Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I think that the PB278Q is the best value WQHD monitor that you'll find that's currently available as of 10/8/12. I got mine from another Online Retailer because they offered a pre-order bonus, but the price was the same overall. Most manufactures are now putting out WQHD monitors, but prices are still very high. As the market becomes more saturated with different manufactures making WQHD Monitors you'll see prices go down, but don't expect this for at least 2 years. The PB278Q uses a PLS based panel which when compared to other IPS based panels it has higher contrast, improved viewing angles, a faster response time, exhibits less reflectiveness, produces a clearer and crisper image, is 10% brighter than competing technologies; all while maintaing lower power consumption levels. Originally there were to be two variants of this monitor. One for Content Professionals (the PA - ProArt Series) that would come factory calibrated and have some additional "Quick Fit" settings. The other (the VA Series) that would virtually be the same thing but without factory calibration and the added Quick Fit settings. Eventually Asus decided to just Market the Monitor as the PB278Q with the QuickFit settings, but without the added factory calibration. The matte finish is great, not overbearing like the finish you'll find with other displays on the market. My past WQHD monitors were all Glossy which can be very nice, but the glossy finish allowed for a lot of reflections on screen which contributed to greater eye strain. Depending on your viewing environment you'll notice considerably less eye strain after prolonged sessions with this monitor if you're accustomed to a glossy panel. I won't get heavily into the 2560x1440 vs 120Hz gaming debate, but I've been working with WQHD Monitors for the past few years and also game using them. I'm not a huge fan of 3D gaming and don't care about High Framerates as much as I do about crisp and clear picture quality with awesome viewing angels. That said, a good 120Hz monitor (or more than one in a multi monitor setup) is an amazing thing and you will notice a difference with how smooth your games will play if you have the power to push up to 120FPS on nice a 120Hz monitor setup. Overall I'd pick the screen real-estate that you get from an WQHD monitor as well as the overall better multipurpose use factor. When I say multipurpose I mean that a 27" 2560x1440 Monitor is a much better match for those looking to game, create content, and consume content and multitask on one monitor. I watch a lot of digital media (a large portion of that being Anime) and I don't always want to be in a seat close to my monitor when viewing my digital media; it's just not comfortable all the time. The viewing angles on the PB278Q are great and allow me to watch from different areas in my room without suffering a loss of color/contrast (tonal shift) that other early IPS monitors or TN based panels would when viewed from non standard viewing angles. I have noticed no shift in color or contrast with the PB278Q. If you are looking for a monitor dedicated to gaming and you're a serious gamer, then there are better TN based panels that will provide a better overall gaming experience. I play mainly RTS and RPG games, but do enjoy a good FPS games just like most gamers do. If you are a twitch FPS gamer look into the reviews that Anandtech or TFTCentral will eventaully publish to see if the actual input lag and real black-white-black response times are acceptable for you, most likely though you will be better off buying TN based monitor that will give you much faster response times and lower input lag. ***Overall: For a multipurpose monitor that isn't dedicated to competitive/professional FPS gaming you'll absolutely LOVE this monitor. For Media junkies that love their HD content, Anime or just editing video and photos as a hobby you'll get great use out of the expansive screen real-estate. Watching bluray content, or 10bit Anime encodes is a dream on this monitor. If you have any content that goes above 1080p it will look stunning on this display. Until they produce a good 2560x1440 monitor that is capable and advertised as being 120Hz out of the box, I'll continue to game on the standard 60Hz at 2560x1440 resolution. (sure you can overclock some monitors to get a higher refresh rate or even get a Korean Catleap WQHD monitor that is advertised as 120Hz capable (depending on what video card you use) and Pixel Perfect (which still doesn't mean your getting no dead/hot/stuck pixels), but there are drawbacks to going that route: poor stand quality, lack of valid warrant and/or support, potential for quality issues, dead pixels, cheap external power supply, etc. **Pros: - Height, Swivel, Tilt and Pivot adjustments. You also get minimal cable management. - Every Cable you need comes with the Display. Dual Link DVI-D, VGA (D-Sub), HDMI 1.4, Disaply Port 1.2, and a 3.5mm Audio cable. - The matte finish is wonderful on this display, not too much not too little. Images still look crisp and colors still look vibrant. - Extremely easy to assemble, just screw the stand (which is already mounted to the display) into the monitor base and you're done. - A wide variety of configuration options, presets, and adjustments which will let you calibrate the display if you know how or what to find out how. - Minimal backlight bleeding on mine (This really depends on the individual monitor you get, but Initial reports are showing that backlight bleed is minimal overall with the PB278Q). - Minimal ghosting in fast paced games and/or video content. If this worries you then go for a 120Hz monitor. - Has a down facing Blue Power Button LED that you can turn off via the OSD, so that you don't have to light up your room. Very nice! - Insane Viewing angles, like most IPS based monitors, but slightly better overall than others on the market. I can't see color shift at all at extreme angles. - MarshallR@ASUS an Asus Marketing guru has confirmed that the PB287Q does in fact have a true 8Bit panel. Great news :) - No noticeable input lag. **Cons: - No USB Hub. Would have been nice, but not really necessary. When it was the VA278Q it was advertised as having a 4 port USB 2.0 Hub. - Ships in it's own box (not shipped in an additional shipping box), for most people this won't be an issue. A lot of monitors ship this way anyway. - Not factory calibrated (again, not a problem for most people especially since those with the tools and know how prefer to do it themselves) - The manual reports that it is an "6-Bit Hi-FRC" based panel which they need to fix to resolve some initial confusion. It is in fact reported to be a true 8-Bit panel. - It isn't as aesthetically pleasing as some of the WQHD monitors, which doesn't change it's functionality, but the Samsung S27B970D is the sexiest monitor ever created! **Alternative WQHD Monitors: It's not as pretty as the Samsung SB970 S27B970D 27-Inch Screen LED-Lit Monitor, but the PB278Q is almost half the price. Sure if you get the PB278Q you are missing some functionality like a USB Hub, and factory calibration, but I don't think it's worth the extra $500 that you would pay as of 10/8/12. TFTCentral has a great review up for the Samsung S27B970D, google it if you're interested. Some people are reporting that there are some issues with quality control for the Panel itself for the S27B970D. There is another WQHD Monitor that costs even less which is the Nixeus WQHD 27" S-IPS Ultra High Resolution 2560x1440 PC/MAC Monitor NX-VUE27. It uses an S-IPS panel and thus offers an improved pixel refresh timing when compared to earlier IPS technologies, but has lower contrast and poorer color reproduction than newer iterations of IPS panels based technologies like P-IPS, E-IPS, H-IPS, or AH-IPS. You could always go with one of the Korean WQHD Monitors like the Catleap for even less money, but you run the risk of having more than a few bad pixels because they use A- grade panels in their Monitors. You also get no Warranty support depending on who you purchase from, while only having a single DVI input on most of the Korean monitors you'll find.