Asus PG27A
4K < Refresh Rate
Price $ 1,199 www.asus.com.au
Asus has foregone high refresh rates for resolution with this premium-priced product. Rather than go for a 144Hz display at 1440p, it’s instead gone for a 60Hz panel with a 4K resolution. We’re not sure this was the best idea.
At 27-inches, the 4K resolution is quite hard to tell apart from 1440p displays, yet it’s easy to spot the difference between this panel’s 60Hz refresh rate and other display’s 144Hz refresh rate. It uses IPS technology to ensure the widest possible viewing angles, which probably explains why overall it did rather well in our colour accuracy tests. It also had a very solid contrast ratio of 932:1, putting it in the top tier of panels when it comes to showing detail in darker environments.
Asus has gone for a rather subtle bezel design, with plain black lines and a thin bezel, but it doesn’t have the edgeless design that is becoming more common. Accessing the OSD is done via a small joystick and buttons on the right hand rear side of the display; despite being on the back, they’re close enough to the edge that they’re easy enough to use. Like most non-commercial panels, the calibration options are quite limited.
Eye-protection technologies are also an obvious priority for Asus with this display, as it makes heavy mention of the Ultra-Blue Light, and Flicker-free backlighting technology used on this monitor, both of which ease eye strain over time. The GamePlus feature can be used to display a crosshair, timer, FPS counter and display alignment on screen. We’re not so sure features like crosshairs should be allowed, as it’s basically a cheat in games that don’t feature them. The Display Alignment feature makes it easy to set up multiple monitors, and the thin bezel would make for a sweet multiple display. Nvidia’s G-Sync technology is included as well, which is a pro given the low refresh rate.
Despite the solid colour accuracy, thin bezel and G-Sync support, we think Asus has taken a misstep by offering 4K instead of high refresh rate. We think its makes this monitor better suited for professionals who need as much desk real estate as possible, as most gamers won’t notice the increase in resolution over 1440p. There’s also no support for the new HDR colour technologies, which would have been nice at this price. There’s no denying this is a good monitor, we just think it’s better suited to professionals than gamers. • Solid colour accuracy • Super thin bezel • Easy OSD • 4K seems like overkill • 60Hz max refresh rate
despite the solid colour accuracy, we think Asus has taken a misstep by offering 4K instead of high refresh rate