With the prominence of gaming monitors on a steady incline over the last several years, it’s suffice to say that they are a must-have necessity for gamers these days. There are always the familiar names to count on with ASUS ROG being one of them. A household name due to its gaming laptops and peripherals, the ASUS ROG Swift PG27VQ is one of its better gaming monitors, featuring a 27-inch curved wide-screen display panel.

Keeping it Curvy

When it comes to gaming monitors (much like TVs), you can either get them in a conventional front-viewing straight design, or in a curved design. The PG27VQ is one such monitor that has kept up with the times, coming with an 1800R panel curvature, which gives you a wider field of view.  This 27-inch gaming monitor also has a native WQHD (2560 x 1440) pixel resolution. Unfortunately, I do not own my own gaming desktop, which means I had to demote the monitor to my console, because I am a pleb like that.

The overall design of the PG27VQ is sleek and subtle with its curve adding a nice touch to my otherwise bleak desk. It also meant I can game without having to sit directly in front of the monitor. This was a huge advantage for me because I literally cannot sit in one position while gaming. I will rotate between positions all over the room, which means the PG27VQ does its job really well in that sense. If you’re anything like me (God I hope you’re not), this is one gaming monitor you can appreciate.

Another design aspect of the monitor is its near bezel-less display, which allows you to connect more than monitor. If your budget permits it, you can have a multi-display setup, giving you an even wider than normal viewing angle.

Overclockable Refresh Rate

As the PG27VQ is a gaming monitor through and through, you would expect it to come with insane features that makes it a must-have in your setup. Sadly for me, that isn’t the case as I have to settle for my PS4. Be that as it may, what’s great about the monitor is its overclockable refresh rate, which sits at 165Hz. This made my nights of gaming all the more better (yeah, I don’t have a life if you haven’t already noticed.)

Running GTA V and Destiny 2 on it, the PG27VQ did not disappoint in the slightest. It was sharp, consistent and silky smooth. There wasn’t any hint of motion blur or screen lag while gaming, which is crucial as both games comes with its own level of toxicity from its large player base. Even games like FIFA 18 ran smoothly, which is a surprise seeing as on my previous TV, it did stutter quite frequently, which was annoying.

The Ultimate Gaming Monitor

While the title may be a bit of a stretch, the PG27ZV is up there with other premium gaming monitors. I cannot stress enough about how I’m running the monitor on a PS4 so I definitely do not get the full benefits of the monitor. However, it does come with plenty of features, mainly NVIDIA G-Sync and NVIDIA Ultra Low Motion Blue technology. If your rig is running a NVIDIA graphics processing unit (GPU), you will benefit from these features as your GPU will synchronise with G-Sync on-board the monitor for a better overall performance.

This ensures that you will never have to worry about moving objects looking blurry or distorted, especially in highly intensive first-person shooters (FPS) and real-time strategy (RTS) games.

Another feature that comes with the PG27VQ is having 1ms response time. Whether your targets constantly bunny hopping or they’re just maniacally running in random circles to avoid your scope, the screen will never freeze. This means that objects in motion will remain perfectly sharp and crystal clear to your eyes, allowing you to scope down and take them out with a one tap.

If you wonder why many gamers wear glasses, its because back then, gaming monitors and TV rarely featured technology that can protect your eyes for long hours of gaming. With constant innovation, we now have adequate technology that allows us to game for hours without any problems. The PG27VQ comes with the ASUS Ultra-low Blue Light Filter with TUV Rheinland certification. The monitor has four different blue filter settings to choose from, which can be accessed through the on-screen menu. The monitor also comes with flicker-free technology, meaning that there will be less flickers on the screen, which will greatly reduce eye fatigue.

Better Lighting Than Most

When it comes to lighting, ASUS ROG has always stuck to its very own Aura Sync Lighting technology. There are also plenty of different preset lighting profiles for you to choose from. Of course, the only way to get all this to work is to install the Aura Sync app to your computer. You will also need to own other Aura-enabled components and peripherals like its GPUs, motherboards, mice and keyboards.

As I never got a chance to fully put the Aura Sync Lighting effects to the test, I did enjoy having the nice deep red glow around my room. At the base of the stand also sits a customisable light signature, which will project onto the surface of your table. Aside from the ASUS ROG logo, there will be three blank covers which you can use to customise your own unique lighting aesthetic.

Besides the lighting located at the back panel of the monitor, a host of USB ports are seated right under it, which can be covered with an external panel. By removing the panel, you get a choice of a USB 3.0, a 3.5mm Mini-Jack, a HDMI(v1.4) and a DisplayPort 1.2. To ensure your cables are kept neat and tidy, you can loop them through the stand to remove the unnecessary clutter on your table.

Lacking Audio

Sadly, the PG27VQ doesn’t come with its own set of built-in speakers. This isn’t a huge drawback as most gaming rigs would already have their own set of speakers ready to go. Unless of course, you’re planning on hooking up the monitor to your gaming console. If that’s the case, get ready to wear your headset throughout the entire duration.