Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsBest gaming monitor. Work of art.
Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2015
Edit: Idk why Amazon turned the pics sideways. They're fine on my computer. Sorry. Anyways, they are there to show backlight bleed at factory settings which was bad, then with the brightness at 44, which is about normal, and it's gone.
Got my monitor yesterday, was worried it would arrive with problems. Soon as I turned it on, I checked it on the black screen for dead pixels and found none! Then checked for stuck pixels and found none! I was then very satisfied with the build quality. Checked out the backlight bleed and it was pretty bad at factory settings at the bottom of the monitor. After I put in some calibration settings, and dropped the brightness from 80 to 44 (it's a very bright monitor) the backlight bleed was non-existent and uniform. The stand came all assembled together, I just took it out, stood it up and plugged it in. Will be mounting to an ergotron arm, but if I didn't have it, I would leave the stand. It looks really nice! G-sync only works in fullscreen mode, which kind of bummed me out when I found that out, but doesn't really matter, because once you experience G-sync, it's unlike anything you've ever seen in gaming. There's no screen tearing, even on small objects like boxes. It looks like I'm playing a screenshot.
You'll need some hardware to really take advantage of this monitor though. At least a 770. Gsync will make 40fps feel like 60fps, it's so smooth. I have an i7 4790k, dual GTX-980s, 8GB of RAM.
Next to my 1440p Viewsonic VP-2770 IPS, it holds up well, but lacks the blacks of the IPS. If there was a gamma feature on this monitor, I'm sure I could dial it in even further. One review I read, had this monitor beating an Overload Korean IPS monitor in tests! I believe it was an e-IPS. My Viewsonic is an S-IPS I think. It's high quality.
Even though they just announced the ASUS ROG SWIFT 4K IPS 60HZ version will be released later this year, with a window of July-September, I still opted for this one. I will probably also get the 4K version, because I have the graphics power to drive it and the build quality is just fantastic.
Pros:
+1440p
+Build Quality is superb. Has to be seen in person to understand.
+Red ring on base of stand that can be turned on and off.
+Easy to navigate On Screen Display.
+Ultra Low Motion Blur
+Gsync does everything that Vsync does BETTER, without input lag. It's just glorious, if you've always hated Vsync (even if you like it, it still does Vsync's job but BETTER) but had to deal with screen tearing. That whole problem is now eliminated.
+1ms response time. In comparison to IPS, which at best is usually 5-6ms (new 4K IPS 60hz Swift to debut this year will be 5-6ms.) Response Time affects the amount of blur the monitor produces from changing colors.
+Super thin bezel makes this thing look as premium as it's price tag.
Neutral points: 8-bit color TN panel. Could be argued either way. It lacks the depth of IPS, but holds it's own well against it. Viewing angles are not a problem for me, even at this screen size. It's not your average TN panel. Can also be argued TN is better for fast paced action games, because it has faster response time and thus, less motion blur on the image.
Cons:
-Availability. When I build my PC back in September, this monitor was scarce and there was a lot of paranoia surrounding it. I just now got my order in, when they became available. Seems the newer batches are fine and getting way better user reviews.
-Can be argued it's not an IPS, but that's ok with me. It's way better than your average TN. Don't listen to people that don't own the monitor. They are just talking nonsense.
-Gsync doesn't work in windowed borderless mode YET! I believe they are working on solving this problem.
-Only ONE input and that's Display Port. So if you plan on using this monitor for something like a video game console on the side, forget it! I still have my Viewsonic, and hopefully the NEW Swift to release this year has multiple inputs.
-Price is steep, but for what is in this package, it's not that bad. People crying about the TN panel just don't understand. It's TN but it's 8bit color. You're paying for the resolution, build quality, size, and gsync (most of all. I believe this little module runs $200 itself. They are working on getting that price down, but it's in such a high demand, it's hard to.)
Conclusion: Terrific monitor. I was scared ordering one, but I don't believe I can go back. This is THE definitive gaming monitor on the market at the time of the review. There are some monitors coming from competitors, like Acer, with 144hz IPS gsync, but it's not really an IPS panel. It's an AHVA panel. Do your homework on these monitors! I STILL am totally satisfied with this monitor based on it's build quality ALONE. I was on the fence about the 4k IPS they have coming this year, but I'll definitely be getting one, maybe a few months after release like I did with this monitor.
ASUS is a big company, with a lot of business, in comparison to other companies. They thus are going to have more negative reviews because they are moving more product. I've heard bad stories about their customer service, so if I were you, I would try to purchase the amazon warranty with this monitor.
