It is a gargantuan bit of a kit, with a price tag to match ($1299 / £999), and will be aimed toward gamers who value screen space above all else but demand gaming pedigree alongside it. Setting it up and sitting down to work with the monitor certainly takes some getting used to and it immediately encompasses almost all of your field of vision. And, away from esports, some games won’t run properly at this resolution – they’ll be artificially stretched, or HUD elements will be distorted. Display Inputs: 2 x HDMI 2.0, 1 x DisplayPort 1.2 And, finally, the Asus includes two 5W speakers. This Ultra-Wide Screen 32:9 monitor can push 144Hz combined as is FreeSync 2 certified. There's no local dimming or anything, it is using a more traditional WLED VA based display offering a peak brightness of 450 Nits, it offers a 125% sRGB color precise color gamut but also supports a DCI-P3 color (90%) space similar to what Hollywood uses in movies. Display Inputs: 2 x HDMI 2.0; 1 x DP 1.2 Plenty of games feel cramped when played on the Asus. On one hand, that lesser pixel count means that more graphics cards will be able to run games smoothly on this screen – and more cards will deliver the framerates needed for AMD FreeSync at 144Hz. Ports: 2 x USB 3.0, 1 x audio With these settings left in place the Asus delivered impressive initial benchmark results. Hardwareheaven respect you right to employ plugins such as AdBlocker. The ASUS ROG Strix XG49VQ supports the AMD FreeSync 2 technology which unlike the first generation requires from a display to support LFC (Low Framerate Compensation).. Basically, this means that even when your FPS rate drops below the lower end of the dynamic refresh rate range, the gaming performance will remain smooth as the frame rates will be doubled. It’s good design, because it makes games more immersive and helps to combat some of the screen’s natural viewing angle issues. relevant to the content on the site. Speakers: 2 x 5W PC Gamer is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. These disappointing results don’t meat the VESA DisplayHDR 400 standard. Native Resolution: 3,840 x 1,080 For example, you could get a 30-ish inch QHD, HDR (and possibly 4K) monitor to give you excellence in image quality, and a superfast, pacey monitor to provide you with competitive gaming display speeds for the price of the XG49VQ. The Asus also includes HDR, although the XG49VQ only adheres to the VESA DisplayHDR 400 protocol. This screen has a density level of 81ppi, and its pixels are visible – especially if you’re not sitting too far away. Games are still easily playable on this panel, of course, but it’s never going to be hugely sharp. Please deactivate your ad blocker in order to see our subscription offer. Out of the box it delivered a stonking brightness level of 499cd/m2, which is huge – higher than Asus’ 450cd/m2 initial claim. You don’t get much of an HDR boost, but there are silver linings here. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. It also comes in a fort-building worthy box. You can’t run at beyond 60Hz with these modes activated, but that’s a minor quibble on an otherwise-useful features. Asus ROG Strix XG49VQ ultrawide gaming monitor review A monstrous monitor that will serve fans of ultrawides, with so much screen space and decent gaming pedigree. As an ultrawide this is a fine bit of a kit, providing you’ve got the PC to get the most out of it. By Rob Dwiar 29 March 2019. CORSAIR Launches the HS60 HAPTIC Gaming Headset, Doesn’t work particularly well in some games. The joystick is a little wobbly, but that’s our only quibble – elsewhere, the OSD is excellent. The initial quick-access menus have options for switching between screen modes, turning on gaming options like crosshairs and frame-rate counters and adjusting the speaker volume. They’re surprisingly good: loud and punchy, with enough depth and nuance to handle playing games. The colour temperature of 6,825K is fine, too; a little cool, but not deviant enough to make a noticeable difference. The screen is built using VA technology. However, there’s no faster USB 3.1 connectivity and no USB Type-C connectors. The screen only displays 81.8% of the DCI P3 gamut, which is what HDR content uses. Way back last year, ASUS has already been teasing this product, 49 inches (124.46 cm) diagonal. If you’re running the screen at high brightness and with brighter, more static games, the lack of brightness and colour accuracy is easy to see in the corners of the screen – white images look grey and blue. With HDR activated and in this screen’s Cinema and Gaming HDR modes the brightness hovered at around 300cd/m2. Please refresh the page and try again. The ASUS ROG SWIFT XG49VQ is a monitor that is agile, color precise, with good response times, is fast and yea, wide! It’s a huge monitor that requires an enormous amount of desk space; it looks ridiculous and elegant in equal parts. The entire setup is easy to navigate and fast to respond. The Delta E deviated by around 5 points on the edges and by nearly 7 points in the corners. The Asus looks like a typical Republic of Gamers product, with an eye-catching, industrial-design stand, two slim base feet and a chrome logo on the front. This is an HDR10 compatible model. Other screens are better in this regard. Future US, Inc. 11 West 42nd Street, 15th Floor, While this is in part down to the realisation that our PC might not have been up to the task, it simultaneously indicates the power of the PC you’ll need to get the best out of this monitor. They’re also a long way short of the peak brightness level that this screen can actually manage. And, true to form, the Asus uses 10-bit colour. Weight: 13.3kg The Acer Predator Z35P is a 35in panel with a resolution of 3,440 x 1,440 – so a smaller screen with more pixels. That’s just as good as the Acer. And that’s when compared to the screen running at more modest, everyday brightness levels – not at the panel’s peak 499cd/m2 measurement. Click here for our huge guide on 4K monitors – from finding the best features to picking the right panel! The impact is less pronounced in fast-paced games or at lower brightness levels, but it’s still there. Take HDR. This means you get access to 1.07 billion shades of colour. You will receive a verification email shortly. That’s huge: better than Asus’ quoted 3,000:1 result. If you’ve got loads of money to burn and you want the biggest gaming monitor around, then the screen in our Asus ROG Strix XG49VQ review is certainly worth investigating. Find out in our Asus ROG Strix XG49VQ review. That’s short of Asus’ 90% claim. They mean that HDR content will only receive a modest boost on this screen. Want to know more about AMD Ryzen processors? As ever, make sure you’ve got a graphics card capable of running this feature at the screen’s native resolution before you decide to buy. However, again, I had to compromise on overall picture quality to get the smoothness of gaming down to a tolerable level. ASUS ROG Strix XG49VQ 144 Hz / FreeSynx 2 / HDRA super wide 144 Hz gaming VA panel firing off 450 nits. They’re great initial results, but delving further into the Asus’ screen modes saw this panel become a little disappointing. Then, in terms of the speediness gaming monitors require, the XG49VQ offers FreeSync 2, a 144Hz refresh rate, and a response time of 4ms. At its default settings the screen in our Asus ROG Strix XG49VQ review uses its Racing Mode, which gives a good indication of which genre Asus reckons will best benefit from the widescreen form factor. While that’s true in some situations, it’s not always the case. That latter issue is reflected in the Asus’ 4ms response time – a figure that’s fine for most games, but not quick enough for high-end esports. The Asus has a 1800R curve, which is normal for gaming monitors with this feature – both rivals also use this. Check out our in-depth guide right here. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. The Asus ROG Strix XG49VQ boasts widescreen as its key feature. For your gaming rigs (and possibly consoles), there is one DisplayPort and two HDMIs, and elsewhere there is a 3.5mm audio jack and three USB ports for your other bits and pieces. Receive news and offers from our other brands? The Philips is not a true gaming screen, so its AMD FreeSync only peaks at 70Hz. The same also occurred with Skyrim, too. The monitor in our Asus ROG Strix XG49VQ review has a lot of positives, but the nature of its design and its huge price means … The Asus also has good picture-by-picture options. Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It means that you’re going to be missing out on nearly one-fifth of the colours possible HDR. The lesser brightness figures mean that contrast declines, too. The combination of HDR (albeit limited HDR400), resolution, refresh rate and FreeSync 2 make this a gaming monitor interesting for the gamer with a widescreen hunger. Tweet. So, while you get little boost to HDR content, those HDR modes are actually very good for general-purpose use – as long as having HDR activated doesn’t hinder your games. It’s relatively easy to put together, too, though almost certainly demands two people to construct, just to avoid any potential accidents. The monitor's ultra-high 144Hz maximum refresh rate should please many gamers. Before you buy, you need to make sure that your favourite games and genres will work well on a 32:9 screen – and that the lesser resolution is not going to be a problem. The XG49VQ has AMD FreeSync 2 with a peak refresh rate of 144Hz, and driver updates mean that it’ll now work on both AMD and Nvidia GPUs. Those two results combine for a measured contrast ratio of 4,536:1. All of those options are available in the main OSD, of course, and the hotkeys can also be customised. In the Cinema and Gaming options it hovers at about 2,350:1, and in FreeSync HDR it’s at about 1,845:1. A 49in panel at 5,120 x 1,440, like that Philips Brilliance 499P9H, serves up a 109ppi density, and the Acer Predator Z35P sits at 107ppi. Along each edge the screen lost around 17% of its backlight strength, with that figure increasing to 25% in the corners. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. It also has speakers, but no-one really buys gaming monitors for the speakers. The extra horizontal space also makes some FPS and adventure games easier to play thanks to all of that extra peripheral vision. If you play those kinds of games, that’s great – but having a widescreen isn’t always good news. This new offering from Asus is a beast, claiming to include loads of gaming monitor benefits that are seamlessly integrated into its 49-inch, 32:9 display. News Reviews Articles Guides Gaming Ask the Experts Newsletter Forums ASUS ROG Maximus XII Extreme GUNDAM: a collector’s item? Its black level is great, but the Predator’s contrast ratio of 2,100:1 can’t match the Asus. Thank you for signing up to PC Gamer. our ultimate guide to 4K monitors – covering the technology, the terms and our top recommendations! It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. It’s cheaper than the Asus, with prices now sitting at $750 in the US and £688 in the UK. Away from the form factor, the Asus ROG Strix XG49VQ has a good slate of features, but it’s not without problems and potential compromises.