Curved ultra-wide monitors have been embraced by gamers for their enhanced sense of immersion and solid image quality, and, despite the relatively high price-point, demand for these products has remained consistent following their entry into the market two years ago.
ASUS has added to its Republic of Gamers (ROG) monitor fleet with the launch of the curved ultra-wide Swift PG348Q monitor, which was showcased as part of the Taiwan Excellence delegation at the recent CeBIT conference.
Their new flagship monitor sports a colour-accurate IPS panel at 34” diagonal, with 3440×1440 resolution, G-Sync, and a 100Hz refresh rate. We take a closer look at some of its features.
The PG348Q sits on the high end of the resolution equation—with an image quality of 3440×1440 pixels it is much higher than the competition—AOC’s C3583FQ and Acer’s Predator Z35 both come in at 2560×1080.
This exceptional image quality, however, does result in a lower contrast and refresh rate to some other models. The PG348Q has the latest generation NVIDIA G-SYNC module (a must-have feature to eliminate screen tearing), which supports 3440×1440 signals up to 50Hz, but you’ll still need to connect to the display port for adaptive refresh and the 100Hz overclock.
The PG348Q’s curved monitor has an aspect ratio of 21:9, and the immersive quality of the ultra-wide screen is undeniable.
‘The unbroken image of the 21:9 aspect is compelling and totally immersive, and is complemented by our exclusive NVIDIA G-SYNC technology which allows for smooth and seamless gameplay,’ says Victor Ngan, ASUS Product Manager Leader.
In terms of colour and contrast, the PG348Q is very nearly calibration free—in the default game visual mode ‘Racing’ (one of six picture mode options) the only default setting that needs tweaking is the contrast control.
Adjusting the white balance produces excellent grayscale tracking but does not address the gamma, so the best solution is to lower the contrast slider. It’s important to make this adjustment because it also influences colour saturation tracking and luminance, and thankfully the overall dynamic range is not significantly affected by this calibration.
The controls consist of four buttons and a joystick, and OSD navigation is quick and easy. The OSD is available in 21 languages, can be positioned anywhere on the screen, and has a max timeout of two minutes.
You can also adjust its transparency. Light In Motion is the pattern that comes from the PG348Q’s base and has three brightness levels. You can view signal information here as well, although everything you need to know is always displayed in the upper-right corner of the OSD menu.
Like all Asus gaming monitors, the PG348Q includes GamePlus features. You get four different aiming reticules, a countdown timer and an fps indicator. The fps counter, reticules and timers are also moveable using the joystick, which is a big plus.
“This display represents a premium addition to the gaming monitor space—the monitor is accurate out of the box, distinctly styled and complements any high-end gaming system with its precise colour, sharp picture quality, plus special features such as the G-SYNC and factory-overclockable 100Hz refresh rate,” says Ngan.
For those looking for a unique gaming experience offered by the curved ultra-wide monitor (which actually ends up being more budget-friendly than a three-screen setup), the excellent image quality and impressive feature set of this new addition to the ROG fleet make it well worth the investment.
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