Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

A review for gamers - I've only had the monitor for a few days now but I could not be happier. No dead pixels or any kind of issues with the monitor upon arrival. Being a little concerned about the 5ms response time, I compared the monitor side by side with a BenQ rl2755hm monitor with 1ms response time. I could not tell a discernible difference and knowing I'm much more into single player experiences than any kind of competitive multiplayer gaming, the response time ended up being a non issue compared to how much more vibrant and appealing the ASUS' panel is versus the BenQ. The BenQ being 1080p and TN while the ASUS is 1440p and IPS, there is an obvious advantage in the ASUS' resolution but I compared them side by side both set to 1080p. No matter what settings I used over the course of 2 hours of testing, I could not get the BenQ anywhere close to the awesome image and punchy colors that make the ASUS stand out. Wallpapers, games, and even browsing websites like amazon and IGN were all vastly more enjoyable on the ASUS even without any calibration. After proper calibration, I knew I was never going back to a TN panel for faster response time. The design of the ASUS is top notch as well. Awesome metal frame looks and feels premium and the edge to edge borderless screen really helps to save space and makes the monitor feel compact compared to other 27" monitors I've owned. I've included an image that shows the ASUS next to the larger (but same screen size) BenQ that I mentioned above - it's easy to see the difference - BenQ is on the left and ASUS is on the right.. The monitor looks great in my room, and it would fit any office without issue as well. There are two points to note that may affect the usability of the ASUS monitor for some: 1) No VESA mounting, 2) No height adjustment. Other monitors were considered: 1) MG279Q - IPS, 144hz, 4ms, AMD Free Sync - didn't pick due to AMD Free Sync and $100~ higher price. The 144hz may have been nice but I doubt the 4ms would have made a difference over the 5ms. Also the design of this is not as refined as the MX27AQ. 2) PG278Q - TN, 144hz, 1ms, Nvidia G-Sync - didn't pick due to the $200~ higher price. I do plan on using an Nvidia card in the future and would have picked this if I was serious about competitive multiplayer. I won't consider upgrading to this monitor as I doubt its panel can produce the same colors as the MG27AQ IPS panel. Also, a big point for me personally is that this monitor only has a DisplayPort and no HDMI ports - I wanted to be able to plug my PS4 into my monitor and the MX27AQ fulfills this need perfectly (and the PS4 games look great despite the native resolution difference). 3) PB278Q - IPS, 60hz, 5ms - this display is specced the same as the MG27AQ as far as I can tell, but for $60~ less. However, the design of the MG27AQ is worth the extra money in my opinion over the traditional boxy frame design of the PB278Q. I probably would have picked this if I was trying to save every dollar I could while still going for a quality 1440p display - or if an all black monitor is important to you. The MG27AQ is distinctly silver with a hint of darker gray about it, and it is definitely not black. Like I said, couldn't be happier. I will report back in a month or two for updates. Games and movies look so good on the IPS screen that I don't think I'll ever be feeling like I'm missing out on 144hz or 1ms. Even in a game like Diablo 3, I feel like I'm seeing new details in the characters and environments with this display over any others I've used. No buyer's remorse what so ever. Buy this monitor if the overall appearance of your games and movies is important to you. If you like to see detail in dark areas and scenes, if you like to see the vibrant colors and contrast of cinema and wallpapers, and if you want your monitor to look as nice as your brand new games do.