Asus generated a lot of excitement at its Gamescom 2024 press conference in Cologne, Germany yesterday, announcing the imminent arrival of three super-slick new gaming monitors, including the world’s first-ever 480Hz OLED display, the 27-inch Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27AQDP.
That model was joined by the new Asus ROG Strix XG27ACDNG QD-OLED monitor, which features a still impressively fast 360Hz panel, and the also very fast Asus ROG Swift 360 Hz PG27AQNR, based on an LCD display.
The Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27AQDP generated the most excitement because it was the world’s first ever 480Hz OLED panel to be unveiled when we had a first look at the product back in January, at CES 2024. But since giving us that little teaser of its extraordinarily slick 1440p display, the company hasn’t said much else – until now.
As of today, the speculation about its release and its price tag is over. At Gamescom 2024, Asus revealed that the monitor will arrive in stores globally imminently, but the best news is that it’s going on sale for an astonishingly low price of just around $1,000.
While it’s still hard to argue that the PG27AQDP is a cheap gaming monitor, the price tag is incredibly low given the impressive power it exudes. It’s also notably much cheaper than some of Asus’s rivals, such as Acer, which has already disclosed that its upcoming Acer Predator X27U F3, which has the same specs as the PG27AQDP, will cost up to $1,600 in some markets.
Indeed, it’s so cheap that Acer may well have to reconsider and reduce the price tag of that model if it wants to be able to compete with its rival.
In any case, Asus’s decision to compete heavily on price comes as a surprise, as the company is generally considered to be a premium brand, with premium pricing on its products. The Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27AQDP’s specifications certainly don’t call for a more affordable price tag.
As the company explained at Gamescom, the Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27AQDP is equipped with a WOLED panel made by LG Display. The company explained that it should be able to achieve a peak brightness of 1,300 nits, and there’s good reason to think it can live up to that claim, for Asus has previously hit such heights with its older ROG Swift PG34WCDM monitor that debuted last year, Digital Trends reported.
The OLED panel means that the Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27AQDP supports infinite contrast and can deliver an impressive response time of just 0.03 milliseconds. Other features include Asus’ new OLED Care+ features that are designed to prevent burn-in – a key concern for gamers given the static nature of many on-screen elements. The OLED Care+ suite includes pixel cleaning, pixel shifting, logo brightness adjustment, taskbar detection, border detection and global dimming detection capabilities, and these can all be accessed via the Asus Display Widget Center. Of course, these controls will all be automated, so users can relax and not bother themselves too much if they’d rather focus on gaming.
Asus hasn’t given us a precise launch date, and it will differ slightly from country to country, but we can expect the 480Hz monitor to appear in stores in the coming weeks.
Also at Gamescom, Asus unveiled the impressive ROG Strix OLED XG27ACDNG, which is another 27-inch OLED panel that has a slightly reduced frame rate of 360Hz and features a special anti-reflection coating. It too features a low response time of just 0.03 ms.
One of the most interesting features is the new heatsink design for improved thermal management. It also comes with a compact base that optimises desk space, with a slot for users to place their smartphone. There’s a Dynamic Brightness Boost feature that can enhance luminance, and an AI Visual tool that will automatically optimize the picture settings based on the ambient light in the room and the on-screen content. According to Asus, users will have to wait a little longer, with availability expected in the fourth quarter. Pricing has not yet been confirmed.
Last but not least is Asus’ premium non-OLED gaming display, the Asus ROG Swift 360 Hz PG27AQNR. Rather than OLED, it’s equipped with a 27-inch QHD Ultrafast IPS panel. It’s still superfast, mind you, with a 360Hz refresh rate. It also supports Nvidia G-SYNC and Pulsar to improve motion clarity. Other features include support for Variable Refresh Rates and Auto Low-Latency Mode.
Again, Asus hasn’t yet announced a price tag, and we’ll have to wait a little longer for this one too, with its launch date also slated for the fourth quarter.
