Ever since G-Sync Technology Preview: Quite Literally A Game Changer back in December of last year, gamers have been anxiously waiting for compatible monitors to appear. Nvidia satiated the impatient by releasing an upgrade kit a few months back that allowed adventurous owners of Asus' VG248QE to modify the display themselves, enabling G-Sync functionality with an appropriate GeForce GTX graphics board.
Today we have the first G-Sync-enabled screen in our labs, Asus’ ROG Swift PG278Q. It’s a 27-inch TN-based monitor with 2560x1440 resolution, selectable refresh rates up to 144 Hz, and motion-blur reduction courtesy of a variable backlight strobe option. Asus also confers the elite Republic of Gamers branding, reserved for the company's hardcore gaming products.

| Brand | Asus |
|---|---|
| Model | ROG Swift PG278Q |
| MSRP | $799 |
| Panel Type | TN |
| Backlight | W-LED, edge array |
| Screen Size | 27-inch |
| Max Resolution | 2560x1440 |
| Max Refresh Rate | 144 Hz |
| Aspect Ratio | 16:9 |
| Native Color Depth | 8-bit |
| Native Gamut | sRGB |
| Response Time (GTG) | 1 ms |
| Brightness | 350 cd/m2 |
| Speakers | - |
| VGA | - |
| DVI | - |
| DisplayPort v1.2 | 1 |
| HDMI v1.4 | - |
| Audio In | - |
| Headphone | - |
| USB | v3.0 - 1 up, 2 down |
| Media Card Reader | - |
| Panel Dimensions WxHxD w/base | 24.6 x 14.4 x 9.4 in 620 x 363 x 237 mm |
| Panel Thickness | 2.6 in / 66 mm |
| Bezel Width | .3-.5 in / 8-12 mm |
| Weight | 15.4 lbs / 7 kg |
| Warranty | Three years |
Priced at $800, the Swift certainly isn't cheap. Then again, it also doesn't have any competition at present. Cutting-edge tech is packed into this new screen. The only thing that seems out of place is the TN panel it employs. This brand-new-for-2014 part comes from AU Optronics. It uses a white LED backlight and has a true 8-bit color depth.
We won’t go into a detailed explanation of G-Sync here. That was already covered thoroughly in the previously-linked preview. Simply, this is a new technology able to match the monitor’s refresh rate to the actual frame rate of the input signal.
Why is this important? To answer that, we need to look at how video signals originate. When you watch your television, the broadcast, streamed, or disc-based content is encoded at a specific frame rate. The output device sends it out at either its native rate or a modified one depending on the components in your signal chain. The point is the rate never changes. Therefore, it always matches the refresh rate of your display. Each frame is drawn from top to bottom at the beginning of each scan cycle.
In computer games, however, the frame rate is constantly changing. Because each image is rendered rather than simply displayed, processing overhead makes the draw time for each frame different. Of course your monitor doesn’t care about that. It just keeps drawing each frame from top to bottom 60 times per second (typically), regardless of when that frame actually arrives from the video card.
This means the display is usually in the middle of a refresh cycle when the frame arrives and therefore only draws part of it. The next frame arrives in the meantime and it’s just a little different, the image appears to tear horizontally. While higher refresh rates can mitigate the artifact, it can still show up even at 144 Hz.
G-Sync removes the monitor’s fixed-rate limitation and locks the input and output refresh rates to each other. Presto! No more screen tearing. No matter what the frame rate is at any given moment, all you see is perfectly smooth motion with no artifacts.
Before we get to the product 360 and OSD menu tours, we want to explain the main three reasons gamers will want to consider buying a ROG Swift: G-Sync, fast refresh, and ULMB.
Enabling G-Sync
If you’ve seen a G-Sync demo with your own eyes, you know it’s quite addictive. The smoothness it imparts to games is hard to live without once you’ve tried it. So once you’ve connected the PG278Q, there are a couple of steps to take before launching your favorite first-person shooter.
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Obviously, you need a G-Sync-supported video card. Any GeForce GTX 650 Ti or better will work. For our tests, we built a new platform around a GTX 780 from EVGA. You also need a DisplayPort 1.2-rated cable, which is included with every ROG Swift. Lastly, you should download the latest Nvidia drivers. As of this writing, that’s version 340.52.
Once you have your hardware together, open the Nvidia control panel. There are two areas you have to visit to enable G-Sync.

First check “Enable G-Sync” in the Set up G-Sync menu.

Then go to Manage 3D Settings and select G-Sync from the Vertical Sync options.
G-Sync only works for full-screen applications. If you play games in a window, it won’t function.
Fast Refresh Rates
The PG278Q supports refresh rates up to 144 Hz. You can change rates on-the-fly with the Turbo bezel button, or through Nvidia's control panel.

The selected rate won’t affect G-Sync. But if you want to set an upper limit, you can do that here. We ran our Windows desktop at 120 Hz and enjoyed fluid motion from mouse cursors and other objects. The choice is one of personal preference. If you want to engage the motion-blur reduction feature ULMB, choose 85, 100, or 120 Hz.
ULMB
We saw motion-blur reduction via backlight strobing on Asus' VG248QE (with the LightBoost utility) and BenQ's XL2720Z, which has it built-in. Asus is doing the same thing with its Swift, going so far as to include a variable pulse width slider to control the amount of light output.
First and foremost, you can’t use ULMB and G-Sync at the same time. You can choose to eliminate screen tears or improve motion resolution, but not both. Like LightBoost and BenQ’s blur-reduction, engaging the backlight strobe cuts output anywhere from 57 percent or more depending on the setting.
Here’s what it looks like in the OSD.
We could only get ULMB to work with an Nvidia graphics card running driver 340.52 (dated July 29, 2014). It wouldn't work with our Radeon HD 7770. To enable it, the monitor must be set to 85, 100, or 120 Hz. Maximum brightness varies depending on refresh rate and the position of the Pulse Width slider. At 100, the backlight pulse is longer for maximum output. As you drop it down, light decreases as motion resolution increases.
GamePlus
GamePlus is only accessible from a bezel hotkey; you won’t find it in the OSD. It offers four different reticules and a timer function.

It’s similar to what we saw on the VG248QE. You can choose an aiming reticule and place it anywhere within a few inches of center using the OSD joystick. Or set a 30- to 90-minute timer to help you remember when to stop playing. The aiming point is especially helpful to FPS newbies, since it remains on-screen regardless of what’s happening in the game.
Even though the substantial carton sports a handle, the box is a laydown-style (rather than a suitcase). It’s very deep, so there’s plenty of room for Styrofoam padding inside. The PG278Q comes completely assembled. Cables include DisplayPort, USB 3.0, and an external power brick that looks a lot like an Apple TV. A CD contains the user manual and drivers.
Since this is a premium product, Asus adds a VIP warranty for three years that covers everything, including two-way ground shipping when a repair or replacement is needed.
Product 360

The PG278Q has the thinnest bezel we’ve seen to date, less than half-an-inch across the bottom and about a quarter-inch around the sides and top. A multi-screen setup will have only the thinnest of interruptions between panels.
The anti-glare layer is aggressive enough to cause a subtle grain in the brightest whites. It won’t cause you any grief in games, but we noticed it when editing documents and browsing the Web. Clarity is top-notch, however. Even the finest details are razor-sharp.
In the lower-right are printed-on symbols for the control buttons, which are actually around back and must be operated by feel. OSD navigation is accomplished with a small joystick that works quite well.

The red ring around the Swift’s base lights up if you set an option in the OSD. It’s a cool effect that coordinates well with an illuminated gaming rig.

The PG278Q can rotate to portrait mode with a manual image flip. There is also 120 degrees of swivel, 25 degrees of tilt, and 4½ inches of height adjustment. The stand is very solid with smooth movements and no extra play or wobble.

The panel is 2.6 inches-thick, but its taper makes it appear thinner. There aren’t any side-accessible USB or audio ports. However, you can see the control buttons, power toggle, and menu nav joystick.

The gaming-oriented design continues around back where a smooth taper goes from side to side. You can see the Asus logo and a Republic of Gamers crest on the upright. For cable management, a small triangular hole is provided. The upright can be removed to expose a 100 mm VESA mount.

There's only a single DisplayPort 1.2 input. Because of this, you'll need to make sure your graphics configuration can output to multiple DisplayPort connections before committing to a three-screen Surround setup. You also get one upstream and two downstream USB 3.0 ports. Next to the DP connector is the power brick's plug.
The ROG Swift is completely focused on gaming, and as such has a minimal OSD. Fortunately, there are just enough adjustments to dial in color and grayscale properly. We also discovered a couple of other unique features.
OSD Tour
The Color menu has Brightness, Contrast, and Color Temp controls. Even though the gamma measured fine in our press sample, a couple of presets to make the tone darker or lighter for specific games would be nice.
Color Temp contains three fixed presets (Normal, Warm, Cool) and a User mode with RGB sliders. They start at their maximums, which is not ideal, but you won’t give up much contrast by calibrating them.
The Image menu has an OD (overdrive) option and the ULMB motion-blur reduction feature. We did all our tests on the OD Normal setting and saw no artifacts at all. ULMB, as already mentioned, improves motion resolution and reduces light output. To see just how much, check out our charts on page ten.
The final menu has language options, OSD position and timeout, signal info, and Light In Motion (a toggle for the red light that rings the monitor’s base). If you turn it on, the light stays lit even when the Swift is turned off. All Reset returns the menu settings to their factory defaults.
Calibration
Since the PG278Q only has one picture mode, calibration is limited to setting the desired brightness level and choosing a color temperature. The User preset unlocks the RGB sliders, which start at their maximum values. A few clicks to red and green gave us decent grayscale tracking. There are no gamma adjustments. But our tests showed solid results, so they’re not missed. We obtained our benchmark results with ULMB turned off. It’s a variable backlight strobe, so it reduces light output. Again, check out the complete tests on page ten.
| Asus ROG Swift PG278Q Calibration Settings | |
|---|---|
| Brightness | 44 |
| Contrast | 50 |
| Color Temp | User |
| RGB | Red 94, Green 98, Blue 100 |
A Quick Word About G-Sync Testing
G-Sync only affects synchronization between the video signal’s input and output refresh rate. Because of this, it either works or it doesn’t. There is no test we can think of that would demonstrate the superiority of its implementation in one monitor over another. For this, and all subsequent G-Sync product reviews, we’ll be sticking to our usual battery of display tests.
In the case of the PG278Q, we’ve added tests to determine the impact of ULMB (backlight strobe) on light output. You’ll find them on page ten.
To measure and calibrate monitors, we use an i1Pro spectrophotometer, a Spectracal C6 colorimeter, and version 5.2.0.1374 of SpectraCal’s CalMAN software.

The i1Pro is both accurate and consistent measuring color on all types of displays, regardless of the backlight technology used. When we just need a luminance value, the C6 works better, especially in low light.
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For patterns, we employ AccuPel DVG-5000 and DVDO AVLab TPG video signal generators. This approach removes video cards and drivers from the signal chain, allowing the display to receive true reference patterns. Connections are made via HDMI.

The AccuPel DVG-5000 is capable of generating all types of video signals at any resolution and refresh rate up to 1920x1080 and 60 Hz. It can also display motion patterns to evaluate a monitor's video processing capabilities, with 3D patterns available in every format. This allows us to measure color and grayscale performance, crosstalk, and ghosting in 3D content via the 3D glasses.
The DVDO generator is a new addition to our lab. It supports resolutions up to 4096x2160. We’re using it to verify the proper signal handling of QHD and UHD displays.
The i1Pro or C6 is placed at the center of the screen (unless we’re measuring uniformity) and sealed against it to block out ambient light. The AccuPel pattern generator (bottom-left) is controlled via USB by CalMAN, which is running on the Dell XPS laptop on the right.
Our version of CalMAN Ultimate allows me to design all of the screens and workflows to best suit the purpose at hand. To that end, I’ve created a display review workflow from scratch. This way, we can be sure and collect all the necessary data with a concise and efficient set of measurements.
The charts show us the RGB levels, gamma response, and Delta E error for every brightness point from zero to 100 percent. The table shows us the raw data for each measurement. And the area in the upper-left tells us luminance, average gamma, Delta E, and contrast ratio. The individual charts can be copied to the Windows clipboard to easily create graphics for our reviews.
Every primary and secondary color is measured at 20-, 40-, 60-, 80-, and 100-percent saturation. The color saturation level is simply the distance from the white point on the CIE chart. You can see the targets moving out from white in a straight line. The further a point is from center, the greater the saturation until you hit 100 percent at the edge of the gamut triangle. This shows us the display’s response at a cross-section of color points. Many monitors score well when only the 100-percent saturations are measured. Hitting the targets at the lower saturations is more difficult, and factors into our average Delta E value (which explains why our Delta E values are sometimes higher than those reported by other publications).
Uncalibrated
Before calibrating any panel, we measure zero and 100-percent signals at both ends of the brightness control range. This shows us how contrast is affected at the extremes of a monitor's luminance capability. We do not increase contrast past the clipping point. While doing this would increase a monitor’s light output, the brightest signal levels would not be visible, resulting in crushed highlight detail. Our numbers show the maximum light level possible with no clipping of the signal.
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The comparison group today consists of gaming-oriented monitors running at 120 or 144 Hz, with the exception of BenQ’s RL2460HT, which tops out at 60 Hz. We have Asus’ VG248QE, BenQ’s XL2720Z, AOC’s G2460PQU, and the lone IPS screen, an Overlord Tempest X270OC.

A gaming monitor, especially one with a backlight strobe, needs plenty of output. Asus' PG278Q delivers. It’s rated at 350 cd/m2, but we measured nearly 400 in our test. Of course, enabling ULMB drops this figure by about 57 percent.

A bright backlight usually means an elevated black level. The Swift just cracks the .4 cd/m2 mark, similar to the brightest competitor, AOC’s G2460PQU.

Contrast is pretty solid at just under 1000 to 1. And as we'll point out in subsequent tests, it stays fairly consistent regardless of brightness or level of blur-reduction.
We believe 50 cd/m2 is a practical minimum standard for screen brightness. Any lower and you risk eyestrain and fatigue. The PG278Q bottoms out at 51.9157 cd/m2. This is a great light level for playing games in total darkness as long as you don’t use the ULMB feature. As you’ll see below, black levels and contrast hold up extremely well too.

Minimum output is right in the middle of the group at .0540 cd/m2. The main takeaway is that IPS is still a bit behind TN in the black level department.

Contrast remains consistent at 960.7 to 1. You’re able to use the Swift in pretty much any room environment we can think of. And you can tailor the brightness to your preference without having to worry about a contrast sweet spot.
After Calibration
Since we consider 200 cd/m2 to be an ideal point for peak output, we calibrate all of our test monitors to that value. In a room with some ambient light (like an office), you get a sharp, punchy image with maximum detail and minimum eye fatigue. On many monitors, this is also the sweet spot for gamma and grayscale tracking, which we'll look at on the next page.
In a dark room, many professionals prefer a 120 cd/m2 calibration. We have found it makes little to no difference on the calibrated black level and contrast measurements, though.

Calibration has little effect on black level or contrast. The adjustments we made were small, so the result is not surprising.

We only took a slight hit to contrast with a final value of 929.6 to 1. That's mainly because we can only reduce the RGB levels, not increase them. It’s always best if the controls start at their center positions.
ANSI Contrast Ratio
Another important measure of contrast is ANSI. To perform this test, a checkerboard pattern of sixteen zero and 100-percent squares is measured, yielding a somewhat more real-world metric than on/off readings because we see a display’s ability to simultaneously maintain both low black and full white levels, factoring in screen uniformity, too. The average of the eight full-white measurements is divided by the average of the eight full-black measurements to arrive at the ANSI result.

The PG278Q finishes fifth in an extremely tight race. Those middle four screens will look identical to the naked eye, though, and 915.2 to 1 is a solid result. This display shows excellent build quality and an image with good depth and dimension.
The majority of monitors, especially newer models, display excellent grayscale tracking (even at stock settings). It’s important that the color of white be consistently neutral at all light levels from darkest to brightest. Grayscale performance impacts color accuracy with regard to the secondary colors: cyan, magenta, and yellow. Since computer monitors typically have no color or tint adjustment, accurate grayscale is key.

User is the default color temp mode and it’s pretty close to correct. The RGB Balance chart shows a tendency towards red, but all of the errors are under three Delta E and therefore very hard to see. Even still, we observed an improvement after calibration.

Adjusting the RGB controls gives us a better result that is now under two Delta E across the board. You give up a tiny bit of contrast, but we think it’s worth it.
Here is our comparison group:

A Delta E measurement of 2.42 puts the PG278Q near the top in out-of-box grayscale performance. In fact, its result exceeds a few professional-class monitors we’ve tested. We feel most gamers would be satisfied with the Swift in its uncalibrated state.

A little adjustment brings the average error down to 1.27 Delta E. The improvement in image quality is noticeable to our eyes. When you always use a calibrated monitor, a display with even a tiny error doesn't look quite right. Today though, the grayscale prize goes to BenQ's XL2720Z with its stellar numbers.
Gamma Response
Gamma is the measurement of luminance levels at every step in the brightness range from 0 to 100 percent. This is important because poor gamma can either crush detail at various points or wash it out, making the entire picture appear flat and dull. Correct gamma produces a more three-dimensional image, with a greater sense of depth and realism. Meanwhile, incorrect gamma can negatively affect image quality, even in monitors with high contrast ratios.
In the gamma charts below, the yellow line represents 2.2, which is the most widely used standard for television, film, and computer graphics production. The closer the white measurement trace comes to 2.2, the better.

The gamma tracking runs just a tiny bit light at an average value of 2.15. It’s only slightly off of our standard and again, most users won’t notice. We do wish there was a gamma adjustment, however. Some games benefit from a little lighter or darker tone to help bring out detail. Fortunately, many developers add a software-based slider to compensate.
Here is our comparison group again:

The difference between the highest (2.29) and lowest (2.07) values is pretty small, indicating good tracking. There aren’t any significant dips or peaks to spoil the result.
We calculate gamma deviation by simply expressing the difference from 2.2 as a percentage.

A 2.15 average puts the PG278Q in fifth place among today’s group. Overall, we’re perfectly satisfied with its gamma performance. Our only beef is the lack of additional presets.
Color gamut is measured using a saturation sweep that samples the six main colors (red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, and yellow) at five saturation levels (20, 40, 60, 80, and 100%), yielding a more realistic view of color accuracy.

Out-of-box color is quite good. Only blue shows any significant deviation from its target. You can see the 80- and 100-percent saturations are too high. Fortunately, luminance has been reduced to compensate. And since the white point is pretty close before calibration, there aren’t any serious hue errors.

Calibrating grayscale brings the magenta secondary in line nicely. The saturation errors are still there, though. Only a CMS can fix those issues. We realize the difference between our before and after charts is small. The PG278Q has very good color whether you calibrate or not.
Now we return to the comparison group:

Our adjustments reduce the color error from 2.61 to 2.13 Delta E. It’s a small improvement that means Asus' Swift is pretty close in its stock form.
Gamut Volume: Adobe RGB 1998 And sRGB
There are basically two categories of displays in use today: those that conform to the sRGB/Rec. 709 standard like HDTVs, and wide-gamut panels that show as much as 100 percent of the Adobe RGB 1998 spec. We use Gamutvision to calculate the gamut volume, based on an ICC profile created from our actual measurements.

Because of slightly oversaturated blue and magenta results, the sRGB gamut volume is a little over 100 percent. It won’t matter for gaming, and we doubt many photographers are considering the ROG Swift as an addition to their editing suite. We had no problems using the monitor for general productivity on the Windows desktop.
The more monitors we test, the more we can see that off-axis viewing performance is dependent not only on pixel structure (IPS, PLS, TN, etc.) but the backlight technology as well. And we can see that the anti-glare layer makes a difference too.
Despite solid performance numbers and its cutting-edge G-Sync technology, Asus' PG278Q still suffers from the poor off-axis image quality inherent to TN-based monitors. The side view is heavily shifted towards red and the luminance is cut in half. From the top, detail holds up a little better than other TN displays we’ve photographed. But image depth is still compromised.
To get the most from this screen, place its center exactly at eye level, tilt it back slightly, and sit about two feet away.
Screen Uniformity: Luminance
To measure screen uniformity, zero and 100-percent full-field patterns are used, and nine points are sampled. First, we establish a baseline measurement at the center of each monitor. Then the surrounding eight points are measured. Their values get expressed as a percentage of the baseline, either above or below. This number gets averaged. It is important to remember that we only test the review sample each vendor sends us. Other examples of the same monitor can measure differently in this metric.
First up is black field uniformity.

Screen uniformity is a bit less consistent with most TN monitors, and our sample does show a little visible light bleed. The problem areas for us are in the upper-right and center zones. You can see the hotspots in a black field pattern, though not in actual content.
Here’s the white field measurement:

The white field pattern looks better, demonstrating a single hotspot in the center. It’s pretty subtle and we could only see it with our i1Pro, not our eyes.
Screen Uniformity: Color
To measure color uniformity, we display an 80-percent white field and measure the Delta E error of the same nine points on the screen. Then we simply subtract the lowest value from the highest to arrive at the result. A smaller number means a display is more uniform. Any value below three means a variation that is invisible to the naked eye.

Color uniformity stays below the visibility threshold with a 2.47 Delta E result. The errors range from 3.01 in the upper-right to a low of .57 in the center.
To perform these tests, we use a high-speed camera that shoots at 1000 frames per second. Analyzing the video frame-by-frame allows us to observe the exact time it takes to go from a zero-percent signal to a 100% white field.
Since our pattern generator tops out at 60 Hz, we connected the PG278Q to a PC for the speed tests. We use the same high-speed camera (1000 frames-per-second) to film a mouse movement that tells us the total input lag and screen draw time. We film five iterations and average the results. G-Sync and ULMB are turned off, and the refresh rate is locked at 144 Hz.

The top four monitors all run at 144 Hz, while the Overlord hits 120. The correlation between screen draw and refresh rate seems pretty consistent. The 120 Hz IPS screen is just a little slower. A five- or six-millisecond result is about as fast as it gets for now. The only remaining question is: can a 144 Hz IPS screen match its TN competitors? We’ll have to wait and see.
Here are the lag results:

As expected, input lag is extremely low. Remember, this is straight-up 144 Hz with no v-sync or G-Sync. Of course, you don't suffer any lag penalty with G-Sync, but you do with v-sync turned on. Ultimately, signal rate-matching and low input lag are the best combination, which is precisely what G-Sync offers.
Motion Blur Reduction With ULMB
To use ULMB (Ultra Low Motion Blur), you need an Nvidia graphics board with its refresh rate set at 85, 100, or 120 Hz and G-Sync turned off. You can’t use both features at once.
With any kind of backlight strobing, there is a tradeoff in brightness. Luckily, the PG278Q has plenty to spare, so if you want to use ULMB, we suggest turning the backlight up to its maximum settings. That's exactly what we did for our tests.
Brightness with ULMB on is also affected by refresh rate. The lower the rate, the higher the output. Asus thoughtfully includes an OSD adjustment for the pulse width. It’s like the utility we used in the BenQ XL2720Z review. Changing the pulse alters brightness from a maximum of 100 down to a minimum of 10. The charts below show both extremes at all three ULMB-supported refresh rates.

The smallest reduction in output hits at 85 Hz, where you give up 57-percent brightness. Even this least-aggressive setting improves motion resolution significantly. We observed several moving detail tests from BlurBusters and saw obvious benefits.

Black levels change at the same rate as white levels, so you won’t really see much change in contrast. The choice comes down to your preferred light level.

Of course, the greatest measured contrast comes at a uselessly-low output level. Our favorite setting is 85 Hz with Pulse Width on 100. A ratio of 874 to 1 is still very respectable.
Choosing between G-Sync and ULMB comes down to the kind of game you’re playing. For fast motion with wide-varying frame rates, G-Sync will eliminate frame tears and stuttering. In a more fluid title where the frame rate doesn’t change as much, ULMB creates a better look. In either case, input lag and response time stay low thanks to the Swift’s speedy 1 ms panel.
From the tone of this review, you can probably tell we’re excited about G-Sync. It’s the first revolutionary display technology we've seen in a very long time. Advances in host and graphics processing performance are so frequent that they're practically predictable. But to see something totally new from a monitor is a rare and exotic treat.
For years, computer monitors have been hobbled by the ancient standards set forth by SMPTE and the television/film industries. And for much of that time, it worked out fine. The processing power in a high-end gaming rig from just a few years ago wasn't pushing much past 60 Hz in then-modern titles, and the realism of an advanced title's graphics wasn't as negatively affected by tearing or stuttering artifacts.
Now that our gaming machines wield incredible power, it's high time for a change. Last year, we saw the first appearance of monitors that could accept 120 and 144 Hz input signals, and those displays are still trickling out to the marketplace. But reconciling the variable frame rate of computer games with the fixed refresh of monitors became the next problem to tackle.

There's v-sync, which solves the tearing issue. But it also introduces unacceptable stuttering and extra input lag. When you have a game topping 60 FPS, it just doesn’t make sense to buffer frames while the monitor catches up. Now, with the introduction of Asus' ROG Swift PG278Q, we have a fully-realized G-Sync product. When you can lock the input and output speeds together, those annoying artifacts are gone for good.
The Swift isn’t a one-hit wonder. Asus builds in the best implementation of motion-blur reduction we’ve tested thus far. And the panel has plenty of light output to counteract the dimming that comes with ULMB. You can even vary the pulse width to find just the right balance between brightness and resolution. If all you need is that fast refresh, the PG278Q has that too: up to 144 Hz.
Beyond all of that unique functionality is another specification we may not have emphasized enough. The Swift is only the second gaming monitor we’ve seen boasting a native resolution of 2560x1440. Your feedback tells us that many gamers are holding out for larger screens with more pixels, and 1920x1080 just won’t cut it any longer.
If image fidelity is a priority for you like it is for us, the PG278Q checks that box as well. Contrast is equal to other gaming monitors we’ve tested. The same goes for color, grayscale, and gamma accuracy. Its OSD is minimal, but you still get everything you need for a great picture.
For those who skipped the earlier portions of this article, we urge you to go back and read those sections in order to best understand how to add a ROG Swift to your system, and how to get the most out of it. You need a reasonably powerful GeForce graphics card to not only take advantage of G-Sync and ULMB, but also to game comfortably at 2560x1440.
Asus' PG278Q represents the final piece of the high-end gaming rig puzzle. The company built a monitor that truly complements the investment many of you have made in computer hardware. And even though we're looking at a first-to-market product, it doesn't have the rough edges seen from so many first-gen implementations (like Asus' own PQ321 4K display, which required a number of firmware updates). For its excellent performance and gamer-oriented features, we feel it merits serious consideration.



