Asus ROG Swift PG27AQDP OLED 480 Hz gaming monitor review: Raising the bar

27-inch QHD OLED display with 480 Hz, Adaptive-Sync, ELMB, HDR and wide gamut color

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Asus ROG Swift PG27AQDP
Editor's Choice
(Image: © Tom's Hardware)

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Our HDR benchmarking uses Portrait Displays’ Calman software. To learn about our HDR testing, see our breakdown of how we test PC monitors.

If you want the best possible HDR quality, an OLED monitor is the way. The PG27AQDP exemplifies this by embracing the HDR10 standard with seamless operation, four picture modes and adjustment options.

HDR Brightness and Contrast

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Asus ROG Swift PG27AQDP
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

To achieve the brightest possible HDR image, I selected the Console HDR mode and maxed the brightness slider. A 25% window pattern measured over 709 nits, which is brighter than most OLEDs and many LCD monitors. Black levels and contrast cannot be measured. Only the XG272-2K and PX277 OLED MAX are brighter. The less bright Alienware and MSI monitors have the same deep blacks and broad contrast as any OLED.

Grayscale, EOTF and Color

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Asus ROG Swift PG27AQDP
(Image credit: Portrait Displays Calman)

I compared all four HDR modes to find the best compromise between brightness and accuracy. Console HDR has the highest peaks, but its EOTF is a little skewed. It’s not off enough to obscure detail and the bump between 40 and 70% gives a little more verve to mid tones. If you want the most accurate luminance tracking, choose True Black. It’s a bit darker at just 453 nits peak. Whatever the mode; color and grayscale track the same. There are no visible grayscale errors and color is slightly over-saturated. DCI-P3 is fully covered and Rec.2020 maxes out at 85% red, 70% green and 90% blue. This is the expected result given the gamut volumes I measured earlier.

Test Takeaway: The PG27AQDP offers a choice between accuracy and impact in its HDR modes. Console delivers a bright and three-dimensional picture with palpable texture. True Black has reference-level accuracy if you need to work in a creation or post-production setting. Either way, you can adjust brightness, color temp and saturation, which is something few HDR monitors offer. The PG27AQDP is one of the best HDR desktop displays available.

MORE: Best Gaming Monitors

MORE: How We Test PC Monitors

MORE: How to Buy a PC Monitor

MORE: How to Choose the Best HDR Monitor

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Christian Eberle
Christian Eberle
Contributing Editor

Christian Eberle is a Contributing Editor for Tom's Hardware US. He's a veteran reviewer of A/V equipment, specializing in monitors. Christian began his obsession with tech when he built his first PC in 1991, a 286 running DOS 3.0 at a blazing 12MHz. In 2006, he undertook training from the Imaging Science Foundation in video calibration and testing and thus started a passion for precise imaging that persists to this day. He is also a professional musician with a degree from the New England Conservatory as a classical bassoonist which he used to good effect as a performer with the West Point Army Band from 1987 to 2013. He enjoys watching movies and listening to high-end audio in his custom-built home theater and can be seen riding trails near his home on a race-ready ICE VTX recumbent trike. Christian enjoys the endless summer in Florida where he lives with his wife and Chihuahua and plays with orchestras around the state.

5 Comments Comment from the forums
  • dimar
    This is not the one with MediaTek's new scaler chip recently advertised?
    Reply
  • s997863
    Can TomsHardware please include this in all their monitor reviews:
    How good is the motion clarity compared to CRTs for running older games that only work at 60Hz?
    I'm asking because I've heard of only 1 monitor that covers this (ViewSonic XG2431) which got a lot of praise from BlurBusters but many reviewers reported that it causes headaches to use backlight strobing at 60Hz. Nowadays you don't find much variety in actual stores and much of the market is moving online, but I'm not going to risk buying something as expensive as a monitor when I can't even see/test it for myself, especially when stores like Amazon only have a 2-week return period in my country with no warranty at all.
    Reply
  • richardvday
    This almost sounds like a love affair 🤔
    It would be nice if you gave some kind of idea about how much it cost in the article also.
    If it said how much I would have just moved on as it's outside my price range. I could afford it but rather spend it on my kids.
    $999.99 is I think more than most people would consider paying for a monitor, some of you probably don't care how much it is though.
    Looks lovely but I will wait for the prices to come down quite a bit before I will consider it.
    Reply
  • UnforcedERROR
    s997863 said:
    Can TomsHardware please include this in all their monitor reviews:
    How good is the motion clarity compared to CRTs for running older games that only work at 60Hz?
    I'm asking because I've heard of only 1 monitor that covers this (ViewSonic XG2431) which got a lot of praise from BlurBusters but many reviewers reported that it causes headaches to use backlight strobing at 60Hz. Nowadays you don't find much variety in actual stores and much of the market is moving online, but I'm not going to risk buying something as expensive as a monitor when I can't even see/test it for myself, especially when stores like Amazon only have a 2-week return period in my country with no warranty at all.
    I'd wager an OLED would do just fine in this respect. Your reference point is an IPS instead of an OLED. OLED is like CRT in that pixel response is instant. The big thing about CRTs is they are what a lot of older games were designed for. They simply look better over CRT, and the signal doesn't have to be converted to match. Still, for retro gaming there are options that improve the experience on high-res displays. That's more the barrier to entry than the motion clarity, because you can't do anything to bypass the inherent limits of 60fps.
    Reply
  • Lamarr the Strelok
    First, all the monitor reviews I've read here have had links with prices listed. And second there are many reviews of remarkably affordable monitors here.This review is of a pricier one and that's fine.
    Reply