The ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN is an excellent gaming monitor with exceptional motion handling. It has an outstanding response time, a Black Frame Insertion feature, and a 360Hz refresh rate, resulting in clear and smooth motion in fast-moving scenes. It has G-SYNC support and FreeSync compatibility to deliver a nearly tear-free gaming experience. It has good ergonomics and wide viewing angles, making it a great option for co-op gaming and sharing content. Unfortunately, while it gets bright enough to fight glare easily, it isn't enough to deliver a satisfying HDR experience. Also, the screen size might be too small for some, and its IPS panel's low contrast ratio makes it less ideal for gaming in the dark.
Our Verdict
The ASUS ROG PG259QN is a great monitor overall. Although it's primarily designed for gaming, it's suitable for a wide range of uses. It has good ergonomics, wide viewing angles, and overcomes glare easily, making it ideal for work and media consumption. It's excellent for gaming due to its exceptional motion handling, low input lag, and VRR support. Sadly, it can't deliver a good HDR experience, as it lacks local dimming, a wide color gamut, and doesn't get bright enough to make highlights stand out.
- Wide viewing angles.
- Excellent out-of-the-box accuracy.
- Good ergonomics.
- Great reflection handling.
- Mediocre contrast ratio.
- Screen might be too small for some.
The ASUS PG259QN is good for office use. You can easily adjust the screen to your optimal viewing position thanks to its good ergonomics, and its IPS panel has wide viewing angles, making it ideal for sharing your work with coworkers. The screen might be too small for some, especially for multitasking, and the pixel density is a bit low, so text doesn't look as sharp.
- Wide viewing angles.
- Good ergonomics.
- Great reflection handling.
- Screen might be too small for some.
The ASUS ROG Swift PG259QN is great for gaming. It has low input lag, a quick response time, and a 360Hz refresh rate, resulting in an incredibly smooth and responsive experience. It has native G-SYNC support and FreeSync compatibility to reduce screen tearing. It isn't well-suited for gaming in the dark, though, as its IPS panel has a low contrast ratio that makes blacks look grayish.
- 360Hz high refresh rate.
- Fast response time.
- VRR support.
- Mediocre contrast ratio.
- No local dimming.
- Screen might be too small for some.
The ASUS PG259QN is good for media consumption. It has wide viewing angles and good ergonomics, so you can easily share your screen with others. It provides good visibility in bright environments because it handles reflections well and gets bright enough to fight glare, but it has a low contrast ratio that makes it less ideal for dark rooms. Also, some may find the screen too small.
- Wide viewing angles.
- Great reflection handling.
- Mediocre contrast ratio.
- Screen might be too small for some.
The ASUS PG259QN is good for media creation. It has near-full coverage of the sRGB color space, superb gradient handling, and its out-of-the-box accuracy is exceptional, so you might not need to calibrate it to get accurate color reproduction. However, the resolution and screen size may be disappointing for some, and its low contrast ratio makes blacks look grayish.
- Wide viewing angles.
- Excellent out-of-the-box accuracy.
- Good ergonomics.
- Great reflection handling.
- Mediocre contrast ratio.
- No local dimming.
- Screen might be too small for some.
The ASUS ROG Swift PG259QN is mediocre for HDR. With a low contrast ratio, blacks look gray in dark rooms, and it lacks a local dimming feature to further improve the contrast. It also can't display a wide range of colors in HDR and fails to get bright enough to make highlights pop, so you don't get a vivid HDR experience.
- Mediocre contrast ratio.
- No local dimming.
- Can't display wide color gamut.
- Screen might be too small for some.
Changelog
- Updated Feb 02, 2024: Added that the ASUS ROG Swift Pro PG248QP has less image duplication when Backlight Strobing (BFI) is on.
- Updated Mar 17, 2023: Added that the ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG27AQN is a new 360Hz monitor with a higher 1440p Resolution.
- Updated Jan 04, 2023: We bought and tested the BenQ ZOWIE XL2566K, and we've added a few relevant comparisons below.
- Updated Dec 13, 2022: Added text to the macOS and Response Time boxes as part of Test Bench 1.2, and updated the text for accuracy throughout.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN, and there are no other variants. However, there are many monitors in the ROG Swift lineup with various configurations, some of which you can see in the table below.
Update 07/20/2021: ASUS has released an updated version, known as the ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QNR. The updated version appears to perform the same but supports NVIDIA's Reflex Latency Analyzer feature. It also includes a desk mount kit that can clamp to the edge of most flat work surfaces.
| Model | Size | Resolution | Panel | Max Refresh Rate | VRR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN | 24.5" | 1920 x 1080 | IPS | 360Hz | G-SYNC |
| ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QNR | 24.5" | 1920 x 1080 | IPS | 360Hz | G-SYNC + Reflex Latency Analyzer |
| ROG Swift PG279QZ | 27" | 2560 x 1440 | IPS | 165Hz | G-SYNC |
| ROG Swift PG329Q | 32" | 2560 x 1440 | IPS | 175Hz | G-SYNC |
| ROG Swift PG35VQ | 35" | 3440 x 1440 | VA | 200Hz | G-SYNC |
| ROG Swift PG43UQ | 43" | 3840 x 2160 | VA | 144Hz | Adaptive Sync |
If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their ASUS PG259QN doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we'll update the review. Note that some tests, such as the gray uniformity, may vary between individual units.
Our unit of the PG259QN was manufactured in September 2020; you can see the label here.
Popular Monitor Comparisons
The ASUS ROG Swift PG259QN is a great gaming monitor with excellent motion handling. However, it's expensive for a monitor of its size and resolution. It delivers much better picture quality than 360Hz TN monitors like the BenQ ZOWIE XL2566K, but slightly worse response time performance overall, with a less customizable overdrive experience.
For more options, check out our recommendations for the best 24-25 inch monitors, the best gaming monitors, and the best G-SYNC monitors.
The ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN and the Dell Alienware AW2521H are very similar 360Hz monitors. The Dell has a better response time, it gets brighter, and has better ergonomics. However, the ASUS has better reflection handling and better color accuracy.
The ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN and the ASUS ROG Swift Pro PG248QP are both gaming monitors designed for esports. The PG248QP has a considerably higher 540Hz maximum refresh rate and a slightly better response time, making it a better choice for competitive esports gamers. However, the PG259QN has wider viewing angles and better color accuracy before calibration, making it a more versatile monitor and a good choice if you use it for more than just esports.
Overall, the ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN and the ASUS TUF Gaming VG259QM score similarly but are quite different. The PG259QN has a much higher refresh rate, significantly better out-of-the-box color accuracy, and better gradient handling. On the flip side, the VG259QM has much better ergonomics and better response time due to less overshoot.
The ASUS TUF Gaming VG258QM and the ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN use different panel types. While they both offer excellent gaming performance, the PG259QN is a bit better overall, though the VG258QM may represent a better value to some. The PG259QN uses an IPS panel, so it has wider viewing angles. It also has much better out-of-the-box color accuracy than the VG258QM, so you may not have to calibrate it. It has a higher refresh rate at 360Hz, but the 280Hz on the VG258QM is still very high and you likely won't notice a huge difference. While there's more overshoot, the PG259QN also has faster response times and it's significantly better for 60Hz gaming since the VG258QM has issues with response time and input lag at 60Hz.
We buy and test more than 30 monitors each year, all of which we purchase ourselves, without cherry-picked units or samples. We put a lot into each unbiased, straight-to-the-point review, and there's a whole process from purchasing to publishing, involving multiple teams and people. We do more than just use the monitor for a week; we use specialized, custom tools to measure various aspects and deliver objective, data-driven results. We also consider multiple factors before making any recommendations, including the monitor's cost, its performance compared to the competition, and whether it's easy to find.
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