ROG Swift PG43UQ
Asus’ large format 43-inch 4K G-Sync monitor has been cranked up to 144Hz, but can this gaming display really do everything your TV does and more?
Whether it’s the introduction of HDR colour, the opening up of compatibility between Nvidia’s GeForce cards and AMD Freesync compatible screens, or the faster and faster refresh rates, it’s a pretty awesome time to be buying a PC display. It’s perhaps even better for those considering a living room PC. Take the new Asus ROG Swift PG43UQ as an example. In addition to being TV-large at 43-inches, it’s also one of the first monitors we’ve seen to get a Vesa DisplayHDR 1000 certification, which means it has been independently tested to be able to reproduce a wide colour gamut at a peak brightness of 1000 nits (the level that is generally required for TV HDR labeling). This brightness level isn’t usually needed on monitors because you sit so close to them, but 1000 nits means the screen will look vibrant from anything over 1.5 meters away. Combine this bright 90% DCI-P3 colour gamut with the 4K resolution and you have a truly groundbreaking living room PC display that will look great whether you are working or gaming.
Naturally this large format 16x9 screen is best suited to gaming… and for many styles of online competitive titles the most critical thing will be refresh rate and latency. Early data from Nvidia has shown that there is a strong correlation between refresh rates of monitors and overall kill-to-death ratios, so high hertz is critical. The PG43UQ is also one of the first 4K screens we’ve seen to offer a 144Hz refresh rate with sub 1ms MPRT latency. While we see screens at FullHD running at up to 240Hz, in 4K the transfer load is so demanding that it actually outpaces the maximum rate of transmission for the DisplayPort 1.4 interface – an issue that required Asus to utilise Display Stream
Compression (DSC) to push it through a single DP1.4 cable.
In addition to all its other features the PG43UQ also includes Nvidia’s G-Sync technology to ensure you don’t get any screen tearing or ghosting, even when running at 144fps. An Nvidia RTX 2070 Super can only run The Division 2 in 4K at 35 fps, so 4K 144Hz is really futureproofing your unit since even a 2080 Super isn’t likely to get over 60fps at 4K on modern titles. Of course anyone needing to be competitive can pull that resolution down to FullHD to take advantage of faster frame rates, which gives you the best of both worlds... but be warned, you are paying a premium for the luxury to choose between these elite display modes.
If you don’t feel the need to buy a screen that will have everything you’ll need for the next few years of PC component upgrades you can get Asus’s smaller, not as bright ROG Strix XG438Q 120Hz Freesync monitor for about $900 less, which is one of the most amazing deals we’ve seen going for a large format gaming screen.
While we could’ve used a bit more space for cables in the concealed rear panel, the two DisplayPort 1.4 and two HDMI 2.0 sockets provided enough connectivity and both the rear Vesa mount and tabletop stand provide sturdy discrete support. The rear speakers are a good feature for quick set up, but they are a little quiet so you will want to use headphones or a soundbar for sound that matches.