ASUS ROG Swift PG27AQDP 27″ 1440p 480Hz OLED Monitor

Introduction

As of November 2024, 19.75% of all Steam users are on 2560x1440p monitors according to the most recent Steam Hardware Survey And while 1080p still dominates the mass market with a 55% usage rate, the adoption rate for 1440p has steadily been growing with hardware becoming more capable in supporting faster frame rates at the increased resolution.

Due to the lighter load that 1920×1080 presents, this has been the primary starting point for most gaming systems. But as graphics card performance goes higher and higher, users can now opt to go at 4K for a more cinematic experience. But this presents a dilemma for those of us that are lifer esports players but also want to enjoy these AAA visual masterpieces in high-fidelity. Quad HD (QHD) 2560×1440 became the compromise for such gamers but also the goal for those that are levelling up their systems.

With 1080p monitors reaching 500Hz+, this does force some gamers to focus on one path but with this year’s new wave of WOLED panels there’s no more compromising. This 2024 will see a few makers releasing their own take on the 1440p 480hz+ panel and in this review we’ll be talking about one of the first models from those: the ROG Swift PG27AQDP 1440p 480hz WOLED monitor. Read on to find out more about this buttery-smooth monitor in this review!

Overview and Discussion about the ROG Swift PG27AQDP

Mark from ASUS ROG Philippines personally delivered this monitor and we talk about this monitor in this extensive feature overview.

Specifications

Features

• 26.5-inch QHD (2560 x 1440) WOLED gaming monitor with native 480 Hz refresh rate and 0.03 ms response time
• New ASUS OLED Care+ functions, highly efficient custom heatsink, and advanced airflow design reduce the risk of burn-in
• ROG-exclusive OLED Anti-Flicker technology helps reduce flicker during refresh-rate fluctuations
• New AI Assistant provides dynamic AI Crosshair, AI Shadow Boost, AI Sniper, AI Visual, and MOBA Map Helper functions for improved gaming experiences
• Optional uniform brightness setting ensures consistent luminance levels
• DisplayWidget Center allows users to easily access OLED Care+ functions and adjust monitor settings using a mouse
• Extensive connectivity options include DisplayPort 1.4 (DSC), HDMI 2.1, and a tripod socket

Official flagship store product page – ASUS ROG PG27AQDP

Closer Look

The ROG PG27AQDP is a 27″ monitor featuring a glossy panel and uses the articulated stands from ASUS.

The stand features a lightup ROG logo that shoots the logo project on the surface of where’s being set. It also has a smaller light-up accent lighting at the front. If you’re a bit creative, ASUS allows using custom masks to replace the logo on their light-up screen.

Newer ROG OLEDs will have a central hump on the rear of the prodominantly glass panel. On the ROG Swift PG27AQDP, we have a smoked translucent parts meeting opaque black pieces all of which have heavy ROG branding including an AURA SYNC ROG logo on the back. The center post of the monitor stand also has a its own light-up accent piece.

The ROG PG27AQDP’s stand is fully adjustable allowing height adjustment, panning and tilting as well as rotation. Due to the main base being raised though, its lowered position won’t go down all the way. A separate VESA mounting assembly is included for those that want to use an articulated monitor arm.

The screen also has a rotation but can only rotate in one direction and locks out at portrait mode.

ROG retains a 3/8 threaded mounting hole for use with most camera mounting hardware or flexible arm for your webcam or full-sized camera or even larger assemblies for your streaming needs.

Looking at IO, we see the monitor supports two HDMI2.1 input and a single DisplayPort input. Power is fed via an external DC adapter. The other side has a 3.5mm audio port for headset output with a USB-B downstream port feeding the pair of USB3.2 5gbps ports.

The lower lip of the monitor has a protrusion that has the control joystick for the OSD at the back as well as two buttons.

The ROG Swift PG27AQDP works straight out of the box with no overclock settings. There are some key usage details that users have to be familiar with with regards to OLED but we’ll talk about that later. Other than that, the screen is exquisite with a very high DCI-P3 coverage rating and as expected from any OLED, the contrast is immaculate.

User Experience and Conclusion

After a few weeks of burning this monitor in and experiencing it, one has to really be more mindful of the machine they’re running it with. While any high-refresh rate monitor will benefit anyone even if you’re not hitting your max refresh rate (e.g. 100FPS) you’re still going to have very screen fluidity and responsiveness than slower screen.

This equates to an overall smoother feel however, for some folks this can be a triggering scenario wherein they’d really be bugged about not being able to max out their system. The easiest way to solve this is to drop the visual detail settings and use upscaling tech if available. But take note that there are games with framerate caps so be aware of that. Apex Legends and Overwatch have hard caps on their FPS while Valve games like CS2 and DOTA2 have uncapped frame rate, take note that you’ll need a powerful CPU to make sure you’re game can eat through all those frames.

Focusing on the ROG Swift PG27AQDP, besides its direct counterparts from LG (same guys who makes these panels) and Acer Predator, the ROG Swift PG27AQDP is in good contention for peak gaming monitor. There’s simply no compromise with this screen and if you’re worried about previous reports about OLED having blurry text or prone to the dreaded burn-in, I’m happy to report that text is clear on the PG27AQDP and with a 3-year warranty that covers burn-in, there’s really no need to worry. ASUS has advanced their OLED care technologies since their first OLED outing and have included many automated tools to effective stop burn-in, or if you’re like me that insists on leaving their screen on non-stop (I don’t power down my PC),  ASUS includes dimming and other tech to slow down image retention.

There may be some that are still caught up with nits as a big plus on monitor and with the ROG PG27AQDP maxing out at 450nits, that’s actually plenty for full screen brightness especially for a 27″ monitor sitting in front of your face. Do you know how hot 1300nits fullscreen feels in your face? Eye-searing. Now imagine getting flashbanged with that 1300 nits? Not a fun experience. On a more serious note, given the contrast ratio of OLEDs, noone will really notice its brightness.

One thing I have to note is VRR flicker and this monitor has that. While ASUS has a feature to reduce it, it is still still visible especially in worst-case scenes. Many of ASUS’ AI features are gimmicks and even if it boils down to those extras, they’re nothing game-changing. The main reason I will recommend ASUS is their ROG warranty in the Philippines is a replacement warranty which means you get a replacement if you’re monitor falls under manufacturing defect. I can’t assure anyone that that is the same case for the other makers.

Other than that, it is very difficult to nitpick this monitor in terms of gaming capabilties and even under workstation usage, unless you really need the fullscreen brightness and higher color volume, most general consumer facing projects would work best with this screen for mixed-usage.

Arguably the best gaming monitor to date, the ROG Swift PG27AQDP makes no compromises and is the best of both worlds for both esports and cinematic gaming on PC or consoles, bar none.

The ASUS ROG Swift PG27AQDP 1440p 480hz W-OLED monitor is available now for around PHP72,000~. Check with your favorite local dealer for pricing and availability.

ASUS backs the ROG Swift PG27AQDP with a 3-year warranty including burn-in coverage. Easily the best gaming monitor of 2024, I give it my B2G Gold Award.