We review the fastest gaming monitor ever, the ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN, which natively supports Full HD resolution/360Hz ultra-fast vertical refresh rate.

Overview of ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN

"ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" is a full HD resolution with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 and a liquid crystal monitor with a screen size of 24.5 inches. The liquid crystal panel type is non-glare (non-glossy) and uses an IPS liquid crystal panel with excellent color development and viewing angles. The contrast ratio is typically 1,000:1, the response time is 1ms (GTG), and the brightness is up to 400nit (cd/m^2).

"ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" also supports HDR display but has not acquired luminance certification such as VESA DisplayHDR.

The refresh rate of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" is native 360Hz. Not only the 240Hz compatible IPS liquid crystal gaming monitors released by various companies this year, but also the company's ASUS TUF Gaming VG279QM / VG259QM have greatly updated the 280Hz achieved by their own OC function, making it the fastest gaming monitor ever. The high refresh rate of 360Hz makes the response speed fast, so there is no blur or afterimage, and the display is clear and smooth. At 60 FPS, it becomes easier to find enemies and objects that move far away in the game, which is difficult to identify, so you can gain an advantage over your opponents in highly competitive PC games such as online FPS games. According to NVIDIA, 360Hz/FPS improves aim accuracy by about 4% compared to 240Hz/FPS. "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" can be used by combining NVIDIA graphics boards, and supports the variable refresh rate synchronization function "NVIDIA G-Sync" that achieves optimal operation with the built-in monitor G-Sync module. You can achieve a comfortable and clear gaming environment with no tearing (screen deviation due to frame update timing differences) and reduced stuttering. "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" also supports the motion blur reduction function "ULMB (Ultra Low Motion Blur)" supported by the G-Sync module.

"ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" has two video inputs, DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.0. DisplayPort 1.4 supports full HD / 360Hz, HDMI 2.0 supports full HD / 240Hz. In addition to one upstream terminal for connecting to a PC as a USB hub, two downstream USB 3.0 terminals for connecting peripheral devices are installed.

The dimensions of the "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" are 557mm wide x 379-499mm high x 247mm deep including the monitor stand (88mm for the monitor alone). The included monitor stand supports up/down tilt, left/right swing swivel, and up/down height adjustment. It also supports a 90-degree rotation pivot. The tilt angle is 20 degrees up to 5 degrees down, the swivel angle is 25 degrees left and right, and the height adjustment is adjustable up to 120 mm. The weight of the main unit is 7.1 kg with the monitor stand, and the liquid crystal panel without the monitor stand is 3.5 kg. It also supports the VESA100x100 mount and can be used with a monitor arm.

In addition, "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QNR" is also available as a variation model (virtual upper model?).
"ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QNR" can use the system delay measurement function NVIDIA Reflex Latency Analyzer included in the latest system delay reduction technology NVIDIA Reflex released by NVIDIA (a compatible mouse is also required, PG259QN is not supported), A space-saving desk mount kit "ROG Desk Mount Kit" like a monitor arm is included.

ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN opening and accessories

First of all, we will open "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN".
The package size of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" is 68 cm wide x 25 cm thick x 42 cm high, which is slightly large for a box containing a 24.5 inch monitor and weighs about 10 kg. Although there is a handle hole on the side, the size is large, so it seems that adult men can carry it without problems, but women may have a hard time. When you open the package, you will see a styrofoam spacer containing the LCD monitor and accessories, and in the center there is a cautionary note when pulling out the contents. Various accessories are stored on the Styrofoam spacer without a lid, so when removing the spacer from the package, follow the instructions so that the thicker side faces up so that the accessories do not fall off. "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" was factory calibrated so that ΔE<1.5 before shipping, and a color calibration report was enclosed. If you briefly check the accessories of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN", DisplayPort cable, HDMI cable, USB upstream cable, AC adapter, AC cable, and manual booklets are included. Also, an IO port cover is included, as will be explained in the product appearance chapter, including photos. ROG brand motherboards come with a familiar sticker set, and various cables are original products with the ROG brand logo engraved on the connectors. You can feel the strong feelings you can put into it.















"ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" has two video inputs, DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.0, and one DisplayPort cable and one HDMI cable are included.
If you want to purchase various cables individually, we recommend the "Sanwa Supply KC-DP14 Series" for 4K/120Hz DisplayPort 1.4 cables, and the "Elecom Premium HDMI Cable Slim Type DH-HDP14ESBK Series" for HDMI 2.0 cables. All of them have a thinner cable diameter than the standard cables and are easy to handle, so they are personally used by administrators and are recommended cables.

When you lift the Styrofoam spacer on the side where various accessories are stored, the LCD monitor body appears. The monitor stand of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" consists of two parts, the main frame and the foot frame. At the time of opening the package, the mainframe is attached to the monitor body. You can easily assemble the monitor stand by inserting the foot frame into the end of the main frame and tightening the screw on the bottom. Since the screw has a lever, it can be assembled without a screwdriver.

ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN LCD monitor body

Next, we will check the LCD monitor body of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN". "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" has a frameless structure, but including the outer frame of about 2mm, the width of the upper and left non-display areas on the panel is about 6mm, and the bottom is about 18mm. In addition, the lower frame of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" has a special non-reflective coating that reduces reflections on the screen, and is advertised as an "anti-glare bezel". The back of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" is a blackish gray plastic exterior panel with a futuristic pattern that mimics the ROG series electronic circuit. The included stand is a bright metallic gray, and a copper-colored ring is attached to the base of the foot frame as an accent color. The exterior panel is made of plastic, but the paint is beautiful, so it has a metal-like texture. The ROG logo, which is large in mirror silver on the upper right, is also eye-catching. The monitor stand of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" has a cable hole, so you can organize various cables. In addition, the I/O ports of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" are arranged in a way that the exterior panel is cut wide, but the attached I/O port cover makes it look stylish even when viewed from the back. The I/O port cover can be easily attached and detached without tools using plastic tabs.














The ROG logo, which is greatly decorated on the back of the "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" monitor, has addressable LED illumination built-in, and the lighting pattern and lighting color can be set from the OSD menu or the dedicated application "Armoury Crate" on the Windows OS. increase.

The illumination color and illumination pattern of the addressable LED illumination of the ROG logo can be set from the OSD menu. You can also turn off the light from the OSD menu, so if you don't need it, you can turn it off. Also, by connecting the upstream USB 3.0 terminal to a PC with the included USB cable, you can control the addressable LED illumination installed in "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" from the dedicated application Armory Crate on Windows. When controlling on Windows, turn on "Aura Sync" in the OSD settings. Using Armory Crate, it is also possible to synchronize the lighting of AURA Sync compatible gaming keyboards and headsets with the LED illumination of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN". At the bottom left of the back of the monitor (on the bottom right when viewed from the front), there are a power switch that turns the power of the LCD monitor on and off, an operation stick for operating the monitor OSD, and four switches. The thickness of the monitor body of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" is about 88mm at the thickest part, which is quite thick for a recent LCD monitor. The monitor itself weighs about 3.5 kg, which is light. Various I / O ports are mounted downward on the back of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN", from left to right DC terminal for AC adapter connection, HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.4, upstream USB 3.0 terminal, down Stream USB 3.0 port x 2, 3.5mm headphone jack is installed.

For monitors with VESA screw holes that are recessed from the back cover, monitor arms that use a sliding quick release plate may interfere with the back cover and the click release bracket, making installation impossible. In such cases, use spacers. The VESA100x100 standard specifies that the screw standard is M4, so please look for M4 screw spacers on Amazon or your local home center. However, the "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" has a fairly large recess of about 25mm in the VESA screw hole, and it is a bit difficult to find a spacer of the appropriate length, so we are considering using it with a monitor arm with a sliding quick release structure. Be careful who you are.

OSD operation and setting of ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN

The OSD operation of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" uses the operation stick and four buttons installed on the bottom left of the back of the monitor (lower right on the back when viewed from the front). The functions of the five buttons (one of which is the operation stick) are, in order from the top, the operation stick button (4-way stick & press button), × button, shortcut 1 button, shortcut 2 buttons, and power button. As for the operation stick of the ASUS monitor, the response of the push button is rough. So, there were many things that had a disappointing operation feeling, such as poor response and continuous pressing, but the improvement in "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" was a sober evaluation point. In "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN", pressing the GameVisual button (shortcut button 1) displays a shortcut menu for changing the image quality mode. Pressing the other GamePlus button (shortcut button 2) provides shortcut access to special functions useful for gameplay, such as OSD crosshair and real-time refresh rate display. "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" image quality mode, in addition to the standard setting "race mode", "scene mode (viewing landscape images)", "movie mode", and "RTS / RPG mode" by game genre. A total of 6 image quality modes are available: G-SYNC Esports mode and sRGB mode. The functions assigned to these two shortcut keys can be switched from the OSD menu.












Pressing the control stick button displays the advanced settings menu. By operating the button according to the menu, you can select the input and make settings from the detailed setting menu. The OSD display area is as wide as about 1/6 of the screen, and the characters are large, so visibility is good.
When the OSD menu of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" is started for the first time, English is applied as the OSD language, but it also supports Japanese UI. The OSD menu of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" is roughly divided into seven items: "gaming", "image", "color setting", "input selection", "shortcut", "lighting effect", and "system setting". . Game-related display settings are located in the top menu under "Gaming". The function that adjusts the response speed, commonly called overdrive, is placed under the name "OD" in the ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN. You can set the strength of the overdrive correction in 3 levels: off/normal/maximum. The standard setting is normal. The motion blur reduction function "ULMB (Ultra Low Motion Blur)" is grayed out by default and cannot be selected, but it can be selected when G-Sync is disabled in the PC settings and the refresh rate is 144Hz or 240Hz on the DisplayPort connection. increase. The "Dark Boost" function, which adjusts the strength of black to increase visibility in the dark, can be set to 3 levels of disabling (None) and Level 1 to Level 3. This feature is only available in Race Mode, RTS/RPG Mode, G-SYNC Esports Mode, and sRGB Mode.



















From GamePlus, you can set useful functions for gameplay that can overlay a real-time counter and graph of refresh rate, aiming point (OSD crosshair), countdown timer, etc.

Color, brightness, and viewing angle of ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN

We will check the image quality such as color development, brightness, and viewing angle of ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN.
Although it is not direct image quality, the ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN's LCD panel is not a glossy glare type but an anti-glare type, so your face will not be reflected in the dark. There are three main types of liquid crystal panels: IPS liquid crystal panels, VA liquid crystal panels, and TN liquid crystal panels. Although there are individual differences depending on the product of each company, the following table summarizes the characteristics of these three liquid crystal panels. It looks like. The IPS liquid crystal panel used in the "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" has excellent performance directly related to image quality, such as color reproducibility and viewing angle, compared to TN liquid crystal panels and VA liquid crystal panels, but the price is expensive. It's a simple LCD panel. Since the response speed is slower than TN liquid crystal panels, there are few gaming monitors that use IPS liquid crystal panels that achieve a refresh rate of over 60Hz, making them more expensive. That said, the ability to balance image quality and refresh rate makes it a favorite among budget-minded enthusiast gamers.

Please also refer to this article for differences in performance depending on the type of LCD panel.
・Comparing IPS / VA / TN LCD panels - How to choose a gaming monitor [4] "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" uses an IPS LCD panel with a high refresh rate of 360Hz, so the viewing angle is also good. Regarding the color development of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN", with the standard color temperature setting of "6500K", the white color does not look extremely yellow or bluish, but at a refresh rate of 120 to 360Hz, the blue becomes slightly stronger. I saw. I think that it is a level that does not cause any problems in practical use. Also, when I lowered the refresh rate to 60Hz, for some reason the green became a little stronger, giving me a slightly yellowish impression compared to the former. If you feel uncomfortable with the standard settings, the "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" allows you to adjust the color temperature, and in some image quality modes, you can also adjust the color saturation, so please try to adjust it yourself.

In the OSD setting of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN", there are 7 presets of 4000K/5000K/6500K/7500K/8200K/9300K/10000K for color temperature setting. If you switch between these presets and the colors don't look right, move below 10000K to display the user settings and adjust the RGB balance to your liking. As an example, when the screen looks yellowish, adjust by gradually lowering the red and green. "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" also supports gamma curve settings, and in addition to the standard setting of 2.2, which corresponds to the general gamma of 2.2, you can choose from five presets of 1.8/2.0/2.4/2.6. From here, we will use a color calibrator to look at the detailed verification results of monitor performance that is directly linked to image quality, such as color gamut, color reproducibility, brightness, contrast, and uniformity. Please note that the performance of these monitors (especially the uniformity of brightness) varies greatly even for the same product. For verification, we used the color filter type (color difference type) X-Rite i1 Display Pro Plus and Datacolor SpiderX, and the spectral type (spectrometer) X-Rite i1 Basic Pro 3. As an aside, the spectroscopic i1 Basic Pro 3 is very expensive at about 200,000 yen, but the measurement accuracy is sufficient for general use, so when performing color calibration in illustration production or photo editing, color A filtered X-Rite i1 Display Pro or Datacolor SpiderX Pro will suffice. Less trouble with a large number of users









I think it's the X-Rite i1 Display.


Regarding the display brightness of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN", we measured the brightness of the white point by OSD setting. The luminance change from 0% to 100% in 10% increments of luminance setting on the OSD is as follows.

In the "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN", the brightness of 120cd/m^2, which is generally said to be easy to see, is around 20%, and although it depends on the indoor lighting, the brightness of 180-200cd/m^2, which I personally feel is easy to see, is the brightness. Around 40%. It is also a relatively bright monitor with a maximum brightness of about 440cd/m^2. "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" has "Variable Backlight" as an OSD setting enabled by default. Normally, when the content of the screen display is dark, it is a function that weakens the backlight accordingly (the black level is lowered, so the contrast is also improved), but as shown in the graph above, enabling the variable backlight increases the display brightness. Become. As a simple way to check the operation, you can see how the intensity of the backlight changes when the entire screen is displayed in black and you move the white mouse cursor in and out on the screen. In the video below, it's easy to understand how to make the backlight stronger and weaker, but when I tried running several games during this verification, there was no particular adverse effect such as flickering (brightness change, flickering) due to the variable backlight. was. In the PC gaming scene, I don't think it's a problem in particular, but if you feel flickering (brightness change, flickering), try turning it off.

We verified the uniformity of display brightness (Uniformity) of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN". Under the OSD setting where the luminance at the center of the screen is approximately 120cd/m^2, the screen is divided into 35 horizontal 7×vertical 5 divisions, and the luminance of the white point at each position is measured. I am making a contour map. The four corners and four sides of the LCD monitor, where the luminance drop is particularly large, are overlooked in the area division measurement above, so when I measured them individually based on the center 120cd/m^2, the results are as follows. I was. As for the "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" (the photo below is all white, so it's a little more emphasized than the practical scene), the brightness in the upper half has fallen by more than 20%, and the uniformity is not good. . It would have been better if the top and bottom distribution were at least reversed, because it would be difficult to feel a sense of incongruity even if the bottom is a little dark. When I measured the black level of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" with the OSD setting where the white point in the center of the screen is about 120cd/m2, it was as follows. I use an X-Rite i1 Display Pro Plus to measure black levels. Turning off the variable backlight, which is normally on, greatly increases the black level. I think variable backlighting is generally an optional OSD setting, but the increased black level (lower contrast) without variable backlighting may be a weakness of 360Hz monitors.

Also, the contrast ratio at this time was calculated as follows. In addition, the black level, which greatly affects the contrast ratio, is measured in two digits of commas, so the measurement accuracy is a little questionable, and a difference of 0.01 in the black level greatly changes the contrast ratio, so please consider it as a reference. Next, I verified the color gamut and color accuracy of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN". Below, we will use the color calibrator to check color calibration and color gamut and color accuracy. , it seems to affect the function of the color calibrator, so this time I verified it with the function turned off. (Because the photo below is a reference screen for OSD settings, it is turned ON.) First, set the OSD setting of the monitor to the standard setting race mode (only the display brightness is adjusted to 120cd/m^2), and select an arbitrary color profile. If not applied, then: "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" covers a fairly wide color gamut with 94% sRGB even when used as is in standard mode. Color accuracy is pretty good, with an average ΔE of 1.09. According to X-Rite , "A level where ΔE is about 1 and the difference can be discerned when two colors are placed side by side and compared." Then I used the X-Rite i1 Basic Pro 3 for color calibration. The calibration settings are as shown in the screenshot below, but the standard settings of i1 Profiler are adopted as they are.














With the "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN", when I set the color temperature to the standard setting, an alert appeared when there was a large difference in the intensity of RGB, so in the user setting mode that can be manually adjusted, R (red) = 100, G (green) = 97, B (blue) = 87 for calibration. Applying the ICC file created by color calibration with X-Rite i1 Basic Pro 3, and measuring the color gamut and color accuracy in the same way as above, the results are as follows. When "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" performs color calibration, the maximum ΔE drops from 5.49 to 4.98, but the average ΔE slightly increases to 1.17. However, there is not much difference, and I think that the color adjustment is close to the limit with the standard setting in terms of monitor performance. For reference, the results of quality verification (verification of color accuracy) performed with X-Rite i1 Basic Pro 3 are as follows. The X-Rite i1 Basic Pro 3 is a spectrometer color calibrator, so the measurement accuracy should be higher. In the measurement result above, the color accuracy was ΔE 1.17 even after color calibration, but the color accuracy measured with the X-Rite i1 Basic Pro 3 is ΔE 0.5, which is a very good value. Also, the color spectrum of the white point at a luminance of 120cd/m^2 measured with a spectrophotometer is as follows.









A rough point to distinguish a monitor with good color development from the color spectrum is that "the peaks of each RGB color rise sharply and are about the same height". A typical LCD monitor uses a white LED backlight (which generates white light by combining red-green (≒yellow) phosphors with a blue LED as the light source), so the blue peak is high and sharp. When measured with white as the reference, the height of the green and red peaks will rise or fall slightly depending on the color temperature OSD setting. Simplified from the above, you can roughly judge whether the color spectrum is good or bad by checking " whether the green and red peaks are sharp ."

As for "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN", although the rise of the blue peak is sharp, the separation between green and red is weak, and the peak is lower than that of blue, which is a feature of general LCD monitors.

About 360Hz refresh rate of ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN

We will check the 360Hz refresh rate, which is the biggest feature of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN".

First of all, I think that readers know the meaning of "360Hz refresh rate", which is one of the features of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN", without explaining the meaning itself, but a typical 60Hz refresh rate LCD monitor is The screen refreshes 60 times per second, while the 144Hz refresh rate refreshes the screen 144 times per second, which is 2.4 times the standard 60Hz.
Furthermore, recently, gaming monitors with an ultra-high refresh rate of 240Hz have been sold as products for competitive gamers, but the "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" has an ultra-high refresh rate of 360Hz, which is 1.5 times faster than that. . The physical advantage of the 360Hz refresh rate, which refreshes the screen 360 times per second, is simply that the number of frames per second increases, resulting in smoother images. As we examined in detail in the above chapter, when the refresh rate increases, the response speed also increases, making it easier to see sharp images with clearer details. It will be easier to overwhelm others with speedier play than in a 60Hz environment.




With "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN", you can freely set the monitor refresh rate up to 360Hz by connecting to the DisplayPort 1.4 video output of the latest graphic board such as NVIDIA GeForce RTX30 series and NVIDIA GeForce RTX20 series. For a long time, the HDMI version of the sub input was 1.4 for monitors equipped with the G-Sync module, but the latest model uses the 2nd generation G-Sync module, and the sub input also supports HDMI 2.0. The "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" also supports HDMI 2.0 for the sub input, and it was possible to display a full HD / 240Hz screen at maximum. The monitor refresh rate can be set from the NVIDIA control panel as shown in the screenshot above for NVIDIA GPUs, and from the Windows display settings for AMD GPUs. "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" can be used without problems as a 360Hz compatible monitor even in an AMD GPU environment. As a practical advantage when using a monitor with a high refresh rate such as 144Hz or 240Hz in highly competitive games such as online battle FPS, visibility increases when the in-game line of sight is swung left and right. is an easy-to-understand advantage, but there is also the advantage of increasing the visibility of moving enemies and objects that exist far away in the game.










In the comparison video below, the images are divided into 4 parts and the images are arranged side by side. It is taken with a super slow-motion movie. By refresh rate, the upper left is 60Hz, the upper right is 120Hz, and the lower left is 240Hz. I think you'll understand.

Also, the display delay is small on high refresh rate gaming monitors.
Based on the screen display, if you aim at the target in the center of the crosshair and start shooting, 240Hz will hit before 60Hz. If the target runs away, it may miss the shot with a difference of about 50ms.
It's not about technology, but simply aiming at the center of the crosshair and shooting at the same timing, the one using a monitor with a high refresh rate wins. In addition, the repeat response of operation and screen display is also fast, so naturally, the higher the refresh rate, the smoother the aim.


NVIDIA has released a video that introduces the advantages of using a high refresh rate gaming monitor and a high-performance graphic board that can handle high frame rates.


This is also an official comparison video by NVIDIA, but the displays of each player facing each other are actually arranged side by side and shot with a high-speed camera.
The attacker (the defensive side) can see the enemy (the defensive side) in an environment with a small system delay at 240-360 Hz/FPS, whereas the defensive side in an environment with a general 60 Hz/FPS and a large system delay is the enemy (attacker). The state that is not visible is clearly reflected.



In addition, in order to aim for full resolution / 360 FPS with "ASUS ROG Swift 360 Hz PG259 QN", the GPU performance of the graphic board is required at a fairly high level, even if it is a light PC game or the latest PC game with reduced image quality settings. increase.
If you use the "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" as a gaming monitor, we recommend the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 or NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090, the latest high-end GPUs in 2020.
・Go to the list of review articles on the GeForce RTX 30 series By the way, in the verification of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" this time, except for cases where comparison in a unified environment is required, ASUS GeForce RTX 3090 graphic board "ASUS TUF-RTX3090- O24G-GAMING" is used. Since it is a graphics board equipped with GeForce RTX 3090, it can of course respond to high graphics load of full HD / 360Hz, and the cooling performance and quietness that were popular in TUF OC of RTX 3080 are still alive even in the top model RTX 3090, and it is outstanding. Demonstrated coolness and quietness. Unfortunately, as of October 2020, it is difficult to obtain due to shortages, but "ASUS TUF-RTX3090-O24G-GAMING" and "ASUS TUF-RTX3080-O10G-GAMING" are 360Hz compatible gaming monitors ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN I think that it is the head of the glove that I want to use with it. ・Review "ASUS TUF-RTX3090-O24G-GAMING"

Response speed and display delay of ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN

Next, we will check the response speed and display delay of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN", which is particularly important as a gaming monitor hardware performance.

First, we will verify the response speed of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN".
In addition, this article briefly introduces "LCD monitor response speed and overdrive function", which is important preliminary knowledge when choosing a gaming monitor or evaluating monitor response speed and afterimage. If you don't know, please check first.
・How to choose a gaming monitor [1] About response speed and overdrive On the OSD menu of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN", the overdrive function is placed under the name "OD". You can set the strength of the overdrive correction in 3 levels: off/normal/maximum. The standard setting is normal. The overdrive setting of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" is the optimum setting value for "normal" over the entire range from 60Hz to 360Hz. One type of overdrive setting can cover a wide range from general 60Hz to ultra-high speed 360Hz, and the variable overdrive function allows you to adjust the overdrive correction strength according to the refresh rate. is. If the overdrive setting is set to "maximum", the response speed will be faster, but a large overshoot will occur. To check the response speed, use " UFO Test: Ghosting






"Use the. In the same test, you can select the background color for the UFO to move, but in this verification, we selected three colors: black / gray / white.
When the background color is black, each liquid crystal panel shows a fast response speed, so we can confirm an ideal response. The response speed when the background color is white is a good reference for the blurring of text when scrolling text in a document or web page. If the background color is gray, you will be comparing the response speed until it shifts to a neutral color, so it can be used as an indicator of how little physical afterimages are present in general gameplay. First of all, when I took a picture of "UFO Test: Ghosting" with a sufficiently fast shutter speed, I found that "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" works at a 360Hz refresh rate (the overdrive setting is at the optimum value). Normal), at the best timing, it left a faint afterimage of the previous frame. If you simply assume that the existing 240Hz compatible IPS liquid crystal panel is forced to operate at 360Hz, the previous two or three frames will remain, so the "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" that supports 360Hz has been further improved. This result shows that a high-speed IPS liquid crystal panel is used. However, GtoG and GtoW are fast, but the change in the direction of decreasing brightness like GtoB and WtoG seems a little slower. The impression is that the response speed is optimized (speeded up) by narrowing the range to GtoG, which is important in the gaming scene.







Furthermore, while changing the refresh rate of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" and comparing other LCD monitors, "UFO Test: Ghosting" was played at 16x speed (960FPS) of "SONY DSC-RX100M5". I will shoot with a super slow-motion movie and compare it. When the refresh rate of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" is set to 360Hz, which is the maximum natively supported value, if the overdrive setting is changed to the maximum setting "maximum", a large reverse image of overshoot will occur. The standard setting "Normal" shows an ideal response without overshoot.





Overdrive settings that show ideal response at high refresh rates are relatively overcorrected, so lowering the refresh rate often causes overshoot, but "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" is 360Hz Optimal response at 60Hz to 240Hz refresh rate at normal settings. There is basically no need to modify the overdrive settings.


It's really difficult to capture 360Hz operation beautifully in the SONY DSC-RX100M5's 16x (960FPS) super slow motion movie, but for the 240Hz refresh rate of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN", IPS liquid crystal with a 240Hz compatible gaming monitor The following video shows a comparison between the panel "ASUS TUF Gaming VG279QM" and the TN liquid crystal panel "ZOWIE XL2746S".
In the gray screen, which is an index of the PC gaming scene, it is faster than the IPS liquid crystal panel "ASUS TUF Gaming VG279QM" (no afterimage), and even compared to the TN liquid crystal panel "ZOWIE XL2746S", which has excellent response speed. It achieves a high-speed response that is comparable. Considering the weakness of the reverse image due to overdrive, "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" is the fastest result at 240Hz.

From here, we will compare and verify the response speed of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" using a super slow motion camera of 5760FPS (96x speed), which is even faster than SONY DSC-RX100M5's 960FPS (16x speed).
First of all, I compared it with the 240Hz compatible gaming monitor "ASUS TUF Gaming VG279QM" of the same IPS liquid crystal panel.
As with the 960FPS video above, when the "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" is operated at 240Hz, even when viewed in super slow motion at 5760FPS, the "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" has a faster response and less afterimage. You can tell at a glance.


When "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" is operated at 360Hz, it exhibits a response speed that firmly follows high-speed changes in the 360Hz refresh rate, and you can see that there is less afterimage than "ASUS TUF Gaming VG279QM".


Next, I compared it with the 240Hz gaming monitor "ZOWIE XL2746S" with a TN liquid crystal panel that has excellent response speed.
When the "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" is operated at 240Hz, even if you watch a 5760FPS video in the same way as a 960FPS video, the gray screen, which is an indicator of the PC gaming scene, shows a response comparable to that of a TN liquid crystal even though it is an IPS liquid crystal. I know you are. If you include the reverse image of overdrive, "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" has a lower afterimage.
As shown in the right half of the video, the response speed on the black back is inferior to "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN". I think it's no exaggeration to say that it's faster than TN liquid crystal in the practical scene of gaming.


Even if the "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" operates at 360Hz, it still has a gray background and less afterimage than the TN liquid crystal "ZOWIE XL2746S". However, due to the strong optimization for changes in the mid-range of GtoG, the black screen cannot keep up with changes at 360Hz and the afterimage increases.


In "UFO Test: Ghosting", the response speed is calculated as the number of frames in the interval, starting from the moment when the UFO appears faintly as shown in the photo below, and ending when the UFO at that point disappears completely. I tried to compare. In addition, the time from the occurrence of the reverse image due to the overshoot/undershoot caused by the overdrive function until it disappears is calculated separately.
For the measurements, I used SONY DSC-RX100M5 960FPS super slow motion for monitors below 240Hz, but 5760FPS super slow motion for monitors above 240Hz. (In the future, we plan to switch to 5760 FPS super slow motion for 240 Hz and above, including 240 Hz.) As a guideline for the evaluation, if the measured value is smaller than the value obtained by dividing 1000 ms by the refresh rate and doubling it, it will respond to the screen update. Speed ​​is catching up. It is OK if it is less than 33.3ms for 60Hz, 16.6ms for 120Hz, 13.9ms for 144Hz, 8.3ms for 240Hz, and 5.6ms for 360Hz. First of all, it is the measurement result of the response speed of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" and other compared monitors when the background color is black. When the background color is black, each liquid crystal panel shows a fast response speed, so we can confirm an ideal response. It is a test that often shows a high-speed response among the three types, but perhaps because it is optimized for a fast response speed in the GtoG midrange, the "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" performs better at 240Hz or higher. , this response speed is a little slow.






Next is the measurement result of the response speed of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" and other comparison monitors when the background color is white. The response speed when the background color is white is a good reference for the blurring of text when scrolling text in a document or web page. Finally, here are the measurement results of the response speed of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" and other comparable monitors when the background color is gray. If the background color is gray, you will be comparing the response speed until it shifts to a neutral color, so it can be used as an indicator of how little physical afterimages are present in general gameplay. As for "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN", if you look closely at super slow motion, you can see the afterimage of overshoot, but it feels like a thin haze, so it is not actually perceived as color bleeding due to overshoot. I think so. Therefore, there is no additional amount due to overshoot, or the addition of less than +1 ms can be considered as the response speed. Finally, we measured the display delay (internal delay) of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN". There is a delay from when the video output of the GPU is sent to the monitor until it is actually displayed on the monitor. , a muzzle flash will appear. Humans naturally operate after seeing with their eyes, so in highly competitive games such as fighting games and FPS games where one or two frames are contested, it is desirable that the display delay of the monitor is as small as possible.









In the monitor display delay measurement, there is a problem if there is a difference in display delay due to factors other than the monitor, so the PC that outputs video to the verification monitor is unified with the following bench machine equipped with Core i9 9900K and GeForce RTX 2080 Ti doing.

As a specific method to measure the display delay of the monitor, use a keyboard that lights up the LED of the key when the key is pressed, and measure the delay time from the lighting of the LED to the reflection on the screen display. Notepad is used to check the screen display. This situation is shot with a 16x speed (960 FPS) super slow motion movie of "SONY DSC-RX100M5", and the delay time is calculated by counting the number of delay frames. The same measurement is performed 10 times for each monitor (and each refresh rate), and the average value is the display delay.


Here are the display latency measurements for the ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN and other comparison monitors: As shown in the graph, increasing the refresh rate not only improves response speed but also improves display delay, so there are great benefits for gamers to choose a high refresh rate LCD monitor.
The display delay of the 240Hz compatible monitor was approximately 16ms for each product, but the 360Hz display of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" has further shortened the display delay by 5ms. As for the advantage of low display delay, in addition to improving the response of repetition of viewing and operation, for example, when the target hidden behind the wall comes out from the wall as shown in the video below, it is actually displayed on the screen. will be faster. The attacker (the defensive side) can see the enemy (the defensive side) in an environment with a small system delay at 240-360 Hz/FPS, whereas the defensive side in an environment with a general 60 Hz/FPS and a large system delay is the enemy (attacker). The state that is not visible is clearly reflected.






Based on subjective screen display, if you aim at the target in the center of the crosshair and start shooting, 240Hz will hit before 60Hz. If the target runs away, it may miss the shot with a difference of about 50ms.
It's not about technology, but simply aiming at the center of the crosshair and shooting at the same timing, the one using a monitor with a high refresh rate wins. In addition, the repeat response of operation and screen display is also fast, so naturally, the higher the refresh rate, the smoother the aim.

About G-Sync on ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN

Next, we will check one of the major features of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN", the variable refresh rate synchronization function "NVIDIA G-Sync".

Please refer to this article for basic preliminary knowledge about monitor screen updating (refresh) and the relationship between "AMD FreeSync (VESA Adaptive-Sync)" and "NVIDIA G-Sync Compatible".
・How to choose a gaming monitor [3] About FreeSync and G-Sync Compatible In our review of the NVIDIA environment, the variable refresh rate synchronization function on monitors equipped with the G-Sync module is simply called G-Sync, AMD The variable refresh rate synchronization function in monitors that support FreeSync (VESA Adaptive-Sync) is called G-Sync Compatible or Adaptive-Sync. Also, if the monitor is officially supported by the driver, it will be supplemented with G-Sync Compatible certification. "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" is a gaming monitor with a unique NVIDIA G-Sync module built-in for variable refresh rate synchronization function instead of Adaptive-Sync standardized by VESA. Conventional monitors with a built-in G-Sync module could only use the variable refresh rate synchronization function in the NVIDIA GPU environment, but "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" can also be used in the AMD GPU environment.







"NVIDIA G-Sync" is equipped with a dedicated module on the monitor side, which is expensive, but unlike "AMD FreeSync", the frame rate of the video source that can use the variable refresh rate synchronization function has the advantage that there are essentially no restrictions dependent on
Both "NVIDIA G-Sync" and "AMD FreeSync" are treated as variable refresh rate synchronization functions, but there are quite different specifications between them. As a guess from the handling of vertical synchronization, "NVIDIA G-Sync" is "a one-package function that synchronizes GPU rendering completion timing and screen update timing with a dedicated module", whereas "AMD FreeSync" is It seems to be "a function that sequentially changes the refresh rate for a certain period of time according to the tendency of the video source FPS".
It also supports "variable overdrive" and adjusts the correction strength of overdrive according to the refresh rate, so even if the refresh rate fluctuates with the variable refresh rate synchronization function, overshoot will occur when the refresh rate drops. It also has the advantage that color bleeding (reverse image) is less likely to occur.


The lower limit of the refresh rate (frame rate) that can be supported by "AMD FreeSync (VESA Adaptive-Sync) / NVIDIA G-Sync Compatible" is about 40 to 48Hz, but "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" with built-in G-Sync module supports variable refresh rate synchronization function within the range of 1Hz to 360 when connected to DisplayPort.
In addition, until now, monitors equipped with a G-Sync module did not support the variable refresh rate synchronization function for the HDMI sub-input, but with the "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN", it is recognized as a G-Sync compatible monitor in the NVIDIA GPU environment. and the variable refresh rate synchronization feature is available. When "NVIDIA G-Sync" works normally and the refresh rate becomes variable, the real-time refresh rate overlaid by the FPS counter, which is one of the GamePlus functions of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN", will match the frame rate. will start to fluctuate. To check if the variable refresh rate synchronization function is working properly, check if the FPS counter (real-time refresh rate) fluctuates according to the in-game frame rate. In the "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN", the variable refresh rate synchronization function G-Sync operates normally even at a refresh rate with an upper limit of 360Hz, and as shown in the video below, frequent tearing (screen division) and stuttering occur without synchronization. (Hacking) has disappeared cleanly.

By the way, the DisplayPort video input of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" was recognized as a FreeSync compatible monitor even in the AMD GPU environment. As of October 10, 2020, the latest driver "Radeon Software Adrenalin 2020 Edition 20.9.2" is displayed as supporting variable refresh rates from 1 FPS to 255 FPS, but when I actually verified the operation, the variable refresh rate The sync worked fine until I set it to a 240Hz refresh rate, and when I set it to a higher refresh rate like 300Hz or 360Hz, the refresh rate was fixed. Since we were able to confirm the occurrence of tearing, it seems that the variable refresh rate synchronization function can be used up to 240Hz in the AMD GPU environment so far. Regarding HDMI video input, it was displayed as G-Sync compatible in the NVIDIA GPU environment, but AMD FreeSync was not supported in the AMD GPU environment.

How to use NVIDIA G-Sync and G-Sync Compatible

I will explain the procedure to enable the variable refresh rate synchronization function "NVIDIA G-Sync / G-Sync Compatible" with "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN".
The variable refresh rate synchronization function "NVIDIA G-Sync" is very easy to use, connect "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" to the DisplayPort video output of NVIDIA GPU, and enable G-Sync from the NVIDIA control panel, After that, the vertical synchronization control in the game will be overwritten by the driver, and G-Sync will control the update timing on the monitor side. Adaptive-Sync is now available in the NVIDIA GeForce environment with the latest driver after January 15, 2019. More and more monitors are acquiring G-Sync Compatible certification in line with driver updates. Even general AMD FreeSync/VESA Adaptive-Sync compatible monitors that have not acquired G-Sync Compatible certification will display a note that compatibility has not been verified, but Adaptive-Sync cannot be used in an NVIDIA GPU environment. increase.


With the latest driver 417.71 or newer installed, connecting an Adaptive-Sync enabled monitor to the DisplayPort video output (and some HDMI video outputs) will enable Adaptive-Sync just like connecting a G-Sync enabled monitor. The settings to do so appear in "G-Sync Settings" on the NVIDIA Control Panel.
Check the checkbox of "Enable G-Sync, G-Sync Compatible" and the name of the monitor to be used will be displayed and selected in the monitor icon below. and click Apply to enable Adaptive-Sync in your NVIDIA GeForce environment.

How to use AMD FreeSync

I will explain the procedure to enable the variable refresh rate synchronization function "AMD FreeSync" on "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN".
For AMD GPU-equipped PCs, select the gear icon in the upper right corner of the Radeon settings window, select the display from the top menu tab, and activate the function from the "Radeon FreeSync" slide switch displayed. Also, as explained in the reference article introduced above, AMD FreeSync requires you to choose whether to use vertical synchronization or not depending on whether to prioritize tearing elimination or mouse delay reduction. Vertical synchronization can usually be switched ON/OFF in game settings, but the driver may overwrite it and it may not be possible to switch from within the game. Also check the game profile in Radeon Settings if setting it in-game doesn't work as you want.

NVIDIA G-Sync effect

We will explain the effects and benefits of "NVIDIA G-Sync", a variable refresh rate synchronization function, and "AMD FreeSync (VESA Adaptive-Sync) / NVIDIA G-Sync Compatible". The latter is functionally almost the same, so it may be collectively called FreeSync hereafter.

When verifying the variable refresh rate synchronization function, "Project Cars 2" is used because it has a replay function and it is easy to verify in the same scene. Also, to make it easier to check the frame rate and how tearing occurs, the GPU frame rate OSD is displayed on the upper left of the screen, and a color bar that changes color with the GPU frame buffer is displayed on the left side of the screen. In addition, if the monitor supports it, it also uses the refresh rate display function of the monitor OSD.
The frame rate on the upper right of the screen is calculated from the GPU frame buffer, so it does not necessarily match the refresh rate. The color bar on the left edge of the screen has different colors between consecutive frames, that is, between the nth and n+1th frames, so tearing occurs on screens where multiple color bars are displayed at the same time. means First of all, in order to make it easier for you to experience the difference between no synchronization, vertical synchronization, and G-Sync, we set the monitor refresh rate to 60Hz and the GPU side output to around 50FPS, and set it to 16x speed (960FPS) of "SONY DSC-RX100M5". ) I shot a super slow motion movie and compared the screen display.



A video source of around 50 FPS is displayed with no synchronization, vertical synchronization, and G-Sync, but you can see that tearing occurs without synchronization, and stuttering occurs with vertical synchronization. On the other hand, with G-Sync enabled, there is no tearing or stutter at all. I think that the variable refresh rate synchronization function "NVIDIA G-Sync" has a considerable impact on comfortable gameplay in ultra-high resolution where it is difficult to earn a high frame rate like 4K resolution.


The bottom right of the above video shows the screen when the video source exceeding the refresh rate is displayed with G-Sync enabled. If the video frame rate exceeds the refresh rate with G-Sync enabled, tearing will occur like in video.
In G-Sync compatible monitors, the driver usually overwrites the vertical synchronization settings to prevent such phenomena from occurring, but the actual behavior differs depending on the game. If you enable vertical synchronization in the in-game settings while G-Sync is enabled, there are some that will not exceed the monitor refresh rate, but if you cannot control the upper limit of the frame rate with vertical synchronization, you can use "Max Frame Please specify "the value obtained by subtracting 3 or 4 FPS from the refresh rate" in "Rate". (It can be set for each game title as well as global settings) In addition to setting the NVIDIA control panel, it is possible to use RivaTuner and Nvidia Profile Inspector to set the in-game frame rate so that it does not exceed the monitor refresh rate. Even in an AMD environment, tearing will occur if the video frame rate is out of the supported frame rate range when only FreeSync is enabled. If it exceeds the refresh rate, please specify "the value minus 3 or 4 FPS from the refresh rate" for the maximum FPS of Radeon Chill in Radeon settings. (It can be set by game title as well as global settings) Below, we will introduce the effects and benefits of NVIDIA G-Sync based on the verification results using "ASUS ROG SWIFT PG27UQ".









At the 4K resolution 120H refresh rate of "ASUS ROG SWIFT PG27UQ", we used a video with an in-game frame rate of about 50FPS and compared no synchronization, vertical synchronization, and G-Sync. The lower right split screen shows the same video with vertical sync at a 60Hz refresh rate for comparison.
No synchronization on the upper left shows severe tearing. Regarding 4K resolution, there are many high-definition games that aim for 40-60 FPS in terms of GPU load, so if image quality is important, I think the synchronization function is essential. Comparing 60Hz and 120Hz vertical sync on the right side, even if the image is the same, the screen update interval is smaller, so 120Hz has less discomfort due to stutter. Still, there is a fine stutter at 120Hz vertical sync, but with G-Sync enabled on the bottom left, there is no stutter or tearing, and a clean and smooth display can be achieved.

About NVIDIA ULMB in ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN

"ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" supports the motion blur reduction function "NVIDIA Ultra Low Motion Blur (NVIDIA ULMB)" supported by the NVIDIA G-Sync module.
NVIDIA Ultra Low Motion Blur (NVIDIA ULMB), as described on the official product page, "Uses backlight strobes to reduce motion blur for ultra-smooth, dynamic visuals.", is a kind of Motion Blur Reduction (motion blur reduction, afterimage suppression) function in general terms.

The motion blur reduction function is briefly introduced in this article, so if you are unfamiliar with it, please check it out first.
・How to choose a gaming monitor [2] About motion blur reduction The motion blur reduction function "NVIDIA Ultra Low Motion Blur (NVIDIA ULMB)" installed in "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" is grayed out by default and cannot be selected. G-Sync can be turned off in the PC settings and the refresh rate can be selected when the refresh rate is 144Hz or 240Hz for DisplayPort connection. Also, NVIDIA ULMB of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" displays "ULMB Pulse Width" when ULMB is enabled as a setting that allows you to change the ratio of bright/dark turns.

ULMB Pulse Width can be set in increments of 10 within the range of 10 to 100. The closer to 100, the longer the brightening time, and the closer to 10, the shorter the brightening time. The longer the brightening time, the higher the screen brightness, but conversely, the shorter the brightening time, the lower the brightness, but the clearer the screen display can be obtained.


First of all, we will check how the motion blur reduction function "NVIDIA ULMB" specifically works. I shot a 5760 FPS super slow motion movie when NVIDIA ULMB with a refresh rate of 240 Hz was running on "ASUS ROG Swift 360 Hz PG259QN". Since I'm shooting at 5760FPS (96x speed) with a 240Hz (4x speed) monitor, the video shot until one frame of the monitor is updated is divided into 24 frames.
"ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" allows you to change the ratio of bright/dark changes from ULMB Pulse Width, so I arranged the results measured in four stages of 10/40/70/100.
Both are refreshed once per 24-frame cycle as mentioned above, but the brightness time is 3 frames at Pulse Width: 10, 4 frames at Pulse Width: 40, 6 frames at Pulse Width: 70, and Pulse Width: 100. is 8 frames.

Even with Pulse Width: 100, which has the longest light transition time, the light-dark ratio is 1:2, so it is a standard ratio for the MBR function of a gaming monitor. It seems like an optional setting to get.

In addition, the Motion Blur Reduction function by inserting a black frame can be expected to have the effect of reducing the afterimage.
Even if "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" uses NVIDIA ULMB, brightness: 100% and ULMB Pulse Width: 100 can ensure the brightness of about 200cd/m^2, so there is no problem in normal indoor use. It should be, but you need to be careful in environments where the indoor lighting is quite bright. (In the graph below, the horizontal axis of PG259QN is Pulse Width) The motion blur reduction function such as "NVIDIA ULMB" installed in "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" is a function that eliminates afterimages and blurring caused by human optical illusions. Strictly speaking, it is impossible to explain how afterimages are suppressed by showing photos or videos. Therefore, in the review, I can only tell the impression that the administrator tried, but when "NVIDIA ULMB" is enabled, the outline of the moving object becomes clearer and easier to see. The picture below is an image diagram that expresses the feeling when the administrator saw " UFO Test: Strobe Crosstalk ", but when "NVIDIA ULMB" is enabled, the blurring of the outline disappears and the high speed video slows down at double speed even at native speed. I was able to follow and see it with a similar feeling when chasing the contour with motion.

About ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN HDR display and HDCP support

Finally, I will briefly check the HDR display and HDCP compatibility of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN".

"ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" supports HDR display of the HDR10 standard, which is common in the gaming scene. The brightness that is important for HDR display is the standard brightness of 400nit (cd/m^2), and brightness certification such as VESA DisplayHDR has not been acquired.
The HDR display of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" can be used together with the 360Hz refresh rate and the variable refresh rate synchronization function G-Sync. "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" is ready to accept HDR signals as standard, so you don't need to make any settings on the OSD to display HDR. When an HDR input is detected, an alert will be displayed on the OSD that an HDR video source has been received. When an HDR video source is accepted, it automatically switches to HDR display mode, and some OSD settings such as display brightness are grayed out and cannot be set. To briefly explain HDR, HDR (high dynamic range) is a video source that has luminance (brightness) information in addition to the video information of the three primary colors of RGB light. Conventional display devices and video sources had a dynamic range of only about 10^3, but by supporting HDR, the dynamic range has been expanded to about 10^5, which is nearly 100 times higher, enabling finer gradation and brightness than before. It is now possible to express darkness, and by controlling the brightness of the screen so that "bright areas are bright and dark areas are dark", high image quality is achieved by eliminating blown-out highlights and blocked-up shadows.







I think there are various explanations for HDR, but the administrator roughly understands that "bright places are brighter and dark places are darker". "Brightening bright areas and darkening dark areas" does not necessarily make things "easier to see." Or rather, dark places become dark, so inevitably, dark parts become difficult to see. Conversely, if the bright place becomes brighter, it will be easier to see, because the area of ​​reproducible brightness increases, rendering on the display will be closer to reality, but around bright places, such as when looking into the sun It will be crushed by light (due to a problem with the dimming function of the eyes) and it will be difficult to see. Of course, by dividing the light and dark, the boundary line may become clearer and easier to see.
Just as some gaming monitors have a function to make dark areas brighter (whiter) and easier to see, HDR display is not directly related to visibility, so in terms of visibility, the image quality will improve. is case by case. Compared to when it was smoothed within the SDR dynamic range, I feel that it is easier to experience the difficulty of seeing when considering that dark areas are emphasized.

In principle, HDR is a function that makes the image seen on the monitor closer to "real". However, in reality, depending on the color tone settings of each monitor, the colors may become too vivid or the colors may change. "Bright areas are brighter and darker areas are darker", so the three-dimensional effect is enhanced, and it becomes closer to the real display in terms of making it easier to feel the depth in the flat display. Personally, I feel that the effect of HDR display is more vivid and more three-dimensional than SDR.
It's harder to get a real sense of HDR on an SDR monitor than watching a 4K monitor ad on a full HD monitor. So, to be honest, I recommend trying HDR on an actual device such as a store and buying it if you like it. When it comes to HDR, it's honestly a "seeing is believing" feature. I think that the most important function is whether you like it or not by looking at the actual HDR display rather than checking it on the SDR monitor.

ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN review summary

Finally, I will summarize the results of verifying "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN". The following is a brief bullet point, and it will be the impression after the manager's review.

good point

• With a screen size of 24.5 inches, it is just the right size for a full HD resolution gaming monitor
• IPS liquid crystal panel with excellent color development and viewing angle, the wide color gamut of 99% RGB
• The liquid crystal panel is anti-glare to prevent reflection
• High-speed response speed in the top class as an IPS liquid crystal
• Supports the world's fastest 360Hz refresh rate
• Display delay is 5ms lower than 240Hz
• There are two video inputs, DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.0
• Supports variable refresh rate synchronization function NVIDIA G-Sync (module version)
  (DisplayPort supports within the range of 1 FPS to 360 FPS in NVIDIA GPU environment)
• HDMI also supports G-Sync, DP supports FreeSync with AMD GPU
  
• Supports HDR display of the HDR10 standard commonly used in PC gaming
• The ROG logo on the back of the monitor is equipped with LED illumination, and synchronization with AURA Sync is also possible with a USB connection to a PC.
  
• The monitor itself weighs 3.5kg and supports VESA mounting, allowing the use of a monitor arm.

Bad points or points to note

• The luminance drop at the edge of the screen is large, and the uniformity of luminance in the peripheral area is subtle.
• Low contrast without variable backlight
  
• The frame surrounding the VESA screw holes is high, so be careful with the slide-fixed quick-release arm.
  
• VRR sync upper limit for AMD GPU is 240Hz (Maybe a problem with AMD GPU driver)
• Delay measurement function Reflex Latency Analyzer is not supported (PG259QNR to be released at a later date is supported)
  
• The product price is expensive at $ 699 in North America
  

"ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" is a gaming monitor that natively supports the world's fastest ultra-fast refresh rate of 360Hz. Despite being said to have a slow response speed, this product uses an IPS liquid crystal panel, but it is not inferior to the 240Hz gaming monitor with a TN liquid crystal panel that is favored by competitive gamers. Did.
"ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" has the fastest refresh rate of up to 360Hz, excellent viewing angle and color development, and high image quality, so you can play battle royale games that are popular in recent years at high FPS and win by milliseconds. It is a gaming monitor that is recommended without complaint as a companion for grasping.

Another big attraction is that "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" supports NVIDIA G-Sync, a variable refresh rate synchronization function that operates with a built-in dedicated module.
In addition to synchronizing without being limited by the frame rate from 1 FPS to 360 FPS, the correction strength of overdrive is adjusted according to the refresh rate that fluctuates successively, so all display problems such as tearing, stuttering, and smearing are cleared. I will make it for you.
Also, the built-in "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" is a G-Sync module that can be called the 2.5th generation, and like the 2nd generation, it has two inputs of DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.0 and supports HDR. In addition to the AMD graphics board, the variable refresh rate synchronization function can be used, and the NVIDIA GPU can use G-Sync even with the HDMI sub-input.

"ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN" has the biggest feature of 360Hz refresh rate, is there any meaning in ULMB that dares to lower it to 240Hz? You might think that, but in fact, 240Hz looked the most beautiful in terms of afterimages, as seen in super slow motion response speed.
Combined with the motion blur reduction feature that sends only the best cases to the retina via black insertion, visual clarity exceeds 360Hz. Whether it's a clear display of ULMB or a low-latency display of 360Hz, which is 5ms faster than 240Hz, it may be a difficult choice for serious gamers who prioritize victory.


That's it for the review of "ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN". If you found the article helpful, please share (retweet or like) the tweet.