KitGuru KitGuru.net – Tech News | Hardware News | Hardware Reviews | IOS | Mobile | Gaming | Graphics Cards
We tested the 2D elements of the ASUS VG248QE via a high end Core i7 Precision laptop featuring Quadro 4000M discrete graphics and a desktop system powered by a GTX670 graphics card. We then moved the ASUS VG278QE to a desktop powered GTX680 system for 3D testing results.
We measured Gamut out of the box in sRGB mode and the VG248QE returned a reading of 2.18 which is very good. After manually adjusting the gamma to 1.8, the panel returned a reading of 1.78.
Colour response across the panel was above average although not outstanding. We recorded a cast around 1.2% on the red channel. It measured 96.2% of the sRGB colour gamut after calibration which is quite strong. The image can be tweaked easily enough via the onscreen menu systems. Contrast levels are very impressive and unlike some other 3D screens we have tested in the last year there is detail evident in both shadow and highlight areas of the image.
Viewing angles are average, and a little less impressive than the VG278HE. This is an issue with most TN panels. We measured 167 degrees horizontally and 160 degrees vertically.
Black Definition is just above what we would class as average. There is shift close to all the corners, especially bottom left and right. This is noticeable to the naked eye if you are an observant user. The outer edges recorded up to 20% shift with it dropping to around 10% in the middle. I could see the shift with bluray discs such as SunShine and Alien V Predator.
The pooling is not that noticeable in general circumstances, but viewing high definition media with a lot of dark, night scenes will exacerbate the issue.
White purity delivered a below average result with a 10-15 percent shift across all of the panel. Several of the areas are slightly darker than we would like to see. This is not that detrimental when gaming, or viewing some high definition content. We could notice it with several discs, such as Pixar's ‘UP', which features a lot of bright outdoor scenes. There was also a distracting dark pooling in the middle of the screen, offset to the right. Overall I was disappointed with the ‘dirty screen effect'.
We tested a variety of games this week with the screen and 3D performance really is excellent. Games appear very smooth and by locking the vsync we could see no noticeable tearing. Sadly I could see no difference between 120hz and 144hz with any game that I tested, a similar experience to the larger VG278HE. That said, we have no complaints with this screen when it comes to 3D gaming.
2D gaming was less impressive and there are better screens around the £300 mark if this is a priority, especially if you have no interest in 3D gaming.
Power consumption of the Asus VG248QE is very good, demanding only 41 watts when calibrated.
