ASUS VG27AQ Review: 1440p 165Hz FreeSync IPS Gaming Monitor

Most gamers find 27″ 1440p high refresh rate displays to be the sweet spot for PC gaming. To their luck, the IPS variants have been regularly dropping in price lately, so let’s see how one of the more popular albeit older models, the ASUS TUF VG27AQ, stacks up today.

Image Quality

The 2560×1440 WQHD resolution nicely complements the 27″ screen of the VG27AQ monitor. You get a high pixel density of 108.79 PPI (pixels per inch), which translates to plenty of screen real estate with sharp details and text, and without any scaling necessary.

In comparison, 1080p resolution looks pixelated and smudgy on 27″ sized screens, while 4K UHD offers sharper details, but it’s a lot more demanding on your CPU/GPU and you have to use scaling to make small text readable.

Further, the IPS panel of the ASUS VG27AQ provides vivid and consistent colors with 178° wide viewing angles and full sRGB color gamut coverage.

The colors don’t extend over the standard sRGB color space, so there won’t be any over-saturation, however, this also means that the display lacks the vibrancy of wide color gamut displays, which are available around this price range with similar specs.

Regardless, some gamers actually prefer the more subdued colors of the sRGB color space as it is the native gamut for SDR content.

Thanks to the display’s full sRGB gamut coverage and wide viewing angles that ensure the image won’t degrade in quality at basically any angle, the ASUS VG27AQ is suited for entry-level color-critical work too. For professionals, a calibration via a colorimeter is required for proper accuracy.

Moving on, the monitor has a static contrast ratio of 1,000:1, so you won’t get quite as deep blacks as that of VA panels, which usually have a contrast ratio of around 3,000:1.

However, VA displays at this price range have other disadvantages, such as significantly slower response time speed that results in smearing, narrower viewing angles and variable refresh rate brightness flickering.

Another thing to keep in mind about IPS panels is IPS glow. It can be characterized as visible glowing around the corners of the screen that’s most noticeable when displaying dark content in a dark room with high brightness settings. The intensity of IPS glow varies from unit to unit, but it’s manageable in most cases.

Lastly, the monitor has a strong peak brightness of 350-nits, so it can get more than bright enough even in well-lit rooms. It can also accept the HDR10 signal, but it lacks proper hardware for a noteworthy HDR (High Dynamic Range) viewing experience, therefore, HDR should be disabled.

Performance

Moving on, the ASUS VG27AQ has a native refresh rate of 144Hz that can be overclocked up to 165Hz for a small boost in motion clarity.

Its pixel response time is not as fast as that of modern 1ms GtG IPS displays, so you might be able to notice some trailing artifacts behind fast-moving objects, but there’s no dark-level smearing associated with even slower VA panels.

There are six overdrive levels under the Trace Free setting in the OSD (On-Screen Display) menu, ranging from ‘0’ to ‘100’ in increments of 20. At a fixed 144Hz – 165Hz refresh rate, we recommend going with ’60’ in order to avoid inverse ghosting.

Bumping it up to ’80’ can help remove some ghosting, but it will be replaced with some overshoot, so it’s up to you what you can tolerate more.

If you’re using a variable refresh rate (FreeSync or G-SYNC Compatible), you’ll have to change the overdrive setting at lower refresh rates. We recommend ‘0’ for around 60Hz/FPS and ’40’ for around 100Hz/FPS.

Variable refresh rate (VRR) synchronizes the monitor’s refresh rate with the GPU’s frame rate in order to prevent screen tearing and stuttering at no perceptible input latency added.

It works up to 165FPS without any issues. The supported VRR range is 40-165Hz, but LFC (Low Framerate Compensation) will multiply the frame rates below 40FPS (39FPS -> 156Hz) to keep tearing at bay.

Input lag is low at around 4ms, which makes for imperceptible delay between your actions and the result on the screen.

Moreover, the monitor supports ELMB (Extreme Low Motion Blur) technology, which uses backlight strobing to reduce motion blur at the cost of picture brightness. You can even use VRR and ELMB at the same time via the ELMB-Sync feature.

In order to use ELMB-Sync, your refresh rate must be set to at least 75Hz, whereas if you want to use just ELMB, the minimum supported refresh rate is 100Hz.

Lastly, the monitor’s backlight is flicker-free (unless ELMB/Sync is enabled) and there’s an integrated low-blue light filter.

Features

At the rear of the monitor, there’s a directional joystick for quick and easy navigation through the OSD menu. You’ll also find three additional hotkeys for shortcuts and a power button/indicator.

Noteworthy gaming features include Shadow Boost (improves visibility in dark scenes by altering the gamma curvature), various picture presets, three customizable profiles, crosshair overlays, Sniper (zooms in the area around the crosshair), on-screen timers and a refresh rate tracker.

Besides the usual image adjustments (brightness, contrast, color temperature, aspect ratio, input source, etc.), the ASUS VG27AQ also offers saturation and sharpness settings, but there are no gamma options.

We recommend using the default Racing picture mode, while the VividPixel, Eco Mode and ASCR options should be disabled for optimal image quality.

Design & Connectivity

The stand of the monitor is sturdy and offers a good range of ergonomics, including up to 130mm height adjustment, -5°/33° tilt, 90° counter-clockwise pivot, +/- 90° swivel and 100x100mm VESA mount compatibility.

Further, the screen has a light matte anti-glare coating that prevents reflections without making the image too grainy.

Connectivity options include DisplayPort 1.2, two HDMI 2.0 ports, a headphone jack and two 2W built-in speakers.

The HDMI ports are limited to 2560×1440 144Hz 8-bit color depth. With DisplayPort 1.2, you can use either 2560×1440 165Hz 8-bit or 2560×1440 120Hz 10-bit. We recommend going with 165Hz as the difference between 8-bit and 10-bit color isn’t noticeable in most content.

Price & Similar Monitors

The ASUS VG27AQ usually goes for ~$300. There are also a few more models with similar names and specifications.

	VG27AQ / VG27AQE	VG27AQ1A	VG27AQL1A + Zaku II Edition	VG27AQ3A	VG27AQL3A
Panel	AUO M270Q008 V002	Innolux M270KCJ-K7B	Innolux M270KCJ-K7B	AUO M270DAN08.D	?
Refresh Rate	165Hz	170Hz	170Hz	180Hz	180Hz
Color Gamut	99% sRGB	96% DCI-P3	96% DCI-P3	96% DCI-P3	96% DCI-P3
Brightness	350	250	350	250	350
ELMB-Sync	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Design Tilt/Swivel	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Design Height/Pivot	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes
USB Hub	No	No	Yes	No	Yes

You can also find the ASUS VG27AQA1A with a VA panel and the ASUS VG27AQML1A with a 1440p 240Hz IPS panel.

Regardless, we recommend these 27″ 1440p 180hz 1ms IPS gaming monitors instead – the KTC H27T22S with a tilt-only stand for ~$150 or the Acer XV271U M3 with an ergonomic stand for $200.

For ~$300, you can actually get something better, such as a proper HDR display, a 34″ ultrawide monitor or a 1440p 240Hz model.

Conclusion

While the ASUS VG27AQ is a decent gaming monitor, there are better options available at this price range.

Specifications

Screen Size	27-inch
Resolution	2560×1440 (QHD)
Panel Type	IPS
Aspect Ratio	16:9 (Widescreen)
Refresh Rate	144Hz (165Hz OC)
Response Time (GtG)	Not specified
Response Time (ELMB-Sync)	1ms (MPRT)
Adaptive-Sync	FreeSync (40-165Hz) G-SYNC Compatible
Speakers	2x2W
Ports	DisplayPort 1.2, 2x HDMI 2.0
Other Ports	Headphone Jack
Brightness	350 cd/m²
Contrast Ratio	1000:1 (static)
Colors	1.07 billion (8-bit + FRC) 99% sRGB
HDR	HDR10
VESA	Yes (100x100mm)