Asus ROG Strix XG279Q Gaming Monitor Review: Speed and Style

Asus’ ROG Strix XG279Q rocks our speed tests and delivers HDR with extended color.

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Viewing Angles

Asus ROG Strix XG279Q

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

The XG279Q stands out among IPS monitors with excellent off-axis image quality, no visible color shift and no more than a 10% reduction in light output when viewed at 45° to the side. This is one of the best photo series we’ve seen to date. It makes this Asus very shareable even though it’s relatively small. From the top down, you can see a red shift and a 50% light reduction, typical of IPS screens. 

Screen Uniformity 

To learn how we measure screen uniformity, please click here. 

Our light meter detected a slight center hotspot in our black field pattern test, but we couldn’t see it with the naked eye. Turning all the room lights off revealed a perfect black screen with no visible bleed or glow. Patterns at higher output levels showed no signs of color or luminance aberration. 

(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Pixel Response and Input Lag 

Please click here to read up on our pixel response and input lag testing procedures. 

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Asus ROG Strix XG279Q
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

The XG279Q is one of the quickest and most responsive gaming monitors we’ve ever tested. Though you can buy monitors with higher refresh rates, Asus makes the most of 170Hz. 6ms is as fast as it gets for screen draw. Though you can eliminate motion blur with ELMB sync, there isn’t really much to speak of when frame rates top 100fps. Input lag is also lower than all the screens here and one of the lowest we’ve measured to date. At 21ms, you won’t have a problem one-upping your opponents. This is one fast and smooth display.

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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.

4 Comments Comment from the forums
  • DZIrl
    Are there any tests of monitor speed using high speed cameras?
    1ms means black to white or gray to gray? Under what circumstances?
    Reply
  • ArmandB
    I'd probably buy a monitor from another brand. I bought a VG279Q and a month out it would no longer run at 144hz without artifacting and blinking on/off. After a dozen ridiculous emails with suggestions like running the monitor at 60hz, finally sending the monitor in for an RMA to only have it come back two weeks later obviously not having been worked on as it had the same exact problem and me even sending a video of the issue which shows it happens instantly and is completely repeatable, I have given up and taken the monitor as a loss.

    Normally I like Asus, I've used ROG motherboards for my last few gaming systems, and like their WiFi routers. But after dealing with how completely incompetent their support is I won't buy from them again.
    Reply
  • Rockismyth
    Great review. I just purchased this and will be referencing the review for calibration when it arrives. I've been using the ASUS ROG PG27VQ for four years now and absolutely love it. I just started looking into purchasing a second for a dual setup. This seems to build upon that, so I'm excited to see how well it performs in what I'm going to throw at it. Gaming, Adobe's Creative Cloud suite, web/software dev and more. FTR this is will be my fourth ASUS monitor.
    Reply
  • tummybunny
    Still waiting patiently for HDMI 2.1 monitors that can accompany a new 2.1 GPU and console.
    Reply