The Asus ROG Swift PG27UQ G-SYNC HDR Monitor Review: Gaming With All The Bells and Whistles
by Nate Oh on October 2, 2018 10:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Monitors
- Displays
- Asus
- NVIDIA
- G-Sync
- PG27UQ
- ROG Swift PG27UQ
- G-Sync HDR
HDR Color And Luminance
New to our monitor workflow, we've utilized some of CalMAN's recent HDR Analysis workflow additions, again in the SpectraCal suite. As I don't have an HDR test pattern generator currently, we've utilized madTPG for the HDR pattern generator. To note, in SDR mode the monitor reports a "SDR-BT1886" EOTF (gamma) instead of "SDR-sRGB" when in YCbCr mode, but in HDR mode the EOTF is "HDR-ST2084".
Checking back on HDR brightness, we see that the peak brightness is around 1236 nits, reached when a 10% area of the screen was white. So there's definitely room to spare with respect to the 1000 nit minimum requirement.
The HDR gamut coverage matches what we saw with the SDR 'wide gamut' mode, confirming that it covers around 76% BT.2020 and 92% DCI-P3.
Originally in delta ICtCp format, which reportedly describes HDR more accurately, the metrics are in delta E for ease of comparison. The HDR10 media profile targets the BT.2020 space, so it's important to see how well devices designed for the more limited P3 gamut do inside this subset. In that respect the PG27UQ is able to do quite well, with dE's below 3 on color saturation sweeps.
As for chroma subsampling, the 4:2:2 mode kicks into effect when in HDR mode at 120Hz or above. The lack of full horizontal color data can be noticed in certain cases, such as colored text on colored backgrounds where font can become blurry.
4:2:2 (top) and 4:4:4 (bottom) as seen on 12 point font
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HollyDOL - Wednesday, October 3, 2018 - link
When there is a 27" 4k HDR Eizo with G-Sync and 'CX' line+ picture quality, I'll be thinking of upgrade.Got only space for one screen and use cases are quite wide. Pro (job) usage has to get the priority.
FreckledTrout - Wednesday, October 3, 2018 - link
Couple that with a MIni LED backlight array for the HDR part and that would be one hell of a monitor.HollyDOL - Wednesday, October 3, 2018 - link
Hmm... the dilemma: new screen or new car :-)Impulses - Wednesday, October 3, 2018 - link
You probably spend more time in front of the screen than in the car! ;PHollyDOL - Thursday, October 4, 2018 - link
Is it okay to quote you when I negotiate the home budget :-) ?Kamus - Wednesday, October 3, 2018 - link
Article should be updated. The latest windows update finally fixes HDR support for windows (you now get a slider for SDR content, and it works fine)Lau_Tech - Wednesday, October 3, 2018 - link
I find the Brightness and Contrast charts confusing, would probably be easier to read if done as a simple table with min/max luminance.As for those who want to talk about mini-led vaporware, I dont want whatever it is you're smoking
Samus - Thursday, October 4, 2018 - link
This monitor consumes as much power as my entire PC while gaming. That's insane.CoryS - Friday, October 5, 2018 - link
I do photo editing, and would like to start doing 10 bit HDR video work (as a passionate hobby, not a profession) But also would like a GSYNC monitor for gaming.Would this or the upcoming 35 model be a good fit? I can't tell from the review if the color space support is adequate for the editing work I do.
Glenwing - Sunday, June 16, 2019 - link
Good article :) not to be nitpicky, but just a few typo corrections:"Notably, this isn’t enough bandwidth for any higher refresh rates, particularly not 144MHz"
I think you mean "Hz", not "MHz" :P
"I’ve seen it referred to >>as<< compression at some points"
Missing word added ^
"None the less, "
This is actually one word :P
Cheers ^.^