Asus ROG Strix XG27JCG 27-inch 5K gaming monitor review: Performance that raises the bar

If you’re shopping for the best gaming monitors, you know that there is a compromise between frame rates and pixel density. When more pixels nust be moved, the refresh rate must fall. If you want to get over 200 Hz in 4K, for example, you’ll need to spend north of $1,000 on a 240 Hz OLED display. But there is another way.

I’ve recently begun reviewing dual-mode monitors as an emerging category. These screens typically run natively at 3840x2160 pixels, with a switch to 1920x1080 that doubles the refresh rate. They offer flexibility for users who want smooth action for twitchy shooters and high pixel density for more laid-back adventures in the virtual world. But if you’d rather not settle for FHD, Asus has a monitor for you.

The Asus ROG Strix XG27JCG is a 5K IPS panel, with a 5120x2880 resolution on a 27-inch display for an incredible 218 ppi. The dual-mode switch, called Frame Rate Boost, steps down to 2560x1440 QHD resolution and increases the frame rate to 330 Hz. And in 5K, if you have a GeForce 50-series card, you can overclock it to 180 Hz. You also get DisplayHDR 600, Adaptive-Sync, ELMB Sync, ELMB 2, and wide gamut color. Let’s take a look.

Asus ROG Strix XG27JCG Specs

The XG27JCG includes every piece of premium video-processing tech currently available. Adaptive-Sync in both G-Sync and FreeSync flavors, check. Dual-refresh 120 or 330 Hz, check. 180 Hz in 5K, check. ELMB Sync and ELMB 2 blur reduction, check. Variable overdrive, check. The array of features is dizzying, but one thing is certain: they all deliver smooth motion and low input lag.

The 180 Hz at 5K part has one caveat: you need an Nvidia GeForce RTX 50-series or a Radeon RX 7600 graphics card to run that overclock. If you have an RTX 4090 like my test PC, the 5K refresh rate tops out at 120 Hz. But in either case, you can run at 330 Hz in QHD resolution, and that is where the true usefulness of the XG27JCG lies. Dual-mode monitors are nice, but who wants to play games on a 27-inch FHD monitor? I’d much rather have QHD and its 109 ppi.

Asus pairs this with a super-precise overdrive that adjusts overshoot in real time to match the refresh rate. You also get ELMB Sync, which lets you use blur reduction and Adaptive-Sync together. If you want control over the pulse width, there’s ELMB 2, which works instead of AS. No matter which combination you choose, it works smoothly at all frame rates. My tests showed no phasing artifacts, unlike most backlight strobes.

In the picture quality category, the XG27JCG excels equally well. At 5K resolution, the pixel density is 218 ppi, which is high enough to hide the pixel structure completely. There’s plenty of light output from the IPS panel. I measured over 400 nits in SDR and an impressive 785 nits in HDR from full field patterns. Dynamic dimming is available with ten horizontal zones. The color gamut covers around 93% of DCI-P3, and HDR10 signals are supported by VESA DisplayHDR 600 certification.

Asus includes its full suite of extras, such as GamePlus with aiming points, sniper mode, timers, frame counters, and alignment marks. You get Aura Sync and Aura RGB lighting along with the use of Asus’ DisplayWidget Center app for desktop control of the XG27JCG. There are complete calibration controls, nine picture modes, three HDR modes with adjustable brightness, programmable shortcut keys, and plenty of USB ports. You get two HDMI, a DisplayPort, and USB-C for video sources and KVM control in the OSD. The only thing missing was internal speakers.

With so much packed into the XG27JCG, you’d expect it to be expensive, but it delivers decent value for $849 at this writing. That puts it below OLEDs with comparable specs. It’s also the most useful dual-mode display I’ve seen yet, and that is something unique.

Assembly and Accessories

My XG27JCG sample arrived packed in a plain brown carton with crumbly foam inside. The upright is already attached to the panel, so assembly is just mating the base with its captive bolt. There is a 100mm VESA mount with fasteners hiding under a trim ring in the back. To get there, pry off the trim ring and unbolt the stand if you want to use an aftermarket mounting solution. The box also includes the obligatory ROG pouch with stickers and cables, a DisplayPort, and IEC power. A snap-on cover goes over the input panel once you’ve made your connections.

Product 360

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The XG27JCG maintains the more restrained styling of the ROG Strix line. The front is all screen with thin bezels around the image and a small ROG logo at the bottom edge. You can just see the power LED, which glows white when the power’s on and orange in standby. Reach around the back right side to find three control keys, a power toggle, and the OSD joystick. Also in the back is a backlit ROG logo, which can be configured using Aura Sync and Aura RGB in the menu. Sync will play a light show that goes with what’s happening on the screen, while RGB has fixed effects and a variety of colors.

The stand is solid and anchored by a heavy metal plate with a small footprint. Ergonomics include a 5/20-degree tilt, a 40-degree swivel, a 4.4-inch height adjustment, and a 90-degree portrait mode. Movements are smooth and firm with no play or wobble. The XG27JCG has a solid and premium feel when you interact with it. One minor complaint: the stand doesn’t sit high enough to let me set the panel vertically.

The input panel is well up and under. It’s recessed enough that large cable connectors will have a tight fit. A cover snaps on when you’re all installed. Inputs include two HDMI 2.1, one DisplayPort 1.4 with Display Stream Compression (DSC), and a USB-C. Peripherals are supported by one upstream and three downstream USB 3.2s. KVM function is included in the OSD so you can bind USB and video ports to control multiple systems from a single set of input devices. For audio, there’s just a 3.5mm headphone jack. No internal speakers are provided.

OSD Features

The XG27JCG’s OSD proudly announces the signal resolution and refresh rate at the top of every screen along with the current picture mode, active input, and HDR status. It appears when you press the joystick.

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Gaming is front and center with overclocking, Frame Rate Boost, Overdrive, and ELMB all grouped in a single menu. Frame Rate Boost is a dual-mode feature, and it must be set up once before you can switch between modes. I’ll explain that in the hands-on section below. The Overclock is for 5K mode, and it switches between 120 and 180 Hz. To run 180 Hz, you’ll need a GeForce 50-series or Radeon RX 7600 graphics card. My RTX 4090 was limited to 120 Hz. But 330 Hz in QHD mode worked just fine.

There are two ELMB options: Sync and 2. Sync lets you run the backlight strobe along with Adaptive-Sync. The pulse width is fixed, but light output is only slightly reduced. It runs perfectly with no hint of the phasing artifact common to this technology. If you want more control, ELMB 2 is a traditional backlight strobe with five pulse width levels. As it gets darker (shorter pulse), motion becomes smoother. Finding the right balance is a user preference; I liked it on level 3. Both ELMB modes work in 5K and QHD modes.

The XG27JCG also includes one of the most precise overdrives I’ve seen. It has a 20-click adjustment so you can perfectly align it with frame rate. It’s super smooth, even in 5K at 120 Hz, and works almost as well as ELMB at removing motion blur.

Moving down the Gaming menu, you’ll find GameVisual and its nine picture modes. GamePlus offers a selection of crosshairs and sniper magnifications. There are timers and a stopwatch along with multiple frame counters. Display Alignment marks can be put up when you want to align multiple displays.

In the Image menu there are luminance controls along with dynamic dimming and the three HDR modes. Switching on Adjustable HDR gives access to the brightness slider. In the Color menu are color temp and gamma presets plus RGB sliders to dial in grayscale tracking. You can choose the color space too. One tip: if you want sRGB, choose it here rather than using the sRGB picture mode. That way, you retain access to all the calibration controls.

For lighting effects, Asus provides Aura Sync and RGB. RGB is a set of fixed effects that can run in multiple colors, or you can have a single static color. Sync matches the light show with what’s happening on the screen as long as you have a USB connection.

Two of the control keys can be programmed for different quick access functions like Frame Rate Boost or GamePlus. And there are two memory settings, which you can use for later recall.

Asus ROG Strix XG27JCG Calibration Settings

The XG27JCG is extremely accurate out of the box, as evidenced by my tests, which showed it did not need calibration. I tweaked the Racing mode anyway for a reference-level result. If you leave color space on wide gamut, it will render the full saturation for SDR content. If you’d rather have the spec-correct picture, just choose sRGB from the color space options. The sRGB Mode in GameVisual is also accurate, but it grays out the color temp and gamma controls. My SDR settings are below.

For HDR content, the XG27JCG switches automatically and enables three specific picture modes which are fixed. An Adjustable HDR toggle turns on the brightness and contrast sliders if you wish. Dynamic Dimming is always available and for HDR, it should be left on for the most impact.

Gaming and Hands-on

The XG27JCG packs every one of Asus’ core video processing technologies into its chassis. With dual refresh, overclock, Adaptive-Sync and two flavors of ELMB available, there’s a lot to check out here.

Setting up dual refresh operation is easy. I started in 5K mode where the max rate I could choose was 120 Hz. Engaging the overclock forced me down to 60 Hz because my video card is a GeForce RTX 4090. You’ll need a 50-series board or a Radeon RX 7600 for 180 Hz. I was able to switch to QHD/330 Hz mode without issue. Once I had selected that rate in the Nvidia Control Panel, I was set. There isn’t a single button solution for toggling between modes, but you can do it with two clicks of the control keys on the right back side.

ELMB comes in Sync and 2 modes. Sync lets you use the backlight strobe with Adaptive-Sync. And it is very effective; it removes all motion blur without much brightness penalty. The peak dropped around 20%, which is hardly noticeable, and it is free of artifacts. If you want control over the pulse width, ELMB 2 offers five settings that let you balance brightness with blur reduction. 3, the middle setting worked for me.

The overdrive is also superb. It has a 20-click range and is very precise. If you can run at max frame rates, 120fps for 5K and 330fps for QHD, then a setting of 8 out of 20 works perfectly. This was my preferred combination. ELMB wasn’t necessary because there was no blur at 120 or 330 Hz. That tells you how good the overdrive is that 120fps was almost perfectly smooth. I only noticed a slight jitter during fast transitions, but nothing that distracted me from gameplay.

For HDR, I used the Dynamic Dimming option, which has ten horizontal zones emanating from the backlight that runs on the vertical edges of the panel. This arrangement is why the XG27JCG is so bright. HDR produces nearly 800 nits peak, and that’s for a full field, very impressive.

I wasn’t sure 5K would look much better than 4K, but though the difference is subtle, it is visible. The slow camera pan that precedes Doom Eternal’s horde mode had me reaching out to touch the screen. It’s so sharp that you can almost feel the textures. Tiny reflections and highlights make the picture incredibly realistic. Before starting the first battle, I looked down at the ground and could clearly see the separations of rendered texture patches. In that scenario, it could be said that the XG27JCG is too sharp. But who would actually say that?

Gameplay was smooth and responsive in either resolution. Though 120fps typically shows me motion blur on LCDs and OLEDs, the XG27JCG managed only a slight jitter when panning by complex textures like rock or ice. I had no problem with precision movement and quick transitions. This got even better at 330 Hz, and the reduction in resolution to QHD had a less severe impact than other dual-refresh screens that switch between 4K and FHD. This is the most useful example of the feature that I’ve encountered.

I’ve already waxed on about the image quality. Though 5K is an unusual resolution, it enhances everything you see, whether it's static photos or video. The XG27JCG is free from edge enhancement, so there’s no ringing or ghosting when non-multiple resolutions are shown like video in FHD or UHD formats. The monitor upconverts cleanly.

Color was rich and vibrant in both SDR and HDR. Though the XG27JCG doesn’t quite have the brilliant greens and reds of a Quantum Dot display, it covers enough of DCI-P3 to qualify as very colorful. And I could see its accuracy right away. Calibration was not required though I did it anyway for testing.

Ergonomically, the XG27JCG is a solid piece with a quality stand and a premium feel. I’d have liked the panel to sit a little higher so it could be perfectly vertical. And I missed the internal speakers. Even average ones are better than nothing. But I appreciated the utility of the USB ports and KVM feature. And Asus’ DisplayWidget Center app was a handy way to change settings without reaching for the control keys. This is a monitor I could easily use every day.

Takeaway: The XG27JCG is an all-around great display with incredible capabilities and an equally incredible image. 5K in 27 inches is fine enough to hide any hint of the dot structure and my sample was gorgeous to look at. I appreciated the accurate out-of-box color and ease of calibration to a reference standard. Contrast was also a cut above typical LCDs and easily on par with the best full-array Mini LEDs I’ve reviewed. Gaming was super enjoyable with almost perfect smoothness in 5K/120 and QHD/330 modes. Throw in a taller stand and some internal speakers and the XG27JCG would be even closer to perfection.

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