The Asus ROG SWIFT PG278Q – a 27” 1400p 144Hz Monitor with G-SYNC

Soldato
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"New at CES: The ROG SWIFT PG278Q – a 27” 1440p 120Hz Monitor for $800 with G-SYNC

Several months ago I was looking at new monitors, deciding whether I wanted a 1440p or 120 Hz panel.
No one panel I could find would offer both,
but ASUS have jumped that barrier today by announcing the ROG SWIFT PG278Q, fully equipped with G-SYNC."

source

Now it's time to get excited :D


LATER EDITS

http://www.asus.com/Monitors/ROG_SWIFT_PG278Q/

Full detailed review at TFTCentral: http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/asus_rog_swift_pg278q.htm
 
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Soldato
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That... Is interesting. '4K' and 2560 x 1440 TN panels shown off at CES... This throws a bit of a spanner into the works. People (including me) had assumed there would be G-SYNC IPS models simply due to the '2560 x 1440' support. This doesn't mean there won't be G-SYNC models with IPS panels but it does make you wonder. :confused:
 
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There's nowhere that actually confirms if it's TN or not. The PCPER article mentions it but based on what? The press release doesn't state it and there was no mention during the CES keynote when it was unveiled.

Granted the response time and refresh rate suggest it's TN but one can hope...
 
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The first thought that came to mind: well that won't be an IPS nor VA.
But then I thought: maybe it is, but the price estimate is just wrong and they'll correct it eventually.

But if it is indeed IPS or VA, with 1440p, 120Hz, G-Sync and even 27", and all this for $800 (probably around 700-800€ once it ships to Europe... :( ), it will be a grand day for monitor enthusiasts.
(edit: and a narrow bezel ("6mm") and a versatile stand including pivot, to boot)

Another possibility:
AUO is trying to take over the panel markets with cheap revolutionary 1440p 120Hz VA panels, and is flooding the market with low prices, and we'll get plenty of similar offerings from other manufacturers in the near future, as well. (Or the same scenario with LG and a new IPS type)

Another far-fetched idea that just came into my mind:
I hope they're not incorrectly hyping some motion interpolation or backlight strobing feature as true 120Hz. A summer trainee perhaps jumping the gun? In any case, I think that would bring more negative PR than positive, as people will quite quickly realize the truth.
 
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Soldato
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This could possibly be the perfect monitor. If it supported 3d (I'd even go active), then one step closer...

Only problem I see with that listing - only single displayport connector. Would still want him for consoles :(
 
Soldato
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I had some interesting thoughts I put up on this monitor on my website (address in signature), confirming why I thought a TN panel would be used. Official word now in from ASUS:

"Not all TN’s are made the same: the premium panel used in the PG278Q is of very high quality. IPS panels (and their derivatives like PVA/MVA etc) are not suitable for a multitude of reasons: 1) the response rate is simply not fast enough to react to the active change in refresh rate and 2) They cannot reliably achieve >60Hz without significantly affecting the quality of the image. IGZO technology (and LTPS – low temperature polysilicon – likewise) – yields 100′s of times faster electron mobility versus standard amorphous silicon panels – and thus can provide a response rate comparable to TN (up to 60Hz currently), but, however desirable this technology is, it is still currently cost prohibitively for many PC gaming enthusiasts in 2014, which is why ROG has used a better price:performance, high quality TN panel."
 
Soldato
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Is the requirement of 3D vision simply that a monitor supports 120/144hz?

I still can't see anything which indicates this might be good for 3D....

But TN................. Ok, the Samsung 750D I bought for other half is actually quite nice, apart from suffering the usual viewing angle stuff..... but still....

Is this the first ever 2560x1440p TN screen?

Edit: Oh, and defo only single displayport, so no good for consoles, etc. sigh.

Triple LG 23" passive 3D setup looking like it's going to be my best all-round compromise.... I'm never going to have a single screen to do it all, so at least I can go for uniformity...
 
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Man of Honour
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it amuses me how much negativity and doom and gloom there is around this being a TN Film based model, before anyone has even seen or used this screen!

It's like any other gaming screen really, but what is positive news is the massive resolution bump up to 2560 x 1440, the low response time (although let's hope it doesn't suffer from major overshoot), G-sync support and 120Hz refresh rate. It could well have a strobing backlight of some sort for motion blur reduction but that remains to be seen.

this could end up being one of the best gaming monitors around if it all works well
 
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I think the doom and gloom is because what most of us have come to associate TN with is the not-so-stellar viewing angles and poor image quality. Granted, maybe this "premium TN panel" could surprise us. But whether it's premium or regular TN, there are some fallbacks that are simply expectable, even without seeing them first-hand. This is especially true when using TN for larger screens. But yes, for gaming this will surely give the current 120/144Hz TN monitors a run for their money.

Actually, I have no doubts about it. This will quite probably (at least for the time being, but there might be similar products on the pipeline) become the go-to model for hardcore gamers, instead of the current BenQ 120/144Hz models. But at $800 it really limits the potential customer base. The BenQ's on the other hand are adequately priced for even moderately hardcore gamers.

But it should also be technically possible to introduce 27" 120Hz VA monitors. Maybe even 1440p. That should be easier to sell for enthusiasts, as it would be highly usable for other stuff besides gaming, too. Has anyone been paying attention to AUO's plans, by any chance? I think they announced this kind of panels already in 2012, but apparently nothing came out of it?

TL;DR:
I think what most of us hoped for $800 was something more premium than TN.
 
Soldato
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I think the doom and gloom is because what most of us have come to associate TN with is the not-so-stellar viewing angles and poor image quality. Granted, maybe this "premium TN panel" could surprise us. But whether it's premium or regular TN, there are some fallbacks that are simply expectable, even without seeing them first-hand. This is especially true when using TN for larger screens. But yes, for gaming this will surely give the current 120/144Hz TN monitors a run for their money.

Actually, I have no doubts about it. This will quite probably (at least for the time being, but there might be similar products on the pipeline) become the go-to model for hardcore gamers, instead of the current BenQ 120/144Hz models. But at $800 it really limits the potential customer base. The BenQ's on the other hand are adequately priced for even moderately hardcore gamers.

But it should also be technically possible to introduce 27" 120Hz VA monitors. Maybe even 1440p. That should be easier to sell for enthusiasts, as it would be highly usable for other stuff besides gaming, too. Has anyone been paying attention to AUO's plans, by any chance? I think they announced this kind of panels already in 2012, but apparently nothing came out of it?

TL;DR:
I think what most of us hoped for $800 was something more premium than TN.

Just using your quote as a vessel here, this isn't all directed at you aatu but rather general rambling. ;)

I think a lot of people do have a bitter taste in their mouth, in particular drawing parallels between this and the VG248QE. The colour reproduction is really not nice at all on that monitor, but many people don't realise that this isn't entirely down to it being a TN panel. I definitely agree with Baddass that people should wait and see rather than dismissing this as 'another TN panel'. Personally I still use an S27A750D as one of my monitors. I entirely agree that the colour consistency is struck by the usual TN drawbacks (even if viewing angle performance is fairly good for a TN panel of that size) but the overall image is actually quite decent, particularly when gaming.

If this monitor is set up to have generally quite rich colours and it has a decent screen surface then it could be a very interesting monitor. I'm sure some people are expecting to see the washed out or oversaturated colours or an image plagued by 'gamma enhancements' as you see on the VG248QE even after tweaking, but I think this monitor has a lot more potential than people give it credit for. It really is the only panel technology that is truly suitable for optimal 120Hz+ performance at the moment and having a 2560 x 1440 with G-SYNC allowing variable frame rates to be more forgiving is a very nice thing.

Speaking of AUO's 120Hz VA panels, they have been listed as discontinued for a while now and nothing ever came of them unfortunately. VA panels on a normal sample and hold monitor simply aren't responsive enough to make a good go at this sort of refresh rate. The EIZO FG2421 gets around this (to some extent) by using a strobe backlight but even then there are some niggling 40ms+ pixel transitions that the strobing can't completely hide. There is also input lag to consider. I'm not saying this is a problem for everyone but there are some people who are really only going to be satisfied by 120Hz+ TN from a responsiveness perspective. I wouldn't expect to see a strobe backlight combined with G-SYNC, at least not yet. Nvidia have their own strobe mode available on G-SYNC monitors that can't be used as the same time as G-SYNC itself.
 
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Associate
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i am carefully optimistic about this. it peaked my interest, but i'm really waiting on more info and reviews.

also, the 21:9 34" panels... ;)
 
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