To the editorial board of the portal GameMAG.ru a new monitor from the company came to the test ASUS – model ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QNR… This is a premium FULL HD HDR G-Sync IPS display designed for esports athletes. It boasts a screen refresh rate of up to 360Hz and low latency.
The minimum price in Russia starts from 61 399 rubles (according to the website E-Katalog for March 2023).
PACKAGING, SET, APPEARANCE AND CONNECTORS
The monitor is packed in a rather capacious dark box made of thick cardboard. On the one hand, the ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QNR is depicted on a leg, and the manufacturer demonstrates it from the front and back, and on the other, it shows how it looks if you use a special bracket that attaches to the table.
At the top of the box, ASUS has inscribed information about the main features of the model, such as support for NVIDIA G-Sync Processor and ASUS Aura Sync.
Inside the monitor is packed in formatted black polyethylene foam. In the kit you will also find two types of legs (for installation directly on the table, as well as a bracket that attaches to the table top), an external compact power supply with a power of 90 watts and a network cable, a cover for the compartment with ports, an HDMI cable, a DisplayPort cable, a USB 3.0 cable Type-B, quick start guide, sticker pack, welcome card and warranty card.
Out of the box, the ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QNR is attached to a stand – and, if you wish, you can either use the included silver metal tripod with bronze plastic inserts to mount the monitor on a table or other flat and solid surface, or a powerful metal bracket that attaches to the edge of almost any tabletop writing desk. The second method saves space on the workspace.
There is also the possibility of mounting the monitor on the wall, since the VESA 100 x 100 standard is supported. But if you do not want to spoil the wall, the complete bracket is a very convenient option.
Externally, ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QNR is very similar to other representatives of the Republic of Gamers game design. The plastic case on the back is dotted with man-made veins, and also has an eye-stylized ROG logo, which is the main and only element of the backlight.
The projection of the logo on the wall and table, as it was in the same ROG SWIFT PG27UQ, is not here, for the sake of choosing the mentioned options in terms of installation. But on top there is a light sensor that adjusts the brightness of the backlight depending on the ambient light in the room.
The monitor stand with a built-in lift and a hole for wiring is also completely covered in silver plastic, and the manufacturer has added an eye logo on top of the slanting surface.
The stand provides good ergonomic flexibility with smooth adjustments: tilt -5 ° away from you and 20 ° towards you; height adjustment within 120 mm; rotate 25 ° to the left and 25 ° to the right and rotate in “portrait mode” 90 ° clockwise or counterclockwise. At the lowest height (when mounted on a tripod) the distance of the screen to the table surface is about 60 mm.
The top and sides of the monitor have a very thin bezel, which is flush with the display itself, and the bottom is traditionally thicker – its width is about 17 mm. It also protrudes about 5 mm from the display. In the middle there is a mirrored eye-shaped logo, which leaves fingerprints when touched, but you will need to look closely to see them. The lower part of the frame is mainly made of matte black plastic, but in the corners it is made in the style of brushed metal.
There is a small LED on the bottom edge of the frame closer to the right corner. It glows white when the monitor is turned on and then turns red when the ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QNR is turned on.
The thickness of the screen at the edges is 15 mm, but from the dome-shaped body at the back it expands towards the center to about 80 mm. The total depth of the monitor, including the stand, is approximately 247mm and the screen is 20mm behind the front edge of the leg. Weight with stand – 7.1 kg.
The controls in the form of an analog stick and four buttons are located on the back side near the right side, so that you can easily reach them if you grab the ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QNR with your hand on the right and put your fingers behind the monitor. The bottommost button is used to turn on the screen, and the other three to go to the quick menu. The main menu is available by pressing the joystick.
The connectors for connection are directed downwards and include: one DisplayPort version 1.4; HDMI version 2.0; 3.5 mm headphone jack, 2 USB 3.0 ports (plus a USB Type-B input for connecting a USB hub) and a connector for an external power supply. Also, a service connector is hidden under a special rubber cover.
There are no speakers, but there is no particular point in the monitor for e-sportsmen using headsets.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS AND SETTINGS
This 24.5-inch gaming monitor features a 10-bit (8-bit + FRC) fast IPS panel with a maximum refresh rate of 360Hz and FHD resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels). The panel has a gray to gray response time of 1 ms. Supports 100% sRGB color space. A WLED panel is used to illuminate the matrix.
Peak brightness is 400 cd / m2 – there is support for the standard high dynamic range HDR10. Static contrast ratio – 1000: 1.
Viewing angles are fairly standard and are 178 degrees horizontally and vertically. There is support for Flicker Free technologies to prevent screen flicker and a blue filter that reduces eye strain. The ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QNR also has hardware support for NVIDIA G-Sync thanks to its built-in processor. In turn, NVIDIA ULMB (Ultra Low Motion Blur) technology allows you to achieve flawless picture smoothness, and Reflex Latency Analyzer allows you to measure and analyze latency in competitive projects.
As mentioned above, to access the OSD, you need to press the joystick behind the ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QNR.
A fairly large menu opens at the bottom of the screen in the right corner and immediately meets you with the NVIDIA G-Sync settings, where you can activate and adjust the Reflex Latency Analyzer and ULMB mentioned above.
The game section offers settings for the Overdrive screen overclocking system, Game Plus functions (on-screen sight, timer, stopwatch, FPS counter and monitor alignment) and Game Visual (setting modes for different game genres, cinema or sRGB display), as well as increasing the dark … In the image settings, you can set the desired brightness, contrast, screen format, blue filter and enable variable brightness of the backlight. The color block is responsible for adjusting color mode, saturation, and gamma. In the next four sections, you can select the input signal, customize the shortcut menu, control the backlight, and adjust system options such as OSD language, connected device volume by audio jack, auto-brightness, button locks, and so on.
TESTS AND GAMES
We were able to test ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QNR on PC, Xbox Series X and PS5 in projects such as Cyberpunk 2077 (PC), Gears 5 (PC), Ghost of Tsushima (PS5), Demon’s Souls (PS5), Forza Horizon 4 (XSEX ) and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (XSEX).
The PS5 was only able to deliver 1080p 60Hz and offered HDR tweaks and screen edges. On Xbox Series X, you could set the maximum resolution to 1080p @ 120Hz. Also, when the FreeSync option was enabled in the settings on the Xbox, the function to eliminate video signal output delays and image tearing was active.
This monitor performed best on a PC, demonstrating a very smooth and clear picture without tearing and artifacts. ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QNR is capable of delivering the declared refresh rate of 360 Hz only via DisplayPort, but via HDMI the frequency is limited to 240 Hz.
As for the viewing angles, everything is in order here, and the color rendition at different viewing angles remains at a fairly high level. When checking on a black screen, we did not find a single light.
As we said above, the declared brightness of the ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QNR is 400 cd / m2, and the static contrast ratio is 1000: 1. Also, the monitor uses an 8-bit matrix with FRC technology, which improves the display of missing colors in 10-bit content using the existing palette. In the DisplayHDR Test program, we were able to determine the maximum effective value at 382.16 nits, and the minimum at 0.117915 nits. The brightness is clearly not enough even for the DisplayHDR 400 standard – the basic one for LED-backlit displays with general control of the backlight brightness of an 8-bit matrix and a brightness of 400 cd / m2.
HDR performance was tested not only on the PC, but also on the PS5 and Xbox Series X game consoles. On the first two, we noticed an increase in contrast, but the picture became noticeably darker and the halftones in the corresponding scenes became less distinguishable. However, Series X did not find support for high dynamic range on the ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QNR, although it was possible to activate this parameter manually in the settings.
TOTAL
ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QNR is a device for hardcore enthusiasts or those looking to connect their future with esports. This monitor cannot be called affordable, but the expensive built-in G-Sync module from NVIDIA and an IPS matrix with excellent color rendering, refresh rate, minimal latency and lack of glare obviously cost a lot, which ultimately translates into a price of 60 thousand rubles.
Author: Sergey Dyakonenko (Madnfs)
Photo: Alexey Olkin
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