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The ASUS VG278HE 27” has been designed primarily for 3D gaming, and in this regard it can be considered a success. If you have a new high powered graphics card and want to play the majority of your games in full 3D at 1080p then the VG278HE is certainly worth serious consideration.
It is an expensive monitor however and we need to look at the complete package before making a recommendation.
The 144hz refresh delivers a great gaming experience, although if I was being perfectly honest I was unable to tell the difference between this and a 120hz setting. Regardless, the end result is noteworthy, the high refresh rate ensures super smooth motion performance with a wide range of material and in the right situation it is extremely impressive.
I lost track of time when playing some of my favourite first person shooters for instance.
Unfortunately when we move outside the confines of 3D gaming, I find the ASUS VG278HE less impressive.
There are some inconsistencies that I find difficult to ignore, particularly the rather dirty appearance of a pure white image. Screen uniformity is also less than stellar and I could think of better options if I wanted to use a screen for more than just 3D gaming.
This ‘Dirty Screen Effect' (DSE) is rather prominent on the VG278HE and caused issues when editing images in Adobe Photoshop. I could also notice some blotching on paler images and when moving some Windows 7 panels horizontally I could actually notice the panel shift.
ASUS could argue that the VG278HE is just designed for 3D gaming, but I would imagine it would be a very small audience who only want to purchase a new monitor just to play games in 3D. For similar money you could purchase a screen with a cleaner overall image, improved colour accuracy, more consistent backlighting and wider viewing angles.
Right now in the United Kingdom, the ASUS VG278HE 27” 144Hz Gaming Monitor sells for around the £440 inc vat mark, although we found it cheaper on ARIA for £399.95 inc vat.
If this was my own money I would rather save the extra £100-£130 and buy the Dell U2711 Ultrasharp 27 inch screen which is recently available for just over £500 inc vat. Not only is the DELL IPS panel vastly superior in every area to the ASUS VG278HE, but it offers a higher 2560×1440 resolution with the same physical footprint. Obviously you can't play 3D games on the Dell panel so the decision is very much in the hands of the end user.
Pros:
- 144hz refresh rate.
- fantastic for 3D gaming.
- Good stand design.
- need to spend extra for the 3D kit.
Cons:
- expensive.
- White purity is poor.
- keep a cloth handy, glossy finish attracts fingerprints.
- uniformity could be much better.
- 120hz and 144hz difference is negligible in the real world.
Kitguru says: A great looking screen which excels with 3D gaming, but little else.
