Asus MG278Q Is A 1440p FreeSync Monitor With A TN Panel

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Asus intros a snappier TN variant of its 27" FreeSync gaming monitor.

Asus' MG279Q, a 27-inch FreeSync monitor with a high-quality IPS panel, has already been on the market for some time now. But some gamers will prefer the response times and snappiness that a TN panel can offer. For those customers, Asus now introduced the MG278Q, which is largely the same monitor with the exception of the different panel.

Of course, that different panel changes everything. It has a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels, and a refresh rate of up to 144 Hz. It is capable of displaying up to 16.7 million colors, has a 75 percent NTSC color saturation, and Asus' Smart Contrast Ratio sits at 100,000,000:1, though the real (static) contrast ratio is 1000:1. Its viewing angles are 170 degrees horizontal and 160 degrees vertical, and most importantly, it has a 1 ms response time.

The monitor still supports AMD's FreeSync, and with a refresh rate of up to 144 Hz it is superbly smooth. The lower end of the refresh rate sits at just 35 Hz, which gives the monitor a huge range to play with. Such a huge refresh rate range is important, because it is within that range that FreeSync actually makes a difference.

The feature set surrounding the monitor and stand is identical to the MG279Q. The stand is height-adjustable, can swivel, pivot, and tilt, and is attached over a VESA mount with a quick-release mechanism. Features such as Asus' GameVisual modes, VividPixel, Low Blue Light and GamePlus modes are all supported, and there are two 2 W speakers built in. A dual-port USB 3.0 hub is also present.

Asus did not announce formal MSRP pricing for the monitor, but it is reasonable to expect pricing to be a notable notch below the more premium IPS variant, which sells for around $575.

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Niels Broekhuijsen
Niels Broekhuijsen

Niels Broekhuijsen is a Contributing Writer for Tom's Hardware US. He reviews cases, water cooling and pc builds.

18 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Frozen Fractal
    Sooooo, ASUS is in both G-Sync & FreeSync waters now. Great for everyone :D

    Nice, waiting for a comparison review between the "P" & the "M" :P
    Reply
  • Puiucs
    The lower end of the refresh rate of just 35 Hz is really nice, but it's still just a TN panel.
    Reply
  • Jerahmia Wood
    Ill never use a crap TN+Film panel when there are 144Hz VA/IPS (and those based on them) panels avalable with 4ms responce times available for not much more and youd be hard pressed noticing the differance between 4ms and 1ms (or anything less than 8ms g-g anyway) and the increased color accuracy and near-unlimited viewing angles are more than worth the tradeoff in a few ms of responce time. TN+film is too early 2000s and it about time for it to be phased out, havent owned a TN+film since 2004 and ill never go back. more marketing gimmiks.
    Reply
  • pills161
    Ill never use a crap TN+Film panel when there are 144Hz VA/IPS blah blah blah blah blah blah blah

    You know that not everybody has jumped on the IPS bandwagon and that some TN panels aren't THAT bad right? You know that no matter what makes an IPS panel better than a TN that there is still a market for TN and people/gamers who would prefer the faster response time and don't care about color reproduction or being able to view the screen from every angle imaginable, right? Both panels have benefits and drawbacks over the other, so you pick the one that works best for your needs/budget and use it, not jump on your high horse and pretend you know what you are talking about. So you haven't owned a TN screen since 2004, well congrats I have a cookie here for ya.
    Reply
  • TeamColeINC
    After the large number of bad reviews for the MG279Q (apparently some pretty bad QA), I think I'll be going with BenQ for my 144Hz freesync monitor.
    Reply
  • pocketdrummer
    I have a hard time getting excited about this when the XB270HU exists.

    To Pills161, the longer we waste time on TN panels the longer it's going to take for manufacturers to reduce the latency on IPS. We need all the competition in the IPS market as we can get.

    As soon as IPS comes down in price and reaches 2ms levels, TN will be pretty much dead.
    Reply
  • 10tacle
    It takes a lot of GPU power to run 1440p at 120-144fps. My SLI 970s are overclocked to 980 speeds and I'm nowhere near getting 120-144fps in games, and only a few I get that in max frames with all quality sliders out and 2xAA. Currently I'm running my Dell U2713H 60Hz monitor at 80Hz and capping V-sync at 80 for the optimal smoothness. Project Cars even dips down into the 60s in the rain with a lot of traffic (but man does it look GOOD).
    Reply
  • quilciri
    Ill never use a crap TN+Film panel when there are 144Hz VA/IPS (and those based on them) panels avalable with 4ms responce times available for not much more and youd be hard pressed noticing the differance between 4ms and 1ms (or anything less than 8ms g-g anyway) and the increased color accuracy and near-unlimited viewing angles are more than worth the tradeoff in a few ms of responce time. TN+film is too early 2000s and it about time for it to be phased out, havent owned a TN+film since 2004 and ill never go back. more marketing gimmiks.

    You, sir, have a lot to learn about monitors....I suggest starting with TFTcentral.

    IPS is great for still images, not quite as much for moving ones (i.e. games). Ghosting and motion blur (among other things) on IPS panels is noticeably worse than TN, (which itself is worse than CRT....we still don't have a technology that tops CRT for motion clarity).

    TN isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
    Reply
  • Xorak
    I think this will be a good buy for your typical gamer only if it is priced well below the 279Q. I own the MG279Q and it's really good. My one and only gripe with it is that I would have liked more precise sharpness control, and for sharpness to be unlocked in the only usable mode of the 6 offered, which is racing mode. But this really isn't a deal breaker. Many will point at the max 90hz refresh rate with freesync as a major draw back on paper. In reality, you likely aren't pushing those kind of numbers much of the time in a modern game. Also, freesync makes anything above 45 or so fps look liquid smooth, never mind 90. Trying to push any higher frankly seems like a waste of power and heat to me.
    Reply
  • boju
    16492939 said:
    Ill never use a crap TN+Film panel when there are 144Hz VA/IPS (and those based on them) panels avalable with 4ms responce times available for not much more and youd be hard pressed noticing the differance between 4ms and 1ms (or anything less than 8ms g-g anyway) and the increased color accuracy and near-unlimited viewing angles are more than worth the tradeoff in a few ms of responce time. TN+film is too early 2000s and it about time for it to be phased out, havent owned a TN+film since 2004 and ill never go back. more marketing gimmiks.

    You, sir, have a lot to learn about monitors....I suggest starting with TFTcentral.

    IPS is great for still images, not quite as much for moving ones (i.e. games). Ghosting and motion blur (among other things) on IPS panels is noticeably worse than TN, (which itself is worse than CRT....we still don't have a technology that tops CRT for motion clarity).

    TN isn't going anywhere anytime soon.

    Have you seen this monitor yet? Just wondering because you'd be very impressed an IPS is doing better than TN atm.

    http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/acer_xb270hu.htm

    Section: Display Comparisons/Motion Blur.
    Reply