Asus’ ROG Swift PG27UQ and Acers Predator X27 are the first monitors with 4K-UHD including HDR and 144 Hz. For this to work, however, the expensive displays are actively ventilated and operate with 4:2:2 color subsampling.
Two monitors with 4K-UHD and HDR at 144 Hz are about to be launched: the Predator X27 from Acer and the ROG Swift PG27UQ from Asus. Both cost around 2,500 euros and are already available in North America. In Germany there is a test of the PG27UQ from PC Games Hardware, which deals with the advantages and disadvantages of the display. Colleagues conclude that the fan and the 4:2:2:2 subsampling are comparatively unobtrusive, but the HDR display is convincing.
4K with 144 Hz needs a fan and chroma subsampling
Acer and Asus each use a 4K-UHD panel from AU Optronics with 3,840 x 2,160 pixels and up to 144 Hz. However, these only work if the color depth is 8 bits and a 4:2:2 color sub-scanning is set. If you want 10 bit (via 8 bit with Framerate Control), you have to switch down to 98 Hz or use 120 Hz with 8 bit. The background is the Display Port 1.4 interface, which only transmits around 32 Gbps. Instead of chroma subsampling, Display Stream Compression (DSC) would have been an idea, but obviously, the compression standard was not implemented. PCGH finds that 4:2:2 instead of 4:4:4 is hardly noticeable.
But the backlight, which works with 384 zones and achieves a very high brightness of up to 1,000 cd/m², is convincing. Other HDR monitors like the Samsung C27HG70 have just eight zones and 600 cd/m², which gives a visibly worse result. But the ROG Swift PG27UQ is not comparable to an OLED TV – Computerbase criticizes Ghosting at Destiny 2.
Besides 4K and HDR, the Predator X27 from Acer and the ROG Swift PG27UQ from Asus also support Nvidias G-Sync. Because the controller/scaler and the panel generate quite a lot of heat, both manufacturers install a fan. According to PCGH, this is not perceptible from a seat distance, but a buyer of the Acer model has probably caught a rattling propeller. At least the fan is a problem source, either due to a defect or possibly because it becomes dusty and louder over time.