This 27-inch WOLED with VRR and 240Hz is so close to being the perfect gaming monitor

As a dedicated gamer and tech enthusiast with years of experience under my belt, I can confidently say that the ASUS ROG STRIX 27″ OLED XG27AQDMG gaming monitor is a gem in today’s market. After extensive testing, I found myself utterly captivated by its exceptional performance and versatile features.

As a researcher delving into PC gaming, I strongly advocate for investing in an optimal gaming monitor that complements the capabilities of your gaming laptop or desktop setup. The market offers numerous displays, but not all cater to our gaming needs equally. Therefore, I’m consistently on the lookout for testing the latest gaming monitors and evaluating their performance to ensure I make informed recommendations for fellow enthusiasts.

Over the course of the last two weeks, I’ve been using the ASUS ROG Strix OLED 27″ XG27AQDMG gaming monitor while playing a number of different video games. Here’s what I’ve discovered about it.

ASUS ROG STRIX 27″ OLED XG27AQDMG: Price and specs

This 27-inch WOLED with VRR and 240Hz is so close to being the perfect gaming monitor

Pricing & specifications highlights

This 27-inch WOLED gaming monitor has an MSRP of $749.99, but at the time of writing it was selling for $699.99 at all major retailers.
It offers an impressive 240Hz refresh rate and an extremely fast 0.03ms response time.
Overall, it’s well within an expected price range for a gaming monitor that provides this caliber of features.
Value rating: 4/5

It’s very easy to list the ASUS ROG Strix as one of the best gaming monitors available right now. Feature-wise, it offers some more advanced niceties that will make the playing experience more convenient. What’s more, it does so without being too expensive. Although the gaming monitor has an MSRP of $749.99, it seems to have reduced in price across the board to a more manageable $699.99. Indeed, at the time of writing, it was found selling at this lower price at all major retailers including Walmart, Newegg, Amazon, B&H, and ASUS ROG itself.

As a tech enthusiast who has spent countless hours gaming and watching movies, I can confidently say that a display with a fast refresh rate and quick response time is essential for an immersive visual experience. With my past experiences using displays of varying quality, I’ve learned that nothing beats the smoothness and clarity provided by a top-tier panel like the 26.5-inch WOLED display.

Compared to other 27-inch devices with similar specifications and attributes, the ROG Strix typically retails at roughly $899.99. Consequently, it can be considered a competitive price offering in its market segment.

ASUS ROG STRIX 27″ OLED XG27AQDMG: Setup and design

Setup and design highlights

Toolless assembly and illustrated instructions make the monitor easy to set up.
The monitor comes with its own mount for connecting the display to a display arm or wall.
There is a good selection of ports, and the cable tidy helps create a cleaner area.
This display can be adjusted up and down, tilted up and down, rotated to the sides, and angled for the best viewing experience.
Although the customizable RGB lighting is colorful, it only appears on one side of the display and doesn’t light up walls equally.
An HDMI cable, DisplayPort cable, and USB-A to USB-B cable are included within a zippered mesh bag.
The Strix gaming monitor doesn’t feature speakers and only has the older HDMI 2.1 connection.
Design rating: 4/5

Tool-free assembly is a smart design decision that has become popular in contemporary monitors, including the ROG Strix display. Instead of spending a significant amount of time setting it up, this particular monitor takes just a few minutes to assemble. Unlike many other gaming monitors, the ROG Strix comes with a built-in screw within its base. To set it up, you simply need to position the stand and tighten the two parts together using the provided screw. Once the stand is securely connected (you’ll hear a clicking sound), all that remains is placing the monitor on your desk and connecting cables. In case of any uncertainty about the assembly process, the well-illustrated instructions will guide you back on track.

The ROG Strix may not impress with its design, but it’s still an attractively styled monitor overall, despite the stand appearing somewhat chunky and heavy. Personally, I prefer practical functionality over sleek aesthetics. There’s a slot at the base designed to hold a phone, but my Pixel 8 was too bulky due to its case. Nevertheless, this space can be utilized for propping up notes, holding a pen, or other functional purposes.

As a tech enthusiast with years of experience under my belt, I found myself quite intrigued by this display that comes equipped with not one, not two, but three cables neatly stowed away in a zippered bag. This versatility is music to my ears, as it means I can connect it to various devices using an HDMI cable, a DisplayPort cable, and a USB-A to USB-B cable.

Despite not boasting the highest number of connections among gaming monitors, the Strix model does offer a decent variety, including two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, a DisplayPort 1.4, two HDMI 2.0 ports, and a headphone jack. However, it’s worth noting that it lacks HDMI 2.1 ports, which are crucial for modern game consoles like the Xbox Series X|S as they offer higher resolutions and frame rates. Therefore, if you’re primarily interested in using this monitor with your gaming console, you might want to consider other options instead.

The hole for cable management on my monitor stand keeps my workspace neater than it could be, as the cords don’t get tangled when I alter the stand’s height. I haven’t encountered any problems with the cables jamming in this hole during adjustments.

As a seasoned gamer with years of experience under my belt, I must say that the ROG Strix monitor has made a significant improvement in my gaming setup. Its versatile design, which allows it to swivel vertically and horizontally, tilt up and down, and even rotate sideways, has made it incredibly easy for me to find the perfect height and angle for optimal viewing.

To operate the monitor, you’ll find three conveniently placed buttons at the base of the screen. These are noticeably larger than on certain gaming monitors I’ve assessed previously, making them simple to identify. During my trials, I discovered that these controls were user-friendly and allowed for swift adjustments to the display settings according to my preferences.

In summary, the ROG Strix monitor stands out as an attractive gaming display, catering to diverse user requirements through its array of practical features. Compared to some other models, it might not be the most minimalist design, but it boasts a variety of ports, tool-free assembly, and ease of adjustment, making it a solid choice for many users.

ASUS ROG STRIX 27″ OLED XG27AQDMG: Picture quality

Picture quality highlights

This gaming monitor produces a great color range with good contrast but low max brightness.
Motion clarity is very good thanks to VRR support, the 240Hz refresh rate, and 0.03ms response time.
There are also plenty of different viewing modes to choose from if you want a different viewing experience.
Software rating: 4.5/5

As a tech enthusiast, I’ve got some exciting details to share about the display on this device! Unlike traditional OLEDs that produce colors using red, green, and blue emitters, this one is actually a White Organic Light-Emitting Diode (WOLED) display. The main difference here is that WOLED emits white light instead. This innovation was primarily developed to address two common issues with OLEDs: color fading and burn-in. However, it’s important to note that WOLEDs can still be susceptible to the latter issue.

With many HDR-compatible OLED displays like the ROG Strix WOLED, it delivers an impressive array of colors. In my gaming or video-viewing experiences, the colors consistently appeared vivid yet not excessively saturated or dull. ASUS claims this display covers 99% of DCI-P3, so I verified this using a colorimeter.

For the monitor’s eight built-in settings, I conducted a color gamut test on each one. While none quite reached the full 99% of DCI-P3, they came extremely close with the highest at 97%. This is still an excellent result. Notably, in nearly every case (with the exception of the distinct MOBA mode), the screen effortlessly hit 100% of sRGB. The display’s impressive contrast and top resolution of 2560 x 1440 significantly enhance the clarity of my games.

Despite my colorimeter being absent, I conducted a brightness and contrast assessment on the display, which roughly matched ASUS’s expectations as per their ROG product page. The display, according to the specifications, can reach up to 275 nits of brightness. However, in my test, it registered a higher value of 317 nits, similar to other OLED monitors. This isn’t ideal but typical for this type of monitor. Given that the room isn’t excessively bright, the screen should be sufficiently visible for most users’ requirements.

With an OLED display like the one on the ROG Strix, it’s no surprise that it consistently showed true black, even as the screen brightness increased. Essentially, this means that when pixels are supposed to be black, they completely turn off. This allows the neighboring vibrant pixels to pop more for a more striking impact.

After covering topics like color, brightness, and sharpness, let’s delve into the topic of ROG Strix motion clarity. No matter if I’m engaging with Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden, Baldur’s Gate 3, Cyberpunk 2077, or Shadow of the Tomb Raider, these games appear incredibly smooth and pristine to my eyes. This smoothness is largely attributed to the 240Hz refresh rate and lightning-fast 0.03ms response time, but it’s also thanks to the variable refresh rate (VRR) support. The ROG Strix provides VRR support for both NVIDIA G-Sync and AMD FreeSync technologies, which help minimize or completely eliminate screen tearing and stuttering in video games, thereby enhancing my gaming experience.

Remember that this monitor can only attain a refresh rate of 240Hz using DisplayPort, whereas the HDMI ports are limited to supporting up to 144Hz.

ASUS ROG STRIX 27″ OLED XG27AQDMG: Software and RGB

Software and RGB highlights

RGB lighting is customizable, but only appears on one side of the monitor.
The ROG logo on the front of the screen can be turned off, if desired.
It’s far easier to control the ROG Strix using the free ROG DisplayWidget Center software.
Software rating: 4/5

By pressing the central button situated underneath your screen, you can activate the On-Screen Display (OSD), a useful tool offering various adjustments such as brightness levels, mode selection, VRR toggling, and multiple setting alterations. Although not the most user-friendly method, it certainly gets the job done. This is where you’d make your desired changes to the display settings. Notably, I found that the ROG logo located at the bottom front of the monitor, which initially glows red, can be turned off through the OSD menu.

At a certain point, I obtained a software called DisplayWidget Center from the ASUS site. This tool simplified my experience with the ROG Strix significantly because it allowed me to control it using a mouse. The GameVisual menu in this program provides eight distinct modes and offers sliders for fine-tuning the image from each mode, making it more user-friendly compared to what’s presented on the OSD. Additionally, the GamePlus menu enables features like crossbars, timers, FPS counters, and more. Surprisingly, RGB lighting customization was not included in this software.

Using the On-Screen Display (OSD), I adjusted the RGB lighting that appears as the ROG logo at the rear of the monitor. While there aren’t a vast number of color or effect choices available, the ones provided produce a visually appealing result overall.

Generally, I prefer to intensify the RGB backlighting for a vibrant display behind my gaming screen, however, in this setup, it illuminates just one section of the wall because the RGB lighting is positioned on the left side only. It’s not a major issue, but I thought it would be helpful to mention this aspect before making a purchase.

ASUS ROG STRIX 27″ OLED XG27AQDMG: Competition

In terms of setup, the LG UltraGear 27″ OLED is quite similar to the Strix OLED. It comes with a fast 240Hz refresh rate, quick 0.03ms response time, a resolution of 2560 x 1440, VRR support, and HDR400 certification. However, it does not have built-in speakers like the Strix, so you’ll need to use external speakers instead. At present, you can find this gaming monitor priced at $649.99 at Best Buy.

If you’re considering using multiple computers with a gaming setup, take a look at my HP OMEN 27k review. This 27-inch monitor boasts a speedy 144Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time, making it ideal for gaming. What sets it apart is its built-in KVM switch, allowing you to easily manage two devices without the need for additional hardware. During my testing, I found it user-friendly and appreciated the colorful RGB lighting on the backside that added a pop to my room. At the moment, it’s available at Amazon for $389.99.

As a researcher delving into gaming monitors, let me strongly recommend you take a look at my review of the Alienware AW2520DF. This QD-OLED display is simply extraordinary with its staggering 360Hz refresh rate and lightning-fast 0.03ms response time. The colors are vibrant and motion clarity is impeccable due to its compatibility with AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and AdaptiveSync technologies. At the time of this writing, you can find it on Dell for $734.99.

ASUS ROG STRIX 27″ OLED XG27AQDMG: Scorecard

ASUS ROG STRIX 27″ OLED XG27AQDMG: Should you buy it?

✅ You should buy this if…

You want a well-priced high-end gaming monitor: While it isn’t the cheapest monitor on the market, the ROG Strix is very well-priced considering the specs and features it offers.
You’re looking for a monitor that offers great motion clarity: Nothing ruins gameplay quite like screen tearing and stuttering. This monitor’s high refresh rate, fast response time, and VRR support for both NVIDIA and AMD GPUs helps games look their very best so you can really focus in on the action. The amazing color gamut, contrast, and crisp resolution also show off game details to really good effect.
You want a monitor with an adjustable base/stand: There have been a number of times where I’ve become frustrated by the static height or incline of a monitor. That’s not a problem with the ROG Strix. I can adjust the monitor up and down, pivot the base side to side, tilt the screen, or even rotate it if I want to. Plus, having a VESA mount included in the box allows me to use my own display arm or mount the monitor to the wall if I want.

❌ You should not buy this if…

You specifically want a gaming monitor for your Xbox Series X|S or PlayStation 5: Modern gaming consoles from Sony and Microsoft both connect to monitors via HDMI. However, if you want the best refresh rate and response times, you need to use a monitor with an HDMI 2.1 connection. This monitor has the older HDMI 2.0 ports.
You’d prefer a monitor with built-in speakers: Even if gaming monitors tend to have poor speakers, it’s nice being able to fall back on them when needed. Of course, you’ll get a better gauge on in-game sounds with a quality set of speakers or a good gaming headset, though.

Although the ROG Strix may not be the most stylish gaming monitor currently on the market, I’m drawn to its stand’s versatility and the impressive picture clarity offered by the WOLED panel. The monitor was a breeze to set up; it took mere minutes due to the absence of necessary tools and the easy-to-follow, well-illustrated instructions.

In simple terms, every game I played on the ROG Strix ran exceptionally smoothly due to its impressive 240Hz refresh rate, rapid 0.03ms response time, and VRR functionality. Similar to other OLEDs, this WOLED delivers an outstanding color palette, contrast, and sharp resolution. The only potential downsides are if you require a gaming monitor with HDMI 2.1 or built-in speakers. But if those features aren’t necessary, this is an excellent option available at a competitive price.

2024-08-10 17:10