ASUS Announces ROG SWIFT PG278Q Premium Gaming Monitor

kasakka said:
I think your "contrast 100" setting is the problem. I haven't had to do anything with ULMB except lower the pulse width to around 90% where it doesn't affect brightness. Colors and brightness at this setting is roughly the same as what I get in non-ULMB with brightness at 20.

If with something like default settings, user color mode and low brightness sans ULMB you have tints then I think you got a lemon with poor color calibration because for me (and according to several reviews) barely any changes were needed to the RGB settings, just brightness reduced.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I appreciate the input. Reducing the contrast does not get rid of the yellow tinge, however I can reduce the contrast and then keep the blue channel at 100 and reduce the red and green channels. The end result looks about the same as doing it the other way around (keeping contrast at 100 and lowering all color channels with blue proportionally higher to red and green).

With my custom osd settings ULMB actually looks fine in between 90 to 100 pulse width, it's only when reducing it to ~50 that the image becomes uncomfortably dim.
 
It has been an odd transition for me from the Qnix 2710 to this ROG SWIFT. The matt screen and washed out colors were immediately evident and jarring. Firing up Bioshock Infinite and the extra smoothness was nice but I missed the deep accurate color especially the blue sky. Then I tried Advanced Warfare and its hella sweet. FFXIV was also sooo much better. So this display isnt just for FPS MMO's also benefit immensely. What used to be a smeary blurry headache inducing blur when panning the camera is now sharper smoother and actually fun to twirl the camera around. I haven't tried ULMB in game yet Im sure its sick but g synch 144 hz is where its at. The colors once adjusted arent at all bad but still not IPS omg pretty but who cares except for a static anime background screen.
 
Smokepiece said:
It has been an odd transition for me from the Qnix 2710 to this ROG SWIFT. The matt screen and washed out colors were immediately evident and jarring. Firing up Bioshock Infinite and the extra smoothness was nice but I missed the deep accurate color especially the blue sky. Then I tried Advanced Warfare and its hella sweet. FFXIV was also sooo much better. So this display isnt just for FPS MMO's also benefit immensely. What used to be a smeary blurry headache inducing blur when panning the camera is now sharper smoother and actually fun to twirl the camera around. I haven't tried ULMB in game yet Im sure its sick but g synch 144 hz is where its at. The colors once adjusted arent at all bad but still not IPS omg pretty but who cares except for a static anime background screen.
Click to expand...

I am still dealing with this same problem. I ADORE my Qnix monitors but the ROG is a just absolutely wonderful for gaming. However it simply can't hold a candle to the Qnix in terms of color reproduction.

I tend to switch based on the game I'm playing. For Skyrim its Qnix , all the lush colors (mods) and atmosphere beg for it. For any FPS game its ROG , for any RTS game its ROG. I think that's how I'll treat it from now on.
 
I just picked up one of these monitors from my local Fry's. Sadly they are out of stock or I'd have gotten three of them. After playing with one of them I think I'm in love with these. The color reproduction isn't great but then again I didn't imagine it would be with a TN panel. The smoothness of the image while gaming on this panel is just fantastic.
 
I couldn't take it any longer. I gave in to the scalpers and ordered 3. Really hope they all come in good condition.
 
I can tell you that color shifting when not staring straight at it is a problem.
 
Godmachine said:
I am still dealing with this same problem. I ADORE my Qnix monitors but the ROG is a just absolutely wonderful for gaming. However it simply can't hold a candle to the Qnix in terms of color reproduction.

I tend to switch based on the game I'm playing. For Skyrim its Qnix , all the lush colors (mods) and atmosphere beg for it. For any FPS game its ROG , for any RTS game its ROG. I think that's how I'll treat it from now on.
Click to expand...

You guys really need to stop keeping the different monitors next to each other. You're not doing yourself any service. Get rid of the IPS monitor and you'll stop noticing anything missing from the SWIFT in a day.
 
bAMtan2 said:
You guys really need to stop keeping the different monitors next to each other. You're not doing yourself any service. Get rid of the IPS monitor and you'll stop noticing anything missing from the SWIFT in a day.
Click to expand...

How about hell no? Why would I get rid of 3 perfectly functioning Qnix monitors that all run 120hz without a hitch? I use them for so many different tasks other than gaming.

You are suggesting that I'm just dealing with confirmation bias and its true I am (as are we all..) but the reality is that the ROG just isn't up to certain tasks based upon what I feel it excels at. Of course this is all "eye of the beholder" and such so its just opinion. I know people who can not tell the difference between a $100 monitor and a $1000 monitor and I'm sure you do as well.

There is always an impossible goal that your newly beloved product can never achieve. Its apart of the reality of technology. You wait for the technology you want then you find yourself wanting more at the same time.

"Time is a circle..." :D
 
Hello! I've been using my Swift for a week now and I'm still loving it. No backlight bleed and no dead pixels. There are however two stuck pixels (red & green) to the far right but I never notice them. I have the monitor at default settings but ULMB turned on at 10%. The motion clarity is utterly breathtaking.

However, what kind of brightness, contrast and color settings do you guys use?
 
Godmachine said:
There is always an impossible goal that your newly beloved product can never achieve.
Click to expand...

I'm hoping it won't be impossible for ASUS to release a glossy version of this monitor in the near future. The matte coating is the only thing holding me back and it's a damn shame because it has nothing to do with the technology. As it stands I guess I will wait another 6 months and hope for some competition to come along.
 
Godmachine said:
How about hell no? Why would I get rid of 3 perfectly functioning Qnix monitors that all run 120hz without a hitch? I use them for so many different tasks other than gaming.

You are suggesting that I'm just dealing with confirmation bias and its true I am (as are we all..) but the reality is that the ROG just isn't up to certain tasks based upon what I feel it excels at. Of course this is all "eye of the beholder" and such so its just opinion. I know people who can not tell the difference between a $100 monitor and a $1000 monitor and I'm sure you do as well.

There is always an impossible goal that your newly beloved product can never achieve. Its apart of the reality of technology. You wait for the technology you want then you find yourself wanting more at the same time.

"Time is a circle..." :D
Click to expand...

The problem with different types of monitors next to each other is it strains your eyes. Focusing from one type to the other is a good way to earn a headache ;)

NukeDukem said:
I'm hoping it won't be impossible for ASUS to release a glossy version of this monitor in the near future. The matte coating is the only thing holding me back and it's a damn shame because it has nothing to do with the technology. As it stands I guess I will wait another 6 months and hope for some competition to come along.
Click to expand...

I am a glossy slut too, but I noticed that if I run three Swifts in portrait that I don't notice the matte as much :p
 
You do focus differently on different types of monitors but you can train yourself to do it automatically after awhile. I used to do that with an LCD next to a fw900 crt for years. At least for me, I could feel my eyes shift automatically when I'd look at each different monitor after using them every day. It's the same with the swift's coating for me. I do modify all my stuff so that I'm not looking at bright/white backgrounds though wherever possible, and do most of my browsing and such on the ips.

I really have no reason to have games running on this monitor while not looking directly at it. IPS and TN are both inferior for black levels and detail in blacks for movies too. I don't watch those at my desk. When I'm using my ips, my chair is in front of it, if I'm gaming, my chair rolls in front of the swift. They each have their own keyboard and mice. Documents are usable on the swift without looking head on. Viewing any kind of media (artwork, wallpapers, photos, games..) I would be looking directly at either monitor so I don't expect sidelong viewability of media on a TN without exacerbating shift. Noone should. That said, I just ran a bunch of 2560x1440 wallpapers on the swift while typing this in front of the ips, and I've seen much worse shift/shadow. Part of the images do get shaded darker(or a part that was shaded slightly might go brighter) from sidelong view of around 45deg in my case. In my particular setup, in direct viewing the corners near the edge are TN "shaded", slightly, and mostly the two top corners. It's not obvious in general usage or gaming, mostly only if you wave your head around and up and down testing for shade to show up and "go away" depending on where your eyes are. However if you are putting these or any TN in portrait mode it would be really bad I'd think. Speaking of your viewing angle, a good ergotron arm would probably help if you absolutely needed to view it from not being directly in front of it. That is, pull it out and tilt it inward toward you so you would still be viewing it more directly when you are on the other monitor.

I don't get the people saying "washed out colors". The swift is very capable of lush color saturation when you tweak it. People saying that it was pale/washed out was my major concern before purchasing mine. Luckily this is not the case at all. I can drag images between or set the same image on both my glossy cinema display 2560x1440 ips and my swift so I am speaking from a direct comparison. The color would look a little more "wet" or "inky" were it glossy but you can make it very saturated. The color is great for gaming imo.

web-cyb.org: pg278q_color-gamut_toms-hardware.png

web-cyb.org: pg278q_black-depth-comparison_tft-central.png

web-cyb.org: pg278q_contrast-comparison_tft-central.png

web-cyb.org: pg278q_compared-to-other-lcds_tftcentral.png

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/asus_rog_swift_pg278q.htm

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/rog-swift-pg278q-g-sync-monitor,3897-8.html

It's really nice is having all of my monitors the same resolution height for the first time in years.
 
Last edited:
well I suppose I should say " I " do.

Coming from using a crt next to a lcd it was very obvious and I could feel my eyes shifting to view the crt differently from the LCD. The crt draws differently and was also not as bright as the lcd it was next to. I get a similar adjustment, though not as different obviously (unless you want to talk about ulmb mode on desktop), in switching between my glossy and the swift. I guess the best way to describe it is that my eyes sort of "sink" in to focus. In the case of the swift, focusing past the coating. I hope that explains it a little better. The same kind of thing is true of monitors at different distances. Again, in my case, my eyes/brain "learn" the difference and begin to switch automatically so there is not eyestrain in my case once I get used to it.
 
Last edited:
elvn said:
well I suppose I should say " I " do.

Coming from using a crt next to a lcd it was very obvious and I could feel my eyes shifting to view the crt differently from the LCD. The crt draws differently and was also not as bright as the lcd it was next to. I get a similar adjustment, though not as different obviously (unless you want to talk about ulmb mode on desktop), in switching between my glossy and the swift. I guess the best way to describe it is that my eyes sort of "sink" in to focus. In the case of the swift, focusing past the coating. I hope that explains it a little better. The same kind of thing is true of monitors at different distances. Again, in my case, my eyes/brain "learn" the difference and begin to switch automatically so there is not eyestrain in my case once I get used to it.
Click to expand...

Interesting.
 
elvn said:
I don't get the people saying "washed out colors". The swift is very capable of lush color saturation when you tweak it. People saying that it was pale/washed out was my major concern before purchasing mine. Luckily this is not the case at all. I can drag images between or set the same image on both my glossy cinema display 2560x1440 ips and my swift so I am speaking from a direct comparison. The color would look a little more "wet" or "inky" were it glossy but you can make it very saturated. The color is great for gaming imo.
Click to expand...

This has been my finding as well. Getting rid of my 34UM95 in favor of three Rog Swifts has been the best computer related decision I have made within the last 3 years. All of the knee jerk TN sucks IPS tards need to go suffer their childhood over with an Apple II monochrome display
2156475928_e645cd3a36.jpg
 
I got one. No dead pixels, no unusual bleed, small dark smudge in the lower right corner. V-sync is set to G-sync globally, native resolution, 144 Hz, with (2) 780 classifieds, stock DP cable, SLI on, Asus color profile, image mode set to normal, OD normal, contrast 50, brightness 20, Windows 7 Pro.

One annoying problem is every time I turn the display off, after it falls into deep sleep, I turn it back on and the desktop icons get rearranged. I suspect this has to do with Windows DPI scale being at 200% (I'm blind). Anyone else experience this? I replaced a Dell U3011 which did not do this but it has a scaler.

How to access service menu?
 
Last edited:
elvn said:
You do focus differently on different types of monitors but you can train yourself to do it automatically after awhile. I used to do that with an LCD next to a fw900 crt for years. At least for me, I could feel my eyes shift automatically when I'd look at each different monitor after using them every day. It's the same with the swift's coating for me. I do modify all my stuff so that I'm not looking at bright/white backgrounds though wherever possible, and do most of my browsing and such on the ips.

I really have no reason to have games running on this monitor while not looking directly at it. IPS and TN are both inferior for black levels and detail in blacks for movies too. I don't watch those at my desk. When I'm using my ips, my chair is in front of it, if I'm gaming, my chair rolls in front of the swift. They each have their own keyboard and mice. Documents are usable on the swift without looking head on. Viewing any kind of media (artwork, wallpapers, photos, games..) I would be looking directly at either monitor so I don't expect sidelong viewability of media on a TN without exacerbating shift. Noone should. That said, I just ran a bunch of 2560x1440 wallpapers on the swift while typing this in front of the ips, and I've seen much worse shift/shadow. Part of the images do get shaded darker(or a part that was shaded slightly might go brighter) from sidelong view of around 45deg in my case. In my particular setup, in direct viewing the corners near the edge are TN "shaded", slightly, and mostly the two top corners. It's not obvious in general usage or gaming, mostly only if you wave your head around and up and down testing for shade to show up and "go away" depending on where your eyes are. However if you are putting these or any TN in portrait mode it would be really bad I'd think. Speaking of your viewing angle, a good ergotron arm would probably help if you absolutely needed to view it from not being directly in front of it. That is, pull it out and tilt it inward toward you so you would still be viewing it more directly when you are on the other monitor.

I don't get the people saying "washed out colors". The swift is very capable of lush color saturation when you tweak it. People saying that it was pale/washed out was my major concern before purchasing mine. Luckily this is not the case at all. I can drag images between or set the same image on both my glossy cinema display 2560x1440 ips and my swift so I am speaking from a direct comparison. The color would look a little more "wet" or "inky" were it glossy but you can make it very saturated. The color is great for gaming imo.

web-cyb.org: pg278q_color-gamut_toms-hardware.png

web-cyb.org: pg278q_black-depth-comparison_tft-central.png

web-cyb.org: pg278q_contrast-comparison_tft-central.png

web-cyb.org: pg278q_compared-to-other-lcds_tftcentral.png

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/asus_rog_swift_pg278q.htm

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/rog-swift-pg278q-g-sync-monitor,3897-8.html

It's really nice is having all of my monitors the same resolution height for the first time in years.
Click to expand...
would you kindly clarify the part about document reading? It's usable only if you don't look at it head on? I'm not looking to do a multimonitor set up, and I'm a code monkey. So far only one person here had said it's okay for reading text, but what monitor isn't merely okay? Now my primary concerns is eye strains. I actually have eye problems related to computer vision syndrome.
 
What I meant was that the swift's TN shift isn't bad from 30 - 45 deg in landscape mode and so documents look fine from slight angled view and don't get a bad "solarized" inversion like effect that some TN's can get when viewed from too great an angle in portrait mode. Regarding head-on reading of documents - I don't read a lot of documents on the swift other than file manager listings in detail mode so far. I wouldn't want to be looking at documents with bright white backgrounds since they make the coating crystal sheen show worse, but I modify everything I can so that I won't have white backgrounds, even on my ips monitor.

I quick edit web pages on a site by site basis with the nosquint addon for firefox I posted a screenshot of earlier. The addon remembers edits per site or you can edit globally. Sites like hardforum's theme don't really need it with the dark background. I also change my windows theme, the background in my 3rd party file manager, 3rd party text/code editor, edit calibre e-book reader, chat app, etc to all be dark grey or medium grey with dark black text.

I find it fine for reading after I do that but if
light-medium AG "micro-frost" on any monitor bothers you for small text
you already have an eye condition
you can't modifty your most used text based apps to have darker backgrounds

-then it might not work for you, especially at default text size (depending how far away your eyes are from it).
 
Last edited:
CHANG3D said:
would you kindly clarify the part about document reading? It's usable only if you don't look at it head on? I'm not looking to do a multimonitor set up, and I'm a code monkey. So far only one person here had said it's okay for reading text, but what monitor isn't merely okay? Now my primary concerns is eye strains. I actually have eye problems related to computer vision syndrome.
Click to expand...

The swift is easy on my eyes and I do a lot of reading and report writing, but I prefer to run ULMB mode which is gentler on my eyes and the strobing effect does not bother me at all since its operating at 120hz.

I find the swift to be much better for work productivity because IPS displays TORCH my eyeballs whereas the Swift in ULMB mode makes whites nice and gentle. I can work for hours without any sort of eye strain or fatigue, which is something I could not say for any of the high end IPS panels I used unless I set their brightness levels down to unnatural levels.

The 120-144hz also comes in very handy when doing work productivity as mouse movements are precise and snappy. Working with 60hz displays over long periods of time feels like arthritis on the eyes.
 
http://www.legitreviews.com/asus-rog-swift-pg278q-g-sync-monitor-review_151277/4

NVIDIA G-Sync Enabled Monitors Available To Purchase in October 2014:

Acer XB280HK (28″ UHD, 60Hz) – $799.99 Shipped
Acer XB270HAbprz (27″ FHD, 144Hz) – $764.79 Shipped
ASUS PG278Q (27″ WQHD, 144Hz) – $799.99 Shipped
BenQ XL2420G (24″ FHD, 144Hz) – $649.99 Shipped
Philips 272G5DYEB (27″ FHD, 144Hz) – $599.99 Shipped

ASUS isn’t the only company out there with a G-Sync Monitor, but there are around five G-Sync monitors that you can go out and purchase this very second and they run between $599 and $799 with screen resolutions ranging from 1920 x 1080 (1080P) all the way up to 3840 x 2160 (4K). The ASUS PG278Q is without a doubt a feature rich monitor and most of the other brands 144 Hz gaming monitors are just Full HD (1920 x 1080). With all the features that the SWIFT PG278Q has over similar monitors it clearly stands out from the crowd and the extra cost is easily justifiable.
Click to expand...

http://www.blurbusters.com/gsync/list-of-gsync-monitors/
 
Wow didn't realize the 24 inch would be so ridiculously expensive..makes the 800 dollar Asus rog a must buy...not sure what to do
 
That just reinforces me buying the RoG monitor looking at that list...

My personal taste is that if it is a 1080p monitor, I want it 24", if it is a 27", I am going 1440p (I haven't seen any 24" 1440p's), which leaves it down to BenQ or Asus RoG...

$150 diff between two panels that have about 9:16 pixel count... even by eliminating the cost of a g-sync kit ($200) and compare $450 to $600, the pixel count of Asus RoG still wins, nevermind about PPI...

Any idea how the colors between the BenQ and Asus monitors compare?
 
When did the price of the Acer XB270HAbprz go up? It's been $600 for quite a while now, not $750 like that link says.
 
kuhla said:
When did the price of the Acer XB270HAbprz go up? It's been $600 for quite a while now, not $750 like that link says.
Click to expand...

Old info is old. That post was made before G-sync monitors made it to the market and we often also get a higher listed manufacturer MSRP than street price.
 
I was trying to post what g-sync monitors were avail as listed on a few sites more to see what was out there than what the prices were. I didn't individually search them all to affirm or the prices or anything. That legitreviews link was from last month so I'm surprised it's off by that much but that is just one model. Their general comment still sounds true, "they run between $599 and $799 with screen resolutions ranging from 1920 x 1080 (1080P) all the way up to 3840 x 2160 (4K)". $600 is still a good chunk of money twd a $800 swift but 1080p is a lot easier on gpu budget.
 
Has anybody heard anything regarding a comparable monitor anywhere in the works?

ULMB, 120hz, 1440p res
(or obviously "better" in any of those categories).

There's one of these available locally but it's a lot of $$$ and I wasn't desperate for it ASAP, wondering if its worth trying to wait or if nothing is even announced yet then I might as well buy it now and get the extra time's enjoyment out of it.
 
If you guys have a local Fry's Electronics, you might want to check there. I saw 2 of them out at my local Fry's, I think they just put them out of something. I didn't buy one though since I like glossy IPS panels.

They also have a one set up as a demo so it was kinda nice to play around with it.
 
I'm still experiencing this problem, with the latest drivers. Cleaned out the drivers completely and reinstalled.

xinux said:
My computer is always on, but I only turn on the swift when it's time to use it.
Seemingly randomly, when I turn on the screen, neither G-Sync or ULMB are working. G-Sync does not appear in the nvidia control panel, and ULMB is grayed out on the OSD.
I can disconnect and connect the Swift power cable to get ULMB working again, also the G-Sync pops up; but to get G-Sync actually working in games again, I need to restart my whole system.

If anyone experienced or read about anything similiar, please share.
Click to expand...

tldr; my g-sync dies and I need to restart my computer. Anyone?
 
have you tried using power saving in windows and letting the monitor time out instead? I never physically turn my monitors off.
You can also try disconnecting the dp cable and reconnecting it rather than restarting your computer.

This reminds me of my displayport issues, so even though it's not all related to your question, I'm going to relate my experience.

My samsung a750d 27" 120hz 1080p monitor was on a 25' long (+ 1' connector on monitor end) heavy gauge 24awg mini displayport run. It used to drop the signal completely on wakeup and I would have to break a F/M connector at my desk to reconnect it every time I wanted to use my gaming computer. That was a known issue with the samsung a750d though. Otherwise the long heavy gauge minidp run worked great off of my amd 6990 card, to both a 2560x1440 ips on minidp and the samsung a750d converted back to full size dp on a 1' or 1.5' minidp-to-dp cable at the monitor..

When I switched to a nvidia 780ti card, the long displayport run would blink occasionally and drop out completely once in awhile during use, and I was unable to run both my mini-dp 2560x1440 ips and the samsung 120hz monitors at the same time (the ips would not have any signal at all). I ended up moving my pc to the room above my gaming desk and running all the cabling down through the wall and ceiling. I have a large three panel desk and the gaming monitor is in the middle facet. A 15' displayport cable just reached the back of the samsung a750d with no breaks. Once I did that, I had both monitors working again with no blinks and only the samsung's on wakeup signal drop.

I heard a lot of things about 144hz g-sync only working on very short cable lengths.. reliably only 6', and that maybe 10' would work. Considering what I had experienced on my longer dp run, I suspect that nvidia's displayport signals are weaker as well so that was part of my concern. Nvidia seemed to be dragging feet about adding dp outputs on a lot of cards in the last few years. Amd has had dp connectors on cards for longer and has always had more outputs per card in the last few years, I don't know if that has anything to do with the difference in dp signal strength I experienced. Anyway, I was really hoping that the 15' length would work because I really don't want to have to sit on top of my pc case to use my monitors. That is a real step backwards in functionality for a modern display signal cable imo, as weak or weaker than a usb cable while heavy gauge hdmi/dvi can run 50'+ no problem. Luckily, long story long, the 15' run is working great to the swift. (It doesn't have the on wakeup signal drop issue that was particular to the samsung a750d either).
 
Last edited:
I seemed to have won the Newegg lottery on this monitor today and have a Fedex tracking number.. Assuming it doesn't have to be returned for all the reported flaws, what's the best setup for it?

I've currently got a 2560x1600 Dell 3014 surrounded by two of my old HP ZR24w's (1920x1200) in portrait mode. Do I just replace the 3014 with the PG278Q or put the PG278Q right next to the 3014 and drop the ZR24W's? My current video card is an EVGA GTX980 and I've got my existing 3 monitors all hooked up via displayport.

For Gsync to operate correctly, do I need to dedicate the GTX980 card to the PG278Q and use a different card for any other monitor?

Looking for some setup advice. I'm tempted to just build out a new PC and dedicate the new monitor to that for just games but that's a bit extreme even for me.
 
FYI, MicroCenter has these in stock. Just reserved 2 for in store pickup. My local store is still showing 5 in stock (after my order). Not sure about the others.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top