Asus TUF Gaming VG279QM 27in 280Hz Gaming Monitor Review

1. Introduction2. Asus TUF Gaming VG279QM3. Asus TUF Gaming VG279QM On Screen Display Menu System4. Asus TUF Gaming VG279QM Analysis5. Closing Thoughts6. View All Pages

Now that 144Hz monitors are becoming widespread, and 165Hz is increasingly common too, how do you go one better than your gaming buddies? What about blowing them all away with a 280Hz refresh? This is what the ASUS TUF Gaming VG279QM has to offer, prompting a claim of the “world's fastest gaming monitor”. It provides this in a 27in format, although it's only a Full HD-resolution screen. If you're a die-hard FPS gamer where high frame rates can give you the edge, this could be the monitor for you.

The VG279QM has other tricks up its sleeve too. Naturally, adaptive sync is available, with both AMD FreeSync and NVIDIA G-sync compatibility. This is an IPS panel, which isn't usually the best choice of technology for FPS gaming due to its slow pixel response. However, ASUS claims to be using something called Fast IPS, which allows the same sort of 1ms grey-to-grey pixel response as TN panels. Just to reiterate – this is not MPRT response, but grey-to-grey.

Nevertheless, other typical features of IPS technology remain, with a 1,000:1 contrast. But peak brightness is 400cd/m2, while the gamut is 95 per cent of DCI-P3 and DisplayHDR 400 is supported. ASUS even includes multiple HDR modes for different scenarios like movie watching and gaming.

There's a good range of adjustment available, with the ability to swivel 90 degrees in either direction, the typical 130mm of height adjustment, 33 degrees of backwards tilt and even the facility to rotate into portrait mode. You also get a reasonable array of two HDMI video inputs and a single DisplayPort. These connections can also supply a pair of weedy 2W speakers, should you need audio without a headset. However, one thing that this monitor doesn't offer is a USB hub.

With basic 27in Full HD monitors starting at around £130, and 144Hz ones around £215, a price near £400 seems steep. But if this monitor really lives up to its claim of being the fastest one on the market, and you're a FPS fiend, it could be worth it. Let's find out if the VG279QM can satisfy your need for speed.

Specification:

• Screen size: 27-inch, 16:9 aspect
• Native resolution: 1,920 x 1,080
• Refresh rate: 280Hz, AMD FreeSync and NVIDIA G-sync Compatible
• Panel type: IPS
• Contrast ratio: 1,000:1 (typical)
• Brightness: 400cd/m2
• Response time: 1ms grey-to-grey
• Display inputs: 2 x HDMI 2.0, 1 x DisplayPort 1.2
• USB hub: No
• Tilt: 5 degrees forward, 33 degrees backward
• Raise: 130mm
• Swivel: 90 degrees left and right
• Portrait: Yes
• Other: Audio output, 2 x 2W speakers

Retail Price: £399.95 (inc. VAT)

The Asus TUF Gaming VG279QM doesn't shout its abilities as much as you might expect on its external packaging.

Inside the box are HDMI and DisplayPort cables, plus the external power adapter and a mains cable.

 

The VG279QM is a decent-looking piece of kit but like the box it doesn't shout its abilities. The design is quite sober, with just the red ring around the base and some red text on the stand to distract from the otherwise matt black appearance.

The adjustability is comprehensive, starting with the ability to swivel the panel on the stand by 90 degrees in either direction. You can raise or lower it through 130mm, and whilst the forward tilt is a typical 5 degrees, the backward tilt is a large 33 degrees. You can also rotate the entire panel into a portrait orientation.

Without a USB hub, there aren't that many ports on the back of the screen. Alongside the power input, there are two HDMI 2.0 ports, a single DisplayPort 1.2, and a minijack for analog audio output. The mysterious covered port at the end is a USB connection, presumably there for firmware updates or other maintenance duties.

The OSD and other functions are controlled by a combination of a joystick and four buttons on the right-hand corner at the rear.
The bottom button turns power off and on.

The next button up lets you select the GameVisual presets, which include Scenery, Racing, Cinema, RTS/RPG, FPS, sRGB, and MOBA, with Racing the default. You can change the function of this button, of which more later. To get to this interface, you press the button once to see the little menu on the right, then again to get the menu you actually want.

The next button up (again, user-configurable) provides access to the GamePlus options. These include the ability to put a hardware crosshair onscreen – for practice only, obviously. You can set a timer so you don't play too long (that never happens, obviously) and an onscreen hardware FPS counter. There's also the option to add rulers onscreen so you can align a multi-monitor setup, assuming you have two VG279QM screens. There's even a Sniper mode that magnifies a section around the crosshair. Again, for practicing only, obviously.

Finally, pushing the joystick in calls up the main menu, with the first option being Gaming. Here you can set the refresh overclocking. The default maximum is 240Hz, so you need to enable this feature and increase the value to get to the much-vaunted 280Hz. You can also enable OverDrive to further improve pixel response, and toggle Adaptive-Sync, which is on by default. ELMB Sync is “Extreme Low Motion Blur Sync”, which reduces motion blur whilst also allowing adaptive sync to be enabled. Many other monitors don't allow this. You can access the GamePlus modes and GameVisual options here as well, and finally Shadow Boost improves detail in dark areas.

The next main menu section is Image, where you can adjust Brightness, Contrast, and HDR type (when enabled). You can also add VividPixel to boost sharpness with lower resolution inputs. ASCR is a dynamic contrast system, and you can adjust the aspect ratio with a non-native video input resolution here too. Finally, the Blue Light Filter lets you reduce the blue level to give your eyes a rest.

The Color section lets you choose a colour temperature, with Cool, Normal and Warm presets, or you can employ User Mode to adjust red, green and blue manually. There's a saturation control and the ability to adjust skin colours specifically via Skin Tone. One thing missing here or in the Image section is any kind of gamma control.

The Input Select section merely lets you choose between the three video ports manually.

MyFavorite is where you can change the function of the two keys that by default provide immediate access to the GameVisual modes and GamePlus options. You can also save and load four different custom settings collections.

Finally, under System Setup you can change the OSD language, control speaker volume under Sound, engage an ECO Mode to save power, configure whether the power LED is on and whether the power key and other keys are operational. You can also change how the OSD is displayed. If you scroll further down, you can reset all the settings to default.

Overall, this is a sufficiently capable OSD, albeit very focused on gaming, as you'd expect. The lack of gamma modes or many non-gaming-related presets make this a less flexible screen, but you're unlikely to pay extra for a 280Hz screen if you're not primarily a gamer anyway. The OSD design is functional and reasonably well laid out, although it's not the prettiest to look at.
Our main test involves using a DataColor SpyderX Pro Colorimeter to assess a display’s image quality. The device sits on top of the screen panel surface while the software generates colour tones and patterns, which it compares against predetermined values to work out how accurate the screen is.

The results show –

• A monitor’s maximum brightness in candelas or cd/m2 at various levels set in the OSD.
• A monitor’s contrast ratio at various brightness levels in the OSD.
• The brightness deviation across the panel.
• The black and white points.
• The colour accuracy, expressed as a Delta E ratio, with a result under 3 being fine for normal use, and under 2 being great for colour-accurate design work.
• The exact gamma levels, with a comparison against preset settings in the OSD.

We first run this test with the display in its out-of-the-box state, with all settings on default. We then calibrate the screen using the SpyderX software and run the test again.

We always test the display subjectively on the Windows desktop, using it for general tasks such as browsing and word processing, and with games as well, even if the display is not intended solely for that purpose.

We pay careful attention to any artefacts, ghosting or motion blur, and enable any gaming-specific features, such as adaptive-sync settings like G-Sync or FreeSync, using a compatible graphics card in our test PC.

We performed the quality tests on the Asus TUF Gaming VG279QM at its native 1,920 x 1,080 resolution in the default mode, after resetting the OSD, which sets the refresh to 60Hz. Our test system was equipped with an AMD Radeon Vega Frontier Edition graphics card, which supports FreeSync.

The gamut results of 98 per cent of sRGB, 78 per cent of AdobeRGB and 81 per cent of DCI-P3 are not that impressive. This is not the perfect screen for watching movies on.

Brightness uniformity is nothing to write home about either, with double-digit aberration in a number of locations.

Colour uniformity is more respectable, across the brightness levels.

Brightness increases by reasonably uniform amounts between each percentage level, although the contrast is quite low even for an IPS panel, only reaching 720:1 even at the maximum. The white point is a uniform 6900K until you get to full brightness. The screen never quite reaches its specified 400cd/m2, however, maxing out at 366.7cd/m2.

Racing is the default GameVisual mode for some reason, offering a mid-range 218cd/m2 alongside 640:1 contrast and 6900K white point. Scenery mode, on the other hand, ramps up the brightness to 378.9cd/m2 with 740:1 contrast and a cooler 7600K white point. Cinema mode, however, is the coolest with a 10100K white point, 610:1 contrast but lower 275.2 brightness.

MOBA, RTS/RPG and FPS appear identical, all offering 329cd/m2 brightness or near as, 730:1 contrast and 7600K white point. The only work-oriented preset, sRGB, drops brightness right down to 138.5cd/m2 and lowers contrast to 310:1, but with the standard 6900K white point. There aren't any presets for reading or Web usage.

There aren't any gamma presets, but at least the one that does exist equates to 2.2, the usual mid-range value.

After a somewhat mediocre set of results, it's reassuring that the IPS panel delivers where we usually expect it to – colour accuracy. With an average deviation out of the box of just 0.96, this screen has very high colour fidelity without you needing to make any adjustments. But we thought we would anyway, so we calibrated with the SpyderX.

The gamut, unfortunately, is no better than before.

No change to the gamma, either, which remains 2.2.

Colour accuracy has improved even further to an incredible 0.56, which is the best we've ever seen. So even if this screen isn't perfect in other areas, the colour reproduction is best in class.

This probably isn't your absolute priority as a gamer, however, although it's good to know. Much more important is the real-world gaming experience. With up to 280Hz refresh to play with, even at Full HD resolution it was going to be hard to find a recent game our AMD Radeon Vega Frontier Edition could drive this fast. CS:GO came the closest, hitting around 240fps. With adaptive sync, the experience was as smooth as silk. Rainbow 6 Siege and League of Legends didn't hit anywhere near the maximum of this monitor, but the CS:GO experience was enough to underline the value of this screen if you have really high-end graphics and a total devotion to FPS gaming.

The Asus TUF Gaming VG279QM isn't quite perfect. A lot of gamers would prefer a 2,560 x 1,440 resolution at this screen size, and despite the class-leading colour accuracy there are some weaknesses in the panel's performance. But if you do have a graphics card and game combination that can get close to 280fps, the 280Hz refresh allied with adaptive sync for both AMD and NVIDIA hardware will give you an edge when FPS gaming. Maybe not a huge edge over 144Hz, but an edge nonetheless, and every little counts.

You also get Asus's generous array of widgets to further aid your gaming, such as onscreen FPS counters and crosshairs (for training purposes only, obviously). There's a comprehensive range of adjustments available to position this screen exactly how you want it.

The lack of a USB hub is a bit of a downside, however, and although USB-C isn't such a significant omission for gamers it's still something to note when this connection is starting to appear more frequently now.

The other downside is the price. Although £400 isn't an absolute fortune to pay for a monitor, particularly one with a unique ability like a 280Hz refresh, it is a lot for a 27in Full HD monitor. This is very much a screen specifically targeting FPS gamers where every frame is sacred, and the resolution makes it less optimal for other genres like MOBA or RTS. If you are a FPS fiend, though, this is the smoothest-running screen currently on the market.

The Asus TUF Gaming VG279QM is available from Amazon UK for £399.95.

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Pros:

• Super-smooth overclocked 280Hz refresh.
• FreeSync 2 adaptive sync plus NIVDIA G-sync Compatibility.
• Superb colour accuracy out of the box, and phenomenal after calibration.
• Useful gaming features in the OSD.

Cons:

• Expensive for 27in Full HD.
• No USB hub.
• Disappointing gamut.
• Mediocre brightness uniformity.

KitGuru says: The Asus TUF Gaming VG279QM delivers on its promise of the highest refresh currently on the market, with the smoothest FPS frame rates around, but it's quite pricey for a 27in Full HD screen.

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