acer just over a year ago. No, the specs aren't perfect. Yes, there are quality control issues. But the fact is that these monitors don't have to exist at all which means you don't have to buy them at all. If you want to wait, that's your prerogative. I can guarantee the future will be better: better video cards will be available to more easily drive 4K monitors. There will eventually be zero backlight bleed because a better technology than IPS will become available, and it will probably be much cheaper than it is today! On top of that, software will probably become more optimized and games will run even smoother in the future with less bugs than they do today.

So you have two options: fret about what's not perfect about today's tech and wait forever, or just learn to enjoy how awesome things are today.

Sorry, not trying to sound rude or harsh, but, I don't know...constantly obsessing over small issues over these "luxury" items on forums day in and day out are just silly to me.
The issue isthe average build quality is complete trash. Uniformity and backlight bleed are beyond unacceptablE. They are terrible.
 
I bit the bullet and ordered the PG279Q from Amazon. It just arrived, and set it up with the optimum OSD measurements from the TFT central review. I've ran it through some very basic pixel checks, so far so good. What's interesting is the backlight bleed is only present in one very small spot in the bottom right corner, maybe 2 inches to the left of the power button. I detect a very small amount in the upper right corner, as well. But very very minor and doesn't look anything like the horror story photos I've seen before.

I'm considering getting a colorimeter and running this through a pass. My build date is January 2016, it did not have a QC passed sticker (still sealed from the factory), and it shipped to me from a warehouse in TX. I think I got one of the good ones. The IPS glow is way less distracting than on my Eizo EV2736W. I'm cautiously optimistic!!
 
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Just picked on up from Fry's. Manufacture date of February 2016. The serial number range falls outside of the range identified by Asus recently that had problems. No dead pixels, and no back light bleed. Very happy with it so far. Let see how it goes over the next few weeks. I hope Asus has finally got over the hump with the quality issues on this display.
 
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Mine as well is outside the SN range that was reported to have problems. I don't think I'll run any more backlight bleed/dead pixel tests on it as nothing is apparently wrong with the display; I'll use as normal and observe any defects if/when they occur.

I do think I'll be buying a Ergotron arm in the next week as I'm not a huge fan of the gamer accents on the default stand (I know the light can be turned off). I do appreciate how the front looks very non-descript, unlike the Acer Predator.
 
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I said I wouldn't do any backlight bleed tests until it became apparent it was an issue, so here I am. I noticed that the IPS glow in the lower right corner is a yellow tinge, compared to the typical silver which is apparent on the rest of the screen. I think it's the pretty heavy bleed in that corner coloring the glow. The bleed in the bottom left and upper right are imperceptible while looking at dark content as they are masked by the silver ips glow, and the bleed strength isn't enough to color those corners anything but silver.

This photo was taken at 25% brightness, and it's a crappy cell phone pic so it's overexposing the hell out of it, but it does look very similar in person. The bleed doesn't look as a horrid as other examples I've seen, but it's not exactly stellar either. Obviously it's only noticeable on black screens or dark content (loading screens). Worth playing the roulette on it? The rest of the panel is very nice, with colors looking indistinguishable from my Eizo.

Manufacture date was Jan 2016. Various photos shown below.

XufnZpGl.jpg


5zjdhmDl.jpg

6tzW4dkl.jpg
 
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My opinion is you paid $800 dollars for the thing, Asus should be able to make sure certain (pretty basic imo) things are in place.

To me, thats too much bleeding. But ultimately your the one who's using it and has to make the call.
 
NEED!? For some perspective...The very first 27" 1440P G-Sync IPS came out by Acer just over a year ago. No, the specs aren't perfect. Yes, there are quality control issues. But the fact is that these monitors don't have to exist at all which means you don't have to buy them at all. If you want to wait, that's your prerogative. I can guarantee the future will be better: better video cards will be available to more easily drive 4K monitors. There will eventually be zero backlight bleed because a better technology than IPS will become available, and it will probably be much cheaper than it is today! On top of that, software will probably become more optimized and games will run even smoother in the future with less bugs than they do today.

So you have two options: fret about what's not perfect about today's tech and wait forever, or just learn to enjoy how awesome things are today.

Sorry, not trying to sound rude or harsh, but, I don't know...constantly obsessing over small issues over these "luxury" items on forums day in and day out are just silly to me.

I'd take TN S2716DG (what I actually did) over these problematic ips panels any time of the day. Too many issues comparing to slightly less color vibrancy of TN (viewing angle is a ridiculous issue as no one is using the monitor to not look directly).
 
I'd take TN S2716DG (what I actually did) over these problematic ips panels any time of the day. Too many issues comparing to slightly less color vibrancy of TN (viewing angle is a ridiculous issue as no one is using the monitor to not look directly).
That's exactly what I said. And I bought the Dell first based the scary reviews and comments here and elsewhere for the 279Q. Having always used IPS monitors in the past, I tried to like the S2716DG, but I just couldn't get over the TN panel and the limited viewing angles. Not to mention the washed out colors when you go even the slightest bit off angle. The Dell is by no means a poor monitor, just sharing my personal experience.
 
I said I wouldn't do any backlight bleed tests until it became apparent it was an issue, so here I am. I noticed that the IPS glow in the lower right corner is a yellow tinge, compared to the typical silver which is apparent on the rest of the screen. I think it's the pretty heavy bleed in that corner coloring the glow. The bleed in the bottom left and upper right are imperceptible while looking at dark content as they are masked by the silver ips glow, and the bleed strength isn't enough to color those corners anything but silver.

This photo was taken at 25% brightness, and it's a crappy cell phone pic so it's overexposing the hell out of it, but it does look very similar in person. The bleed doesn't look as a horrid as other examples I've seen, but it's not exactly stellar either. Obviously it's only noticeable on black screens or dark content (loading screens). Worth playing the roulette on it? The rest of the panel is very nice, with colors looking indistinguishable from my Eizo.

Manufacture date was Jan 2016. Various photos shown below.

XufnZpGl.jpg


5zjdhmDl.jpg

6tzW4dkl.jpg
With IPS monitors this will always be an issue to certain extent. I rarely watch movies on the screen, it's mostly work related content, web browsing and gaming. In those scenarios I am rarely staring at a black screen. I've always been much more sensitive to dead pixels. (Even just one will throw me off! Once I know it's there, I can't deal with it! :D)

Obviously you have to decide but to me if you don't notice it under typically usage and there is no discoloration when viewing content, I'd be inclined to let it go. Mine has a slight IPS glow in the bottom right also but it's not yellow.
 
That's exactly what I said. And I bought the Dell first based the scary reviews and comments here and elsewhere for the 279Q. Having always used IPS monitors in the past, I tried to like the S2716DG, but I just couldn't get over the TN panel and the limited viewing angles. Not to mention the washed out colors when you go even the slightest bit off angle. The Dell is by no means a poor monitor, just sharing my personal experience.
Disagree. The color shifting of tn on a 27 in screen i terrible. High end 17 in tn show shifting from center to edge even with being dead center. Tn is trash above15-17 in
 
Disagree. The color shifting of tn on a 27 in screen i terrible. High end 17 in tn show shifting from center to edge even with being dead center. Tn is trash above15-17 in
Not observed. I don't know how do you need to sit to see the color shifting vertically. But I didn't come here to quarrel ;)
 
My opinion is you paid $800 dollars for the thing, Asus should be able to make sure certain (pretty basic imo) things are in place.

To me, thats too much bleeding. But ultimately your the one who's using it and has to make the call.

That's kind of my feelings. If this was $400 I wouldn't be so bothered by it.

With IPS monitors this will always be an issue to certain extent. I rarely watch movies on the screen, it's mostly work related content, web browsing and gaming. In those scenarios I am rarely staring at a black screen. I've always been much more sensitive to dead pixels. (Even just one will throw me off! Once I know it's there, I can't deal with it! :D)

Obviously you have to decide but to me if you don't notice it under typically usage and there is no discoloration when viewing content, I'd be inclined to let it go. Mine has a slight IPS glow in the bottom right also but it's not yellow.

It's the yellow that bothers me, which is from the big old bleed spot in that corner. The left corner has a hint of bleed, but not to such a degree that it colors that corner's glow. I do notice it under gaming scenarios with dark content, except for competitive FPS, but I can't really justify an $800 monitor that I'm satisfied with only in that edge case.

I'm pretty sure Amazon doesn't track the serial numbers on monitors, so I'm tempted to request a replacement and keep (for now) the nicer sample.

Is the bleed something that might improve in a week or so?
 
Not observed. I don't know how do you need to sit to see the color shifting vertically. But I didn't come here to quarrel ;)
Yeah for me it wasn't color shifting as much as contrast shifting. That would vary regularly even leaning back in my chair.
 
Yeah for me it wasn't color shifting as much as contrast shifting. That would vary regularly even leaning back in my chair.

Maybe it was a problem for some earlier batch as I need to put my hd on the table to start getting some contrast shift.
 
It's the yellow that bothers me, which is from the big old bleed spot in that corner. The left corner has a hint of bleed, but not to such a degree that it colors that corner's glow. I do notice it under gaming scenarios with dark content, except for competitive FPS, but I can't really justify an $800 monitor that I'm satisfied with only in that edge case.

I'm pretty sure Amazon doesn't track the serial numbers on monitors, so I'm tempted to request a replacement and keep (for now) the nicer sample.

Is the bleed something that might improve in a week or so?
That I don't know. I am just not informed enough about the monitor technology to know if that is something "fixes itself". I have read anecdotally on Reddit that waiting a few weeks to "burn in" does lessen some of these effects, but I can't be sure.
 
This is weird. I requested a replacement from Amazon, but now the unit I have seems to have its orange glow lessened. It could entirely be me getting accustomed to it.

And yes, I've read the same thing on Reddit. Who knows if it's the placebo effect or not. How are you finding your PG279Q? Notice any bleed?
 
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The yellow tint in the corners lessens with time. Strange but true. I had some yellowish tint on my Acer Predator, now after nearly a year of use it is no longer yellow. It has become the rather standard silverish tint. Very slight and unnoticeable in the vast majority of gaming situations.

I'll also add that this is far and away the best gaming monitor I've ever used. The drawback of some IPS glow is negated by how amazing the colors and motion truly are. No way I would go for a TN when such lush vibrancy is available with nearly identical motion fluidity. Games have become cinematic experiences. I'm finding myself going back and firing up some older titles and enjoying them in a completely superior way over my initial plays. Currently I'm going through Metro 2033, maxxed out at a silky smooth 120-144FPS.

I'm just amazed. Totally worth the $800 IMO.
 
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The yellow tint in the corners lessens with time. Strange but true. I had some yellowish tint on my Acer Predator, now after nearly a year of use it is no longer yellow. It has become the rather standard silverish tint. Very slight and unnoticeable in the vast majority of gaming situations.

I'll also add that this is far and away the best gaming monitor I've ever used. The drawback of some IPS glow is negated by how amazing the colors and motion truly are. No way I would go for a TN when such lush vibrancy is available with nearly identical motion fluidity. Games have become cinematic experiences. I'm finding myself going back and firing up some older titles and enjoying them in a completely superior way over my initial plays. Currently I'm going through Metro 2033, maxxed out at a silky smooth 120-144FPS.

I'm just amazed. Totally worth the $800 IMO.

Did you ever see the top quarter of your screen being yellow on white screens? That was the only reason I returned this monitor. Otherwise, I was quite happy with it.
 
I think I'll try out the Acer panel. Or give up on the whole mess. My replacement panel came in today. January 2016 build date, this time with a QC passed sticker on it. Blacklight bleed is comparable to my first unit. Seems to occur in more spots but the intensity isn't quite as much. Le sigh.
 
Did you ever see the top quarter of your screen being yellow on white screens? That was the only reason I returned this monitor. Otherwise, I was quite happy with it.

No. Although I have read a few complaints about yellowish whites, mine does not have this. Whites are uniform across the screen, and were from day one. The initial yellow tint I described was IPS glow on completely dark screens.

I certainly would have returned mine if it had this issue.
 
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No. Although I have read a few complaints about yellowish whites, mine does not have this. Whites are uniform across the screen, and were from day one. The initial yellow tint I described was IPS glow on completely dark screens.

I certainly would have returned mine if it had this issue.
I certainly do not doubt that these monitors have QA issues, simply because Asus acknowledged as much with their statement and increased manufacturing standards. However this is the internet where the loudest negative voice gets the most attention. Most buyers who are happy with their purchase don't come to internet forums to complain. IPS glow and BLB do happen and some people see it easily while others simply don't know what to look for and just enjoy the monitor.

Don't get me wrong, I am not disparaging anyone here. If you pay $800 you DESERVE to get a high quality product free of defects. (Years ago I went through a few Dell IPS monitors due to banding issues that Dell later acknowledged and replaced hassle free). But there is also just some "nature of the beast" facts with respect to these high res/high MHz IPS screens right now. Asus in their statement mentioned this. My point is, it's quite possible that some people will NEVER win the "panel lottery" right now due to their individual sensitivities and tolerance levels.
 
With all do respect in regards to think display...its quality control is bad and not normal at all. I have bough 6 dell ips. Andonly one issue with onenscreen and its sparatic enough its not worth rmaing. These screens are terrible in terms of consite cy and quality
 
I'll throw in my two cents. I picked up the PG279Q up from Fry's two weeks ago. Manufacture date of February 2016. The serial number range falls outside of the range recently identified by Asus as having problems. No dead pixels, and no back light bleed that I can see. Very happy with it so far. I hope Asus has finally got over the hump with the quality issues for this display.

With that said, I know some people are SUPER sensitive to the IPS glow and backlight bleed stuff. If I sit here and stare at a black screen long enough, I'm sure I could find some small "bleed" or "glow". But I have also seen varying level of this with every IPS monitor I've ever owned. 99.9% of the time this "imperfection" is never visible nor does it detract from my enjoyment of the monitor. I also don't jack up my brightness to 100 and take pictures of it all night in a dark room. I have a small lamp on my desk for bias lighting, use the TFT Central recommended calibration settings, and their ICC profile. I understand everyone has different tolerances for this stuff, but I am perfectly happy with this monitor. Not to mention the 144Hz/G-Sync is really something amazing to behold. I'll never buy another monitor again without this feature. Really does bring games alive. I sound like a commercial, but it's true. :D
 
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I read this on New Egg today supposedly they go through a darkened room at the plant and look for Back LIght Bleed.



Manufacturer Response:


Dear

Hello, I would like to thank you for taking your time in writing this review. We certainly value your feedback. It is unfortunate to hear that your monitor is suffering from back light bleed and cannot achieve more anyhting above 144hz. Sorry for the inconvenience this caused you. Have you tried calibrating your monitor's brightness settings to see if that helps with the back light bleed? I understand that since you're using sRGB, but have you tried? Just for your informatuion, every NEW PG279Q sold in North America must now pass a visual inspection in a darkened environment before it’s shipped to a vendor. This will help with the back light bleed issues. If your unit qualifies, we might be able to do an exchange for you. Please contact me at [email protected], so I can provide you with more details regarding this and possibly help you out to get you a unit that you desire. I'm here to assist our customers with our products and dedicated in bringing a resolution to all issues that they may come across. Your case for reference is N160481984

Thanks for choosing ASUS

Regards,
Justin
ASUS Customer Loyalty
 
I read this on New Egg today supposedly they go through a darkened room at the plant and look for Back LIght Bleed.



Manufacturer Response:


Dear

Hello, I would like to thank you for taking your time in writing this review. We certainly value your feedback. It is unfortunate to hear that your monitor is suffering from back light bleed and cannot achieve more anyhting above 144hz. Sorry for the inconvenience this caused you. Have you tried calibrating your monitor's brightness settings to see if that helps with the back light bleed? I understand that since you're using sRGB, but have you tried? Just for your informatuion, every NEW PG279Q sold in North America must now pass a visual inspection in a darkened environment before it’s shipped to a vendor. This will help with the back light bleed issues. If your unit qualifies, we might be able to do an exchange for you. Please contact me at [email protected], so I can provide you with more details regarding this and possibly help you out to get you a unit that you desire. I'm here to assist our customers with our products and dedicated in bringing a resolution to all issues that they may come across. Your case for reference is N160481984

Thanks for choosing ASUS

Regards,
Justin
ASUS Customer Loyalty

interesting....lets see how that helps QC. I need to buy one in the near future. I wonder when that started.
 
FWIW I just pulled the trigger on a new one of these from Newegg, should arrive early next week. I'm pairing it with an ASUS ROG G20-Z71 (Geforce 980). Plus completes the Asus theme whatever that's worth. I'll give you guys my thoughts/impressions when it arrives, as well as build date, etc :)
 
Anyone purchase this in Canada from NCIX? From whom did you price match with (in-store?)?
 
Anyone purchased from Newegg or Amazon lately and tell me the month of manufactor you got? Id like to buy one from the store with the nest stock.
 
Do any local stores like best buy carry these monitors? Really want to check them out locally
 
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