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As we would expect, the Asus MG278Q is better for AMD Freesync gaming than the MG279Q. That said the MG279Q incorporates an IPS panel so overall picture quality is higher. That’s not to say the MG278Q is bad in any way – in fact, it’s panel is one of the best TN screens we have tested, exhibiting high brightness and excellent contrast. It also helps that it is significantly cheaper than the MG279Q.
So it all boils down to your priorities. The MG278Q is a great FreeSync display, and with a low 1ms response time, it’s probably a better buy if you spend more of your time gaming than anything else. There is some strong competition from other manufacturers, but this display has a few additional benefits. It offers a WQHD resolution, a great OSD, and the joystick is really handy to quickly flip though menus.
It’s still a TN panel though, and the viewing angles are good, but not perfect. The picture just isn’t as crisp as IPS, and based on desktop picture quality alone, we’d go with an IPS screen every time. But this is a display for fast-paced gaming rather than Photoshop work. For 1ms gaming, this is an unavoidable compromise since IPS panels cannot hit response times greater than 4ms.
If you’re not a gamer, there really is no reason at all to buy a TN FreeSync screen. There are many alternative IPS panels that give a better picture on the Windows desktop.
If gaming is something you dabble in occasionally, or aren’t too obsessed with FreeSync being turned on all the time, the MG279Q still supports adaptive sync up to 90Hz and has all the benefits of IPS technology – admittedly with a heftier price tag.
There’s plenty of competition too as many other vendors sell high quality FreeSync displays. Asus has a few advantages though. But the Asus MG278Q measured up well against them. The screen really is good, its contrast ratio and brightness are excellent and the well designed OSD and joystick are a unique benefit as well.
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Pros:
- FreeSync between 35Hz and 144Hz.
- Good brightness and excellent contrast.
- OSD that’s easy to navigate.
- High quality TN panel with 1ms response time
Cons:
- TN panel, so worse viewing angles than IPS screen
- Still notably pricier than a display that doesn’t support adaptive sync
Kitguru Says: Although the MG278Q is a bright panel with excellent colour reproduction, the superb gaming performance with AMD FreeSync is the main reason to buy it.
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How can a TN be better for gaming comparing to mg279q? IPS is always better with its image quality.
TN is better for competitive gaming because of it’s 1ms response time, such as FPS or RTS.
IPS is better for cinematic experience because of its wider range of colors, such as RPG.
Too expensive for TN. These TN panels need a price drop, they’ve been stagnant for years. A 24″ 1080p 144hz TN should be $199 and a 27″ 1440p 144hz TN should be $299.
I also encounter the issue where the monitor occasionally goes black for a few seconds. For me it seems to be indirectly related to GPU load, and more specifically to GPU voltage (they scale together). As soon as my 290X reaches ~ 1.25V, the screen goes black. This happens periodically in GPU intensive games, but can more easily be triggered by offsetting the VDDC voltage +50mV in any overclocking utility.
Could someone who owns this screen verify this?
“or whatever refresh rate the screen is set to” What other refresh rate settings can you use? I know a few other monitors have the options for 144, 120 and 60. what does this one do?
I ended up getting one of these on sale for $399 :p It’s a really good monitor as stated in this review, i really am impressed with this top tier 8bit TN panel which looks amazing. I’ll be good with this monitor for another 6-7years till 4k becomes mainstream 🙂
dude it pisses me off that im trying to find a new monitor and these old ass monitors are still so high priced, then i see your comment from a year ago on the one monitor i thought might be right. great.
Ya i know, i commented a year ago on its high price and wished it cost $299usd. I ended up finding this monitor on sale for $399usd and just made the jump cause my eyes needed a treat and were getting wrecked with a normal monitor. The low blue light and no flickering is amazing and helps tremendously with long sessions. GL with your decision, i don’t think monitors will go down in price anytime soon as they keep tweaking a tiny feature and keep the price high and then discontinue the older models.
im struggling to find anything that can compete for price to be honest. from an owner perspective is it good? might have to just bite the bullet
Ya its great, i have no real complaints. It even has a great freesync range of 35-144hz
Do you like anti-glare coating on this monitor (MG278Q)
ya it works and it doesn’t dull the screen or colors at all. For comparison the BenQ xl2411Z seems like a grainy overlay on top of the screen vs this one which you can’t notice at all unless you put your face to the screen.