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Today we are looking at the new ASUS PA238Q LED Monitor, the little brother to the PA246Q which we reviewed back in May this year. The Pro Art 238Q is targeted at web professionals, designers and the discerning enthusiast audience who demand a high quality image.
The Asus PA238Q is a 23 inch IPS screen, a new addition to the Pro Art Series. It is an LED backlit design with a native 1920×1080 resolution. Asus claim that is reproduces 100% of the sRGB colour space and every monitor is calibrated in the factory for accuracy ‘out of the box'.
Asus also ship the monitor with ‘QuickFit Virtual Scale software' to display photographs and documents at their true size. It is also supplied with a heavy duty stand, which rotates to allow for portrait mode display. It includes HDMI, Display Port, DVI-D and VGA output, with a USB hub built into the chassis.
Overview:
Panel Size: Wide Screen 23.0″(58.4cm) 16:9
Color Saturation : 100% (sRGB)
Panel Type : IPS
True Resolution : 1920×1080
Full HD 1080P : Yes
Pixel Pitch : 0.2652mm
Brightness(Max) : 250 cd/㎡
ASUS Smart Contrast Ratio (ASCR) : 50000000:1
Viewing Angle (CR≧10) : 178°(H)/178°(V)
Response Time : 6ms (Gray to Gray)
Display Colors : 16.7M
LCD ZBD Warranty : Yes
The Asus PA238 ships in a full colour black box with several images of the product on the sides. The box dimensions are 671x386x253mm.
The bundle is impressive. Asus supply a DVI cable, VGA cable, Displayport cable, USB cable, audio cable, quick start guide, support CD, warranty card and cable ties.
The Asus engineers supply calibration results, as each screen is individually tuned in the factory before shipping.
The monitor is shipped in ‘portrait' mode with the stand prefitted. Asus protect the monitor between two really thick pieces of Styrofoam which are sculpted to the exact shape of the screen. They simply pull apart.
The PA238Q looks very similar to the bigger PA246Q, with the stand already attached. It is not a slimline model and Asus have clearly opted for a chunky, almost industrial appearance for this range of products. It feels extremely strong however, and the stand mechanism is one of the best we have seen. The monitor and stand weighs in at 5.5 kg and measures 548.8×495.7x201mm.
Asus promote the product range top left of the panel, with the product name and panel resolution clearly noted. Bottom right ‘HDMI' is written into the chassis. Top right is a removable sticker which highlights the main specifications and key selling points. Bottom right is the interface panel, which we will look at shortly.
We really liked the stand that shipped with the PA246Q, and this one is just as good. Offering full height adjustment to suit a variety of environmental conditions. The stand can also be completely removed for VESA wall mounting.
The stand offers a full swivel option for fine adjustment on a desk. It is strong enough to handle the rotated axis, without tipping over.
It can also pivot on the vertical axis to cater for various seating positions.
The I/O panel has support for HDMI (1.3) , D-Sub, DisplayPort, DVI-D. There is also an Earphone jack : 3.5mm Mini-Jack (for HDMI & DisplayPort Only). USB Port(s) : 1 x upstream, 4 x downstream (2 on side, 2 at rear). At the left of the panel is a power switch and connector port.
We wish more manufacturers would adopt a similar stand, because it really is one of the finest on the market, built from metal with a strong, yet smooth movement. It is always reassuring when a monitor ships with an impressive stand, such as this.
On this page we present some super high resolution images of the product taken with the 24.5MP Nikon D3X camera and 24-70mm ED lens. These will take much longer to open due to the dimensions, especially on slower connections. If you use these pictures on another site or publication, please credit Kitguru.net as the owner/source.
Like the PA246Q, the PA238Q has a very useful onscreen ‘quick fit' guide menu system. By pushing the top button on the panel the screen can display various grids with layouts over the image.
As we said last time, we aren't sure many time will refer to this on a regular basis, but we can't knock Asus for offering extra features.
Asus have adopted the same system from the PA246Q, which is still one of the best interface structures we have seen. It is all very well laid out with menus down the left, leading into submenus on the right.
Two buttons on the side panel are used for moving the selection bar up and down. This is a straightforward system and doesn't require much effort from the user. In a similar fashion to the PA246Q we were surprised to note that some of the settings were not available in Adobe RGB and Adobe sRGB modes. There is no way to select colour temperature, gamma or even saturation. Colour correction is also disabled. Therefore we enabled the ‘user mode’ and fine tuned the screen to our liking. Not ideal, especially as the adobe settings can often be perfect for specific environments.
The Asus settings, out of the box were very good and we didn't need to start changing the settings in the panels, or via software. The factory calibration seemed really accurate and pretty much on a par with the PA246Q.
The PA238Q uses a 10 bit H-IPS panel which can display 1.07 billion colours. IPS technology allows for 178° viewing angles which will ensure that colour wash and loss is minimal, even when looking at the screen from wide horizontal and vertical angles.
Asus perform individual calibration at the factory to ensure an average delta E factor lower than 5, which in laymans terms means the colour fidelity will be accurate without user intervention. Thankfully, the Asus screen doesn't disappoint in this regard and it demanded very little adjustment from me once it was turned on.
The internal hardware of the PA238Q calls upon the 10 bit colour lookup table to render accurate colours, this is an improvement when compared against the standard 8 bit table used in the ‘average' consumer screen. Colour graduation should be improved, along with accuracy across the gamut. Asus claim a 50,000,000:1 contrast ratio.
IPS panels have been long capable of rendering true 8 bit colour depth which many people will refer to as ’24 bit colour’, this is an 8 bit design on a sub pixel level across the blue, green and red planes. This realistically means that an 8 bit colour depth screen can render the full 16.7 million colours without having to dither the image, which can cause subtle ‘stepping’ of the images.
When looking at other panel technologies such as TN, they are limited to 18 bit colour, or 6 bit colour depth and will use FRC to generate more colours to reach the final 16.2 million scope. In regards to image quality it is clearly apparent that the bit precision of a panel will be directly related to the steps of brightness which are possible.
The more steps, the better the overall image quality, as less apparent stepped banding will be noticeable. Smoother gradients, less banding will result in a higher quality image, especially for people who need critical colour accuracy, such as web designers and photo editing professionals.
While this sounds like everyone should jump immediately into purchasing a more expensive 10 bit IPS panel, in reality it doesn’t always translate into a ‘must have’ situation. People who render images for a living would notice less banding between the 10 bit and 8 bit panels, especially with subtle swatches of constant colour tones. Of course you also have to ensure that the software and complimentary hardware are capable of 10 bit colour and depending on your specific configuration this might not be the case.
This is a prime factor as to why DisplayPort is becoming more and more adopted within the professional industry, because a DVI interface is limited to 24 bit colour. The vast majority of people today will be using DVI, and even aging VGA technology. Some panels even have extended internal processing – 12 bit LUT for instance, which can help improve colour accuracy, but they should really only be used on 10 bit panels, not 8 bit panels.
We are using a LaCie calibration gun along with specific software to measure readings.
We measured Gamut out of the box, and it returned a 2.2 – a perfect result for a computer panel. We changed the gamut to 1.8 and it returned a 1.85 result – not quite as good as the PA246A, but very close. We measured the panel variance and it returned a 14% variance from the center rating of 125 nits. This is not noticeable, and it would be hard to even see with the naked eye.
Colour testing was very positive, measuring almost reference results, much in line with the more expensive PA246Q from May this year. Definition from the colour gamut is top drawer and measured close to the Dell U2410. There was a very minor blue cast across the screen, but this is easy to remove with a very slight adjustment.
As this is an IPS panel, the viewing angles are fantastic, measuring only a slight contrast shift when viewed horizontally from a wide angle. As with the PA246Q, it is basically free from center contrast shifting, a problem often experienced with weaker panel technology.
Black definition is very good, with an overall panel shift of about 8%. There are leaks on all corners, between 12-16%. This is not noticeable under real world situations, although if you have hyper sensitive eyes you might notice it a little on the bottom corners. This is a great result, especially if the focus is on high definition movie playaback.
White purity is excellent, with an overall panel shift around 7-10%. It expands a little at the edges, recording around 13-15%. In real world situations this is not noticeable and overall, it is a good screen for watching movies and for editing images. Again, there is very little colour fluctuation – we measured 1.3% via the B channel.
When gaming, the screen displayed fine characteristics and we didn't notice any lag or abnormalities. That said, it is rated to 6ms, so sensitive individuals might notice minor lag. We tested the panel with 3 or 4 gamers and they didn't notice any problems either, so it looks strong in this regard. An IPS panel such as this which is totally focused on colour rendition and overall accuracy isn't delivering class leading response times, which are 2ms or less.
We measured a power consumption of around 36 watts when using our slightly adjusted ‘user mode' profile. This is a fairly efficient result for an IPS panel, as these tend to consume slightly more power than the ‘average' TN panel.
We were very impressed with the PA246Q when we reviewed it back in May and when Asus told us that they were releasing a lower cost 23 inch version we had high hopes, albeit with some reservations. After all, the PA246Q costs £425 inc vat, the PA238Q retails for £260 inc vat.
Our hopes haven't been shattered, because the PA238Q comes very close to matching the excellent colour gamut, overall black definition and white purity of the more expensive family member. Technically, this is easily one of the best panels we have tested under £300.
As a low cost option for a graphic/web designer, or for an enthusiast user who wants an upgrade to a higher quality panel then this should definitely be right at the top of a shortlist.
We wouldn't say it would be an ideal purchase for a hard core gamer, as the modest refresh of 6ms might cause minor issues for people with sensitive eyes. I can't say we experienced any problems, but we know a few clan gamers who complain when a refresh rate is slower than 2ms.
Additionally, the PA246Q is a 16:10 panel with a 1920×1200 resolution, the PA238Q is 16:9, 1920×1080 which means that high definition movies are more naturally displayed, without stretching or with black bars top and bottom.
Large TN screens are great value for money and sell exceptionally well, partly because until today there were very few quality IPS panels under £300.
Scan are selling the PA238Q for £269.99 inc vat in the UK, and I can't think of any other panel which offers the same quality of image for such a competitive price.
Pros:
- Overall IPS image quality is class leading for price.
- stand mechanism is excellent.
- Portrait mode available.
- good user interface system.
- bundle is decent.
Cons:
- No HDMI cable supplied.
Kitguru says: A great quality screen at a very competitive price.
