ASUS ROG Swift PG278Q G-SYNC Monitor Review
by Chris Heinonen & Jarred Walton on February 13, 2015 10:00 AM ESTDisplay Uniformity
The ASUS ROG display is a bit dim at the top of the display. Overall light levels fall close to 20% compared to the center of the screen. The lower-right corner also has as issue here, as light output falls up to 16% compared to the center. The center of the display is very good overall for light output, just the top 20% and the lower-right corner are dim.
Thankfully the black uniformity shows the same issues here, with drops in black level in the same areas that white level falls. This will provide blacker-blacks here, but more importantly it keeps the contrast ratios similar across the screen. Blacker-blacks are always good, but it could lead to a bit of shadow crush if the backlight is too low for the gamma curve and black floor.
Contrast uniformity is very even across the display. The lowest contrast ratio is 777:1 and the maximum is 947:1 with a median value of 865:1. This is very close to the center measurement so while parts of the screen have an issue with the backlight not being bright enough, overall the uniformity between black and white is good.
The biggest issue is with color uniformity. Since the dE2000 reading takes into account the luminance level of the color, this light fall-off causes the error levels to rise around the screen. The center of the screen is very good, but the top and lower-right cause the median dE2000 error to rise up to 1.65 with an overall average error of 2.15. This certainly isn’t up to the levels of a professional display, but is in line with a gaming display right now. Again, fine for gaming but not for photos.
The ASUS ROG has some definite issues with backlight uniformity that manifest themselves through being too dim at the top and lower-right. This causes a rise in the dE2000 errors for colors as the luminance is too low. The center of the screen, where you’ll look most, is nice and uniform but overall the display is just fair here.
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Antronman - Saturday, February 14, 2015 - link
The picture quality still won't be hugely impressive with IPS, because the color palettes used in games have saturation gradients, and the areas of a map or character that should be noticeable will be extremely heavily oversaturated, whereas the less important, insignificant parts will have very, very little saturation and less polys than the important parts that the saturated colors will be on.bznotins - Friday, February 13, 2015 - link
Currently still rocking a 3007WFP from 2006. Best $1100 I ever spent on electronics. Love the zero input lag and 16:10 resolution.Once we see a 60hz+ 32" 4K monitor, I will finally upgrade. GSync would be awesome.
I just can't bring myself to go down to 27" now, GSync or not.
zodiacsoulmate - Friday, February 13, 2015 - link
Linus just reviewed a 31 inch 4098x2160 LG 31UM97, seems very niceyefi - Friday, February 13, 2015 - link
Ditto that. I'd love gsync on a 30" 2560x1600 monitor, but these gamers are apparently satisfied with tiny little monitors and their 16:9.Antronman - Saturday, February 14, 2015 - link
A large monitor just means I have to move the monitor farther back and move my chair farther back.rtho782 - Saturday, February 14, 2015 - link
I went from a 3007WFP-HC, to a RoG Swift. The size drop was a little annoying, but when my 2nd Swift failed last week the 3007 seemed weird because of the aspect ratio, and I missed 144hz.TheEkorn - Friday, February 13, 2015 - link
I`m wondering where the input lag graph on page 6 is?JarredWalton - Friday, February 13, 2015 - link
"Like the other G-SYNC displays I have tested, the ASUS ROG has no inputs aside from a single DisplayPort. Because I have no CRT monitor that can run at the same native resolution as it, nor a DisplayPort compatible lag tester, I can’t produce an accurate input lag measurement for the display. Obviously this is not an ideal result for a gaming display, but any number I could produce I would have zero faith in."TheEkorn - Friday, February 13, 2015 - link
Thanks :)i4mt3hwin - Friday, February 13, 2015 - link
No talk about the inversion issue this monitor has? Between this:http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?50004-PG2...
and
http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?52705-PG2...
This monitor clearly has some issues at the panel level. http://gyazo.com/ff54f6a888ded6aac5472ac3d480ffba
The vertical lines going through the grey part of the rifle (looks like a crosshatch) appears on all bright colors when the monitor is in motion.