Can't decide between PG279Q or PG348Q - what points should I consider?

Hi everyone,

I hope that you have all had a nice weekend.

I have a Dell 2713HM display at the moment and fancy a bit of a change. I also would like a new toy whilst I wait for the 1080ti cards and Kabylake K / Skylake-E to make an appearance.

So I fancy a new monitor but just cannot make up my mind which one; the cost difference between the two isn't an issue. I've read about Asus now upping the QA on the 279Q display since March but what about the 348Q?

I like the idea of the 348Q but its *only* 100hz and that is with an overclocked panel BUT it is ultra-wide and a big change from my 2713HM display. And what happens with games that don't support ultra-wide resolutions - do I just get black bars at the sides of the screen?

Then the 279Q is a native 144hz panel but it's the same actual size as my 2713HM so it won't seem like such an upgrade as the 348Q

What other points should I consider whilst trying to decide between the two displays?

Thanks very much, everyone.

All the best,

Moley

Unless you're playing old games (or you're running SLI and playing games that are a few years old) you aren't going to be sitting consistently above 100fps anyway, let alone being able to tell the difference between 100Hz and 144/165Hz in the long run (i.e. after you get used to it).

Games that don't support 21:9 will simply run with black bars on the left and the right. No difference to playing on a 16:9 monitor (it doesn't feel worse due to the black bars) however you soon realise what a step up 21:9 really is.

Consider the Acer X34[A|P] at around £100 for the same thing.

Moleyman said:

...
I've read about Asus now upping the QA on the 279Q display since March but what about the 348Q?

I like the idea of the 348Q but its *only* 100hz and that is with an overclocked panel BUT it is ultra-wide and a big change from my 2713HM display. And what happens with games that don't support ultra-wide resolutions - do I just get black bars at the sides of the screen?

Click to expand...

Hey Moley, do you remember where you read about the improvement in QA on the 279Q? I'm thinking of going that way, but talk of the 'lottery' has so far scared me off.

I just flirted with the 21:9 experience myself, and agree with lamboman that games running in 16:9 on such screens with black sidebars are absolutely fine. Some games that run 21:9 for gameplay will go back to 'letterboxed' 16:9 for cutscenes, which can be very slightly irritating, but it is a pretty minor complaint (e.g. The Witcher 3 does this, but smoothly expands back to 21:9 afterwards, which is quite nice). In the end I found the 29" 21:9 screen to be too short compared to my current 24" (which is also too short), so it is going back.

Let us know what you decide on.

Hi guys,

Thanks for the replies and pointers.

I do like the idea of the ultra-wide but can't help think that the 279Q is the better screen.

But.... saying that I'll probably order the ultra-wide form Amazon and give it 2 or 3 screens and see if I get a good one and if not head over for the 279Q.

@hardjack79 - here's a link to several stories regarding the QA improvement; hope it helps:

https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sour...=2&ie=UTF-8#q=asus+279Q+quality+control+March

Thanks again,

Moley

Asus indeed introduced extra QA checks in dark room on 279 after massive public outcry (one of these videos).

But you should take notice that these extra checks were introduced specifically by Asus America (probably because danger of class action was very real here). And I never heard them being introduced in other countries - in fact I will fully expect them trying to sell monitors rejected in USA later on other markets

Moleyman said:

@Hardjack79 - here's a link to several stories regarding the QA improvement; hope it helps:

https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sour...=2&ie=UTF-8#q=asus+279Q+quality+control+March

Click to expand...

Thanks man, that was very helpful. I found this response from "ASUS UK Support" dated 15/7/16 to a PG279Q review on Amazon (by Sui):

Unfortunately it is quite difficult with this panel in regards to QC which both ASUS and Acer have issues with. Please go through Amazon with returns and hopefully you get one without the backlight bleed. It is something HQ are working on, but for now is hit and miss. Sorry for all the issues, the monitor is excellent and hopefully this is addressed with your replacement.

Click to expand...

People there were still getting pre-March models as recently as last month, so it seems any QC improvements were slow in seeing the light. I'm in the market for the M version (freesync) but might leave it a bit and see how things pan out, or turn to the dark side (TN).

RidingTheFlow said:

Asus indeed introduced extra QA checks in dark room on 279 after massive public outcry (one of these videos).

But you should take notice that these extra checks were introduced specifically by Asus America (probably because danger of class action was very real here). And I never heard them being introduced in other countries - in fact I will fully expect them trying to sell monitors rejected in USA later on other markets

Click to expand...

Very helpful.

Also, that Computer Lounge video is awesome! Who else would have access to 20 panels other than a retailer... just amazing that they decided to do some anti-marketing on a product they sell. Very impressed with that honesty.

hardjack79 said:

Also, that Computer Lounge video is awesome! Who else would have access to 20 panels other than a retailer... just amazing that they decided to do some anti-marketing on a product they sell. Very impressed with that honesty.

Click to expand...

If I was a retailer I would be pretty annoyed with manufacturer who dumps badly QCed product on me since as retailer its me who is going to deal with annoyed customers and having to lose money on all these returns. No reason to protect them.

I purchased the PG279Q recently as I thought I might want to go triple screen in the future when higher performance graphics cards are available.
Also I don't really like curved monitors. I used a 40" 4K monitor for over a year which is wider than a PG348Q and at no point did I think it needed to be curved.

hardjack79 said:

Hey Moley, do you remember where you read about the improvement in QA on the 279Q? I'm thinking of going that way, but talk of the 'lottery' has so far scared me off.

I just flirted with the 21:9 experience myself, and agree with lamboman that games running in 16:9 on such screens with black sidebars are absolutely fine. Some games that run 21:9 for gameplay will go back to 'letterboxed' 16:9 for cutscenes, which can be very slightly irritating, but it is a pretty minor complaint (e.g. The Witcher 3 does this, but smoothly expands back to 21:9 afterwards, which is quite nice). In the end I found the 29" 21:9 screen to be too short compared to my current 24" (which is also too short), so it is going back.

Let us know what you decide on.

Click to expand...

Worth adding at this point that 21:9 at 2560x1080 is a stupid resolution (taking something that is already too short and expanding the wrong way), 3440x1440 is completely different and genuinely usable.

lamboman said:

Worth adding at this point that 21:9 at 2560x1080 is a stupid resolution (taking something that is already too short and expanding the wrong way), 3440x1440 is completely different and genuinely usable.

Click to expand...

Yep, point taken. And it is size as well as resolution. I naively thought that "less than an inch shorter than my existing monitor" would be fine (24" 16:9 --> 29" 21:9) but it was definitely not okay in practice. Lesson learned.

Hi again everyone,

Well, I finally took the plunge on Friday and ordered the PG348Q which duly arrived Saturday afternoon.

Got it all set-up and it looked great in my desk BUT about 3 inches from the left-hand side of the screen was a strip about an inch wide - running right the way from the top to bottom - of solid black and white pixels with a few red, green and blue sparklies thrown in for good measure, so it will obviously be going back next week.

What I saw of it though it did look a nice monitor in all other respects.

Thanks again for all taking the time to reply and answer my questions.

All the best,

Moley

Can't believe the amount of quality issues with new monitors these days - the manufacturers really need to be taken to task :|

Rroff said:

Can't believe the amount of quality issues with new monitors these days - the manufacturers really need to be taken to task :|

Click to expand...

Completely agree. About time a line in the sand was drawn.

Best

Wulf

^^ Walking through an office the other day with around 80 new Samsung and Dell monitors - screensaver is basically just a black screen with small company logo - I'd say probably 2/3rds had what I'd consider unacceptable backlight bleed and I'm not even that fussy about it.

Unfortunately I have no idea how any kind of regulation will happen though :|

Rroff said:

Unfortunately I have no idea how any kind of regulation will happen though :|

Click to expand...

If you mean consumer protection regulation then I agree -- we have what we have (but in Europe at least it is fairly strong, if inconvenient to have to return something like a monitor).

In terms of forcing a change in the actual quality, we do have some soft power, as we can refuse to purchase items with a poor track record, return items that perform below expectations (c.f. product marketing), and leave honest reviews about the product and/or the purchasing experience. It takes a while but it does work, especially for more niche products like high-end monitors.

ASUS have lost a sale to me because of what I've read on OCUK, Amazon, and elsewhere, and they must realise this is happening.