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Asus gaming monitors nearly always come set to their Racing picture mode and in the XG248QSG’s case, that’s the best choice. It doesn’t need calibration, but if you want to tweak, the controls are precise and available.
Grayscale and Gamma Tracking
The XG248QSG default chart shows no real cause for complaint. Grayscale tracking is free from visible errors and gamma runs very close to the reference line. It’s a tad light but you’re unlikely to notice that in actual content. Calibration reduces those grayscale errors to a low average with all values under 1dE except for 90% brightness. Interestingly, I had to bump the contrast slider up to remove all highlight clipping. Hey, whatever gets the job done. Doing that introduced a slight gamma bump at 90% but I couldn't see a problem in content. This is excellent performance.
I measured the sRGB gamut option in the color menu rather than the sRGB picture mode, which has no calibration options. It’s also very accurate, and further adjustment would yield an even better chart. I noted the same gamma anomaly at 90% brightness, not a problem.
Comparisons
The XG248QSG is one of the more accurate monitors in the group out of the box. With grayscale tracking of 2.11dE, there is no need for tweaking. However, a few adjustments brought the number down to a professional-level 0.84dE, good enough for fourth place in this competitive group. Once calibrated, there is no visible difference in color accuracy among them.
The gamma results are tight as well, except for the BenQ, which does its own thing for luminance tracking. The XG248QSG has excellent gamma with a small 0.18 range of values and a 0.91% deviation from 2.2. The actual value is 2.22. This is excellent performance.
Color Gamut Accuracy
Our color gamut and volume testing use Portrait Displays’ Calman software. For details on our color gamut testing and volume calculations, click here.
The XG248QSG has exemplary color gamut accuracy, whether you calibrate or not. Viewing color bar patterns, I could not see a difference between the before and after. There is excellent gamut coverage too, with full rendering of red and blue and only a slight undersaturation in green. Hue points are all on target as well. This is professional display-worthy performance.
The sRGB gamut is a tad undersaturated in red but fully covered in the other five colors. The yellow hue error seen above can be removed with a grayscale calibration. With an average error of 1.58dE, there is nothing to complain about here.
Comparisons
Once again, the BenQ is showing a certain sort of independence in the color tests while the other screens, including the XG248QSG, stick to industry standards. The spread of error values from first to fourth is extremely small. The XG248QSG doesn’t sacrifice color accuracy for speed in any way.
The volume test shows that most speedy LCDs are less colorful than the XG248QSG, which sets it apart from the competition. It fully covers red and blue and only comes up slightly short in the green primary. Though you won’t mistake it for the Quantum Dot OLED at the top of the chart, it will best all but the AW2525HM for color volume. The 96.29% value for sRGB is solely due to a slightly undersaturated red primary. In this category, this is excellent performance.
Test Takeaway: The XG248QSG has excellent color accuracy and high gamut volume when compared to other ultra-quick LCDs. If you want more color, you have to go OLED or pick a slower LCD. Asus delivers a factory-calibrated screen that can be enjoyed right out of the box.
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