Asus ROG Swift PG278Q monitor, 1440p/144hz/G-Sync

First reviews are out and they are pretty much saying it's the best gaming monitor ever made.

Great design, flexibility, and fit/finish
Blacks and colors that are as good as possible with TN technology.
Lightning fast response and smoothness with G Sync

The only con seems to be price, but you're always gonna pay up for enthusiast level stuff.

OC3D gave it a 10/10 for performance and presentation.

Text review: http://www.overclock3d.net/reviews/gpu_displays/asus_rog_pg278q_swift_g-sync_monitor_review/4

Their extensive video review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgquRkMHgwE

It's at times like this that we wish we could take OC3D on tour and show you all how this ROG PG278Q Swift really breathes new life into a monster gaming rig. ASUS were wise to apply the ROG logo to this particular model, which has everything you could require from a big single display. It's fantastic and worthy of our OC3D Performance Award.
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KitGuru gave it a 9.5/10 and their "Must Have" award: http://www.kitguru.net/peripherals/...44hz-g-sync-monitor-w-gtx-780ti-rog-matrix/9/

“The Asus Republic Of Gamers Swift PG278Q 144Hz G-Sync is one of the best all round monitors we have tested in a very long time. Nvidia’s G-SYNC is a very welcome addition and in real world terms it helps removes any sign of tearing and stuttering.

We have been inundated with a slew of impressive Ultra HD 4K monitors in recent months and while the new ASUS PB287Q is a great 4K screen at a bargain price point, I would take the ROG Swift PG278Q any day of the week – even though it ‘only’ has a 1440p resolution.”
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I'm picking up one of these badboys as soon as it's available on Amazon and would be happy to give real world impressions and answer any questions you guys might have.

Cheers.
 
I want this bad boy so much, but I'm having such a hard time justifing paying so much money since I bought a 120Hz benq not so long ago.
 
UnaiGamer said:
I want this bad boy so much, but I'm having such a hard time justifing paying so much money since I bought a 120Hz benq not so long ago.
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I'll be keeping my Asus VG278H as a secondary monitor. It'll be handy for native 1080p content.

G-Sync is great for situations where the GPU can't keep up, but I'm more interested in the ULMB (strobing backlight) mode. I had been using the StrobeLight utility to trick the VG278H into doing the strobing backlight, but it's a bit flaky. ULMB is a much better implementation.

http://www.blurbusters.com/gsync/preview2/#ulmb

I wouldn't be running 144Hz in that mode though - no way my single Titan could keep up at 2560x1440 unless it's an old game. 85 or 100 could be doable if it supports it.
 
Raticus79 said:
I'll be keeping my Asus VG278H as a secondary monitor. It'll be handy for native 1080p content.

G-Sync is great for situations where the GPU can't keep up, but I'm more interested in the ULMB (strobing backlight) mode. I had been using the StrobeLight utility to trick the VG278H into doing the strobing backlight, but it's a bit flaky. ULMB is a much better implementation.

http://www.blurbusters.com/gsync/preview2/#ulmb

I wouldn't be running 144Hz in that mode though - no way my single Titan could keep up at 2560x1440 unless it's an old game. 85 or 100 could be doable if it supports it.
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Yeah, I can trick my monitor into doing strobing backlight too, but the colors get messed.

I also have a Titan, but I'm not really interested in running modern games in 144/120 FPS. The main reason I have my current monitor is that screen tearing is much harder no notice with v-sync off, and v-sync input lag is really low, no matter the framerate my game is running.

I think running games native at 2560x1440 I could really turn down AA, maybe use only some FXAA or something light, and the G-SYNC would be glorious to run heavy games at 40-60 FPS.

The more I think about, the more I want to buy this monitor, and to me it would be even more expensive, since I would have to import it from USA.
 
Did they have to shit up the design with that red accent on the base? ugh.\
They might as well have thrown in some blue LED's...

Sticking with my Eizo Flexscan for the foreseeable future.
 
I've been searching daily for updates about this monitor. Still haven't seen it posted for pre order anywhere except some freak on ebay asking for 1599 plus shipping lol. Anyway I can't wait shut up and take my money already. Want to be playing dragon age inquisition and the witcher 3 on this and also so older games from my past at 144fps. Sounds so awesome!!
 
Oh my goodness. I can only dream of getting one of those some day down the line.... Maybe during my GPU upgrade late next year when the GTX 980's drop. Get them in Sli and get the monitor......... too much

1363787599429.jpg
 
BloodMoney said:
Did they have to shit up the design with that red accent on the base? ugh.\
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You can turn that off in the settings.

Gojeran said:
I've been searching daily for updates about this monitor. Still haven't seen it posted for pre order anywhere except some freak on ebay asking for 1599 plus shipping lol. Anyway I can't wait shut up and take my money already. Want to be playing dragon age inquisition and the witcher 3 on this and also so older games from my past at 144fps. Sounds so awesome!!
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Yep! It's going to be glorious. Can't wait to try out G Sync for myself. I fucking hate tearing and stuttering. I think 2560x1440 is also a great resolution to play games at for the next few years. Noticeably better than 1080p, but without the the scaling issues or ridiculous GPU requirements of 4K.
 
I really want this monitor but I also know 4k is the future...

4k would give me a lot more pixel for when I am working (I work from home, so productivity would be awesome on 4k) but I wouldn't be able to run any games at that res with my current setup. I could run at 1080p (4 to 1 pixel ratio) but there wouldn't be any G-Sync (and 1080p is lower than what I game at currently)

1440p would still give me more room over my current monitor, would be easier to run still (still rocking a GTX 680 at the moment) and the G-Sync would mean that even if I'm running at 40 FPS I won't get the tearing/lag



I'll probably go with the 1440p screen in the end, rest of the setup just isn't ready for 4k yet...
 
Raticus79 said:
I wouldn't be running 144Hz in that mode though - no way my single Titan could keep up at 2560x1440 unless it's an old game. 85 or 100 could be doable if it supports it.
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That's why Gsync is so convenient. When you're running at a base refresh rate of 120hz, frame drops down to 60 or lower aren't nearly as jarring as they would be with just normal Vsync.
 
Gojeran said:
I've been searching daily for updates about this monitor. Still haven't seen it posted for pre order anywhere except some freak on ebay asking for 1599 plus shipping lol. Anyway I can't wait shut up and take my money already. Want to be playing dragon age inquisition and the witcher 3 on this and also so older games from my past at 144fps. Sounds so awesome!!
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If you're in North America, you'll be waiting for a few more weeks it seems:

"Hi, latest information is that North America is planning pre-orders with some partners from early August as its larger delivery of PG's are being shipped by boat, which takes longer than air transit sorry" - Asus ROG FB
 
riflen said:
If you're in North America, you'll be waiting for a few more weeks it seems:

"Hi, latest information is that North America is planning pre-orders with some partners from early August as its larger delivery of PG's are being shipped by boat, which takes longer than air transit sorry" - Asus ROG FB
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Awesome news is news so thanks for posting this! :)
 
I've been looking forward to this display for months. Sounds like the 8 bit panel prevents most of the major TN issues, although I'm still a bit worried about the vertical viewing angle. A lot of TNs have colors at a different shade at the top than the bottom because they're so bad at it.

Hope some reviews start coming in soon, the overclock3d and kitguru ones were positive but pretty much total crap in terms of review quality. I'd like to see someone with actual stats and numbers like Anandtech or Blurbusters.
 
riflen said:
If you're in North America, you'll be waiting for a few more weeks it seems:

"Hi, latest information is that North America is planning pre-orders with some partners from early August as its larger delivery of PG's are being shipped by boat, which takes longer than air transit sorry" - Asus ROG FB
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God dammit. First my Oculus DK2 gets delayed to August and now this. July is not the best month for my PC. Now that I know I'm getting this monitor, it makes me just want to stop the games I'm currently playing on my 1080p 120hz monitor and just wait because I know the experience is going to be so much better on this.

Oh well, consoles will get some playtime I suppose.
 
I would easily be crazy happy with this monitor for 5+ years (assuming there's not a radical shift in technology) so $800 for that is perfectly fine by me!

I want it. I want it so bad.
 
collige said:
That's why Gsync is so convenient. When you're running at a base refresh rate of 120hz, frame drops down to 60 or lower aren't nearly as jarring as they would be with just normal Vsync.
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Yea, it sounds the ideal 'no compromise' solution.

This monitor sounds brilliant, from the design/functionality of the frame and stand, to the image quality and performance capability, but shit, I don't think I could ever justify that much for a monitor.

I'll probably settle for one of the 1440p/120hz Korean models sometime next year when I do my GPU upgrade.
 
The positive impressions about picture quality have me actually kinda thinking about getting this. It's obviously expensive, but... well, you get what you pay for. I dropped like $600+ on a Dell 2407 back in 2007, and it's still the best monitor I've ever owned, by a mile. If dropping a lot of cash can buy me that kind of quality again, then I'm more than happy to do it.
 
What if you hit more than 144 fps with a game when using g-sync? Will it use v-sync (->lag), or will there be tearing?
 
collige said:
That's why Gsync is so convenient. When you're running at a base refresh rate of 120hz, frame drops down to 60 or lower aren't nearly as jarring as they would be with just normal Vsync.
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Yup, I know. Gsync's best for erratic FPS and sub-60 dips. I have a different scenario in mind though. Let's say there's a game where your rig can sustain ~90 FPS easily. Gsync gives you that ~90 FPS as frames are ready and handles drops nicely, but has continuous backlight (eye tracking blur). ULMB at 85 gives you 85 FPS with CRT-quality motion.

ULMB's also better when you can maintain 120 or 144 - if you don't need Gsync's variable frame times since you have fps capped, might as well get motion quality.

Bottom line is it has two great options to handle those different scenarios. Really looking forward to it.
 
Shame its too big and too costly for me. I'll stick with my Alienware Optx monitors.
Glad they are starting to make 1440p monitors with higher refresh though (not counting the cheap Korean monitors).
 
Durante said:
This part is true, but only because PVA is the superior technology. Both TN and IPS have shit contrast.
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PVA's shit color shift isn't worth it IMO. I'm only upgrading from this Dell of mine once the industry figures out those elusive, short-lasting blue OLEDs
 
Jinroh said:
What if you hit more than 144 fps with a game when using g-sync? Will it use v-sync (->lag), or will there be tearing?
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I don't know the answer to this, but I would be surprised if either of those options are used. It should be possible to drop unnecessary frames from the buffer to keep the frame rate at 144 without introducing more latency. Kind of like what's possible with vsync and triple buffering.

Anyone know the answer for certain?
 
Jinroh said:
What if you hit more than 144 fps with a game when using g-sync? Will it use v-sync (->lag), or will there be tearing?
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We would know if Asus sent those displays to proper review sites and not brainless morons who think it's enough to make bunch of nice pictures to call it a review.
 
Jinroh said:
What if you hit more than 144 fps with a game when using g-sync? Will it use v-sync (->lag), or will there be tearing?
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I found the answer to this query on blurbusters. Here's the post from their forum:

http://forums.blurbusters.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=52#p212

Basically, there will be added latency in G-Sync mode when you generate > 144 fps. 144 fps/144 Hz is the upper limit for G-Sync at this time, in this implementation. The input lag will be greater than if you use no sync at 144 Hz, but it's going to be really small and it should still be preferable to use G-Sync over V-Sync in this scenario.
He concludes that at 288 fps in G-Sync mode (144 Hz), there would be approximately 4.5 milliseconds of additional latency, versus 288 fps and no sync at 144 Hz.
 
michaelius said:
We would know if Asus sent those displays to proper review sites and not brainless morons who think it's enough to make bunch of nice pictures to call it a review.
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Seriously... that Overclock 3D review spent 5 minutes talking about the color while not even testing it with any meters and I'm pretty sure the guy didn't even understand vsync, let alone gsync.
 
Vash63 said:
Seriously... that Overclock 3D review spent 5 minutes talking about the color while not even testing it with any meters and I'm pretty sure the guy didn't even understand vsync, let alone gsync.
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Yeah both reviews sre terribad. Ttl dont review monitors so...
 
Mr Vast said:
Yeah both reviews sre terribad. Ttl dont review monitors so...
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I'm hoping for Anandtech for color and viewing angle impressions and Blurbusters for refresh, lightboost and response time. I'm a big twitch FPS player and honestly think it could make a big difference for CS:GO or something like Quake or Unreal.
 
Raticus79 said:
Yup, I know. Gsync's best for erratic FPS and sub-60 dips. I have a different scenario in mind though. Let's say there's a game where your rig can sustain ~90 FPS easily. Gsync gives you that ~90 FPS as frames are ready and handles drops nicely, but has continuous backlight (eye tracking blur). ULMB at 85 gives you 85 FPS with CRT-quality motion.

ULMB's also better when you can maintain 120 or 144 - if you don't need Gsync's variable frame times since you have fps capped, might as well get motion quality.

Bottom line is it has two great options to handle those different scenarios. Really looking forward to it.
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The problem is that games where you'd want the motion clarity of ULMB, you'd also want to eliminate input lag, so you'd have to live with tearing.

Personally, with my VG248QE, I've found that strobing isn't worth the loss of lagless vsync.
 
TheExodu5 said:
The problem is that games where you'd want the motion clarity of ULMB, you'd also want to eliminate input lag, so you'd have to live with tearing.

Personally, with my VG248QE, I've found that strobing isn't worth the loss of lagless vsync.
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Well, in my hypothetical example, there wouldn't be any tearing - it's just 85Hz with vsync and ULMB, with the rig able to keep 85 fps capped.

http://www.blurbusters.com/gsync-monitors-supports-strobing-at-85hz-and-144hz/

Vash63 said:
Yeah, I don't think I'd use ULMB for anything shooter related. Clarity is nice but not worth that vsync latency.
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Sure, I'll have to try it out. I'm not usually playing twitch shooters - I'm thinking of aRPGs like Diablo 3 where being able to read text while moving is helpful.
 
Doesn't this monitor support lightboost? Or can you just not activate G-Sync alongside it?

On a sidenote, I've been playing PSX games via retroarch with black frame insertion and holy macaroni what a difference it makes. The games almost feel like they are running at 120fps even though they aren't. Anyone with a 120Hz+ monitor should definitely check it out.
 
TyrantGuardian said:
Doesn't this monitor support lightboost? Or can you just not activate G-Sync alongside it
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It does - it's the ULMB (ultra low motion blur) I've been talking about. Can't be activated at the same time as gsync since they can't do variable rate backlight strobing.

85 happens to be about the minimum rate where strobing is ok. 60 gives you a nasty CRT flicker effect, and anything below that would be especially gross.

Here's a better link about it:
http://forums.blurbusters.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=162
 
Would love to replace my Benq XL2410T but seeing how it will retail at 1200 USD over here, I will wait impatiently for it to drop to around half that -.-
 
michaelius said:
Nice - this should answear a lot of questions :)
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Certainly does, those tweets are giving us more info than half of these so-called tech reviewers. At least the contrast appears to be fairly acceptable for a non-VA panel and there's no PWM flickering. So good so far I guess.
 
This is supposed to come out this month correct? Why isn't amazon taking orders for it yet?! My old Dell u2711 was donated to my store(lol) and i have been without a monitor for two weeks now...

Give me dat 144hz Asus
 
Kambing said:
This is supposed to come out this month correct? Why isn't amazon taking orders for it yet?! My old Dell u2711 was donated to my store(lol) and i have been without a monitor for two weeks now...

Give me dat 144hz Asus
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July yes.

Since we both have(had) an U2711, be sure to come back with impressions about the IQ. I have a friend that went from IPS to TN (wanted high hz), but he just couldn't handle the overall IQ drop so he sold it and went back. Also went from 1440p to 1080p so that probably weighed in on his decision in the end.

But this TN monitor is probably the best you can get atm with its high res and fancy speccs.
 
Someone is complaining that this doesn't have HDMI? Why not buy a cheaper monitor who's main focal point isn't 144hz @ 1440p with GSync.
 
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