It’s well known that OLED is the king of impeccable contrast and deep, inky blacks whether we’re talking smartphones or living room TVs, but it took a while for the crowd of desktop monitors to catch up. Gigabyte, Alienware and OLED panel maker LG have all tested the water, but now Asus’ ROG sub-brand is doing a proverbial cannonball with not one, but two new models.
The 42-inch ROG Swift OLED PG42UQ and 48-inch PG48UQ are true, gaming-grade displays that promise faster refresh rates than any competitor, adaptive sync technology to play well with game consoles and PC graphics cards, and enhanced internal cooling to support peak brightness without speeding up pixel burnout.
We got an early look at both monitors at Asus’s recent Apex event, testing a combination of console and PC gaming and strapping in to a three-screen sim rig to see if you plan to old LCD to upgrade.
Design & build: seriously skinny
Asus could have taken a super-slim OLED panel, put a kickstand on it and call it a day – but that’s not what you get here. Both models are certainly very slim in places, but there’s a bit more bulge on the back than you’d find on a similarly sized OLED TV. That’s to make room for the upgraded internal cooling, which should help the panel pump out a maximum peak brightness of 900 nits and last longer without burn-in. We certainly couldn’t detect any ghost logos or traces of static images.
The chassis also includes a decent set of speakers. Two Harman-tuned 10W drivers are mated to a 15W woofer, promising a more impressive sound than the weed speakers commonly found in desktop monitors. They sounded clear and the volume was quite high, although we barely listened in a controlled environment. We expect ‘good TV’ levels of audio, rather than something that makes your soundbar obsolete.
From the front, both displays make a real visual impact, with screen bezels that are practically nonexistent, and a slim stand that doesn’t take up much space on a desk. Important, as the smaller model is still a sizable 42 inches. There is no height, swivel or swivel adjustment, just a welcome +/- 5° tilt range.
Gaming equipment makers usually can’t help but use RGB backlighting everywhere, but Asus hasn’t gone crazy here: the ROG logo at the bottom center, but that’s about it – and you can turn it off via the menus as it is disturbing.
Features and Connectivity: Think Like a Gamer
Asus knows its target audience and has therefore added a handful of gamer-friendly gadgets and a good selection of ports. At the top there’s a tripod thread for attaching a webcam or key light, along with a USB port (two on the larger model) to plug it in without having to sling cables across your desk.
Most ports are hidden behind a removable cover, which directs all cables in one direction. You’re looking at two console-friendly HDMI 2.1 ports, along with DisplayPort 1.4 (not a given on OLED TVs of this size) and two HDMI 2.0s for PC gaming, plus a handful more USB3 ports and a 3. 5mm headphone port.
The five-way joystick for operating the on-screen display is cleverly placed so you don’t have to stretch out uncomfortably to reach it, but Asus also bundles a remote control in the box. It is useful for console gamers who are not directly in front of the screen.
What you won’t find are TV features, such as a tuner in the back or built-in smart streaming features. That also means no motion smoothing or other image processing, which some may appreciate.
Image quality: top performance
We can’t think of a 4K, HDR-friendly OLED that didn’t look good, but on first inspection, Asus seems to have done a particularly good job with the PG42UQ and PG48UQ. Both look razor sharp, with vibrant colors and impressive shadow detail, mixed with bright highlights and smooth movements.
Each covers 98% of the DCI-P3 color space and comes with its own factory calibration report in the box, so creatives should be able to plug in and get to work straight away. The anti-glare screen worked wonders under the harsh spotlights of Asus’ demo area, allowing us to clearly see the dark areas of Halo Infinite’s opening skirmishes.
The panels have an adaptive refresh rate of 120Hz for console gamers, along with automatic low latency mode (ALLM), but PC players can overclock to 138Hz when connected via DisplayPort. It takes better eyes than ours to tell the difference, as both looked wonderfully smooth and responsive, but demanding FPS gamers in particular will appreciate the improvement – there are only a few rivals that can match it for speed. FreeSync and G-Sync support prevents screen tearing if your GPU can’t keep up too.
OLEDs have an almost instantaneous pixel response, so the combination of panel and refresh rate completely eliminates ghosting from fast movements. Both screens also held up well with fast movements, avoiding smearing or blurry pixels in Project Cars 2 and MotoGP 22. They also use sub-pixel rendering to make text clearer than competing OLEDs, which should make a big difference to desktop tasks.
Contrast is a claimed 1,000,000:1, which is as good as anything you’ll find on your desk, and the 900 nit peak brightness bodes well for giving HDR video the right impact, as well as games.
Asus ROG Swift OLED PG42UQ First Verdict
There’s no doubt about OLED’s ability to produce fantastic images, and Asus seems to have done a brilliant job fighting the technology’s weaknesses. Robust cooling meant that none of the displays shown at the company’s launch were forced to run at reduced brightness, despite being on for extended periods on a particularly balmy August day.
ROG has added many of the gamer-friendly features you’d find on more mainstream monitors, giving the PG42UQ and PG48UQ an edge over a regular OLED TV for desktop use, and it has all the panel technology demanding players need.
Of course, no OLED is cheap. The PG42UQ is now available to pre-order from Amazon UK for £1399, and the PG48UQ will set you back £1499, also from Amazon. That pretty much undercuts the miniLED alternatives, though, so both displays have a good chance of becoming a favorite for affluent PC gamers. Expect both models to ship in the coming weeks.
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