Review on ASUS PG329Q: 2560X1440P DisplayPort DisplayHDR, 175Hz Refresh Rate, Flicker-Free & Adjustable - A Comprehensive Review by Mark Grindberg

I'll start by comparing this to a close second, which I'm almost done with: I'm stuck between this and the Samsung Odyssey G7. Essentially high quality VA vs. high quality IPS. What the G7 has that the PG329Q doesn't have is 240Hz and better contrast, plus a curve if you like it. I ended up choosing the high-end VA due to Samsung's quality control issues and the fact that they only guarantee their product for 1 year compared to Asus which has 3 years (including a less than 3+ brightness guarantee), dropped. points and 5+ for black points, which I think is decent), along with black smear issues and poor viewing angles. Samsung has reduced the black blur a bit (better than almost every other VA panel monitor on the market) but it's still there at 240Hz. To completely eliminate black blur on your G7, you need to lower the refresh rate to 165Hz, making this monitor unsellable. (There are or more reviews online if you want to know more about the specific G7 pixel response time). I've tried VA and IPS panels and find black blur very annoying, this particular thing turned out to be more important to me than better contrast. find no dead pixels. Setup was easy and straightforward: UPDATE RATE: 9/10. The refresh rate of 165 Hz (up to 175 in the OSD) is excellent at this price. It doesn't operate in the 240Hz band with its TN and VA counterparts, but offers a great experience overall. (There is a 240Hz version of this monitor coming out next year, although I'm not sure if that will affect picture quality, price, etc.) PIXEL RESPONSE: 9/10. I chose the 4/5 overdrive setting in the OSD. 5/5 introduced overshoot and artifacts, and it seems like it's just there for them to claim a 1ms response time. I don't have any specific tools to measure reaction time and base my opinion on my own experience playing games and the UFO test. At 4/5 the transitions look very nice and I didn't notice any significant overshoot. ELMB with synchronization: 10/10. What Asus has done here with its ELMB (with gsync!) is incredible. The double-image was only present during very fast movements on the desktop, and it's so subtle that I let it go even when I'm not gaming. The brightness was still very good for me as it reduces the brightness by maybe 25-35%. The advantages of the game surprised me, it looks really good. This makes 80 fps look like 160 fps. COLOURS: 9/10. Absolutely fantastic colors and the monitor is factory calibrated. They even provide a calibration profile and the color space it covers. I'm not a pro, but I really enjoyed it. I was disappointed that these are not true 10 bits. It runs +2 8-bit color provided by GPU anti-aliasing. But the colors provided to the end user are great for a layman like me. CONTRAST: 7/10. That's good for IPS, but not at VA contrast levels, and blacks sometimes appear a bit gray in dark scenes. So, like I said, it's good for an IPS panel, but that's all there is to it. IPS GLOW/BACKLIGHT BLEED: 10/10. It was great for my unit. I haven't had any bleeding issues and the IPS glow is weak. VIEW ANGLE: 8/10. Viewing angles are good, but they look a bit washed out at around 35-45 degrees. ERGONOMICS: 8/10. Height, tilt and pan work great. I was disappointed in the lack of rotation. HDR: 6.5/10 It won't impress HDR lovers, but it's nice to have. Peak brightness (flashes and explosions were bright enough to make me wince) was really great, but there won't be an OLED HDR experience due to edge lighting, so try to understand that. This is a good ability and it surprised me with its abilities, albeit limited. ENTRY DELAY: 10.10. From my love of Twitch gaming, I can say that it felt incredibly responsive from the seat. No complaints here. RELATED: 8/10. The only complaint is that DisplayPort is 1.2a+ and not 1.4. Not that big of a deal as it doesn't really need more, but it's worth mentioning. Overall, considering the price, advertised performance, and features, I'm very happy with it and plan to keep it as my main monitor. 5/5 stars. The unboxing and materials provided were great and the monitor itself and stand feel very solid. The "gamer" aesthetic on the back might seem controversial to some, but it's on the back, so I don't mind.