This particular monitor has a quite of hype surrounding it. It’s one out of two monitors that has 4K at 144Hz with HDR support. We first took a look at it during the ASUS all-out monitor showcase, and then there was another announcement for the availability and price of the ASUS ROG Swift PG27UQ. It’s RM10,999. It’s not something you see everyday in the market – and there’s no direct comparison for a monitor of such caliber.

We had the opportunity to test the ROG Swift PG27UQ and this is what we have to say about it.

Specifications

Display

Panel SizeWide Screen 27.0″(68.47cm) 16:9
Color Saturation97% (DCI-P3), 99% (Adobe RGB)
Panel TypeIn-Plane Switching
True Resolution3840×2160
Display Viewing Area (HxV)596.16 x 335.34 mm
Display SurfaceNon-glare
Pixel Pitch0.155 mm
Brightness600 cd/㎡ (Typical)/1000 cd/㎡ (Peak)
Contrast Ratio (Max)1000 :1 (Typical)/50000 :1 (HDR)
Viewing Angle (CR≧10)178°(H)/178°(V)
Response Time4ms GtG
Display colors1.07b (10 bit with dithering)
Flicker FreeYes
HDR SupportYes
Dynamically Local DimmingYes, 384 zones
Refresh Rate (Max)144Hz (overclocking)
Power Consumption180W (HDR on)

Video Feature

Trace Free TechnologyYes
Color Accuracy△E≦ 3
GamePlus (modes)Yes (Crosshair/Timer/FPS Counter/Display Alignment)
Low Blue LightYes
HDCP SupportYes
Game Visual6 Modes(Scenery/Racing/Cinema/RTS/RPG/FPS/sRGB Modes)
G-SyncYes

Mechanical Design

Tilt+20°~-5°
Swivel+35°~-35°
Pivot0°~+90°
Height Adjustment0~120 mm
VESA Support100x100mm
LightingAura Sync & ROG Light Signal

I/O Ports

Signal InputHDMI(v2.0), DisplayPort 1.4
Earphone Jack3.5mm
USB upstreamUSB 3.0 Type-B x1
USB downstreamUSB 3.0 Type-A x2

Note

  1. True resolution
    • DP: 3840 x2160 @ 144Hz (overclocking)
    • DP: 3840×2160 @120Hz (native)
    • HDMI : 3840x 2160 (up to 60Hz)
  2. Brightness: 600 cd/m² (typical/HDR on)

Unboxing The ROG Swift PG27UQ

For such a premium monitor – at the premium price of RM 10,999 as well, ASUS never disappoints in providing the necessary cables and accessories for such a premium product.

ROG Swift PG27UQ Accessories (1)

Inside the box, you’ll find ROG Swift PG27UQ of course, along with some documentation, an external power brick, some plates for the ROG Light Signature, and also a color calibration testing report card.

ROG Swift PG27UQ Accessories (3)

Taking a deeper look at the report card, we can see the testing equipment used and how the monitor is being testing for calibration. ASUS is doing this for each and every unit of the ROG Swift PG27UQ and there is a serial number at the top right corner as well.

ROG Swift PG27UQ Accessories (2)

As for the other part of the unboxing, we can see that ASUS included a USB 3.0 uplink cable, a HDMI cable, and also an extremely high-end DisplayPort cable that can support up to 8K in resolution. All of these cables are gold plated as well.

Design

ROG Swift PG27UQ (1)

The monitor itself comes with a very gamery look that we’ve come to expect from ROG monitors. It has the Mayan-inspired design behind the monitor and it even has the gaps and vents that to cool the monitor down.

ROG Swift PG27UQ (3)

Those vents are necessary for air to pass through since the monitor itself will consume large amounts of power – hence the ROG Swift PG27UQ also has an external power supply. That external power supply is actually with the same shape and size as some ROG laptops in the market right now.

ROG Swift PG27UQ (8)

At the top of the monitor there is an ambient light sensor. That means the monitor can automatically adjusts the brightness of the monitor depending on the environment’s brightness.

ROG Swift PG27UQ (2)

While looking at the back, we can see the ROG Light Signal on the monitor’s neck where a dial is found right below it – and you can tune the angle of where the light is shone.

ROG Swift PG27UQ (11)

With that said, there’s also a huge ROG logo at the right – and that logo is RGB-illuminated and can be synced with ASUS Aura Sync for some ambient lighting.

ROG Swift PG27UQ (7)

At the right side of the monitor we have the joystick OSD controller and also some buttons to navigate through the OSD menu.

The ROG Swift PG27UQ has full range of ergonomic controls – height adjustment, tilt, pivot, and swiveling. And just in case if you prefer a monitor arm, the stand can actually be removed to reveal its 100x100mm VESA mounting point. Though, that’s a painful sacrifice as you won’t be able to utilize the light signal and light signature which is located at the monitor stand itself.

ROG Swift PG27UQ (9)

Looking at the ports, we can see that the ROG Swift PG27UQ comes with a power input jack, a HDMI 2.0 port, a DisplayPort 1.4 port, a “service use only” port, a USB 3.0 uplink port, two USB 3.0 Type-A ports, and a 3.5mm audio jack passthrough.

ROG Swift PG27UQ (10)

The “service use only” port is meant for the ROG Swift PG27UQ to flash newer versions of the firmware. Don’t bother looking for the cable in the accessories pack though, as ASUS didn’t provide the proprietary cable for the service port. Your only way to upgrade the firmware for the monitor is to bring it back to your nearest ASUS service center to get the job done.

On-Screen Display Menu

ROG Swift PG27UQ OSD (1)

The on-screen display menu (OSD) can be accessed via the buttons and joystick located at the back of the monitor.

ROG Swift PG27UQ OSD (2)

Just like the ROG monitors we reviewed in the past, the ROG Swift PG27UQ too comes with its own presets in the GameVisual.

The ROG Swift PG27UQ by default can only run at 4K 120Hz with its full color space. However, to run at 144Hz, it will need to cut down on the color space and “overclock” to work at 144Hz.

ROG Swift PG27UQ OSD (4)

Like most monitor you can find in the market, the ROG Swift PG27UQ too has its own blue light reduction mode. The blue light filter function (5 level in total) in the OSD allows you to adjust the level of blue light reduction according to your own requirement. We do recommend enabling this for reading purposes only, as the reduced blues will surely affect your gaming experience as a whole.

ROG Swift PG27UQ OSD (7)

In the display menu, you’ll find useful settings especially the dark boost and variable backlight adjustment.

Dark boost for one, allows you to make darker area looks more visible in game with a static backlight, though it’ll cause the image to look a little washed out with the reduced contrast. It does however, makes the IPS glow on white colored area to look less significant.

As for variable backlight, you can opt for faster reacting mode for fast paced games – good for competitive gaming, or slower reacting mode for slower paced games or viewing videos.

ROG Swift PG27UQ OSD (9)

If you’re into the aesthetics, you can play around with the RGB lightings and the ROG eye logo projection in the system setup menu.

User Experience

ROG Swift PG27UQ Exp (2)

Since the colors appears to be pretty accurate, the ROG Swift PG27UQ makes a pretty awesome monitor for watching video, or even photo and video editing.

Although the ROG Swift PG27UQ is a 4K display monitor capable of 144Hz refresh rate, getting a AAA title to run more than 144 FPS at 4K resolution requires a serious powerhouse to pull off such a feat at the highest graphics settings. The system we’re using for the test however, isn’t powerful enough  to handle – even though we’re running on GTX 1080Ti in SLI and i7 6900K.

For both Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege and Tom Clancy’s The Division, we’re getting an average of 60-70 FPS and 90-110 FPS respectively on the highest graphics settings. Now this is when the 144Hz refresh rate comes to play – flipping more frames than an average 60Hz monitor. Being able to effectively displaying all the frames is what contributes to a smoother gameplay.

ROG Swift PG27UQ Gaming (2)

Less graphically demanding games like Counter Strike: Global Offensive and other eSport titles however, is able produce more frames than the AAA titles – average of 130 FPS. For fast paced games like CS:GO, the 144Hz refresh rate and G-SYNC does really help out with the blur and tearing prevention – especially when you’re playing it on 4K resolution.

Final Thoughts

4K display might be on its way to becoming mainstream, but the ASUS ROG Swift PG27UQ here is just way ahead of time – seriously. That high price and fancy technology it has isn’t really that practical at this moment, as we can see that even a system with two GTX 1080Ti in SLI is having a hard time to actually utilizing the monitor to its full potential. Don’t get us wrong though, the ROG Swift PG27UQ is a premium monitor that is on a league of its own, but it’s clearly not the next level upgrade for everyone.

For those of you who wants a monitor that focuses more on pure performance for competitive gaming, you might want to stick back to a TN panel monitor that comes with 1ms GtG, reasonable features and price that actually fits for your budget and needs.

Honestly, for a 4K resolution monitor with 144Hz refresh rate, along with the technology involved, the price of RM10,999 isn’t that unreasonable. 4K display with 144Hz and G-SYNC for smooth and tearing-free gaming experience, support for HDR content, seemingly accurate color reproduction and all the details for high-quality image, the 27-inch ASUS ROG Swift PG27UQ is a pretty awesome monitor to own – if you have loads of extra cash to spend on your next upgrade, both the monitor and the latest GeForce RTX 2080 Ti.

Pros

  • 4K resolution at 144Hz
  • Support for NVIDIA G-SYNC
  • Pretty accurate color reproduction
  • Great aesthetics, supports ASUS AURA Sync
  • Good ergonomics and supports VESA mount

Cons

  • Steep price
  • Need a very powerful system to drive the monitor to its full potential
  • Noticeable IPS glow on white colored area

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