If you like Asus' ROG Strix XG27AQM gaming monitor, then you'll probably really like the latest iteration: the ROG Strix XG27AQMR, which is designed to compete with the best gaming monitors. The XG27AQM first bursts onto the scene last year with a 27-inch QHD (2560 x 1440) panel with a maximum refresh rate of 270 Hz (when overclocked). Its new XG27AQMR counterpart bumps the native maximum refresh rate to 300 Hz.
Asus employs its Fast IPS technology with the XG27AQMR, as it did with the XG27AQM. However, the company is quoting a response time of 1ms for its latest entry, versus 0.5ms for the XG27AQM. But Asus has made gains in other areas thanks to the inclusion of DisplayHDR 600 certification (up from DisplayHDR 400); typical brightness remains the same at 350 nits.
As you might expect from a gaming monitor in this category, the XG27AQM supports AMD FreeSync Premium and Nvidia G-Sync. Further enhancing those Adaptive-Sync implementations is Asus’ Extreme Low Motion Blur Sync (ELMB-Sync) backlight strobing technology, which takes further steps to reduce eye-tracking motion blur.
Asus ROG Strix XG27AQM and ROG Strix XG27AQMR Specifications
Row 0 - Cell 0
ROG Strix XG27AQM
ROG Strix XG27AQMR
Panel Type / Backlight
IPS
IPS
Screen Size / Aspect Ratio
27 inches / 21:9
45 inches / 21:9
Max Resolution & Refresh Rate
2560x1440 @ 270 Hz (OC)
2560x1440 @ 300 Hz
AMD FreeSync Premium
AMD FreeSync Premium
Nvidia G-Sync Compatible
Nvidia G-Sync Compatible
Native Color Depth & Gamut
10-bit / DCI-P3
10-bit / DCI-P3
HDR10
HDR10
Response Time (GTG)
0.5ms
1ms
Brightness (mfr)
400 cd/m²
600 cd/m²
Contrast (mfr)
1,000:1
1,000:1
Speakers
None
None
Video Inputs
1x DisplayPort 1.4
1x DisplayPort 1.4
2x HDMI 2.0
2x HDMI 2.0
Audio
3.5mm headphone output
3.5mm headphone output
USB 3.2
1x up, 2x down
1x up, 2x down
Regarding connectivity, Asus included two HDMI 2.0 ports, one DisplayPort 1.4 port, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 (Type-A) ports and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The XG27AQMR is also adjustable for height, tilt and pivot. In addition, there’s a VESA 100 pattern on the back of the monitor for attaching to a stand or wall, along with a 0.25-inch tripod socket.
Unfortunately, Asus hasn’t announced pricing or availability for the ROG Strix XG27AQMR. However, MicroCenter sells the ROG Strix XG27AQM for $649.99. We’d imagine that Asus is going to place a premium for its new monitor, but we’re not going to speculate on pricing at this time.
We should also note that while 300 Hz is a heady figure for an eSports-geared QHD gaming monitor, it doesn't hit the high-water mark set by Asus' own ROG Swift 360Hz PG27AQN that was first announced a year ago.
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Brandon Hill is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware. He has written about PC and Mac tech since the late 1990s with bylines at AnandTech, DailyTech, and Hot Hardware. When he is not consuming copious amounts of tech news, he can be found enjoying the NC mountains or the beach with his wife and two sons.
This speed is getting absurd. Show me someone who can tell the difference between a 240Hz monitor and a 300Hz monitor in gaming and I'll show you someone with bionic eyes or is only fooling themselves. I can tell the difference between 60hz and 120-144Hz (but not between 120-144Hz). However, moving up to 240Hz the difference is not nearly as stark if even at all and not being psychological. Diminished returns on the eye's capability (no matter how young your eyes are) increase exponentially relative to cost of monitors like this. This of course is all moot if you game at 4K like me where in the heaviest GPU demanding games with RT you'll be lucky to max out your 120Hz/4K monitor at the same FPS even with a high end GPU.
In competitive games the case is not if you can see many frames but the delay until the next frame is pumped to the screen after exiting the GPU.
120 Hz = processing + 8,33 ms + pixel response; and in 300 Hz = processing + 3 ms + pixel response.
If you account for the improved processing times and pixel response in addition to the refresh lag you up to 5 times less lag on your end.
Can you see the advantage other than the number of frames ?
In competitive games the case is not if you can see many frames but the delay until the next frame is pumped to the screen after exiting the GPU.
120 Hz = processing + 8,33 ms + pixel response; and in 300 Hz = processing + 3 ms + pixel response.
If you account for the improved processing times and pixel response in addition to the refresh lag you up to 5 times less lag on your end.
Can you see the advantage other than the number of frames ?
The other factor is a high quality higher refresh should have less ghosting or inverse ghosting leading to sharper fast moving images which helps accuracy.
If all else was equal I’d be surprised if anyone could tell the difference in Hz only between 240 and 300 but ‘if’ the panel can handle fast moving images better then that may be noticeable. I have a 240Hz and 144Hz displays, both 1440p. If I set the 240Hz to 144Hz it still looks clearer than my native 144Hz with fast moving images because it’s a better performing panel.
