I'll start by comparing this to the close second I almost ended up with:
I was stuck between this and the Samsung Odyssey G7. Basically a high quality VA vs a high quality IPS. What the G7 has that the PG329Q doesn't is 240hz, and better contrast, plus the curve if your into that. I ended up not going with a high end VA because of the QC issues Samsung has been having, plus the fact they only warranty their product for 1 year, vs Asus who has a 3 year (which includes a warranty of less than 3+ bright dots and 5+ for black dots, which I think is decent), along with the black smearing concerns and poor viewing angles. Samsung has mitigated the black smearing to some extent (its better than almost any other monitor with a VA panel on the market), but it is still present at 240hz. To eliminate the black smearing entirely on their G7, you must reduce the refresh rate to 165hz, which kind of defeats the selling point of that monitor. (There or more reviews online if you want to learn more about the specific pixel response times of the G7). I've tried VA and IPS panels before, and I consider black smearing to be really unpleasant, that specific thing ended up being more important to me than better contrast.
About the PG329Q, my unit came great out of the box and I couldn't find any dead pixels. Setup was easy and straightforward:
REFRESH RATE: 9/10. The refresh rate of 165hz (oc'd to 175 in the OSD), at this price point is great. It won't get up there in the 240 hz range with its TN and VA counterparts, but it provides a great experience overall. (There is a 240hz version of this monitor that will be released next year, though I am unsure of the penalties this will result in picture quality, price, etc...)
PIXEL RESPONSE: 9/10. I settled on the 4/5 overdrive setting in the OSD. 5/5 resulted in overshoot and artifacts, and feels like that is only there so they can claim the 1ms response time. I do not have special tools to measure the response time, and am basing my opinion based off of my own experience in games and the UFO test. At 4/5 the transitions look very good, and I couldn't notice any significant overshoot.
ELMB w/ sync: 10/10. What Asus has done here is incredible with their ELMB (with gsync!). Double imaging was only present on very quick movements on the desktop, and it is so subtle I leave it on, even while I'm not gaming. The brightness was still very good for me with it on, as it does decrease brightness by maybe 25-35%. The benefits in game took me by surprise, it really does look quite good. It makes a 80 FPS experience feel like a 160 FPS experience.
COLORS: 9/10. Absolutely fantastic colors, and the monitor comes pre calibrated from the factory. They even provide the calibration profile and the color space it covers. I am no professional, but I was very pleased with it. I was disappointed it doesn't do true 10 bit. It does 8 bit color with +2 provided with GPU dithering. But the colors provided to the end user are great for a layman such as myself.
CONTRAST: 7/10. It feels good for an IPS, not at VA levels of contrast however, and the blacks do feel a bit grey at times in dark scenes. So as I said before, good for an IPS panel, but its nothing to write home about.
IPS GLOW/BACKLIGHT BLEED: 10/10. For my unit it was great. I had no issues with bleed, and the IPS glow is low.
VIEWING ANGLES: 8/10. Good viewing angles, but at about 35-45 degrees they begin looking a little washed out.
ERGONOMICS: 8/10. Height, tilt and swivel work great. I was disappointed it didn't come with rotation as well.
HDR: 6.5/10. This isn't going to impress any HDR junkies out there but its nice to have. The peak brightness (for flashes and explosions was bright enough to make me flinch) was really great, but being edge lit it isn't going to give an OLED HDR experience, so go into it understanding that. It's a nice perk, and did surprise me with it's capabilities, though limited.
INPUT LAG: 10/10. From my love of playing twitch games, I can say that from the seat it felt incredibly responsive. No complaints here.
CONNECTIVITY: 8/10. Only complaint is that the DisplayPort is 1.2a+ and not 1.4. Not a huge deal as it doesn't really need more than that, but it's worth mentioning.
Given its price point, advertised performance and specs, I am really happy with it overall and plan on keeping it as my main monitor. 5/5 stars. The unboxing experience and materials provided were great, and the monitor and stand itself feels extremely solid. The "gamer" aesthetic on the back may be polarizing for some but it's on the back so I don't really mind.
| Standing screen display size | 32 Inches |
|---|---|
| Screen Resolution | 2560 x 1440 |
| Max Screen Resolution | 2560 x 1440 Pixels |
