ASUS ROG SWIFT PG278Q 27-Inch 2560 x 1440 Display 144Hz Refresh Rate WQHD G-SYNC Monitor

I have owned the ASUS ROG Swift PG278Q monitor for about a week now, and I love it! I was really, really torn about dropping 0 on a monitor that had so many negative reviews, but it’s specs were exactly what I was looking for so I hesitantly ordered one, and so far it has been a great purchase. The 2560×1440 resolution is very crisp, the 144Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time are both awesome features that really do make a difference, and the G-Sync module is an absolute beast. I upgraded from an ASUS VG248QE monitor which I thought was fantastic, but the ROG Swift blows it out of the water. The main reason I bought the ROG Swift was because of it’s G-Sync feature, and after owning this monitor, I could never go back to a monitor that does not have G-Sync. As long as your frame rate stays at or above 30 frames per second, G-Sync will keep your game running like butter compared to a non-Gsync monitor. I will update my review in the future, but for now, I am very glad I took the risk.

Update #1 – I have owned the ASUS ROG Swift PG278Q monitor for about 6 weeks now, and I still have no issues to report. I just recently picked up a second GTX 980 to run two of them in SLI and this monitor has been working flawlessly with the new configuration. I love this thing!

Update #2 – I have now owned the ROG Swift for about 6 months, and it is still the best monitor I have ever owned. I noticed the price has went down about 0 recently, so do yourself a favor and scoop one up!

Update #3 – I have owned this monitor for roughly a year at this point, and I still love it. No problems to speak of.

Writing this to point out things that they, Amazon and most of the resellers, don’t really tell you about this monitor.

1. To go beyond 60Hz, you have to use the displayport. HDMI maxes out at 60Hz.
2. The monitor comes with a non-gold-plated HDMI cable and non-gold-plated DP cable. They both are about 5 foot long.
3. G-SYNC works only with displayport.
4. For the USB ports to work, you have to connect the included USB cable to the computer and the monitor.
5. Distance from back leg to front of monitor is exactly 1 foot. The screen spans 32.6 inches.
6. Do not like the light under the monitor? Turn it off in settings.

From the manual:
Panel Type TFT LCD
Panel size 34”W (21:9, 86.72 cm) wide screen
Max. Resolution 3440 x 1440
Pixel pitch 0.2325 mm
Brightness (Typ.) 300 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio (Typ.) 1000:1 (Do not be fooled by this low ratio. Research Contrast Ratio to see what it really is then you will see what I mean)
Viewing angle(H/V) CR>10 178˚/178˚
Display colors 1.07 B (8 bit+A-FRC)
Response time 5 ms
Color temperature selection 4 color temperatures
Analog input No
Digital input DisplayPort v1.2 x 1, HDMI v1.4
Earphone jack Yes
Audio input No
Speaker (Built-in) 2 W x 2 Stereo, RMS
USB 3.0 port Upstream x 1, Downstream x 4
Colors Black
Power LED White (On)/Amber (Standby)
Tilt +20˚~ -5˚
Swivel +50˚~ -50˚
Height adjustment 115 mm
VESA wall mount 100 x 100 mm
Kensington lock Yes
Voltage rating AC: 100~240V
DC: 19V, 6.32A (AC adapter)
Power consumption Power On: < 120 W, Standby: < 0.5 W,
Power Off: < 0.5 W
Temperature (Operating) 0˚C~40˚C
Temperature (Non-operating) -20˚C~+60˚C
Dimensions (W x H x D) 829 mm x 558 mm x 297 mm (highest)
829 mm x 443 mm x 311 mm (lowest)
320 mm x 508 mm x 942 mm (package)
Weight (Esti.) 11.1 kg (Net); 14.9 kg (Gross)

HDMI input:
1280 x 720 60Hz
1920 x 1080 50Hz
1920 x 1080 60Hz
3440 x 1440 50Hz (but a reviewer says he/she cannot get 3440 x 1440 with HDMI from laptop)

DisplayPort input:
640 x 480 60Hz
800 x 600 60Hz
1024 x 768 60Hz
3440 x 1440 60Hz

…with Over-clocking:
3440 x 1440 75Hz
3440 x 1440 80Hz
3440 x 1440 85Hz
3440 x 1440 90Hz
3440 x 1440 95Hz
3440 x 1440 100Hz

Mine came on the 11th. Been using it extensively. It has no dead pixel. It has a minor backlight bleed at top right corner (cannot really see it during normal use). You would have to look closely to see the light bleed when that part of the screen is black, so it is not a big deal at all. 1440p 100Hz and G-SYNC works flawlessly. The Witcher 3, Batman Arkham Knight, and Rise of the Tomb Raider look amazing

Last thing I want to point out… the brightness retention is really good. My old 27" Asus’ screen becomes a lot darker when you look at the monitor slightly from above and a lot brighter when looking from below. This PG348Q’s screen does the same thing but the brightness level barely change when you’re looking at it at an off angle. In another word, the viewing angle of this monitor is a dozen times better.

As like most of you I was waiting in eager anticipation for this package to arrive. I saw the picture on the side of the box saying "QC Passed" and I silently whispered to myself "October batch". After surgery opening the box I found everything in nice neat plastic bags. The monitor was already attached to the stand in portrait mode making for a quick setup. As you can see from my current 3 star review it went down hill from there. Once plugged in I fired her up I changed the clock speed to the 165Hz. Unlike most people I like to have a very clean background and in this case, pure black. After sighing and turning out the lights to confirm I found myself singing along to the same tune as almost everyone else. Below are some pictures with the current setup with normal room lighting and no lighting. Back light bleed is noticeable in all but the top left corner and a small clump of dead pixels can be seen around the bottom right of the screen. Okay now that I am done with the negatives on the QC issues I will go over all the nice features this monitor has to over.

The first thing I noticed outside of the 165Hz and G-Sync is the ease of use in the monitor interface. Everything is snappy and the small red joystick makes navigation a breeze. Second the stand itself is sturdy and elegant at the same time. It also comes with a red circle LED that I personally chose to turn off in the monitor menu. Stand adjustment is also top notch with height adjust, portrait, and swivel. I would consider the monitor design to be minimalist with no gloss and slim bezels at about 3/8 of and inch at all but the bottom.

Even though this monitor has some major QC issues it took my a good 30 minutes of mulling it over to decide on RMAing because of how good it really is.