ASUS ROG SWIFT PG278Q

ASUS ROG SWIFT PG278Q Review – The LCD monitor is one of the handful of components that can make a real, tangible difference for gamers. Qualities such as high refresh rates, rapid response times, and widescreen aspect ratios can help you more easily target your enemies, outpace your opponents, and survey the landscape for exactly the right location and moment to strike. The ASUS ROG SWIFT PG278Q has all of these features, but it’s more than that. ASUS saw fit to initiate this display into its Republic of Gamers, a club that admits no scrubs. How did the pass muster? Oh, how about being the first WQHD 144Hz 1ms G-SYNC monitor in the world? For a monitor, that’s the equivalent of wrestling an alligator . . . while riding a great white shark.

We usually don’t mention the exterior design elements of monitors, but the matte charcoal black finish and triangular and trapezoidal shapes on the back, base, and stand lend the ROG SWIFT PG278Q a cool aesthetic that’s reminiscent of other ROG components we’ve tested. The red ring around the monitor’s base pulses with light (yes, you can turn it off ), and fussy gamers will also appreciate this monitor’s height, tilt, swivel, and pivot (for portrait or landscape viewing modes) adjustability.

The 2,560 x 1,440 resolution display ASUS turns to for the ROG SWIFT PG278Q is a high quality TN (twisted nematic) LCD panel that’s capable of supporting faster than 60Hz refresh rates. The Turbo Key display button behind the right edge of the screen lets you quickly alternate between 60Hz, 120Hz, and 144Hz refresh rates. Although the higher refresh rates enable this display to draw frames at pace with a fast graphics card, the best way to eliminate screen tearing and frame stutter is to use a variable refresh rate, whereby the graphics card effectively dictates how often the screen draws an image. NVIDIA G-SYNC display technology is how the ROG SWIFT PG278Q is able to manage this bit of technical wizardry. (A GeForce GTX 750 Ti BOOST or higher is required.) If you’ve noticed that this monitor only supports DisplayPort, that’s directly the result of G-SYNC, which doesn’t work over HDMI or DVI.

When it comes to gaming tech, this monitor is packed with more than an insane number of pixels. It’s also NVIDIA 3D Vision-ready, features GamePlus technology (which can superimpose one of four different crosshairs overlays or an onscreen timer), and supports Ultra Low Motion Blur, which is an imperceptible backlight strobing effect that can cut down on motion blur at the monitor’s lower refresh rates.

The physical buttons on the back right edge of the screen let you make adjustments on the fly. There’s also a unique five-way joystick that makes moving through the OSD easy and intuitive, so you can get back to your game as quickly as possible. Another feature that’s particularly appealing to those of us who play across multiple screens is the ultra-thin 6mm bezel. After several extended gaming sessions, Blu-ray movies, and a handful of hours spent performing other tasks, we can verify that this monitor was undeniably built from the ground up to be easy on the eyes no matter what job you have for it. If you’re willing to shell out on a high-end graphics card, you need to pair it with a monitor that can keep up. In our experience, the ROG SWIFT PG278Q absolutely can.

ASUS ROG SWIFT PG278Q Specifications

• 27-inch (2,560 x 1,440)
• 16:9 aspect ratio
• Pixel pitch: 0.233mm/109 PPI
• Brightness: 350cd/m²
• 16.7 million colors
• Max refresh rate: 144Hz
• 1ms response time (GTG)
• 6mm bezel
• Tilt, swivel, pivot, and height-adjustable stand
• Ports: DisplayPort 1.2, 2 USB 3.0 ports