ASUS PG35VQ Review: 3440×1440 200Hz G-SYNC HDR UltraWide Curved Gaming Monitor

Along with the Acer Predator X35, the ASUS ROG Swift PG35VQ was one of the best gaming monitors back in 2019, however, most gamers weren’t even considering buying them due to the hefty $2,500 price tag.

Nowadays, the PG35VQ can be found for around $1,500 on sale, but there have also been a lot of new and exciting monitors released since 2019, so how does it compare to modern alternatives at its reduced price? Let’s see!

Image Quality

Based on a VA panel by AU Optronics, the ASUS PG35VQ boasts a high native static contrast ratio of 2,500:1 and a peak brightness of 500-nits for SDR (Standard Dynamic Range) content.

However, thanks to its full-array local dimming (FALD) solution, the monitor is capable of boosting the contrast ratio to over 100,000:1 and peak brightness to over 1,000-nits for the true HDR viewing experience with vivid highlights and inky blacks.

There are 512 individually controllable zones that can dim parts of the screen where the image is supposed to be dark without affecting the areas that are supposed to remain bright.

Now, as there are almost 5 million pixels on the screen and ‘only’ 512 dimming zones, when a small bright object is surrounded by dimmed zones, some light will bleed into those zones thus creating blooming or the halo effect.

While this can be distracting in certain scenarios, such as when moving a small white cursor across a dark background, it’s not an issue in real use, that is, when watching videos or playing games; you might notice it in some scenes, but it’s mostly tolerable or negligible.

Moving on, the ASUS PG35VQ supports a wide color gamut with 90% DCI-P3 color space coverage (~125% sRGB gamut size) for more saturated and rich colors thanks to the QDEF (quantum dot-enhanced film) layer.

You can also restrict the color output to 100% sRGB via the ‘Display SDR Input’ option under ‘System Setup’ in the OSD (Sn-Screen Display) menu of the screen.

The monitor is factory-calibrated at Delta E < 2 for excellent accuracy out of the box. However, due to the gamma/saturation shifts associated with VA technology, the PG35VQ is not ideal for professional color-critical work.

These gamma shifts aren’t really noticeable in normal use unless you’re deliberately looking for them, but they can be bothersome to professional colorists. For basic content creation, the ASUS PG35VQ will do just fine.

Next, the 3440×1440 screen resolution offers a high pixel density on 35″ sized screens; with 106.55 PPI (pixels per inch), you get plenty of screen space with sharp details and text without any scaling necessary.

Further, the 21:9 ultrawide aspect ratio provides you with extra horizontal screen space that’s especially useful for audio/video editing and office-related work.

In compatible games, you also get a wider field of view for a more immersive gaming experience, and movies shot at the ~21:9 aspect ratio are displayed without black bars at the sides of the screen you’d find on 16:9 monitors/TVs.

Performance

The ASUS PG35VQ monitor is equipped with an NVIDIA G-SYNC Ultimate module that provides a variable refresh rate (VRR) up to 200Hz for tear-free gameplay if you have a compatible GPU (GeForce 650 Ti or newer).

For G-SYNC and HDR, you’ll need the GTX 1050 or newer GPU. You can use the monitor with AMD GPUs too, but you cannot utilize VRR.

VRR basically syncs the monitor’s refresh rate with GPU’s frame rates. So, at 70FPS, the monitor changes its refresh rate to 70Hz to display 70 whole frames per second without stuttering or tears and unlike V-Sync, it doesn’t add any perceptible latency.

Input lag is low at around 3ms, so you won’t be able to feel or notice any delays between your actions and the result on the screen.

Sadly, the pixel response time speed is not as impressive, which is common for most VA displays. Due to the slow dark to bright pixel transitions, smearing will be noticeable in dark scenes. However, unless you’re particularly sensitive to ghosting, it will be tolerable or even negligible.

The amount of ghosting/smearing is mostly distracting in competitive FPS games, but it becomes less of an issue in graphically-oriented games, which is what the monitor is primarily intended for.

Lowering the refresh rate to 144Hz (or limiting your FPS to 144 in case you’re using VRR) results in less ghosting, though the overall sharpness of fast-moving objects is better at 200Hz.

There are three response time overdrive modes: Off, Normal and Extreme. We recommend using the Normal mode as ‘Extreme’ adds too much overshoot when local dimming is disabled.

With the local dimming enabled, The Extreme overdrive mode offers faster response time and while there’s still some overshoot, it’s less apparent than with FALD disabled. So, depending on your preference, Extreme might work better or worse for you; the result can also vary from game to game.

To enable or disable FALD, there’s the ‘Variable Backlight’ option in the OSD menu with four settings: Off, Fast, Medium and Gradual. We recommend using the Fast mode for the least amount of blooming. Note that you cannot disable FALD when watching HDR content, but you can use it with SDR content.

Features

To access and navigate the OSD menu, there’s a directional joystick at the rear of the monitor next to three additional hotkeys and a power button.

Available image adjustment tools include brightness, contrast, color temperature, aspect ratio and gamma (from 1.8 to 2.6).

There’s also an Auto SDR Brightness option that allows the display to change its brightness according to ambient lighting via an integrated sensor.

Useful gaming features include Dark Boost (improves visibility in dark scenes), crosshair overlays, on-screen timers and various picture presets, such as Racing, FPS, RTS/RPG, Cinema, Scenery, etc.

The backlight of the monitor is flicker-free and there’s an integrated low-blue light filter with four different intensity levels available.

If you receive an older unit of the monitor, you’ll need to make sure the firmware is up to date in order to prevent potential flickering issues.

Design & Connectivity

The stand of the monitor is robust and versatile with up to 110mm height adjustment, +/- 35° swivel, -6°/21° tilt and 100x100mm VESA mount compatibility, while the screen has a subtle 1800R curvature for added immersion and a light anti-glare matte coating that prevents reflections without making the image too grainy.

Due to the dedicated G-SYNC module, there’s an integrated cooling fan inside the monitor, but it’s silent.

Further, AuraSync RGB lighting is supported for the ROG logo at the rear of the monitor, LEDs at the top of the stand and the logo projector beneath the stand.

Connectivity options include DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.0, a headphone jack and a dual-USB 3.0 hub (2 downstream + 1 upstream).

Because the DP 1.4 port lacks DSC (Display Stream Compression), you’re limited to 8-bit color depth above 144Hz. Since the difference between 8-bit and 10-bit color is barely noticeable in games (a bit smoother gradients in supported titles), this isn’t a big issue.

In fact, most games in which you could actually notice the difference between 10-bit and 8-bit color are actually too demanding to be run at over 144FPS with high picture settings.

HDMI 2.0 is limited to 100Hz at 3440×1440, and the 1080p 120Hz mode is supported for the PS5 and compatible Xbox consoles (1440p 120Hz for the Xbox isn’t supported).

Finally, the monitor has a ‘Hi-Fi-grade ESS’ DAC that allows for higher quality audio for headphones. To activate it, connect the monitor to your PC via USB, press the sound hotkey (the first one above the power button) and select ‘USB (Hi-Res support).

This will provide you with better (24-bit 192kHz) audio quality than that of HDMI/DP passthrough (16-bit 48kHz).

Price & Similar Monitors

Initially, the ASUS PG35VQ price was $2,500. Now it goes for $2,000 and even lower on sales (as low as $1,300).

Even at $1,300, we recommend getting the Dell Alienware AW3423DWF for ~$800 instead. It uses a QD-OLED panel for a much better HDR image quality and smoother performance.

To learn more about monitors and ensure you’re getting the model most suited for your personal preference, visit our comprehensive and always up-to-date best gaming monitor buyer’s guide.

Conclusion

All in all, the ASUS PG35VQ is an excellent HDR gaming monitor. However, even at its discounted price, it seems too expensive due to its slow pixel response time speed, among other things.

Specifications

Screen Size	35-inch
Screen Curvature	1800R
Resolution	3440×1440 (UWQHD)
Panel Type	VA
Aspect Ratio	16:9 (Widescreen)
Refresh Rate	200Hz (8-bit) 144Hz (10-bit)
Response Time	2ms (GtG)
Adaptive-Sync	G-SYNC (30-200Hz)
Ports	DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.0
Other Ports	Headphone Jack, 2x USB 3.0
Brightness	500 cd/m²
Brightness (HDR)	1000 cd/m²
Contrast Ratio	2500:1 (static)
Colors	1.07 billion (8-bit + FRC) 90% DCI-P3
HDR	DisplayHDR 1000
Local Dimming	512-zone FALD
VESA	Yes (100x100mm)