SmokeDarKnight
Author Level
Hey Guys,
I just picked up a Asus ROG Swift PG278Q and have been playing with it for a few days now and thought i would post up my honest review.
The machine looks the part, beautifully designed, looks good switched on or off and moves into any position you require. It has a small power brick about the same size as apple macbook power supply but thinner. Single cable to my GTX 980 which is Displayport which makes your connection options simple. Also comes with a USB3 hub built in but only 2 ports for inputs, i would have liked to seen 4 on it.
Switching the monitor on it comes up with a nice Asus screen and thats most likely the last time you will ever see it. Switching the monitor on and off is instant into your computer, doesn't need any time to warm up etc its there and its bright. I also like the red ring at the bottom of the base where it swivels too, although not bringing any usefulness it looks cool.
I bought this monitor as a sort of experiment, i needed a new monitor and i was conflicted between resolution and refresh rate. In the end i couldn't decide and took the jump to this beast. More than i really wanted to pay retailing at around the £600 mark but convinced myself to go for it.
From here on i will be comparing the monitors features to my old Samsung 60hz 1080 5ms monitor
Resolution:- The step up from 1080 to 1440
Personally i still think that 1080 is a beautiful resolution. 1080 is crisp and clear and having the monitors side by side to compare there isn't any sort of "WOW" in my opinion from the resolution, there is an improvement don't get me wrong but taking into account the price mark i just felt like i would have been blown away more. Playing Dota 2 there wasn't a massive improvement, but Batman Arkham Origin it did shine a little i must admit.
Thoughs:- If i had the choice i would have been happy with a 1080 monitor again if 'im honest.
Refresh Rate:- The step up from 60hz to 144hz and 5ms to 1ms
I certainly noticed the difference here, without the restriction of my 60hz monitor i felt that games looked a lot smoother with the restriction of 60hz lifted. Looking at the frame rate instead of floating around the 58-61fps mark games were settling in about 90fps with my usual settings. This made it much more comfortable on the eyes and a delight to play. Even in windows moving the mouse around you can see the difference.
Thoughts:- I can really see the difference with this feature whether as much as 144hz is required i can't tell but i would grade this more important than resolution at the moment. I know you can get 120hz monitors out there but i think there pretty rare.
Synchroning:- The step up from None/Vsync to Gsync NVIDIA USERS ONLY, AMD USERS CHECK OUT FREESYNC MONITORS
WOW, just wow. Gsync is where this think makes the big difference. Games that i had deemed unplayable such as Far Cry 4, Grand Theft Auto 5 story mode even Assassins Creed Unity this feature made a really good job at sorting out. Frame rate changes were almost undetectable, even dropping below 60fps this gsync magic seemed to hug me and shield me from from that horrible experience when jumping between 60+ and 60-. GTA5 Story mode was sitting anywhere between 70fps and 45 fps and when i turned the fps counter off i couldn't have noticed any drops. It was a pleasure to game with this feature. No screen tearing, The movements were so smooth, i cannot big up this feature enough. Input lag also was not noticeable at all. Normally i would play Dota 2 with the Vsync off an put up with screen tearing and stutter but now its just awsome.
Thoughts:- Never buying a non Gsync monitor again. In my opinion of you are looking at a new monitor make this feature top of your must have list. I believe this will also help your machine age better, once games start taking your system as it gets older the Monitor and you GPU(S) will chat away to each other to help you get a pleasent viewing experience.
Final Thoughts
My advice for anyone looking for a new monitor at the moment is to make a budget and try to squeeze GSync into it. If you can afford it and want all singing and dancing by all means this is an awesome monitor and i highly recommend it. All three features together make for an awesome experience i'm sure but even a 1080 GSync monitor would still have blown me away i think. Refresh rate i would advise as your second thought, a higher 60hz monitor can unlock some advantages in the smoothness of games.
Priority list
1, GSync
2, Refreshrate/responce time
3, Resolution
Pro's
Nice size at 27"
Gsync
Feels like a good addition to a high end rig
Makes games that were unplayable playable.
Con's
1440 might not be as bit an improvement as you had hoped
Gsync only works with Nvidia GPU, for AMD look up Freesync monitors
Additional
This monitor does come with some features i would class as gimiky and perhaps even borderling cheating such as an on screen cross hair but they didn't really influence my decision so i din't include them in my review sorry.
Hope this helps anyone looking at buying a new monitor and please also note that your results may vary between systems and games. I tested out this system on my rig in my signature and with Tomb Raider, Borderlands TPS, GTAV Story and Onlne (Online ran a lot smoother btw), Dota 2, Batman Arkham Origin, Assassin's Creed Unity.
Thank for reading, any questions feel free to message me or put them below
Please note that this monitor is also available to order with PCS Machine and through the upgrade page.
Mike
I just picked up a Asus ROG Swift PG278Q and have been playing with it for a few days now and thought i would post up my honest review.
The machine looks the part, beautifully designed, looks good switched on or off and moves into any position you require. It has a small power brick about the same size as apple macbook power supply but thinner. Single cable to my GTX 980 which is Displayport which makes your connection options simple. Also comes with a USB3 hub built in but only 2 ports for inputs, i would have liked to seen 4 on it.
Switching the monitor on it comes up with a nice Asus screen and thats most likely the last time you will ever see it. Switching the monitor on and off is instant into your computer, doesn't need any time to warm up etc its there and its bright. I also like the red ring at the bottom of the base where it swivels too, although not bringing any usefulness it looks cool.
I bought this monitor as a sort of experiment, i needed a new monitor and i was conflicted between resolution and refresh rate. In the end i couldn't decide and took the jump to this beast. More than i really wanted to pay retailing at around the £600 mark but convinced myself to go for it.
From here on i will be comparing the monitors features to my old Samsung 60hz 1080 5ms monitor
Resolution:- The step up from 1080 to 1440
Personally i still think that 1080 is a beautiful resolution. 1080 is crisp and clear and having the monitors side by side to compare there isn't any sort of "WOW" in my opinion from the resolution, there is an improvement don't get me wrong but taking into account the price mark i just felt like i would have been blown away more. Playing Dota 2 there wasn't a massive improvement, but Batman Arkham Origin it did shine a little i must admit.
Thoughs:- If i had the choice i would have been happy with a 1080 monitor again if 'im honest.
Refresh Rate:- The step up from 60hz to 144hz and 5ms to 1ms
I certainly noticed the difference here, without the restriction of my 60hz monitor i felt that games looked a lot smoother with the restriction of 60hz lifted. Looking at the frame rate instead of floating around the 58-61fps mark games were settling in about 90fps with my usual settings. This made it much more comfortable on the eyes and a delight to play. Even in windows moving the mouse around you can see the difference.
Thoughts:- I can really see the difference with this feature whether as much as 144hz is required i can't tell but i would grade this more important than resolution at the moment. I know you can get 120hz monitors out there but i think there pretty rare.
Synchroning:- The step up from None/Vsync to Gsync NVIDIA USERS ONLY, AMD USERS CHECK OUT FREESYNC MONITORS
WOW, just wow. Gsync is where this think makes the big difference. Games that i had deemed unplayable such as Far Cry 4, Grand Theft Auto 5 story mode even Assassins Creed Unity this feature made a really good job at sorting out. Frame rate changes were almost undetectable, even dropping below 60fps this gsync magic seemed to hug me and shield me from from that horrible experience when jumping between 60+ and 60-. GTA5 Story mode was sitting anywhere between 70fps and 45 fps and when i turned the fps counter off i couldn't have noticed any drops. It was a pleasure to game with this feature. No screen tearing, The movements were so smooth, i cannot big up this feature enough. Input lag also was not noticeable at all. Normally i would play Dota 2 with the Vsync off an put up with screen tearing and stutter but now its just awsome.
Thoughts:- Never buying a non Gsync monitor again. In my opinion of you are looking at a new monitor make this feature top of your must have list. I believe this will also help your machine age better, once games start taking your system as it gets older the Monitor and you GPU(S) will chat away to each other to help you get a pleasent viewing experience.
Final Thoughts
My advice for anyone looking for a new monitor at the moment is to make a budget and try to squeeze GSync into it. If you can afford it and want all singing and dancing by all means this is an awesome monitor and i highly recommend it. All three features together make for an awesome experience i'm sure but even a 1080 GSync monitor would still have blown me away i think. Refresh rate i would advise as your second thought, a higher 60hz monitor can unlock some advantages in the smoothness of games.
Priority list
1, GSync
2, Refreshrate/responce time
3, Resolution
Pro's
Nice size at 27"
Gsync
Feels like a good addition to a high end rig
Makes games that were unplayable playable.
Con's
1440 might not be as bit an improvement as you had hoped
Gsync only works with Nvidia GPU, for AMD look up Freesync monitors
Additional
This monitor does come with some features i would class as gimiky and perhaps even borderling cheating such as an on screen cross hair but they didn't really influence my decision so i din't include them in my review sorry.
Hope this helps anyone looking at buying a new monitor and please also note that your results may vary between systems and games. I tested out this system on my rig in my signature and with Tomb Raider, Borderlands TPS, GTAV Story and Onlne (Online ran a lot smoother btw), Dota 2, Batman Arkham Origin, Assassin's Creed Unity.
Thank for reading, any questions feel free to message me or put them below
Please note that this monitor is also available to order with PCS Machine and through the upgrade page.
Mike
Last edited: