Pre-Order Asus 31.5" 4K IGZO Monitor for $3500
Asus is reportedly now taking pre-orders for its 31.5 inch monitor (PQ321Q) featuring Sharp's anti-glare LED-backlit IGZO technology. It sports a screen resolution of 3840 x 2160, 140 pixels per inch, and not only cuts down on energy consumption but features an extremely long durability given that Sharp's tech doesn't constantly refresh the images. It's all static until something moves on-screen.
The company introduced the new monitor last month, reporting that Sharp's IGZO tech supports smaller transistors than amorphous silicon thanks to significantly higher electron mobility. It also not only reduces energy consumption, but reduces the monitor's overall bulk as well: at 35 mm at its thickest point, the PQ321 is the thinnest 4K UHD monitor available today, the company said.
A Sharp rep said during CES 2013 in January that the 31.5 inch panel will be marketed to professionals first given the end-price. The prototype also had ten-point touch input which apparently didn't make it into the company's own PN-K321 31.5 inch IGZO monitor selling for $5,000 USD. The Asus model also doesn't support touch.
The upcoming PQ321Q supports wide 176° horizontal and vertical viewing angles, 10 bit RGB "deep" color, and an 8 millisecond gray-to-gray response time. Other features include a 0.182 mm pixel pitch, a max brightness of 350 cd/m2, a max contrast ratio of 800:1, picture-by-picture support and HDCP support. The monitor's typical power consumption is 93 watts.
On the connectivity front, the I/O panel has two HDMI ports, a DisplayPort, and an RS-232C port for old-school VGA connections. There's also a 3.5 mm mini-jack for PC audio input, a 3.5 mm mini-jack for AV audio input, and a 3.5 mm mini-jack for earphones (for HDMI and DisplayPort).
Last month the company said that the new display is the "equivalent to four Full HD displays stacked side-by-side." It can now be pre-ordered on Amazon here, and on Newegg here, both requesting $3,499.99 USD. The monitor is slated to arrive on July 16, 2013.
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
-
Someone Somewhere Maybe you meant DB-9; RS-232C is a serial interface. Good luck on running VGA over that.Reply
EDIT: Nope, VGA only. -
vmem is it just me or does that monitor get slightly cheaper every time I see the priceReply
I mean it's by no means cheap, but at first the rumor was $5k, then $4k, then $3750, now $3500. by the time it hits market maybe it'll be $3k, and $2.5k for an xmas special? lol -
mrmez "the PQ321 is the thinnest 4K UHD monitor available today"Reply
Except that it's not available today. -
hero1 Reply11076664 said:seiki only does 4k at 30hz.
And that's the reason I haven't opened my wallet for it. If I would have bought it if it did 60Hz ouot of the box even it meant paying 1500 for it. So I think I will wait for the better refresh rates to come out with good pricing! -
alidan if i get a 4k anything, it MUST be at least 48 inches, or else i have to scale the ui and i lose all benefit a 4k would offer me.Reply -
hero1 Reply11076704 said:if i get a 4k anything, it MUST be at least 48 inches, or else i have to scale the ui and i lose all benefit a 4k would offer me.
This is also a good point. I think I will wait it out until second half of next year and see where the prices are. A 50" is what I want for both gaming and 3D work. -
vmem Reply11076704 said:if i get a 4k anything, it MUST be at least 48 inches, or else i have to scale the ui and i lose all benefit a 4k would offer me.
It's unfortunate that this is what it is. I can see the 39" working well for ASUS in professional space, but the 31.5" is really only useful for gamers, where the "size shrink" due to 4K would mean little in a game. but at $3.5k, few would buy it to just play games