Asus ROG Swift PG27UQ 4K Gaming Monitor Review: Worth Every Penny
The Asus ROG Swift PG27UQ is one of the best (and priciest) 4K gaming monitors around.
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Viewing Angles, Uniformity, Response & Lag
Viewing Angles
Like any IPS monitor, the PG27UQ has limitations when viewed too far off-axis. At 45°, a green shift appears, output falls by 30%, but detail remains clear. This is equal to the best IPS monitors we’ve photographed. From the top, the image washes out somewhat and output is reduced by 50%.
Screen Uniformity
To learn how we measure screen uniformity, click here.
Our PG27UQ sample was slightly disappointing in the black field uniformity test, turning in a 15.7 percent score. The anomalies occurred at the corners of the screen where there was slightly visible hot-spotting. But once light levels increased, there were no issues. At 100 percent, the score dropped to about five percent, which translates to perfect uniformity from edge to edge. Color is also about average for this class at 2.07dE variation. And we couldn’t see any problems with the naked eye in our 80 percent gray field pattern.
Pixel Response & Input Lag
Click here to read up on our pixel response and input lag testing procedures.
The PG27UQ is certainly responsive with a 7ms screen draw time. That is typical of monitors running at 144Hz and up. But it gave away a few milliseconds in the lag test, most likely because of the sheer processing requirements of pushing 8.3 million pixels around the screen. It’s still much faster than any 60Hz monitor, and few gamers will notice an issue. With G-Sync and high frame rates in operation, we doubt anyone will perceive the 10ms difference between it and the MSI MAG24C.
Gaming With G-Sync & HDR
Call of Duty: WWII takes advantage of HDR by presenting richly detailed shadows and specular highlights, like the glint of sunlight reflecting off metal, and distant textural elements, like clouds and water (if you have yet to experience gaming in Ultra HD with HDR, this game is a revelation. Honestly, we’ve seen weaker CGI in many Hollywood films).
On the PG27UQ, HDR really brought textures to life. The opening D-Day invasion illustrated this perfectly as I could instantly tell the difference between a dry and a wet uniform. Facial textures were equally tactile with dirt and razor stubble clearly rendered. Wondering about frame rates? Our single GTX 1080 Ti kept the action between 80 and 90 frames per second fps) without difficulty. We set the PG27UQ to 144Hz and never observed a single hiccup. Motion blur? Fuggedaboutit. You won’t miss it, trust us.
Extended color plays a secondary role in this monitor. The shades of WWII were drab and dark, as you’d expect. Flesh tones were entirely natural, and when lit brightly, showed a proper tint of red and orange. Clouds and sky also looked brilliant with a depth that’s simply not possible in SDR or sRGB.
We also tried out Tomb Raider and Far Cry 4 to see how the PG27UQ worked with SDR titles. The extra contrast was apparent with deep blacks and textures popping. High-quality titles like this will look amazing on the PG27UQ despite their sRGB color gamuts. With frame rates in the 70-80 fps range, response was smooth and free of blur. Input lag was non-existent too. This monitor will breathe new life into your existing library.
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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.
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mlee 2500 Won't catch me buying a monitor with a fan inside. I don't care how great it is otherwise. Not too mention 4K at 27" is kind of a pointless waste of the GPU resources you use to drive it. Even at 28" I find my XB280HK too small for most games at 4K...it just makes all the hours that game developers and artists put into their product become pointless when the details are too small to notice.Reply
I've come to the conclusion that 30" is probably the sweet spot of not extending too far beyond your peripheral vision while still being large enough to make 4K worthwhile (I had a 31" LG and it was *too* big, IMHO). Of course this all assumes a rational 16:9 aspect ration. Don't even get me started on these super wide models with a paltry 1440 vertical. Seems like a neck injury waiting to happen. -
milkod2001 This is something i was waiting for ages. Just one thing. I'm not 13years old any more, wish i was :). I don't need that stupid holographic or RGB lighting at the back. Just regular adjustable stand. I also don't need HDR, it's immature gimmick at the moment. I also want 32'' 4k version. 27''4k is a joke. Also price should be more down to earth $1200-1500. Gonna wait a little bit more i guess.Reply -
milkod2001 Go ahead and read reviews of actual owners on newegg. There is a loud fan included. This is not acceptable at this price.Reply -
moogleslam @Joe Black - I wouldn't call that the best thing about it, but sure, there isn't much need for a 16:9 27" to be curved. Not sure if you're against curved in general, but there's absolutely a place for it. a 21:9 34" or a 32:9 49" absolutely has to be curved.Reply