14 DAY TRIAL // ASUS has introduced a new monitor, one that doesn't exactly run in the same league as 4K panels (UHD as they are otherwise known, or ultra high definition), but which also doesn't conform to the limits of 1080p (Full HD).
Called ASUS ROG Swift PG278Q, it is an LCD panel with a diagonal of 27 inches and a native resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels.
That alone would not be such a shock. While there aren't many monitors of above Full HD resolution (not counting the recent influx of 3840 x 2160 4K ones), they aren't exactly rare either.
Especially since Full HD is considered normal now, no longer something that defines the upper echelons of the LCD industry.
No, what stands out is that the new monitor somehow combines all the best qualities of today's liquid crystal displays.
It's not as easy as it sounds to enable high refresh rates, wide viewing angles, low latencies, short response times and high image qualities.
TN panels (twisted nematic) provide a fast response time and good brightness, but they tend to have poor viewing angles. Not necessarily grating, but noticeable.
IPS, meanwhile, have richer color and wide viewing angles (178 degrees both horizontally and vertically), but their response time is poor.
Things are not made any better by the discrepancy between the monitor refresh rate and the texture draw rate of graphics cards. Especially on 144 Hz panels.
ASUS did what it could to provide the best in all those areas though. We're not clear what sort of panel the new ROG Swift PG278Q monitor possesses, but it's probably a TN, since a response time of 1ms like we see here isn't really that feasible on IPS, though we suppose it's not totally impossible.
The refresh rate is of up to 144 Hz, and ASUS installed the Turbo Key, which lets you adjust it to 120 Hz or 60 Hz on the fly, if you feel it's necessary. No need to even go through the on-screen display controls.
In addition to that and the 1ms response time, the ASUS ROG Swift PG278Q happens to possess a thin bezel (6 mm), a very adjustable stand, two USB 3.0 ports, one DisplayPort, a VESA wall mount, and a 5-way joystick for the OSD.
All for the price of $800 / €800. And that's all we know about this 2560 x 1440, 27-inch display. That, and the fact it has an NVIDIA G-Syn module, which allows its refresh rate to sync with NVIDIA video cards, making video and games smoother. Shipments and full details will come in July.