As more people work (and game) from home, gaming monitor manufacturers like Asus are looking to flood the market with an almost paralyzing number of options for 2021. Its new monitors are focused on both console and PC gamers, with forward-facing technologies like HDMI 2.1 and refresh rates that hit 100Hz or above.
First up is a refresh to 2019’s Asus ROG Strix XG438Q, which was a strong entry at the time of its release but now looks a bit aged due to issues with chroma subsampling that held it back from greatness. The new 43-inch XG43UQ 4K 144Hz monitor looks to change this, though, with the addition of support for DisplayPort 1.4b Display Stream Compression technology, allowing for lossless visuals in HDR 1000.
Next there’s the esports-focused Asus ROG Swift PG279QM, a 1440p 240Hz display with 1ms GTG (gray-to-gray) response time and an Nvidia G-Sync Reflex Latency Analyzer built right into the display. This is perfect for gamers who play titles like Valorant, League of Legends, or Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and need to be sure their display is delivering the absolute maximum performance possible in order to climb up the global leaderboards.
Following behind that we have an entry into Asus’ budget-focused “TUF” line of monitors, the TUF Gaming VG218UQL1A. The monitor will feature a 4K144Hz panel and HDR 400, and as a budget option it will be interesting to see where the price floor of 4K 144Hz panels ends up over the next year.
Finally there’s the more premium ROG Swift PG32UQ, a 32-inch 4K frameless monitor that sports a 144Hz refresh rate, Nvidia’s Reflex Latency Analyzer, and support for HDR 600. We expect this monitor to cost a bit more than the TUF option, but by how much still remains a mystery.
Look for all these gaming monitors to arrive at some point during Q2 2021.
