ASUS introduced the industry’s first 4K HDR gaming display with a 144 Hz refresh rate using a quantum dot film at CES. The ROG Swift PG27UQ will be a new dream gaming monitor from the company because it features all the modern display technologies and a very fast refresh rate. Since the product is not set to hit the market immediately, ASUS decided to stay quiet about its price and availability timeframe, though expect it to be around $1500-$2000.

The ASUS ROG Swift PG27UQ is based on AU Optronics’ AHVA panel with a 4K (3840×2160) resolution, up to 1000 nits brightness, and a 144 Hz refresh rate with G-Sync. The manufacturer gave the panel a quantum dot treatment via a 3M film in early samples, but as of yet we do not know the exact color gamuts support as these have not been announced yet. ASUS has stated that the panel will offer support for HDR10, which means it might end up offering settings HDR-related color spaces, but at this time it is unconfirmed. Additionally, the monitor is equipped with NVIDIA’s G-Sync HDR variable refresh rate technology for smooth gameplay. Finally, the PG27UQ received a new direct LED backlighting with 384 zones that enables the high brighness and should lend itself to better contrast ratios (this enables localized dimming as a result).

In the recent years, monitors tailored for gamers have gotten increasingly popular because they offered key features important for the target audience: a large diagonal, high PPI, a very high refresh rate and a variable refresh rate technology. Meanwhile, to enable all of the aforementioned, manufacturers had to make certain design tradeoffs when it comes to resolution, brightness and at times even viewing angles due to panel selection, which may have compromised other types of experiences. The new ROG Swift PG27UQ packs everything that ASUS had to offer when it comes to gaming and multimedia, enabling users to have premium experience across the board. The novelty is not absolutely tradeoff-free, though: the display is smaller than the ROG Swift PG348Q.

Specifications of ASUS 4K Ultra-HD G-SYNC Gaming Monitor
  ASUS ROG Swift PG27UQ
Panel 27" IPS
Resolution 3840 × 2160
Refresh Rate 144 Hz on DP
60 Hz on HDMI
Variable Refresh Rate NVIDIA G-Sync
Response Time Unknown
Brightness 1000 cd/m²
Contrast Unknown
Backlighting Direct LED, 384 zones
Quantum Dot Yes
HDR HDR10 Support
Viewing Angles 178°/178° horizontal/vertical
PPI 163 pixels per inch
Colors Unknown
Color Saturation sRGB
 DCI-P3 (percentage unknown)
Inputs 2 × DisplayPort 1.4
1 × HDMI

To take advantage of all the features that the ASUS ROG Swift PG27UQ has to offer, owners will have to use an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 10-series graphics card with a DisplayPort 1.4 connector that supports 4K/144 output (albeit, with DSC) and HDR. NVIDIA’s previous-gen GeForce GTX 9-series GPUs have an HDR-supporting HDMI 2.0a display controller, but the HDMI port on this panel is only good up to 60 Hz at 4K.

While we do not know when ASUS intends to mass-produce the ROG Swift PG27UQ, it is highly unlikely that this is going to happen shortly for several reasons. Firstly, ASUS and AU Optronics demonstrated the prototype of the panel that powers the display at Computex 2016 and so far, we have not seen any indications that AUO has started mass production of its 4K/144Hz panels. Secondly, contemporary high-end graphics cards barely deliver 60 fps at 4K in games - without sufficient grunt, the monitor will simply not use all of its potential in high-end titles, which could affect demand. On the price side, keep in mind that the Swift PG348Q will remain the flagship ASUS ROG display and therefore the new PG27UQ will unlikely cost more than its bigger curved brother does. We've heard murmurs around the $1500-$2000 price point, but we will see. Given the timescale of a device like this, I suspect we will have more information around Computex time (early June).

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Source: ASUS

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  • willis936 - Thursday, January 12, 2017 - link

    Bigger isn't always better. I want to play stepmania in exclusive mode for lower input latency but 27" is noticeably too large for that. I can't see all of the notes coming up the screen.
  • R7 - Thursday, January 19, 2017 - link

    I agree on the size issue. Especially on a 4K display regarding DPI scaling. However TV-s have several limitations the don't make them very vell suited for gaming: lack of DP ports and thus lack of variable refresh tehnologies and lack of high refresh rate. Yes you can find some OK TV-s with tolerable lag and size/inch ratio but that's about it.
  • BrokenCrayons - Thursday, January 12, 2017 - link

    Red on black? Yup. Pointless lighting? Got it! Obnoxious product logo? Absolutely!

    Obviously, by combining all those attributes, this qualifies it as "gamer" hardware.
  • R7 - Thursday, January 19, 2017 - link

    They'll produce pink/yellow just for you if you dont like red/black like 90% of the population. LED-s can be turned off in OSD. Logo - yeah obviously that's a BIG problem lol.
  • bill44 - Thursday, January 12, 2017 - link

    With HDMI 2.1 please + Freesync 2 and compression.
  • jmelan - Thursday, January 12, 2017 - link

    why can't anyone make a 32...4k at 27" is such a waste
  • damianrobertjones - Thursday, January 12, 2017 - link

    A 32" screen hit first...

    "Why couldn't they make a 27" screen as 32" is too big"

    You just cannot win some days.
  • p1esk - Thursday, January 12, 2017 - link

    Looks like 30" 4k would be the winner. I'm typing this on 32" 4k with 27" 1440p as my second display.
  • jmelan - Thursday, January 12, 2017 - link

    32 4k 16:9 or 16:10 at 120fps+ ??
  • DanNeely - Thursday, January 12, 2017 - link

    There are some 32" (well 31.5") 4k screens out there; but between slightly lower costs and being a same size replacement for the more common 27" 2560x1440's have given the smaller size a major momentum advantage. As someone who currently has a PLP setup with 2x 20" 1200x1600's flanking a 30" 2560x1600 I'm wishing they'd've standardized on 32.5 instead of 31.5" for the next size up (closer physical height match). I probably will be buying a 31.5" at either 4k120/144 or 5k60 at some point this year as the closest to what I want that's actually available.

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