Monitor talk is crazy.  In this modern era we have a choice between 4K panels, cheap Korean 1440p monitors, panels that cover wide gamuts those that refresh at 30 Hz, 60 Hz, 120 Hz and 144 Hz, as well as TN/VA/IPS panels with all the variants therein.  The issue comes when putting as many of these features together - typically IPS panels at higher refresh rates are hard to come by, whereas TN panels can lack the wide viewing angles and color reproduction.  So by saying that ASUS are paring a 27” 2560x1440 display with a high refresh rate and NVIDIA G-Sync, we open our arms to this kind of evolution.

Anand reviewed G-Sync last year, and while it is the closest adaptive refresh technology to market, it does have its competitors.  The ROG Swift PG278Q is going to be available from July, and should bring more G-Sync into the market.  While other specifications are thin on the ground from the press release, we are inquiring into a more detailed list of data points for the monitor.  The PG278Q also comes with a dedicated Turbo Key to allow users to adjust refresh rates on the fly from 60 Hz to 120 Hz to 144 Hz with one button, rather than adjusting the on-screen display.  ASUS is quoting a 1ms GTG response time, with a 6mm bezel, VESA wall mount, a large range of stand adjustment, 1 DP port, two USB 3.0 ports and a 5-way joystick for the OSD.

ASUS expects the PG278Q to be in the $800 region, with a full release in late July.

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  • Sancus - Thursday, June 5, 2014 - link

    Just because there are some cheap overclocked koreans that don't reject the frames entirely, that does NOT make them equivalent to 120hz TN monitors. The reason no one builds legitimate 120hz monitors with those panels is not that it's hard to do the circuitry, it's that they simply are not capable of refreshing their pixels fast enough to display it right. You still end up with around 50% more motion blur than a 120hz TN.

    It's still better than 60hz, of course, but as of right now if you want to build a 120hz monitor you cannot use an IPS panel, none exist with fast enough pixel response time. Asus commissioned this panel specifically for this monitor... if they could have just used already available IPS panels it wouldn't be $800, and it also wouldn't be any good :)
  • Rm-Plx - Sunday, June 8, 2014 - link

    I'm probably gonna buy this monitor, but why the need for g sync if the refesh rate goes up to 144hz, i have a samsuhg 27 120hz monitor and there is no screen tearing in it whatsoever, so it seems pointless to include this technology with such a fast refresh rate
  • toyota - Thursday, June 12, 2014 - link

    Yes there is still screen tearing on your monitor. Just because you dont notice does not mean it does not happen. Gsync is very much needed for those of us that actually notice tearing and want to use vsync without its side effects.
  • boombeef - Thursday, July 3, 2014 - link

    Since you are going to buy the monitor it might be good to learn about why G-sync is opposite of "pointless". At least watch the product demo video on the nvidia page.

    http://www.geforce.com/hardware/technology/g-sync
  • sheh - Tuesday, June 3, 2014 - link

    5-way joystick... how about reintroducing the jog dial navigation used in the past on some Mag and AOC monitors? Quickest way to adjust things.
  • chizow - Tuesday, June 3, 2014 - link

    Any word on 3D Vision support with this panel? I've been very happy with my Asus VG278H (going on over 2 years now), I'll be looking to get one of these if it's 3D Vision compatible.
  • doggghouse - Tuesday, June 3, 2014 - link

    Yes, it supports 3D Vision. According to JJ at ASUS, it will be the first monitor capable of running 3D Vision at 1440p (normally it's only supported at 1080p).

    http://pcdiy.asus.com/2014/01/pg278q-rog-swift-gam...
  • Mand - Tuesday, June 3, 2014 - link

    You say that G-Sync "does have its competitors" - where, exactly, are those competitors?

    I hope you don't mean FreeSync/A-Sync. Because that doesn't exist, has never been demonstrated, has no hardware partnerships announced, has no product commitments let alone product announcements.

    So, what, exactly, is G-Sync's competitor? Because right now, the only one I can think of is a Word document.
  • anandreader106 - Thursday, June 5, 2014 - link

    Just stop.

    FreeSync is an optional spec in DisplayPort and many vendors will chose to include the feature in future monitors as early as Q4 this year. It's flat out illogical to think vendors won't include it because it's an additional checkbox for marketing departments to check off.
  • darkfalz - Thursday, June 5, 2014 - link

    Anyone who thinks this will work the same without dedicated sync/framebuffer hardware in the monitor is kidding themselves.

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