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ASUS MX279HS Monitor Review

Tested using Methodology v1.1
Reviewed Oct 24, 2019 at 08:32 am
Latest change: Retest Jul 02, 2021 at 09:27 am
ASUS MX279HS Picture
6.7
Mixed Usage
7.0
Office
6.8
Gaming
6.6
Multimedia
6.6
Media Creation
4.9
HDR Gaming

The ASUS Designo MX279HS is a decent budget 1080p monitor. It has a decent overall picture quality with excellent gray uniformity, good reflection handling, and wide viewing angles. It's more suitable for a dim room as it can't get too bright and blacks look like gray in a pitch dark room. It has a completely flicker-free backlight, while the fast response time displays fast-moving content with little motion blur. It has a low input lag, but no support for any advanced gaming features, like FreeSync.

Our Verdict

6.7 Mixed Usage

The ASUS MX279HS is an alright monitor for most uses. It has a large size but the 1080p resolution can be limiting. It can't get very bright so it's more suitable for a dim room. The low input lag offers a responsive gaming experience but there are no advanced gaming features. Motion is smooth and fast-moving content has only a little blur trail.

Pros
  • Excellent gray uniformity.
  • Good reflection handling.
Cons
  • Can't get very bright.
  • Bad ergonomics.
7.0 Office

The ASUS MX279HS is a decent monitor for office use. It has a large size but the resolution is only 1080p and this will limit the amount of work you can display on your screen. The image remains accurate when viewed from the side, which is good for sharing your work with a colleague. Unfortunately, it can't get too bright, so it's more suitable for a dim office and the terrible ergonomics will trouble you when you set up your desk.

6.8 Gaming

The ASUS MX279HS is an okay monitor for gaming. It feels very responsive thanks to its low input lag, and fast-moving content has little blur trail. The monitor is a large size, but the 1080p resolution limits the gaming arena displayed on your screen. There's no support for any advanced gaming features like AMD's FreeSync or G-SYNC.

6.6 Multimedia

The ASUS MX279HS is an okay monitor for consuming multimedia. The monitor has a large size but the 1080p resolution is limiting if you often consume higher resolution content. On the upside, the monitor has excellent gray uniformity, feels very responsive thanks to its low input lag, and the image remains accurate when viewed from the side.

6.6 Media Creation

The ASUS MX279HS is adequate for media creation. It has a large size, but only a 1080p resolution which can be limiting. The ergonomics don't make it easy to place comfortably, but it has wide viewing angles which favor sharing your work with a colleague. It has a low input lag and only little blur behind fast-moving content.

4.9 HDR Gaming
  • 6.7 Mixed Usage
  • 7.0 Office
  • 6.8 Gaming
  • 6.6 Multimedia
  • 6.6 Media Creation
  • 4.9 HDR Gaming
  1. Updated Jul 02, 2021: Changed height adjustment result from 'N/A' to '0' to match our methodology.
  2. Updated Jun 01, 2021: We've corrected the stand and thickness measurements.
  3. Updated Aug 24, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
  4. Updated Oct 24, 2019: Review published.
  5. Updated Oct 22, 2019: Our testers have started testing this product.
  6. Updated Oct 22, 2019: Early access published.
  7. Updated Oct 20, 2019: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
  8. Updated Sep 12, 2019: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.

Differences Between Sizes And Variants

We tested the 27" (Designo MX279HS) and we expect the review to also be valid for the 25" (Designo MX259HS) variant. There are other variants within the ASUS Designo series, but they have different characteristics and likely perform differently.

If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their Designo MX279HS doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we'll update the review. Note that some tests, such as gray uniformity, may vary between individual units.

Model Size Native Resolution Refresh rate
MX279HS 27" 1080p 60Hz
MX259HS 25" 1080p 60Hz

Note: The ASUS Designo MX279HS we purchased was manufactured in July 2019.

Compared To Other Monitors

The ASUS Designo MX279HS is a decent 1080p budget monitor. It has a low input lag and wide viewing angles. It delivers a good performance in most uses for the price.

See also our recommendations for the best budget monitors, the best budget gaming monitors, and the best 1080p monitors.

Dell P2417H

The Dell P2417H is better than the ASUS MX279HS, mainly due to its better ergonomics. The Dell has a stand that allows you to place it comfortably on your desk. The MX279HS, on the other hand, is larger, but the Dell can get brighter and has a faster response time that leaves a slightly smaller blur trail behind fast-moving content.

ASUS VG279Q

The ASUS VG279Q is much better than the ASUS MX279HS. The VG279G has a much faster refresh rate and faster response time, so motion looks a lot crisper and smoother. The VG279G is much better for gaming, as it supports FreeSync and it can get much brighter, so it's also suitable for brighter rooms.

Samsung CF398

The two monitors have different panels, each with advantages and disadvantages. The Samsung CF398 has a VA panel and displays deep uniform blacks when in a dark room, whereas the ASUS MX279HS maintains an accurate image when viewed from the side thanks to its IPS panel. The Samsung has a curved profile and supports FreeSync for nearly tear-free gaming.

HP 27F

The HP 27F is better than the ASUS MX279HS. The HP has a higher refresh rate for smoother motion and supports FreeSync for nearly tear-free gaming. Also, blacks appear more uniform on the HP 27F when in a dark room.

Dell E2220H

The ASUS MX279HS is much better overall than the Dell E2220H. The ASUS has an IPS panel, with much better viewing angles, better gray uniformity, and better response times. The ASUS is also larger, which results in a lower pixel density, but it's easier to see what you're working on or share your screen.

Acer Nitro RG241Y Pbiipx

The Acer Nitro RG241Y Pbiipx is significantly better than the ASUS MX279HS for most uses. The Acer has a much higher refresh rate, quicker response time, and VRR support. It also has a lower input lag and higher peak brightness. However, the ASUS has wider viewing angles, and its 27 inch screen provides more space for multitasking.

Lepow Z1 Gamut

The Lepow Z1 Gamut and the ASUS MX279HS perform very similarly in many aspects but are for different uses. The Lepow is a portable monitor with a 15.6 inch screen, while the ASUS is a desktop monitor with a 27 inch screen. They both have a 1080p resolution, 60Hz, and no VRR support. The ASUS has better response times, making it more versatile, but it doesn't support HDR or a wide color gamut, while the Lepow does.

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Test Results

perceptual testing image
Design
Design
Style
Size 27"
Curved No
Curve Radius Not Curved
Weight (without stand)
N/A
Weight (with stand)
12.3 lbs (5.6 kg)
Design
Stand
Width
8.8" (22.3 cm)
Depth
8.8" (22.3 cm)

Update 06/01/2021: We mistakenly indicated the stand's measurement as 22.3 inches instead of 22.3 cm. It has been fixed.

The stand supports the monitor well and only allows minimal wobble. It doesn't take too much space and won't be in your way.

1.5
Design
Ergonomics
Height Adjustment
0.0" (0.0 cm)
Switch Portrait/Landscape No
Swivel Range No swivel
Tilt Range -20Ā° to 5Ā°

Update 07/02/2021: We incorrectly listed the Height Adjustment as 'N/A' as opposed to '0'. The review has been updated to reflect this change, as the Ergonomics score has dropped slightly.

The ASUS MX279HS has terrible ergonomics. You can only tilt the monitor which isn't enough to position it comfortably.

Design
Back
Wall Mount No Mount

The ASUS MX279HS's back is plain. It's covered by glossy plastic that is prone to fingerprints. There's no cable management.

Design
Borders
Borders
0.2" (0.5 cm)

The monitor's borders are very thin and favor a multi-monitor setup.

Design
Thickness
Thickness (with stand)
5.7" (14.5 cm)
Thickness (without stand)
N/A

Update 06/01/2021: We mistakenly indicated the thickness with stand as 14.5 inches instead of 14.5 cm. It has been fixed.

The monitor is very thin. However, since you can't remove the stand or VESA-mount it, this isn't too helpful.

7.0
Design
Build Quality

The build quality of the ASUS MX279HS is decent. It's mostly plastic and doesn't feel premium. It's a solid build with no gaps or loose ends and resembles the Sceptre C325W.

Picture Quality
6.1
Picture Quality
Contrast
Native Contrast
1,073 : 1
Contrast With Local Dimming
N/A

The ASUS MX279HS has a mediocre contrast ratio, just like most IPS monitors. When in a dark room, blacks tend to look more like gray.

0
Picture Quality
Local Dimming
Local Dimming
No
Backlight
Direct

The monitor doesn't have a local dimming feature. This video is for reference only.

5.9
Picture Quality
SDR Peak Brightness
SDR Real Scene
186 cd/mĀ²
SDR Peak 2% Window
206 cd/mĀ²
SDR Peak 10% Window
206 cd/mĀ²
SDR Peak 25% Window
206 cd/mĀ²
SDR Peak 50% Window
206 cd/mĀ²
SDR Peak 100% Window
206 cd/mĀ²
SDR Sustained 2% Window
205 cd/mĀ²
SDR Sustained 10% Window
206 cd/mĀ²
SDR Sustained 25% Window
206 cd/mĀ²
SDR Sustained 50% Window
206 cd/mĀ²
SDR Sustained 100% Window
206 cd/mĀ²
SDR ABL
0.000

Sub-par peak brightness although the monitor does hit its marketed values. This monitor isn't suitable for a very bright room as it won't fight glare.

0
Picture Quality
HDR Peak Brightness
HDR Real Scene
N/A
HDR Peak 2% Window
N/A
HDR Peak 10% Window
N/A
HDR Peak 25% Window
N/A
HDR Peak 50% Window
N/A
HDR Peak 100% Window
N/A
HDR Sustained 2% Window
N/A
HDR Sustained 10% Window
N/A
HDR Sustained 25% Window
N/A
HDR Sustained 50% Window
N/A
HDR Sustained 100% Window
N/A
HDR ABL
N/A

HDR isn't supported.

8.3
Picture Quality
Horizontal Viewing Angle
Color Washout From Left
47Ā°
Color Washout From Right
44Ā°
Color Shift From Left
52Ā°
Color Shift From Right
52Ā°
Brightness Loss From Left
48Ā°
Brightness Loss From Right
46Ā°
Black Level Raise From Left
70Ā°
Black Level Raise From Right
70Ā°
Gamma Shift From Left
54Ā°
Gamma Shift From Right
52Ā°

The ASUS Designo MX279HS has decent horizontal viewing angles. This is important if you often share your work with a colleague, especially since the monitor's ergonomics don't allow any swiveling.

6.5
Picture Quality
Vertical Viewing Angle
Color Washout From Below
30Ā°
Color Washout From Above
26Ā°
Color Shift From Below
33Ā°
Color Shift From Above
26Ā°
Brightness Loss From Below
32Ā°
Brightness Loss From Above
30Ā°
Black Level Raise From Below
70Ā°
Black Level Raise From Above
58Ā°
Gamma Shift From Below
31Ā°
Gamma Shift From Above
27Ā°

The ASUS MX279HS's vertical viewing angles are good. When someone is looking at the monitor from above they will enjoy the same accurate image as if they were sitting straight in front.

8.5
Picture Quality
Gray Uniformity
50% Std. Dev.
3.573%
50% DSE
0.110%
5% Std. Dev.
0.535%
5% DSE
0.076%

This monitor has excellent gray uniformity, although some vignetting is visible in the brighter scenes.

4.8
Picture Quality
Black Uniformity
Native Std. Dev.
2.776%
Std. Dev. w/ L.D.
N/A

Just like most IPS monitors, the ASUS MX279HS has poor black uniformity. There's significant clouding, but it only becomes noticeable when you watch dark scenes in a dark room.

7.6
Picture Quality
Pre Calibration
Picture Mode
Standard
Luminance
206 cd/mĀ²
Luminance Settings
90
Contrast Setting
80
RGB Controls
100-100-100
Gamma Setting
No Gamma Setting
Color Temperature
6,832 K
White Balance dE
2.88
Color dE
3.01
Gamma
2.23

The pre-calibration color accuracy of this monitor is good. The existing errors both in the grays and in the colors are hard to spot unless you're an enthusiast. The gamma doesn't follow the curve too well and most scenes don't have the brightness they should.

9.5
Picture Quality
Post Calibration
Picture Mode
Standard
Luminance
100 cd/mĀ²
Luminance Settings
38
Contrast Setting
75
RGB Controls
100-99-93
Gamma Setting
No Gamma Setting
Color Temperature
6,466 K
White Balance dE
0.44
Color dE
0.91
Gamma
2.18

The ASUS Designo MX279HS has remarkable accuracy after calibration. Most inaccuracies are corrected and even enthusiasts will need a colorimeter to spot them. The gamma follows the curve more closely and the color temperature is very close to the target of 6500K.

You can download our ICC profile calibration here. This is provided for reference only and shouldn't be used, as the calibration values vary per individual unit even for the same model due to manufacturing tolerances.

8.2
Picture Quality
SDR Color Gamut
sRGB xy
91.5%
Adobe RGB xy
71.7%
sRGB Picture Mode
Standard
Adobe RGB Picture Mode
Standard

s.RGB Picture Mode: Standard (calibrated)Adobe RGB Picture Mode: Standard

Impressive SDR color gamut for this monitor similar to the HP 27F. The standard sRGB color space is covered adequately, but the wider Adobe RGB color gamut, used mainly in professional applications, has just decent coverage.

8.5
Picture Quality
SDR Color Volume
sRGB In ICtCp
93.2%
Adobe RGB In ICtCp
77.2%
sRGB Picture Mode
Standard
Adobe RGB Picture Mode
Standard

s.RGB Picture Mode: Standard
Adobe RGB Picture Mode:Standard

Excellent SDR color volume. The monitor displays the standard s.RGB color space well in various luminance levels. Its Adobe RGB volume, on the other hand, is good but still limited by the monitor's coverage of the Adobe RGB color gamut.

0
Picture Quality
HDR Color Gamut
Wide Color Gamut
N/A
DCI P3 xy
N/A
Rec. 2020 xy
N/A
DCI P3 Picture Mode
No HDR
Rec. 2020 Picture Mode
No HDR

HDR isn't supported.

0
Picture Quality
HDR Color Volume
DCI-P3 In ICtCp
N/A
Rec. 2020 In ICtCp
N/A
DCI P3 Picture Mode
No HDR
Rec. 2020 Picture Mode
No HDR

HDR isn't supported.

10
Picture Quality
Image Retention
IR After 0 Min Recovery
0.00%
IR After 2 Min Recovery
0.00%
IR After 4 Min Recovery
0.00%
IR After 6 Min Recovery
0.00%
IR After 8 Min Recovery
0.00%
IR After 10 Min Recovery
0.00%

There are no signs of temporary image retention on the ASUS Designo MX279HS, even immediately after displaying our high-contrast static test image for 10 minutes.

8.8
Picture Quality
Gradient
Color Depth
8 Bit

Excellent gradient handling on the ASUS MX279HS. There's some minimal banding visible in the darker shades, but this is mainly due to the 8-bit color depth.

10
Picture Quality
Color Bleed
Pixel Row Error
0.000%
Pixel Column Error
0.000%

There are no signs of color bleed on this monitor.

8.3
Picture Quality
Reflections
Screen Finish
Matte
Total Reflections
4.7%
Indirect Reflections
4.3%
Calculated Direct Reflections
0.4%

Good reflection handling, very similar to the Dell P2417H. The monitor's matte coating diffuses slight reflections across the screen minimizing their intensity, but this causes some smearing across the screen. Reflections shouldn't be an issue unless you're in a very bright room.

7.0
Picture Quality
Text Clarity
Pixel Type
IPS
Sub-Pixel Layout
RGB
Motion
6.9
Motion
Response Time @ Max Refresh Rate
Best Overdrive Setting
0
Rise / Fall Time
10.1 ms
Total Response Time
18.3 ms
Overshoot Error
0.0%
Dark Rise / Fall Time
11.1 ms
Dark Total Response Time
19.0 ms
Dark Overshoot Error
0.0%

Response Time 0

Response Time 20

Response Time 40

Response Time 60

Response Time 80

Response Time 100

The response time of the Designo MX279HS is good. Fast-moving content has a little more blur than most monitors, which is okay for casual use, but not good for gaming. You can select the overdrive setting at intervals of 20 in the range from '0' to '100'. We recommend that you choose level '0' as the rest of the levels either have significant overshooting or, in the case of level '20', the improvement in response time isn't enough to justify the overshoot level.

6.9
Motion
Response Time @ 60Hz
Best Overdrive Setting
0
Rise / Fall Time
10.1 ms
Total Response Time
18.3 ms
Overshoot Error
0%
Dark Rise / Fall Time
11.1 ms
Dark Total Response Time
19.0 ms
Dark Overshoot Error
0.0%
10
Motion
Image Flicker
Flicker-Free Yes
PWM Dimming Frequency
0 Hz

The ASUS MX279HS is completely flicker-free at all brightness levels. Unfortunately, there's no black frame insertion feature to help make motion appear clearer.

0
Motion
Black Frame Insertion (BFI)
Black Frame Insertion (BFI)
No
BFI Maximum Frequency
N/A
BFI Minimum Frequency
N/A
6.2
Motion
Refresh Rate
Variable Refresh Rate
No VRR
Native
60 Hz
Max Refresh Rate
60 Hz
Variable Refresh Rate
No
FreeSync
No
G-SYNC
No
VRR Maximum
N/A
VRR Minimum
N/A
VRR Supported Connectors No VRR

This monitor has a native refresh rate 60Hz and doesn't support any advanced features like FreeSync or G-SYNC.

Inputs
9.0
Inputs
Input Lag
Native Resolution
8.8 ms
Native Resolution @ 60Hz
8.8 ms
Variable Refresh Rate
N/A
Variable Refresh Rate @ 60Hz
N/A
10 Bit HDR
N/A
Black Frame Insertion (BFI)
N/A

The input lag of this monitor is very low and helps deliver a very responsive gaming experience.

7.1
Inputs
Resolution And Size
Native Resolution 1920 x 1080
Aspect Ratio 16:9
Megapixels 2.1 MP
Pixel Density
82 PPI
Screen Diagonal 27.0"
Screen Area 310 inĀ²

This monitor has a decent native resolution and size. Although it's not ideal for working simultaneously with many windows, it's gentle on the eyes thanks to its larger size. If you need to stay productive while traveling, check out the Lepow Z1 Gamut portable monitor.

Inputs
Inputs
Inputs
Total Inputs
DisplayPort No
Mini DisplayPort No
HDMI 2 (HDMI 1.4)
DVI No
VGA 1
DisplayPort Out No
USB No
USB C No
Analog Audio Out 3.5mm 1
Microphone In 3.5mm 1
Digital Optical Audio Out No
Analog Audio Out RCA No
Power Supply External Brick
Features
Features
Additional Features
RGB Illumination
No
Speakers
Yes
HDR10 No
Multiple Input Display
No

The monitor features very few additional features apart from the speakers. It has a Kensington Lock to help you secure it, and allows you to display a grid and certain alignment options.

Features
On-Screen Display (OSD)
Features
Controls

The controls are a series of touch-sensitive buttons found on the underside. They're easy to use.

Features
In The Box

  • Manual
  • Power Cable
  • Power Adapter
  • HDMI to DVI
  • Aux Cable
  • VGA Cable