HP Z27q Monitor Review: Aiming For More Pixels

Almost a year ago, we reviewed the HP Z27x monitor, which was a 27-inch display capable of covering a very wide gamut. It had a reasonable 2560×1440 resolution, which was pretty common for this size of display. But at CES 2015, HP announced the HP Z27q monitor, which takes a step back on gamut and manageability, but takes two steps forward with resolution. The HP Z27q is a ‘5K’ display, which means it has an impressive 5120×2880 resolution. This easily passes the UHD or ‘4K’ levels which are becoming more popular. The HP Z27q is one of a handful of 5K displays on the market now, and HP came in with a pretty low launch price of $1300. When I say pretty low, it’s of course relative to the other 5K displays in the market, but it undercuts the Dell UP2715K by several hundred dollars, even today.

ASUS Announces ROG PG279Q & PG27AQ Gaming Monitors

Today ASUS announced two new gaming monitors at their Republic of Gamers Unleashed event in San Francisco. Both displays are 27″ IPS panels, although there are some significant differences between the two that make each one appeal more or less for certain genres of games. Below you can find all the relevant specifications for both of ASUS’s new monitors.

Starting with the PG279Q, we see that it’s a 27″ WQHD IPS panel with a refresh rate of 144Hz. This monitor is definitely targeted more toward gamers who play games like first person shooters where a high refresh rate is a greater asset than a higher resolution. When paired with a GTX 960 or faster NVIDIA GPU the display’s refresh rate can be boosted up to 165Hz, and ASUS has even included a button on the monitor to switch between the two refresh rates on command. This is actually more useful then it sounds, because a user can easily move to 165Hz while gaming, and stick with 144Hz in typical use which will also eliminate telecine judder in 24fps video content.

As for the PG27AQ, I would imagine that gamers who play RTS and simulation games would choose it over the PG279Q for its higher resolution. It’s a 27″ UHD panel with a refresh rate of 60Hz, and a greater 10bit color depth than the PG279Q’s 8bit color. It shares most of the remaining specifications with the PG279Q, including a contrast ratio of 1000:1, a 4ms grey to grey response time, a 178 degree viewing angle on both axis, and the inputs and outputs listed above.

Both of these new monitors feature NVIDIA’s G-Sync adaptive refresh rate technology. Even on the PG27AQ this can be useful despite it only being a 60Hz panel, as it will produce a much more fluid image if a game’s frame rate drops below 60fps than a non G-Sync / FreeSync display. However, only the PG279Q has NVIDIA’s Ultra Low Motion Blur technology which uses a strobing backlight to reduce motion blur. It’s worth noting that G-Sync and ULMB are mutually exclusive and you need to choose which one you want a game to use based on whether or not you can maintain the PG279Q’s native refresh rate of 144/165Hz.

The ASUS PG279Q will be available in November, with a starting price of $799 in the United States. Pricing and availability for the PG27AQ is currently unknown, but I would imagine that the price will be in the same realm as the PG279Q.

ASUS Announces A 144Hz WQHD Gaming Monitor With FreeSync

Today ASUS announced a new monitor targeted at the gaming market. The ASUS MG278Q is a 27″ TN panel with a resolution of 2560×1440 and a 144Hz refresh rate. In the chart below you can see further information about the monitor and its specifications.

Being a gaming-oriented display, the MG278Q’s focus is on a low response time and a high refresh rate rather than color accuracy. Since it’s a TN panel it’s likely that the panel has a native 6bit color depth per subpixel and uses temporal dithering to emulate 16.7 million colors, although this has not been confirmed. In addition to the 144Hz refresh rate, the MG278Q supports AMD’s FreeSync technology which utilizes the Adaptive Sync feature of DisplayPort 1.2a to enable a variable refresh rate synchronized to the GPU’s rendering of frames. More information about FreeSync and how it works can be found here.

ASUS is yet to announce pricing fort he MG278Q, but we’ve seen TN displays with similar specifications from Acer and BenQ for $500-600. The MG278Q will be available in North America in early September