ASUS ROG Swift PG27UQ Review: 4K 144Hz G-SYNC Ultimate Gaming Monitor

Back in 2018, the ASUS PG27UQ, along with the Acer X27, was one of the first gaming monitors with a full-array local dimming (FALD) implementation, which allowed it to deliver a true HDR viewing experience.

Most gamers, however, were dissuaded by the $2,000 price tag.

Nowadays, both displays can sometimes be found on sale for as low as $1,300, but there are a lot of brand new monitors available at that price range too. So, how does the ASUS PG27UQ stack up now? Let’s find out!

Image Quality

The ASUS ROG Swift PG27UQ monitor is based on an IPS panel with 10-bit color depth (8-bit + FRC), 178-degree viewing angles and a 4ms response time speed.

It’s factory-calibrated to Delta E ≤  3 and covers 97% of the DCI-P3 color space and 99% Adobe RGB making it fit for professional color-critical work.

So, if you’ve been after a monitor that excels at both gaming and professional use, you might’ve found your holy grail.

Moving on, the ASUS PG27UQ supports HDR (High Dynamic Range) with a contrast ratio of 50,000:1 and a peak luminance of 1,000-nits, resulting in vivid highlights and inky blacks.

In order to deliver such exceptional image quality, the monitor uses a full-array local dimming solution with 384 individual zones that help dim the backlight where it’s needed without affecting parts of the screen that need to be bright.

However, in some cases where a lit zone is surrounded by dimmed zones (for instance, moving your cursor across a black background), the light of the lit area will bleed into the dimmed zones creating a halo/bloom effect.

So, in some specific scenarios, it’s preferred to disable local dimming.

Finally, 4K Ultra HD resolution ensures that there is plenty of details and screen real estate as such high resolution on a 27″ monitor results in a rich pixel density of 163 PPI (pixels per inch).

Performance

The ASUS ROG Swift PG27UQ claims to support 4K at 144Hz and HDR.

But there’s a catch.

What you won’t find on the product page or written on the box is that the ASUS PG27UQ, due to the DisplayPort 1.4 bandwidth limitations, can only do one of the following three things:

• 98Hz and 10-bit color depth
• 120Hz and 8-bit color depth
• 144Hz and 4:2:2 chroma subsampling

Dropping the color depth to 8-bit isn’t really a big deal. The difference between 8-bit and 10-bit color depth is basically unnoticeable in video games. In fact, most games support only 8-bit color.

Chroma subsampling, on the other hand, makes text appear smudgy and fringy, which becomes an issue for desktop use and video games with a lot of text.

Since 4K UHD resolution is quite demanding as it is, we don’t recommend using chroma subsampling as you’ll hardly get 144FPS at 4K anyway. So, you should stick to 4K 120Hz and 8-bit color depth.

Next, the ASUS PG27UQ input lag is only 5ms at 120Hz, which makes for imperceptible delay, while the response time speed of 4ms effectively removes most trailing artifacts behind fast-moving objects. It’s not as fast as modern IPS panels, so some minor ghosting is still noticeable, but it’s tolerable.

G-SYNC Ultimate ensures that the gaming performance is buttery smooth even at lower FPS by synchronizing the monitor’s refresh rate to GPU’s frame rate, thus, completely eliminating screen tearing and stuttering with virtually zero input lag penalty (~1ms).

Features

The ASUS ROG Swift PG27UQ 4K HDR monitor offers an abundance of features!

You will find ASUS’ GameVisual and GamePlus features, which consist of customizable crosshair overlays, on-screen timers, and the FPS, RTS, RPG, Racing, Cinema, sRGB, and Custom picture presets.

In addition, the monitor is flicker-free and has a low blue light filter, so you can game for hours on end without straining your eyes.

Another feature of the ASUS ROG PG27UQ is that it can emit the ‘Republic Of Gamers’ logo as well as customizable lighting onto your desk and/or wall.

ASUS Aura Sync RGB allows you to synchronize the monitor’s RGB lighting with other Aura Sync compatible peripherals and use various glowing patterns and color combinations.

There’s also a light sensor that can automatically adjust screen brightness according to the ambient lighting.

Fans of backlight strobing will be disappointed to find out that the ASUS PG27UQ does not feature NVIDIA ULMB (Ultra Low Motion Blur) or any other form of Motion Blur Reduction. Luckily, there isn’t any prominent ghosting or motion blur in fast-paced games as the pixel response time speed of the monitor is very good.

Design & Connectivity

The appearance of the monitor may seem too flashy to some, even when the RGB LEDs and projectors are turned off, but the design itself is very sturdy with versatile ergonomics including -/+ 35° swivel, 90° pivot, up to 120mm height adjustment, -5°/20° tilt, and 100 x 100mm VESA mount compatibility.

The matte black bezels are a bit thicker due to the FALD implementation, but they look rather nice regardless. For navigation through the OSD (On-Screen Display) menu, there’s a joystick as well as three buttons for shortcuts at the back of the monitor.

Lastly, the screen has an anti-glare matte coating, which eliminates reflections, and there’s a relatively silent integrated fan that keeps the display cool.

Connectivity includes HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.4, a headphone jack, and a dual-USB 3.0 hub. Both display connectors support HDCP 2.2, so you can watch protected content from Netflix, Amazon Video, etc. in 4K Ultra HD.

Price & Similar Monitors

The ASUS ROG Swift PG27UQ price was initially $2,000, but nowadays, it can be found for as low as $1,300.

Acer has their own model based on the same panel as the PG27UQ called the Acer Predator X27 which goes for around the same price.

Its design, however, lacks pivot adjustment and has less customizable RGB lighting, though it does have built-in speakers and two extra USB 3.0 ports.

Nowadays, there are much better mini LED and OLED HDR displays available at lower prices. The AOC Q27G3XMN, for instance, features a 336-zone mini LED FALD backlight for just $250.

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

While the ASUS PG27UQ offers excellent HDR image quality and performance, there are better alternatives available at this price range.

Specifications

Screen Size	27-inch
Resolution	3840×2160 (UHD)
Panel Type	IPS
Aspect Ratio	16:9 (Widescreen)
Refresh Rate	98Hz with 10-bit color 120Hz with 8-bit color 144Hz with chroma subsampling
Response Time	4ms (GtG)
Adaptive Sync	G-SYNC Ultimate
Ports	DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.0
Other Ports	2x USB 3.0, Headphone Jack
Brightness (HDR)	1000 cd/m2
Brightness	600 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio (HDR)	50,000:1
Contrast Ratio	1,000:1 (static)
Colors	1.07 billion (8-bit + FRC)
VESA	Yes (100x100mm)
HDR Certification	VESA DisplayHDR 1000 Ultra HD Premium
Local Dimming	384-zone full-array local dimming