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%). This provides a more realistic view of color accuracy. All measurements are taken at 200 cd/m2 of light output.
We have extra charts to show you here as well. Since the PA279Q has selectable color gamuts, plus a color management system, we want to show you the results of all those options. We’ll start with the sRGB mode.

The PA279Q delivers superb color accuracy in this mode. All the points at every saturation level are nearly spot-on. And color luminance is excellent as well. This is the reason we prefer to use the monitor in sRGB mode and sacrifice a little grayscale performance. Having the color balanced this well makes a bigger impact on picture quality than a slight grayscale error.
Here’s the chart for Adobe RGB mode.

You can see the much larger gamut available in the Adobe RGB 1998 color space. Asus' PA279Q matches the standard almost perfectly. Aside from slight peaks at 80- and 100-percent blue, the luminance chart is equally tight. For those users who require the expanded gamut, just set it and forget it. This kind of out-of-box accuracy is well worth the price.
The last CIE chart is from one of the User modes, which we set up in an attempt to match the sRGB gamut.

Unfortunately, the CMS will only affect the 100-percent saturation level. The lower levels are unchanged. You can also see that the yellow and cyan secondaries are clocked well away from their targets. We didn’t publish the luminance chart, but it has significant errors as well that cannot be fixed due to the CMS’ lack of a luminance control. Only saturation and hue adjustments are available. We measured similar results when we tried to create an Adobe RGB 1998 gamut. Our recommendation to Asus is to eliminate the CMS and add grayscale adjustments to the sRGB and Adobe RGB picture modes.
The lowest color error is found in the sRGB mode.

A Delta E of 1.75 is really low. And the Adobe RGB mode measures 1.63, which is even lower. Remember that these are preset modes; all we did was set the brightness to 200 cd/m2. This is excellent performance. The best we could do in the User modes was 4.1 for sRGB and 3.12 for Adobe RGB.
Gamut Volume: Adobe RGB 1998
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 actual measurements. We’ve expanded the chart from previous reviews, to also include the sRGB gamut volume.

Unlike the other wide-gamut monitors we’ve tested, the PA279Q has a selectable color gamut, which we love. That means both the sRGB and Adobe RGB 1998 gamuts are accurate and near 100 percent in volume. For graphic artists and photographers, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a better monitor at this price point, especially given its size and resolution.
- 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.