ROG Swift PG278Q from IPS 60hz

The Green Bean

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Jul 27, 2003
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I am currently using a Korean 27" 1440p which is gorgeous. I haven't really played too many FPS games recently but I'm starting to get into Overwatch. I remember the good old CRT days where I noticed a huge difference between 60hz and 100hz playing CS1.6. I do get distracted by the blurring on an otherwise flawless display. I do wish I could reduce the brightness (it's too bright even at the lowest settings).

I realize that there is an IPS version of the ROG Swift, but I am in Pakistan and they all appear sold out (a no-brainer at $150 more?). I'm guessing it's because of the QC problems (they'll probably get the issues in NA and Europe fixed before us). I don't know when on if they'll be back in stock.

I'm just worried about spending $850 on a monitor only to feel a downgrade. ASUS is the only choice here--I realize the viewing angles will be comparably much worse, but what about the general colors?
 

Headfoot

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Feb 28, 2008
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For that much cash I would return it and go with something with both high refresh rate and 1440p. I dont know whether thats doable in Pakistan at that price but it definitely is in the US. Dunno if you're a servicemember or what out there but if you are it would probably be worth your time to get a quality 1440p IPS 144hz monitor shipped over from the US for the same or less money.
 

The Green Bean

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Jul 27, 2003
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For that much cash I would return it and go with something with both high refresh rate and 1440p. I dont know whether thats doable in Pakistan at that price but it definitely is in the US. Dunno if you're a servicemember or what out there but if you are it would probably be worth your time to get a quality 1440p IPS 144hz monitor shipped over from the US for the same or less money.

$850 for the PG278Q which is a 144hz 1440p is roughly what you would pay in the USA with tax. It's TN; not IPS. The IPS version isn't available here seemingly. Will there be a big PQ difference between my current 60HZ 1440p IPS from 2012 and the 27Q? Getting something shipped from the USA is a hassle and the customs duty and tax may turn out to be as high as 50%.
 

The Green Bean

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If you want g-sync then yes :p

I have no personal experience, but if you can run +100fps there shouldn't be much difference.

I just bought a new rig with a 1070. I think I'll bite and go with the older ROG before it gets sold out. If I don't like it, I'll probably be stuck with it--it's going to be a hard resell.
 

Headfoot

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Gsync is unfortunately a massive price uplift and it locks you into nVidia. Buying freesync doesnt really matter since its not bringing up the cost much any more, you could safely ignore freesync and use an nVidia card with it.
 

Bacon1

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Will I be able to run the two monitors side by side even if both are running at different refresh rates?

Yes they will work w/o issues. You can't game across both (surround / eyefinity) if they are at different refresh rates afaik, but windows and such will work fine.
 

The Green Bean

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Jul 27, 2003
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The BenQ XL2730Z is back in stock @ $300 less than the ROG. It has Freesync. For a $300 difference I could probably get an AMD setup faster than a GTX 1070. Is there an upcoming AMD refresh that could rival the GTX10 series? I can't seem to find a Fury X in Pakistan.

Edit: XL2730Z is looking good. What refresh rate options will I get using an Nvidia? If a game plays fine a 130FPS, will I be able to set the refresh rate to 130? In my opinion that would eliminate the benefit of G-Sync at the cost of a little bit of benchmarking to see what your minimum FPS in a game is.

There is also a chance of picking up an AMD when the new generation comes--almost certainly save more than $300 by selling the 1070 and picking up a Vega.
 
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Dec 12, 2016
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There is countdown from AMD side right now :) They are supposed to reveal their next thing VEGA. Just wait a little longer and will see what is going to be offered. I believe and hope that this new AMD card will be around gtx1080 performance.
 

The Green Bean

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Jul 27, 2003
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I decided not to wait and get the ROG Swift. Hopefully I get my moneys worth buy sticking to Nvidia over 3-4 GPU generations.

I have both the monitors side by side and my first thought is the matte coating feels much more easier on my eyes compared to the glossy IPS. The matte coating does make the screen look a little grainy but I'll take the trade off any day. The glare was really bad. Perhaps it has to do with the glare from my eyeglasses? The colors seem to pop out less compared to my IPS but I don't think that's going to be a big deal for me. The viewing angles are obviously inferior to the IPS but nowhere near as bad as my old TN panels.

I haven't gamed yet, but everything from mouse movements to scrolling feels so much more smoother. It's been hardly 20 minutes and I already can't stand the scrolling choppiness on 60hz.

I would have bought the PG279Q IPS gor $120 more, but they only got one piece which was sold out. The next Asus shipment was due in mid-Feb and they did not know if the IPS LCD would be coming along.

Edit: Just tried some gaming. Quite a big difference between refresh rates. I also calculated the input lag on the old IPS which is on average 35-40ms more than the ROG Swift.
 
Last edited:
Dec 12, 2016
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I decided not to wait and get the ROG Swift. Hopefully I get my moneys worth buy sticking to Nvidia over 3-4 GPU generations.

I have both the monitors side by side and my first thought is the matte coating feels much more easier on my eyes compared to the glossy IPS. The matte coating does make the screen look a little grainy but I'll take the trade off any day. The glare was really bad. Perhaps it has to do with the glare from my eyeglasses? The colors seem to pop out less compared to my IPS but I don't think that's going to be a big deal for me. The viewing angles are obviously inferior to the IPS but nowhere near as bad as my old TN panels.

I haven't gamed yet, but everything from mouse movements to scrolling feels so much more smoother. It's been hardly 20 minutes and I already can't stand the scrolling choppiness on 60hz.

I would have bought the PG279Q IPS gor $120 more, but they only got one piece which was sold out. The next Asus shipment was due in mid-Feb and they did not know if the IPS LCD would be coming along.

Edit: Just tried some gaming. Quite a big difference between refresh rates. I also calculated the input lag on the old IPS which is on average 35-40ms more than the ROG Swift.


If i have that money i would do the same :) Difference between 60 and 120+ hz is just - no point to compare:) I felt the same when i bought my 144hz monitor also:) Have fun and enjoy.
 

The Green Bean

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Jul 27, 2003
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Played a few games and now I wonder why I had bought a 1440p 60hz in 2012 instead of a 1080p 144hz. Games generally feel much smoother. I haven't played CS since the 1.6 days because every time I tried playing GO, something felt off--I blamed the 50ms latency. At 144hz, it's almost like playing on a CRT. Fast FPS games like Doom feel much smoother and I don't experience the same dizziness I felt on my old monitor.
 
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Dec 12, 2016
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Played a few games and now I wonder why I had bought a 1440p 60hz in 2012 instead of a 1080p 144hz. Games generally feel much smoother. I haven't played CS since the 1.6 days because every time I tried playing GO, something felt off--I blamed the 50ms latency. At 144hz, it's almost like playing on a CRT. Fast FPS games like Doom feel much smoother and I don't experience the same dizziness I felt on my old monitor.

Good right:) Felt the same with mine. Looks like 4k 144hz is coming so that is the next step:) Just gonna wait a little more for good video card.
 

The Green Bean

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Jul 27, 2003
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Unfortunately, the Swift panel started displaying blue vertical lines last week. The Asus reseller (in Pakistan) said they will replace the monitor but they don't have anything in stock. They told me they're getting some new monitors in the second week of March.

The person on the phonw sounded like they may not be getting the exact same model (seems to be discontinued). I'm guessing they're getting either the 278qr and/or the ips 279q. If they agree, would be be worth paying a difference to upgrade to the ips?
 

Headfoot

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Feb 28, 2008
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depends on the difference. Around $100? I'd probably do it. $200+ i'd think about looking at getting a refund and switching models altogether
 

The Green Bean

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depends on the difference. Around $100? I'd probably do it. $200+ i'd think about looking at getting a refund and switching models altogether

I don't think they'll give me a refund. I have to wait another week. Then i'll see what they can offer. But reading at some of the bad Swift ROG experiences, it appears that ASUS has been extremely poor with the quality control. In the end it'll cost them more with the refunds and return shipping.
 

Headfoot

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Feb 28, 2008
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I don't think they'll give me a refund. I have to wait another week. Then i'll see what they can offer. But reading at some of the bad Swift ROG experiences, it appears that ASUS has been extremely poor with the quality control. In the end it'll cost them more with the refunds and return shipping.
Yeah that's been my experience with ASUS too. I pretty much avoid them across the board now