Go to your NVIDIA control panel, and click on "Change resolution" under Display. Scroll down, click on "Output dynamic range" and set it to full. I've included a picture for help with this. It should fixed colors that look washed out, without having to modify any color settings. If you already made some, I suggest you factory reset your monitor (in the menus) as it will look strange after doing this. Other than that problem, this monitor looks great! Also, you shouldn't have to worry if you're using DVI.

First off to address the complaints of "graininess" observed by some owners due to the matte finish: Lower your brightness! The pearly shimmery effect is only noticeble at the maximum 100% brightness which is around 270 cd/m2 (~20 cd/m2 higher than advertised). However, at the max brightness level, most users would find it uncomfortable to use for more than 30 minutes anyway. The factory settings are only set to this max limit to impress buyers in stores and when they turn on the monitor for the first time! The recommended comfortable brightness level for any monitor during regular use is 120 cd/m2 which translates to a setting of 35-40% brightness on this model. The user can easily change this setting through the OSD menu using the built in buttons.

Pros:
Price - Comparable e-IPS displays from other manufacturers are $200+ (see LG)

e-IPS panel - Viewable from virtually any angle

Matte display - Reflections from nearby lights do not impact the display. Great for nightime/sunlight users.

Negligible ghosting - 5ms response time combined with the built in Trace-free feature set to 60 eliminates most ghosting. This makes the monitor great for gaming and HD video watching. Only professional FPS players would need a higher response time.

Thin - Roughly the thickness of a MacBook Pro! Very slim on a desk or a mount

100mm VESA - Standard mounting holes w/ removable black rubber covers to hide the holes for users that prefer to rock the stand (blends in if not mounted)

Power efficient - 24-30 W after calibration

3 yr warranty/exchange: Asus will replace your monitor within 3 years and pay for shipping both ways. I haven't tried this myself, but I hear Asus customer service is above average for the industry.

Thinner than average bezel

Matte back - Has a carbon-fiber-like texture on the back that makes it look modern

Cons:
No built in gamma correction - Must be adjusted using your video card

e-IPS - Unlike higher quality IPS panels there is a very small amount of color/gamma distortion if viewed at an angle. However it is still exponentially better than any TN panel. Higher quality panels that completely remove thus effect cost $400+ currently and only graphic designers/photo editors really need that level of color accuracy.

$40 more than cheap TN panels - Extra cost for the latest gen display. Better viewing angles and colors. You be the judge.

Recommended calibration settings:
Brightness: 35
Contrast: 80
Red: 100
Green: 100
Blue: 98
Trace free: 60

These are the settings I came up with after calibration. They can be used as a starting point or ballpark figures if you don't feel like spending hours reading up on monitor calibration techniques. Your actual ideal monitor might vary slightly.

TL:DR
Best price/value monitor currently on the market <$200

I read some pretty horrible reviews on Amazon today regarding Asus customer support, and thought, that can't be right! But now I fully understand the frustration that all of those customers have gone through.

I'll start out by saying when I build a computer, most of what I pay goes into Asus products (used to, but not anymore). Motherboards, video cards, DVD drives, monitors, etc. I also recommend Asus to others, probably at least once a month if not more often, since it's the brand I've always purchased for certain products. But my last few Asus purchases have been getting worse and worse. This monitor lasted a few months working as it should. Then one day I heard a loud buzzing sound, and it was this monitor. It sounded like it was about to explode or catch on fire or something horrible (almost worse than the nails on a chalkboard sound). So I rushed in the room and tried turning the monitor off, and the sound stopped. I wasn't sure if it was a one-time fluke, but it repeated again the next time the monitor was on for a while (although I tried to make a point of turning it off when I didn't REALLY need it on at the time).

Today the buzzing started immediately when I turned the monitor on. The only good part about that is it was an instant reminded to submit an RMA claim for my Asus monitor with a 3 year "Rapid Replacement" warranty. I submitted this online, received an e-mail, but there was no mention of the advertised Rapid Replacement, or the fact that Asus advertises that they pay shipping both ways. Rapid Replacement is supposed to ship a replacement monitor as soon as the bad monitor is shipped out, so I would think around 1-3 days downtime at most. HOWEVER, apparently all Asus had to do to get out of replacing the monitor in this way is say that the model isn't currently in-stock. Do they tell you they'll ship a replacement in a few days, after they locate one, or have stock available? Nope! They immediately send you through the more tedious "repair" process, then tell you that if the monitor is deemed non-repairable, they'll then replace it with the current model or possibly a different model if they don't have the current model.

So I asked how long this process would take. All I wanted to know was what the minimum and maximum amount of time that my "Rapid Replacement" warranty service would have me down for now. The rep had no response. I asked if it would at least be a maximum of 2 weeks, or a max of 1 month, or 6 months? He had no response other than to say he couldn't give me any type of maximum timeframe at all.

So then I asked to speak to a supervisor, thinking surely they can put themselves in the customer's shoes and understand how ridiculous of a response that was. I basically got the same run-around from the supervisor, with a few new twists. I told the supervisor, like I had told the previous rep, that I was just online looking on several different web sites and saw this exact model available on every site I went to, and none of them indicated low stock. So it's not as if it's discontinued or in short supply. I even said that what a company should do, and typically does from my experience, is replace the defective product with a model that is equal or better in comparison to the product the company doesn't have. I mean it's not the customer's fault you don't have this model in-stock, right? By the end of the call, he told me he would submit for an escalation asking for a replacement model, and that if that was approved, I MIGHT receive a replacement of equal or LESSER value. "Um, did you mean to say equal or greater value?" Nope, he confirmed, "equal or LESSER" value. Hmm, seems like a backwards way to do business, if you're trying to satisfy your customers and not make your defective products the customer's problem, doesn't it?

Needless to say, I will never be purchasing another Asus product again, nor will I recommend Asus to anyone. This experience was beyond sub-par, so I can't in good conscience, recommend them anymore.

If some seemingly miraculous change happens with this case and the Asus gods swoop in and make this all better somehow, I will update my review. ;-) And if not, I may add a few videos to this review so you can hear the very disturbing buzz, and maybe even the ridiculous responses from support (since it was on a recorded line).

UPDATE 6/15/17:

I've been meaning to submit an update and finally got around to it. Asus never called me back. The escalation must have been all talk because I never heard from anybody after that point. And when I tried calling them back, they acted as if I never called the first time, but gave me the same run around all over again, and still no call back. Wow, such a popular monitor available everywhere, and twice now Asus does not have it in stock, how convenient right?

My monitor continues to buzz like it's going to explode if I forget to turn it off. Sometimes it does it immediately when I turn it on. And sometimes when I turn it off to stop the loud buzzing, then turn it back on, the buzzing continues. Like others have mentioned here, I think I'm switching back to Viewsonic monitors as well. As for all other components in PCs that I build, I'll be switching to anything that isn't Asus.