ASUS PG27AQDP Review: 1440p 480Hz OLED Gaming Monitor

The ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG27AQDP is a 27″ 1440p gaming monitor with a rapid 480Hz refresh rate based on LG’s W-OLED panel. It also supports VRR, BFI up to 240Hz and a lot more features! Here’s what you need to know about it.

Image Quality

The ASUS PG27AQDP uses LG’s W-OLED panel with the improved RGWB subpixel layout meaning that red and green color fringing on small text and fine details is not nearly as noticeable as it’s on the older RWBG panels.

It can still be observed in some cases, but it’s not an issue for everyday use or work, while in games and videos, it’s not noticeable at all!

The 2560×1440 screen resolution results in a decent pixel density of roughly 110 PPI (pixels per inch) on the ~27″ sized screen, so you get a lot of screen real estate with reasonably sharp details and text. More importantly, 1440p is not as demanding as 4K UHD, allowing you to actually reach 480FPS in some games!

As is the case with all OLED displays, you get an infinite contrast ratio as pixels can individually turn off, resulting in true blacks.

Since there’s no backlight, you also won’t get any backlight bleeding, FALD haloing or IPS/VA glow associated with typical LCDs. The downside is that the display cannot get as bright as mini LED monitors.

Related:OLED vs LCD vs Plasma – What’s The Difference?

Still, thanks to the W-OLED MLA+ panel, you get an excellent brightness performance with up to 275-nits for 100% APL, 750-nits for 10% APL and 1300-nits for < 3% APL (Average Picture Level, white window test size).

During regular desktop use, make sure that the ‘Uniform Brightness’ option is enabled. It limits the brightness to around 275-nits, but avoids the annoying ABL (Automatic Brightness Limiter) behavior that dynamically changes the brightness depending on the amount of bright objects on the screen.

If you’re playing a game that doesn’t support HDR, you might want to consider disabling Uniform Brightness to get a bit punchier highlights. For HDR content, we recommend using the Game HDR Mode and setting the ‘Adjustable Brightness’ option to ‘100’ for the best HDR viewing experience.

The default ’90’ brightness is a bit more accurate, but most users will prefer the higher brightness of ‘100’ – some scenes will be brighter than intended, but this also makes it easier to distinguish details in dark scenes.

The main difference between mini LED displays is that some of them can maintain that ~1300-nits brightness even for bigger APLs, including 100% full-field white, but they suffer from haloing or blooming visual artifacts when illuminating small objects on dark backgrounds, such as fireworks and stars in the night sky scenes.

Now, Samsung’s QD-OLED panels have a lower peak brightness on paper of 250-nits 100% APL, 450-nits 10% APL and 1000-nits for < 3% APL, but keep in mind that these refer to white luminance.

When it comes to color luminance, QD-OLED panels are superior as they have a wider color gamut and their colors can get brighter, resulting in a more saturated image with a higher perceived brightness.

Regardless, the ASUS PG27AQDP still offers exceptional colors with 98.5% DCI-P3 color space coverage, which in addition to excellent brightness and infinite contrast ratio ensures an immersive viewing experience.

Further, the monitor is factory-calibrated at Delta E < 2 and has a dedicated sRGB emulation mode for professional-grade color accuracy out of the box.

The OLED panel also provides you with 178° wide viewing angles, ensuring flawless image quality regardless of the angle you’re looking at the screen, as well as true 10-bit color depth support for 1.07 billion colors with smooth gradients.

Performance

The ASUS PG27AQDP has a maximum refresh rate of 480Hz, which is the highest refresh rate of all OLED displays currently available.

The LG 32GS95UE and the ASUS PG32UCDP 32″ 4K 240Hz monitors have a 480Hz Dual Mode, but it’s limited to the 1920×1080 resolution, which results in smudgy details due to the low pixel density and the fact that the monitor is using a non-native resolution.

Moreover, the ASUS PG27AQDP monitor provides you with impeccable display latency of just around 1ms, which is imperceptible. OLED displays also have instantaneous pixel response time speed for zero ghosting or overshoot artifacts behind fast-moving objects regardless of the refresh rate.

480Hz provides you with a noticeable boost in motion clarity as opposed to 144Hz – 240Hz displays, but the jump from 360Hz is not that apparent. So, unless you can actually maintain 480FPS in the games you play or plan to upgrade your PC specs soon, a cheaper 1440p 360Hz QD-OLED model, such as the MSI MAG 271QPX will provide you with better value for money as it can be found for as low as $650.

Moving on, the ASUS PG27AQDP supports ELMB (Extreme Low Motion Blur) BFI (Black Frame Insertion) technology. Once enabled, it inserts black frames between the regular frames in order to reduce perceived motion blur caused by the sample-and-hold display operation.

Due to the added black frames, the brightness is reduced to around 200-nits, which is actually an excellent result and usable under normal lighting conditions. ELMB can be used at 120Hz and 240Hz with HDR and VRR (variable refresh rate) disabled.

At 240Hz ELMB, you essentially get the same motion clarity as that of native 480Hz, which is great news if you can only maintain 240FPS. Similarly, 120Hz ELMB provides the same motion clarity as 240Hz native.

VRR is supported as well, with AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and NVIDIA G-SYNC Compatible certification for tear-free gameplay up to 480FPS.

As expected from an OLED display, subtle VRR brightness flickering can be observed in some games with fluctuating frame rates. ASUS offers the ‘OLED Anti-Flicker’ feature, which limits the VRR range to 160-480Hz (Middle) or 200-480Hz (High) to minimize the brightness flickering without introducing screen tearing.

Finally, one thing to keep in mind about OLED displays is the risk of permanent image burn-in and temporary image retention. If you leave the display with bright static elements for too long, those static elements can become permanently visible as an afterimage.

However, as long as you’re using the monitor sensibly, play varied content and regularly use the built-in burn-in prevention features, such as Pixel Cleaning, Screen Saver, Screen Move, Outer Dimming Control, Local Dimming Control and Logo Brightness Adjustment, it shouldn’t be an issue.

What’s more, ASUS offers a 3-year warranty that covers burn-in!

Features

Beneath the bottom bezel of the screen, there’s a directional joystick for quick and easy navigation through the OSD (On-Screen Display) menu. Alternatively, you can use ASUS’ DisplayWidget desktop application to make your adjustments via keyboard and mouse.

Besides the standard image adjustment tools (brightness, contrast, color temperature, etc.), the ASUS ROG Swift PG27AQDP also offers some advanced settings, including gamma, 6-axis hue/saturation, sharpness (VividPixel), DSC toggle and automatic input detection.

There’s also customizable RGB lighting (Aura Sync compatible) at the rear of the monitor and a logo projector beneath the stand.

Useful gaming features include:

• AI Crosshair – crosshair overlays that can dynamically change color depending on the background
• AI Shadow Boost – improves visibility in dark scenes without over-brightening other areas
• AI Sniper – zooms in the area around your crosshair when an enemy player is detected in FPS games
• MOBA Map Helper – flashes the mini-map when an enemy player appears
• Aspect Control – simulates different screen sizes and aspect ratios, such as 24.5″ and 4:3, including Pixel by pixel support
• On-screen timers
• Refresh rate tracker

Design & Connectivity

The stand of the monitor is sturdy and offers a full range of ergonomics, including up to 110mm height adjustment, +/- 30° swivel, +/- 90° pivot, -5°/20° tilt and 100x100mm VESA mount compatibility.

Connectivity options include DisplayPort 1.4 with DSC, two HDMI 2.1 ports with 48 Gbps and DSC, a dual-USB 3.0 hub and a headphone jack.

The screen has a 4-side bezel-less design, but there’s a chin on the bottom bezel with the ROG logo. Next, the monitor uses a heatsink for cooling, so there’s no audible fan, while the screen has a matte anti-glare coating that efficiently diffuses reflections, but it adds a bit of graininess to the image (slightly noticeable on solid colors).

Price & Similar Monitors

The ASUS PG27AQDP goes for $1,000, which is a reasonable price given the specifications and features.

However, as we mentioned earlier, most gamers don’t need 480Hz, in which case you should consider the cheaper 27″ 1440p 360Hz and 240Hz OLED alternatives as well, such as the MSI MAG 271QPX, the MSI MAG 271QPX E2, the LG 27GS95QE and the ASUS XG27AQDMG for $650 – $750.

There are a lot of mini LED and OLED alternatives available in this price range, so make sure to visit our best HDR monitors buyer’s guide for more options.

Competitive gamers should also consider the ASUS PG248QP with a 24″ 1080p 540Hz TN panel. It offers similar motion clarity as the PG27AQDP thanks to its ULMB2 technology. It also has a more suitable 24″ 1080p screen for competitive titles and goes for $700, though it doesn’t have nearly as good image quality.

Conclusion

The ASUS PG27AQDP is one of the best gaming monitors currently available. Thanks to its ELMB up to 240Hz support, it’s worth considering even if you can output 480FPS! You get exceptional gaming performance and excellent HDR image quality with plenty of useful features.

However, if you don’t need such a high refresh rate, the MSI MAG 271QPX with a 1440p 360Hz QD-OLED panel can be found for just $650, resulting in a lot better value for money for most gamers.

Specifications

Screen Size	27-inch
Resolution	2560×1440 (WQHD)
Panel Type	OLED
Aspect Ratio	16:9 (Widescreen)
Refresh Rate	480Hz
Response Time	0.03ms (GtG)
Motion Blur Reduction	ELMB
Adaptive-Sync	FreeSync Premium Pro (48-480Hz), G-SYNC Compatible, HDMI 2.1 VRR
Ports	DisplayPort 1.4, 2x HDMI 2.1
Other Ports	Headphone Jack, 2x USB 3.0
Brightness (1 – 3% White Window)	1300 cd/m²
Brightness (10% White Window)	750 cd/m²
Brightness (100% White Window)	275 cd/m²
Contrast Ratio	Infinite
Colors	1.07 billion (true 10-bit) 98.5% DCI-P3
HDR	VESA DisplayHDR 400 True Black
VESA	Yes (100x100mm)