ASUS Announces ROG SWIFT PG278Q Premium Gaming Monitor

I would like to get 3 of these. I'm not going to pretend my two Titans can handle 3 of these maxed out, but I believe G-Sync may allow for a very playable feel on surround resolutions. But my worry would be the color shift. I've read it's bad on TN on just a single 27'' monitor or larger, let alone 3 of them. Anyone running TN panels this size in Surround or Eyefinity?
 
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blade52x said:
I would like to get 3 of these. I'm not going to pretend my two Titans can handle 3 of these maxed out, but I believe G-Sync may allow for a very playable feel on surround resolutions. But my worry would be the color shift. I've read it's bad on TN on just a single 27'' monitor or larger, let alone 3 of them. Anyone running TN panels this size in Surround or Eyefinity?
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Think you can handle this kind of shift?

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/images/asus_rog_swift_pg278q/viewing_angles.jpg
 
Vega said:
Yes, the Eizo isn't the fastest on input lag, but I'd like to know the input lag of the Swift in 120 Hz ULMB mode to really compare. This monitor seems to shine more in the role of G-Sync versus ULMB IMO.
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Gotta say, I really appreciate your POV on this. You've been awfully quiet about this monitor til now and I see why, you weren't sure about it.

I'm also a bit shocked at the low luminance of this supposedly brighter native version of Lightboost. My hunch is that the backlight bleed at the panel edges starts to play a role as you increase backlight brightness for strobing. I'm fairly sure likewise that the strobe brightness of the FG2421 has something to do with the strange bleed effects those monitors often exhibit.

Was planning on using the Swift without ULBM or Gsync. Insane. I know.

PLEASE EIZO MAKE A 1440P AMVA Foris. Sharp! More weird ass panels please!
 
Armenius said:
Just read through the whole thing. Looks like this monitor really delivered on its promises. Really impressed with the colour performance for this TN panel. Should be a great upgrade from my VG278HE. Only two more weeks!
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Slight disappointments that the ULMB works with the 120Hz setting at most, not that most people probably notice any real difference between 120 and 144 Hz.

I'll most likely order one but I think the only real issue will be the viewing angles and associated color shift. On older (22") Dell TN displays at work I've found it annoying while on the 15" Dell laptop I haven't noticed any of those issues despite it also being a TN screen.

I wonder how the ULMB vs G-Sync setting is enabled or disabled, techinically (driver telling display to not allow ULMB?)? Could a future Nvidia driver update allow both at the same time? Is upgrading the firmware on the G-Sync component in any way possible?
 
Can't wait for Blur Busters to hit this thing, too. I'm glad we're finally getting some solid intel.
 
For G-sync and ULBM to work together the backlight would constantly have to be changing it's strobing frequency and I think it is pretty unlikely we will ever see that. It's certainly doable, but just not very design friendly. I suspect it would cost more to accomplish than any manufacturer would be willing to invest. Such a marriage of tech. will ikely come in the form of VR sets like the rift.
 
I guess I'm glad that it does live up to the hype of being a higher-end/"premium" TN panel (looking mainly at color and contrast) but, considering the price mainly, I'm still not sure (for purely gaming purposes) if I want to invest in this instead of a BenQ XL2411Z for less than half the price as my first >60Hz monitor. And then there are options like the Overlord Tempest X270OC which was reviewed recently here. Also $$$ cheaper but lacking some of the features of the other two but also adding some of its own.
 
blade52x said:
I would like to get 3 of these. I'm not going to pretend my two Titans can handle 3 of these maxed out, but I believe G-Sync may allow for a very playable feel on surround resolutions. But my worry would be the color shift. I've read it's bad on TN on just a single 27'' monitor or larger, let alone 3 of them. Anyone running TN panels this size in Surround or Eyefinity?
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G-Sync doesn't work in surround, but ULMB will. I've used ton's of TN panels in Surround/Eyefinity, the viewing angles can be quite distracting.
 
The PG278Q seems decent aside from the matte coating, viewing angles, gamma shift, and inner black bezel which makes blacks look grayish and dark scenes look washed out by comparison (not mentioned in the review, but this is true for all monitors which use 'frame-less' casings). They were smart enough to use a matte bezel, but ruined it by option for the 'frame-less' casing.
 
bAMtan2 said:
where are all the IPS nazis with their ebay monitors? did they fall into a pit of eternal despair after being consumed by the god of TN?
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We wait....and when the time is right we will crush you, coming from an angle you cannot see clearly.
 
Q-BZ said:
^^ With the continued caveat of: "If you win the Eizo panel roulette" on the FG2421.
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And the Eizo is 23.5" and 1080p.

I finally read the whole review, and there is no monitor like this. That it's a TN panel with imperfect viewing angles is not new information. That ULMB (lightboost 2.0) cuts brightness is not new information. What's new is that this is the biggest, fastest, and best gaming monitor ever.

I wonder if we get automatic gsync - ulmb switching in upgraded drivers for this version of the hardware, or the next...
 
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Vega said:
Honestly, as a user that loves fast PC's and the ultimate motion clarity I am really only interested in ULMB mode. Having said that and TFTCentral hinted at it, the brightness levels under ULMB are woeful.

You would definitely have to treat this screen like a projector. Some comparisons with IMO the only other "gaming" monitor worth anything out there, the Eizo FG2421.

Ok, so the Swift at 100% brightness and a ULMB pulse duration of 1.9ms (brightest) has a luminescence of 123cd/m2, black point of .014cd/m2 and a contrast of 876:1.

It's motion clarity should be just slightly better than the Eizo as the Eizo has a pulse duration of ~2.3ms. But with that comparison, look at the rest of the Eizo stats:

Turbo240-On, luminescence of 258cd/m2, black point of .06cd/m2 and a contrast of 4290:1. So it's over twice as bright and the image quality just hammering the Swift.

I got very excited when I first saw the chart of the pulse duration of .25, .5, .875. Those would provide EPIC motion clarity results. Until I looked down at the next chart and saw the associated brightness levels.

You may be able to squeeze by in a pitch black room gaming at 50% and 62cd/m2, but for most users that will be too dark. 75% at 92cd/m2 is about the reasonable minimum for a dark room (that produces a very similar result to 10% Lightboost from the VG248QE and it's associated 1.4ms strobe length Lightboost). In a light controlled room at night, the 100% brightness of 123cd/m2 will most likely be the mode used by those who prefer ULMB mode over G-Sync.

Now using the monitor during the daylight even with the blinds closed in most peoples rooms I think will be quite difficult for gaming under that luminescence level. Even at 258 cd/m2 of the Eizo (over twice the brightness), it appears just enough.

To summarize my thoughts: the epic pulse duration settings for motion clarity are too dim to use. At max brightness, the screen in ULMB can be used during the night and in a light controlled room, but won't be adequate during the daytime for competitive gaming even in a light controlled room. That is, unless someone goes hog wild and blocks virtually all outside light.

Also, not sure how Asus plans to allow people to use 3D with this thing. Since those shutter glasses block out half the light from the eyes, we are talking a max of around 60cd/m2 during 3D. Can only be used in pitch darkness really, and will still be fairly dark image.

Yes, the Eizo isn't the fastest on input lag, but I'd like to know the input lag of the Swift in 120 Hz ULMB mode to really compare. This monitor seems to shine more in the role of G-Sync versus ULMB IMO.
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So BenQ 27" with ULMB > Asus ROG 27" for motion clarity :confused:
 
I like how it has a matte bezel. The glossy bezels they use on monitors now days are annoying as fuck. You would think they would make the bezels matte when they put a matte coating on the damn screen.
 
kuhla said:
I guess I'm glad that it does live up to the hype of being a higher-end/"premium" TN panel (looking mainly at color and contrast) but, considering the price mainly, I'm still not sure (for purely gaming purposes) if I want to invest in this instead of a BenQ XL2411Z for less than half the price as my first >60Hz monitor. And then there are options like the Overlord Tempest X270OC which was reviewed recently here. Also $$$ cheaper but lacking some of the features of the other two but also adding some of its own.
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Im still leaning heavily to the BenQ as well for half the money. The color is much better out of the box on the Asus but the BenQ is pretty good especially when calibrated and again, for HALF the price.
 
You can't compare a 1080p BenQ versus the Swift. Huge difference.
 
Vega said:
You can't compare a 1080p BenQ versus the Swift. Huge difference.
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When one is around $400 and the other is around $800 you can.

The BenQ is 1080 so you lose a little real estate but have an easier load on your GPU so you're more likely to take advantage of 120 Hz refresh rate without needing to spend $1000 on GPU's. The BenQ has worse color out of the box but after calibration it's very good. Neither use PWM dimming and both have extremely low lag and extremely high response. So basically from what I can tell is that extra $400 gets you slightly better picture, G-Sync and 2560x1440 resolution. The Swift is most definitely the better monitor but I'm not sure it's twice the price better.
 
bAMtan2 said:
http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/content/asus_rog_swift_pg278q.htm#comparison

where are all the IPS nazis with their ebay monitors? did they fall into a pit of eternal despair after being consumed by the god of TN?
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Most of the pro-IPS people around here are simply pro-monitor. That's me anyway. I tend to like monitors even when they have weird issues specific to their design. But if I had to rank what you can get ahold of RIGHT now, the FG2421 and Overlord/Catleap would be close. For twitch high speed gaming the FG2421 is far better. For slow panning all the way up to twitch the Overlord type AH-IPS are the best looking by far, mostly just by default because they look good at 120Hz and they are also 1440p. Like the FG2421, they are niche and have no direct competitors outside of the small group they are all in.

I like the FG2421.
I like the Korean Overclocking monitors.
I like fast TNs, too. But the firmware bug on the Benq z series was quite noticeable in my opinion.

There weren't any TNs @1440p at all until now. So a lot of the pro IPS people, if they are still pro-IPS just don't want to buy another monitor right now OR just absolutely are unwilling to sacrifice uniformity and viewing angles for native 120Hz and ULBM or Gsnyc.

No one ever discusses the lack of quality in recent 3D TNs like the ASUS VG278H. Aside from the terrible backlight bleed 2 of these units displayed, I liked them a lot. Reading user reviews confirms my experience.
 
Bluesun311 said:
Most of the pro-IPS people around here are simply pro-monitor.
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Incorrect.

I'm pro 118$ Tommy Bahama Hawaiian Shirt.

----

The BenQ XL2720G doesn't use the stupid frame-less casing which ruins the perceived black levels, but is 1080p...
 
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NCX said:
The PG278Q seems decent aside from the matte coating, viewing angles, gamma shift, and inner black bezel which makes blacks look grayish and dark scenes look washed out by comparison (not mentioned in the review, but this is true for all monitors which use 'frame-less' casings). They were smart enough to use a matte bezel, but ruined it by option for the 'frame-less' casing.
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inner black bezel which makes blacks look grayish and dark scenes look washed out by comparison
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Maybe paint the innner bezel? Or finely cut some painter's tape to fit with a razor (measured not cut near the monitor face lol). Color that tape whatever color you want first (dark grey perhaps), apply it to the chamfered inner bezel "frame" carefully. No more "blacker than the screen's black" bezel

"aside from the matte coating"
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-- yes that is a shame, I would prefer glossy but might be able to live with it.

viewing angles, gamma shift
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[strike=]viewing angles, gamma shift[/s] <-- pretty much any 1ms gaming TN with backlight strobing(and or g-sync) you are going to have to compare it to, and all at 1080p.
The only other motion clarity monitor in the same arena is the VA panel eizo FG2421, which is "only" 1080p and has no g-sync dynamic hz option. Also possibly using lower grade panels from eizo's higher end line it's been said, and also has been said that there is somewhat of a panel lottery with them vs issues (crosshatching, weird color on one side, blocking, etc).
 
Martha Stewart said:
So you would buy the BenQ over the ROG?
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I'm not interested in either of them now and I already own a few overclock-able 27" 1440p IPS and PLS panels.

The ROG was 3ft under by default since it uses a TN panel, but Asus dug a deeper hole by opting for a grainy matte coating/typical 144hz TN coating and frame-less casing. I assumed the PG278Q would use a semi-glossy coating.

elvn said:
Maybe paint the innner bezel? Or finely cut some painter's tape to fit with a razor (measured not cut near the monitor face lol).
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I taped my Qnix's inner black bezel before (picture of Korean monitors with the bezel removed) in order to cover the inner black bezel before I painted the bezels (glossy vs matte bezel thread). It's easy to do and might be a good solution for critical users.
 
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Had to chuckle when I read vega's quote about "unless someone goes hog wild and.."
- considering the extremes he has gone to in his many setups. :p

I'm on the fence now. Optionally the eizo, if you get a good one, would be far less demanding of a resolution and would get you (me) by until the oculus rift - while being considerably cheaper and having much better black levels than the PG278Q(but no g-sync/dynamic hz option). The problem with the eizo is it's size. I love my samsung A750 27" panel. Also 2560x would be nicer overall going forward even if much more demanding.

I'll read more about this monitor and hopefully feedback from people who buy it before I decide. Worst case I keep the samsung until the oculus rift is released.
 
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Does refresh rate impact the frame rate at all? I keep reading "you need a powerful graphics card" for all of these high hz monitors but that doesn't make sense to me. I understand that if the game is running at 60 fps then 144 hz will have no benefit, but will it actually hurt performance to keep the refresh rate at 144 hz all the time even if the games aren't reaching 144 fps?
 
jaguax said:
Does refresh rate impact the frame rate at all? I keep reading "you need a powerful graphics card" for all of these high hz monitors but that doesn't make sense to me. I understand that if the game is running at 60 fps then 144 hz will have no benefit, but will it actually hurt performance to keep the refresh rate at 144 hz all the time even if the games aren't reaching 144 fps?
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Since 60 hz isn't mathematically matching 144 hz, then it'll "studder" a little. Though I think that 72 hz would look just fine on this monitor - it just won't look butter smooth. High-refresh capable monitors are kind of pointless if you don't have the horsepower to generate those framerates to match.
 
jaguax said:
Does refresh rate impact the frame rate at all? I keep reading "you need a powerful graphics card" for all of these high hz monitors but that doesn't make sense to me. I understand that if the game is running at 60 fps then 144 hz will have no benefit, but will it actually hurt performance to keep the refresh rate at 144 hz all the time even if the games aren't reaching 144 fps?
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It won't hurt performance, but you'll get tearing and stutter. But that is what GSync is for. It dynamically changes the refresh rate to match the framerate you're getting in the game, essentially, which gets rid of the visual and input anomalies that VSync has.
 
jbltecnicspro said:
High-refresh capable monitors are kind of pointless if you don't have the horsepower to generate those framerates to match.
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THUS where GSYNC comes in. Its whats makes htis display $799 vs $599. People have to realize that Nvidia can and are able to charge a premium for this becasue no one else can offer it.

Im getting one without a second thought.
 
G-sync is really worth the asking price if screen tearing bothers the shit out of you like it does for me. I can't even tell you how many games G-sync benefits in this manner. Once you get use to it and go back to a monitor without G-sync and especially a monitor that can't do a 100+hz refresh rate it just feels awful going back to a standard 60hz monitor. Even a nice big 4k one.

When this does (finally) come out it'll be interesting to see how the QC is on the panel though in terms of picture quality. This is the only monitor I'm considering for an upgrade from my kit upgraded G-sync enabled ASUS 24 inch 144Hz monitor.
 
Drags said:
woop, finally a full review published at TFTCentral. just reading it all now!

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/asus_rog_swift_pg278q.htm
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Uch@medium AG coating, I could have lived with a light or semi-gloss coat but the fact that graininess is sometimes noticeable has put me off this monitor for the price premium it demands.

Vega are you going to offer an AG removal service? Otherwise might wait in hope that ASUS offer a semi-gloss version or to see whether Acer's 4K G-sync monitor is a better option for me.
 
Vega said:
G-Sync doesn't work in surround, but ULMB will. I've used ton's of TN panels in Surround/Eyefinity, the viewing angles can be quite distracting.
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That's a bummer. There's no way 2x Titans will be able to put the frame rates required for ULMB at 3x1440p resolution. I guess I'll just get one monitor for now then. I'm sure trying to push 120-144hz on a single 1440p will already be very tough. I did not know until I did the calculation just now, but 144hz at 2560x1440 is actually a tiny bit more demanding than 60hz at 4K.

I can't wait. I really like my BenQ 144hz (1080p) monitor, and I didn't mind the "poor colors" next to my U2713HM, but a resolution bump back to 1440p gaming will be very welcome.
 
bAMtan2 said:
Dcode said:
How does nVidia plan to deal with the display port issue?
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it has already been dealt with. they put displayport on their video cards
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I LOL'd :D.

If you mean the limitation of GSync to DisplayPort, my understanding is it is the only standard that can support the extra bandwidth and communication lanes needed by the FPGA to keep the monitor in sync with the video card.

Beyond that, it is also the only standard that could possibly support the bandwidth required for 2560x1440 resolution at 144 Hz. HDMI certainly couldn't do it, and I'm pretty sure DL-DVI-D supports a maximum of 2560x1440 @ 60 Hz.
Dcode said:
I am talking about the RGB problem when using displayport on their video cards.

https://forums.geforce.com/default/topic/699781/displayport-washed-out-color-limited-rgb-/

It might have already been resolved. It's been ages since I last looked at this issue.
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Ah. I should have refreshed the page before posting...

I think I heard that the RGB issue had been fixed in one of the 337 driver release. I'll have to go searching for more info on that.
 
elvn said:
----------------------------------------------
Maybe paint the innner bezel? Or finely cut some painter's tape to fit with a razor (measured not cut near the monitor face lol). Color that tape whatever color you want first (dark grey perhaps), apply it to the chamfered inner bezel "frame" carefully. No more "blacker than the screen's black" bezel
Click to expand...
NCX said:
I taped my Qnix's inner black bezel before (picture of Korean monitors with the bezel removed) in order to cover the inner black bezel before I painted the bezels (glossy vs matte bezel thread). It's easy to do and might be a good solution for critical users.
Click to expand...

Neat. Thanks for showing examples of it actually done.

That leaves a few gripes remaining.

-It's a TN, we all knew that (viewing angles ~ progressively dim (gradient) "shadow" band on top edge usually with how my viewing angle is). Much inferior black levels vs a VA panel of course too.

- matte coating. (I love glossy). I hope that Vega has some success removing the coating for himself and/or others. Very interested in seeing results of that if he ever does one.

- Not bright enough in ulmb mode without a "home theatre dark" movie viewing setup scenario.
Then again, the oculus rift is going to shut out the whole room so isolation tank black might not be so crazy for some game sessions.
You could always use g-sync mode as an option, which wouldn't lower the brightness like strobing does.
I'm also wondering if a monitor hood would help a bit.
monitor-hood_27inch.jpg
 
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This thread is like a long echo.... the same shit over and over...

I personally can't wait for this monitor. I am not picky, when it comes to obviously the best monitor when available. The reviews and first impressions are all stellar, and I've read/heard/watched nothing but positive from this monitor. Except this thread.... It's been awhile since I unsubbed a thread. But, I see no reason why I keep coming back here...
 
Zepharus said:
THUS where GSYNC comes in. Its whats makes htis display $799 vs $599. People have to realize that Nvidia can and are able to charge a premium for this becasue no one else can offer it.

Im getting one without a second thought.
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DERP! Forgot that this beast has GSync. I know, I know, major selling point of the monitor (among other things)... :eek:
 
Warrior said:
This thread is like a long echo.... the same shit over and over...

I personally can't wait for this monitor. I am not picky, when it comes to obviously the best monitor when available. The reviews and first impressions are all stellar, and I've read/heard/watched nothing but positive from this monitor. Except this thread.... It's been awhile since I unsubbed a thread. But, I see no reason why I keep coming back here...
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Nothing wrong with discussing tradeoffs and imperfections in a monitor before, - and perhaps more importantly after - people buy them and discussing it in threads. That's one of the main reasons for these threads, being informative (helping people decide on purchases, helping people get the most out of their purchases, etc.).

Plainly, there will be plenty of reason to keep viewing this thread to see owners report back on their purchases and experiences with them.
Being one of those owners as you seem to be set on, you'd be helping everyone else if you posted objective information about yours after you got it.
 
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