Like other Asus monitors, this one's carton opens with the panel in a horizontal position, rather than the more common suitcase-style box. This means there’s a lot more foam around the contents. The panel is practically impervious to shipping damage. Upon opening the box, the first thing you find is a two-page calibration report. It shows a very detailed set of graphs for grayscale error, gamma, and color for both sRGB and Adobe RGB 1998 gamuts, along with a screen uniformity test. Also in the box are cables for DisplayPort, mini-DisplayPort, HDMI, dual-link DVI, and a 3.5 mm audio cable. The power supply is internal, so there’s an IEC power cord too. Cementing the PA279Q’s status as a professional product is a light hood that installs on the monitor’s bezel. Finally, there's a bundled CD-ROM containing the user’s manual in 10 languages and ICC profiles for Windows 7 and 8.
Product 360

The PA279Q exudes quality from every angle. The hood shown in the photo comes in the box and must be attached via double-stick tape to the bezel. On the right side is a little door that allows access to the front-panel controls. The bezel measures 20 mm all around and is made from a heavy textured plastic that absorbs light fairly well. Adding the hood improves perceived contrast and cuts reflections when you’re working in a room with some ambient light. The anti-glare coating on the screen is aggressive, but stops short of causing visible image artifacts.
The base and upright allow for full ergonomic adjustments that include five inches of height, 25 degrees of tilt, and 120 degrees of swivel. All of the movements are solid and quiet, and the panel stays right where you put it.

There is also a portrait mode. With the PA279Q's high pixel density, this is just the thing for editing documents like webpages or music scores.
The buttons are arranged vertically on the lower-right side of the panel.

Starting at the top, there is a little joystick that makes menu navigation super-easy. This is so cool that, once you get the hang of it, you’ll wonder how you operated a monitor any other way! The next key is Menu, then a pair of hotkeys you can set to one of 10 different functions. Next is the Splendid button, which toggles the seven picture modes, followed by an input selector and the power button. The power LED is refreshingly not a searing bright blue like many screens. And you can defeat it if you wish.

Around the right side are three USB 3.0 inputs and the nine-in-one card reader. We wish the headphone jack were there as well. The card reader is a unique feature, though. To make it work, you need to connect the provided USB-B cable between the PA279Q and your computer.

Inputs are digital-only. and include HDMI, DisplayPort in and out, and DVD-D. There are also three more USB 3.0 jacks, plus the upstream port. Rounding out the panel are 3.5 mm audio in and a headphone jack.

Around back is a 100 mm VESA mount, in case you want to remove the included upright and use your own bracket. The three-watt speakers are back there too. They output bigger sound than most monitor speakers, but are still limited by size and placement. You're going to get better audio from the headphone jack, quite frankly.
One feature that will be of particular interest to graphics pros is QuickFit. Activated by pressing the joystick button, QuickFit is a series of alignment grids that overlay the screen image.


These are just two examples of the grids available. You can also display a centimeter grid, plus frames for 2x2 through 8x10 photos and letter or A4 paper sizes. The grids can be moved around the screen using the joystick. And they are accurately-sized; we checked. The gridlines will change color depending on the brightness of the image so that you can always see them. Very cool!
Artists and photographers will also appreciate the extensive OSD. Next up is our tour of one of the best examples we’ve seen to date.
- Asus PA279Q, The Cadillac Of Monitors?
- Packaging, Physical Layout, And Accessories
- OSD Setup And Calibration Of The PA279Q
- Measurement And Calibration Methodology: How We Test
- Results: Brightness And Contrast
- Results: Grayscale Tracking And Gamma Response
- Results: Color Gamut And Performance
- Results: Viewing Angle And Uniformity
- Results: Pixel Response And Input Lag
- Asus' PA279Q May Very Well Have It All
And are not happy with Dell and HP...
You should be smiling now!
Also at some places you can even get this around $800..
Liking the new Eizo model w/ 240 Hz mode too.
Not this year but sometime next year I'd love to upgrade my system. I built my current workstation when the phenom 1 chip came out and other than a CPU upgrade after the phenom 2 came out and graphics card revision (old one died) I've not needed to do anything else to it. Starting to get a bit long in the tooth though.
120 cd/m2 would be ideal for a darkened room but we calibrate to 200 to better replicate an average viewing environment. Most graphics pros would opt for a darker space but the average user will have more ambient light to compete with. Since we're reviewing all types of displays, we need to place them on equal footing.
-Christian-
If you want "pixel perfect" from Achieva, it'll cost you the same. Quite a gamble, big savings vs. a few dead pixels.
It's technically the same panel, but it's a rejected panel by Apple and sold to 3rd parties like Achieva. That means dead pixels and irregular lighting and color are normal. That also means fewer input options (to save money), hardly any screen controls and settings (to save money), no height or tilt adjustment (to save money), cheaper components internally (to save money), and of course, a very weak warranty.
Tie all this in with poor build quality (some of those displays have been reported as having dirt behind the panel!), and IMO it's just not worth the savings/risk. And considering manufacturers of these "affordable" QHD monitors use cheaper internal components, I'd be most concerned about how long the thing will last even if I got a perfect panel. That would always be in the back of my mind every time I touched the power button.
So while you may be saving 50%, you are paying elsewhere by short changing yourself. I know what 5 dead pixels are like on a QHD monitor, because I had them on my ASUS PB278Q 27". They were concentrated within a 4-inch square in the middle of the screen and impossible to not notice. That monitor is known to have a pretty high dead pixel rate. I promptly returned it to Fry's and stepped up to the more professional factory Adobe RGB calibrated LG 27EA83.
In addition to 10tacle's reason, you also lose the USB ports on that model.
Guess that kinda depends. I don't know why many people would spend $800+ on a 27" display only to hook it up to a cable box or PS3. That much money will get you a very nice, rather large, TV.
As do I. Sadly, the price premium for 16:10 over 16:9 is pretty ridiculous. A quick search on Newegg shows the only 2560x1600 monitor with USB 3.0 is a $1500 30" Lenovo.
I only wish this thing was 120Hz
Liking the new Eizo model w/ 240 Hz mode too.
60 Hz is really about all that's needed to fool the human eye.
TVs went to 120 Hz because of a problem peculiar to displaying movies. Most movies were shot at 24 fps. 60/24 = 2.5 which isn't an even integer. If you try to display them on a 60 Hz screen, you end up having to show one movie frame for 2/60 sec, the next frame for 3/60 sec, then repeat. The result of this uneven timing is something called judder, where smooth motion (especially panning shots) appear to stutter.
With a 120 Hz refresh, you can show each movie frame for 5/120 sec, and a smooth panning shots remain smooth. 240 Hz is just the same thing except for 3D video - 120 Hz for the left eye, 120 Hz for the right eye.
So unless you're planning to watch a lot of 24 fps movies, 60 Hz is just fine. And unless you're planning to watch 3D movies shot at 24 fps, 240 Hz is overkill. If you're watching video shot at 30 or 60 fps, it'll look the same at 60 Hz, 120 Hz, or 240 Hz.