Asus ROG Swift PG27AQ – A 4K Gaming Monitor for the Wallet


The Asus ROG Swift PG27AQ is not good if you are playing FPS games like Fortnite or PUBG. The monitor is also not good for content creators. BUT the monitor is fantastic if you are playing MMORPSs, strategy games or platform games. The big, beautiful 4K IPS panel is really showing the best of itself in those types of games and you will not be disappointed.

Gaming in 4K is starting to become realistic, although with expensive hardware, but you get there. With this in mind, manufacturers created 4K monitors with 144Hz and oh my god on those price points. We may not be there yet after all. Luckily, there are still options.

The Asus ROG Swift PG27AQ may not be the newest monitor, and it lacks the most important feature, 144hz. But it’s a 4K monitor with IPS display and the price tag is much less. Is this a sufficient monitor for those of us who want 4K but don’t want to pay a salary on a monitor? Let’s find out!

Meet the Asus ROG Swift PG27AQ

The Asus ROG Swift PG27AQ is designed to offer some of the best resolution and color on the market, making it easy for gamers to really feel like they are a part of their game. It features an impressive 4K pixel resolution, which means that all aspects of the game are going to be incredibly bright and sharp and users won’t have to worry about any blurring.

Additionally, it is loaded with Nvidia’s G-Sync tech, which works to prevent any stuttering, blurring, or tearing when there is a lot of action on the screen. The unfortunate thing about the Asus ROG Swift PG27AQ is that the LCD panel runs up to 60Hz, which means that you won’t enjoy the best reset rate.

While the G-Sync tech does help to provide a smooth experience, you will still have a lower reset rate than with other monitors, which means that really competitive gamers may find that another monitor best suits their needs.

Thanks to the 1,000 contrast radio and the 10-bit color, you will enjoy 1.07 billion different hues, which is great for fully immersive gameplay. Additionally, this monitor offers 178-degree viewing so that you never have a frustrating color shift or a lot of distortion, even when off to the side and looking on from an extreme angle. The display is 3860 x 2160 pixels and has an aspect ratio of 1.78:1.

Design

With a 27” panel, the Asus ROG PG27AQ is massive.  While there are a few monitors available on the market that are a little larger, like the Acer Predator XB321HK, there really isn’t any reason to go bigger, as 27” offers all of the space that you need for most games. Asus did a great job designing this monitor so that it looks great but still is a little more classy than some other options on the market.

The back of the monitor has sides that slope to hide all electronics and create a very sleek and minimal look. The slim bezel means that the display doesn’t protrude very much, resulting in a lightweight display that doesn’t look like it weighs the 22.9 pounds that it does. This is a much more streamlined monitor than other options, making it great for smaller spaces.

It’s also very easy to adjust the stand via swivel, pivot, tilt, and even a height adjustment. Additionally, the display can be turned 90 degrees to portrait mode, which is very useful to plug in cables, even if gamers don’t turn their monitors this way during a gaming session.

Performance in Games

Thanks to the large size of the panel and the 4K resolution, the Asus ROG Swift PG27AQ makes playing open world and shooter games a dream. It’s really easy to get lost in the moment when playing on this monitor as it is designed to offer incredible detail, no matter what game you’re playing.

Because marathon gaming sessions can really take their toll on your eye health, the Asus ROG Swift PG27AQ is designed to help prevent eye strain and damage, which is great for gamers who love to play all afternoon or night. It features ASUS Eye care technology that is certified to be flicker free and to offer a blue light filter, resulting in easier gaming sessions with less eye fatigue.

While the monitor can’t go over 60Hz, this isn’t noticeable in a lot of games, although faster-paced games can sometimes struggle because of this. Unfortunately, at this time, there aren’t any 4K and 144Hz monitors, which means that you have to make a sacrifice. In this case, you sacrifice the 144Hz, but enjoy impressive play thanks to G-SYNC Technology.

With G-SYNC Technology, the Asus ROG Swift PG27AQ offers smooth gaming visuals that won’t lag or jerk. While not as powerful as a 144Hz monitor, this is a great compromise for gamers looking for the visual beauty and power of 4K.With a lot of different gaming features, it’s easy to see how this Asus can really make your gaming experience more enjoyable. There is a timer overlay that is great for counting down time in a round, an FPS counter, and a crosshair overlay to make it easy to track the middle of your screen.

As long as your setup can handle it, it’s easy to push the Asus ROG Swift PG27AQ to 100 FPS, although it generally runs around 60 FPS, and even lower when watching a movie.

Brightness & Colors

The Asus ROG Swift PG27AQ comes with a number of presets that all vary in terms of brightness and colors, making it easy for users to adjust their settings to maximize their gaming enjoyment.

Out of the box, this monitor has a maximum brightness of almost 33 lux, which means that colors and designs of the game will really pop out from the screen, even when the game is played in a brightly lit room.

Unfortunately, this brightness can sometimes mean scarifying the color quality of your game. It’s not uncommon for the colors to appear blown out and for whites to have a bluish hue rather than being a pure and bright white. This problem is due not only to the temperature of the colors but also their accuracy.

With a little work and calibration, this monitor can have a much better average color error. Since color accuracy can vary so widely, it’s important for gamers to spend a little time calibrating their monitor for the best results. Unfortunately, even when calibrated correctly, the monitor tends to struggle with contrast, which can make things feel much less realistic.

Connections & Ports

There are a number of ports on the Asus ROG Swift PG27AQ. With a DC power input, 3.5 mm headphone jack, HDMI port, DP 1.2 input, USB 3.0 upstream and 2 USB 3.0 downstream ports, Kensington lock slot, and service port, you can easily connect this monitor to any other equipment.

Additionally, there are two stereo speakers built into the monitor that are designed to provide users with basic sound, although they are not the most durable or reliable speakers on the market and can sound a little tinny.

ASUS ROG Swift PG27AQ – Product Review

Image Quality – 4*

The monitor is well equipped for 4K and IPs but not as color accurate as I would have liked.

Design – 4.5*

I personally like the ROG-design that Asus has on their monitors.

Game Performance – 4*

Stuck at 60Hz which is bad but 4K for certain game genres is great.

Conclusion

Yes, I know, the monitor is not the cheapest on the market, but comparing it with Asus top model, it’s much better. And quality costs. This monitor checks all the boxes that you are looking for in a monitor, except one. Is that box worth $1000 more to you?

The PG27AQ perform in games and they look beautiful in 4K. You haven’t played GTA V until you see it in full 4K glory. It is not the most reliable monitor when it comes to colors so it’s not the great content creator monitor, but that is not what Asus market the monitor as.

As the monitor is stuck at 60Hz but offers a great resolution, this monitor is perfect if you are playing a lot of strategy games or MMORPGs where FPS is not as needed as in FPS-games like Fortnite or PUBG. If those are the games you are playing, you should stop looking at 4K monitors right now.

But if you are playing those other genres, and you decide to get this monitor, you will have a monitor for years to come, no doubt about it. And by the time it’s time to get a new monitor, the 144Hz version might have come down in price.

Christoffer K

Christoffer is the man behind Gaming Simplified. He has been an avid gamer and Tech lover and that has motivated him to share All Things Tech on this blog!

Recent Posts