ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG27AQDM  Monitor Review

The ASUS PG27AQDM has a gamer-oriented design with thin bezels and a tripod stand. It features RGB lighting in the form of Republic of Gamers (ROG) logos with a down-facing light on the stand, and it comes with extra covers so that you can change the design of the light. There's more lighting on the back too.

The build quality is excellent. The housing of the display is plastic which feels sturdy, and there aren't any obvious issues with how it's put together. The bezels are properly attached to the screen throughout, as you can see here. The metal stand is also solid as it holds the screen well, and even the feet are grippy, so it doesn't easily slide on the desk. The one downside is that the bottom piece for the RGB lighting can come off if you're holding it there and you aren't careful, but it's meant to come off anyways.

The ASUS PG27AQDM has amazing ergonomics; you can adjust it in several ways. The stand also offers cable management, but because the inputs are down-facing, they can be hard to reach at times. The back of the monitor features robust housing for the inputs, but the panel itself is thin. There are also vents on the housing, as you can see here. It comes with a mounting bracket if you want to mount the monitor.

The tripod stand holds the screen well, and because the feet are grippy, it doesn't easily slide on the desk. However, this can also be a downside, as you would need to lift the entire monitor to move it.

There's a joystick and two buttons to control the on-screen menu.

• DisplayPort cable
• HDMI cable
• Power supply and cable
• USB-B to USB-A cable
• Mounting bracket (100x100)
• Down-facing light accessories
• Accessories bag
• ROG sticker set (see here)
• User documentation, including calibration report

The ASUS PG27AQDM has a perfect native contrast ratio, displaying deep and inky blacks next to bright highlights thanks to its OLED panel.

OLED panels like this one don't have a backlight, so they don't require a local dimming feature. However, with a near-infinite contrast ratio, there isn't any blooming around bright objects, and it's the equivalent of a perfect local dimming feature. We still film these videos on the monitor so you can see how the screen performs and compare it with a monitor that has local dimming.

The ASUS PG27AQDM has okay SDR brightness but isn't nearly as bright as the advertised 450 cd/m². While it's brighter than the LG 27GR95QE-B, it still isn't bright enough to fight glare in a very bright room, so visibility can be an issue. If you're looking for a monitor that gets much brighter, check out the ASUS ROG Strix OLED XG27AQDMG. These results are from after calibration in 'User Mode' GameVisual, which is the name for the picture mode, with the Brightness at its max and Uniform Brightness disabled. This setting helps reduce the Automatic Brightness Limiter (ABL), but it also keeps the brightness the same across different scenes, and the screen is dimmer, which you can see here:

• Real Scene 149 cd/m²
• Peak 2% Window 148 cd/m²
• Peak 10% Window 151 cd/m²
• Peak 25% Window 152 cd/m²
• Peak 50% Window 152 cd/m²
• Peak 100% Window 152 cd/m²
• Sustained 2% Window 141 cd/m²
• Sustained 10% Window 150 cd/m²
• Sustained 25% Window 151 cd/m²
• Sustained 50% Window 152 cd/m²
• Sustained 100% Window 152 cd/m²
• ABL 0.002
• Minimum Brightness 13 cd/m²

The ASUS PG27AQDM has good HDR brightness with firmware MCM104 and newer. These results are in 'ASUS Gaming HDR' HDR Setting with Adjustable Brightness off, Brightness locked to its max, and the Color Temp set to '6500K'. As of firmware MCM105, there aren't any issues when setting Color Temp to '8200K', as doing so resulted in an orange tint and dim image on older firmware. That said, once you update to the latest firmware, it gets brighter with the '8200K' setting. However, the image is less accurate than with the '6500K' setting.

As of firmware MCM104, small highlights get extremely bright, but there's an aggressive ABL, and the changes in brightness can be noticeable even while gaming. That said, updating it to firmware MCM105 makes larger highlights a bit brighter and the ABL is a bit less aggressive.

Lastly, it follows the target PQ curve perfectly until there's a sharp cut-off at the peak brightness, meaning it gets the brightest it can before letting your PC do any tone mapping, but you need to update it to the latest firmware for the best performance.

Unlike in SDR, there's a setting in HDR called Adjustable Brightness that lets you change the Brightness setting if you want something with less aggressive ABL, but it also makes the screen dimmer. When enabling this setting and leaving the Brightness at its max, the brightness of the display is the same as leaving Adjustable Brightness off.

While the manufacturer advertises this monitor as using heatsink technology, it doesn't dissipate heat well. As you can see here, heat is concentrated towards the bottom. For reference, you can also see what the LG 27GR95QE-B looks like here, and on this monitor, heat is concentrated more towards the center.

The gray uniformity is excellent. Colors are uniform throughout, and there aren't any dark areas. Like any OLED screen, there are thin vertical lines in near-dark scenes, but they're hard to notice unless you look for them.

The ASUS PG27AQDM has perfect black uniformity as its OLED panel can turn individual pixels on and off, so there isn't any blooming.

The accuracy in the sRGB mode before calibration is amazing. The sRGB mode locks colors well to the sRGB color space, and even the white balance and color temperature are great. However, gamma is off as it seems to follow a 2.0 target instead of sRGB, meaning most scenes are too bright. Unfortunately, using the sRGB mode disables many settings, including Uniform Brightness, so there's a somewhat aggressive ABL that causes full-screen windows to be dimmer than smaller windows. If you do want to use those locked-out settings, the 'User Mode' has a similar color temperature and white balance, but colors are oversaturated, and gamma is the same, as you can see here.

The accuracy after calibration is amazing. Even though calibrating it only slightly improves the color accuracy, white balance, and color temperature, it fixes gamma a lot more. Also, by calibrating it, you can adjust settings that are locked out in the sRGB mode, like Uniform Brightness.

The SDR color gamut is fantastic. It has near-perfect coverage of the sRGB color space used in most web content. It's also excellent with the Adobe RGB color space used in some professional content creation, but it oversaturates reds and undersaturates greens.

The ASUS PG27AQDM has an excellent color gamut with firmware MCM105. With Color Temp set to '6500K', it displays colors accurately, and there aren't any obvious issues. However, you need to update it to the latest firmware for the best performance. There was a red tint issue with firmware MCM102, and the monitor didn't tone map well. The same thing happened when setting the Color Temp setting to '8200K' on older firmware, but updating it to firmware MCM105 fixes this issue.

The HDR color volume is good. It displays bright and dark colors well, but its incomplete color gamut limits it, and it doesn't display colors as bright as on QD-OLEDs like the Dell Alienware AW3423DWF. These results are with Color Temp set to '6500K' with firmware MCM105.

The ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG27AQDM has a fantastic horizontal viewing angle. While it isn't perfect, you won't notice any inconsistencies when viewing from the sides, making this a great choice for co-op gaming.

The text clarity is okay, but it's worse than LED-backlit LCD monitors because computer programs don't render text well with its RWBG subpixel layout. As you can see, with Windows ClearType enabled (top photo), there's color fringing, so if that bothers you, you'd have to disable ClearType. The same issue exists with Windows 11, as you can see with ClearType on and with ClearType off. On top of its text rendering issues, the aggressive matte coating makes text look hazy.

Due to the RWBG subpixel layout, all four pixels are never on simultaneously. You can see additional photos of the pixels on the LG 27GR95QE-B below, as it uses the same panel:

• Blue
• Green
• Red
• Red and blue
• Green and red

The direct reflection handling is great. It absorbs light well, and its matte coating spreads any remaining light out.

The black levels remain low in a bright room, which is fantastic. Although it doesn't deliver the same perfect blacks as in a dark room, blacks are still deep in a bright room.

There's some reflected light on this monitor, particularly from bright sources. That said, the monitor does a good job at absorbing most light, so glare isn't an issue.

The gradient handling is remarkable, as you won't see any banding in scenes with shades of similar colors, like a sunset.

You can reach the ASUS PG27AQDM's max refresh rate over DisplayPort, and to reach 10-bit signals, your graphics card needs to support Display Stream Compression (DSC), which any NVIDIA 16 Series or AMD RX 5000 Series and newer graphics card supports. Sadly, you can't reach its max refresh rate over HDMI because it's limited to HDMI 2.0 bandwidth.

If you prefer an OLED with a higher 480Hz refresh rate, check out the ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG27AQDP.

On top of supporting FreeSync and G-SYNC compatibility, it supports HDMI Forum VRR.

The ASUS PG27AQDM has outstanding motion handling across its entire refresh rate range with VRR enabled. CAD remains low throughout and there's minimal blur with fast-moving objects.

The refresh rate compliance is outstanding. As it has a near-instantaneous response time, it can keep up with fast frame rates really well, and it makes full color transitions before drawing the next frame.

The CAD at the maximum refresh rate is outstanding. It displays fast-moving objects as intended, and motion is extremely sharp. There isn't any inverse ghosting, either.

The CAD at 120Hz is outstanding. Pixels transition to their target RGB level almost instantly, so there isn't any blur trail behind fast-moving objects.

The CAD at 60Hz is outstanding. Pixels transition colors almost perfectly, and any noticeable blur is persistence.

The ASUS PG27AQDM doesn't have an optional black frame insertion feature to reduce persistence blur.

The ASUS PG27AQDM has noticeable VRR flicker with changing frame rates, particularly in dark scenes. This can get bothersome, especially if you're sensitive to it. While it isn't as visible in bright scenes, you can still see it in dark areas, like shadows. However, it isn't an issue with consistent frame rates.

ASUS released a firmware update, MCM106, in May 2024 to add a setting called OLED Anti-Flicker. Using it greatly reduces the flicker to the point where you won't notice it, as you can see with it on 'Medium' here and on 'Strong' here. However, using this setting also introduces stutter as the frame rate and the refresh rate don't match up, so you're reducing one issue and introducing another. The results in the review are with OLED Anti-Flicker disabled, but enable it if the VRR flicker bothers you and the stutter doesn't. That said, the best way to avoid any of these issues is to set a frame cap to get a more consistent frame rate.

The ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG27AQDM technically isn't flicker-free because there's a slight dip in brightness that corresponds to the 240Hz refresh rate.

The ASUS PG27AQDM has low input lag for a responsive feel with firmware MCM104. The input lag is lowest with VRR enabled, which is what we tested it with. The input lag is a bit higher with a fixed signal, as you can see here:

• Native Resolution @ Max Hz: 2.8 ms
• Native Resolution @ 120Hz: 6.9 ms
• Native Resolution @ 60Hz: 15.1 ms

Additionally, these results are with firmware MCM104, as the input lag is much higher at 120Hz and 60Hz with firmware MCM102, which is something other people have reported online, as you can read here. These are the results with firmware MCM102:

• Native Resolution @ Max Hz: 8.8 ms
• Native Resolution @ 120Hz: 16.7 ms
• Native Resolution @ 60Hz: 33.6 ms

The 27-inch screen may seem small to some, so if you want something bigger with an OLED panel, you can also consider the Corsair XENEON FLEX 45WQHD240, but it has a lower pixel density.

The ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG27AQDM works as expected with the PS5, but can't take full advantage of it due to the lack of HDMI 2.1 bandwidth. Unfortunately, HDR looks very bad with a red tint and dim screen, which you can see here.

The ASUS PG27AQDM works well with the Xbox Series X|S, but without HDMI 2.1 bandwidth, it doesn't take full advantage of it. It downscales 4k signals, and the main advantage of that is that it supports HDR with the console, as the Xbox doesn't support HDR with 1080p and 1440p signals. If you want a monitor with a 4k resolution and HDMI 2.1 bandwidth to take full advantage of the Xbox Series X|S, look into the ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM instead.

You need to connect the USB-B to USB-A cable to your computer for the USB ports to work. It doesn't have a USB-C port, but if you want something that does, then look into the Acer Predator X27U bmiipruzx.

The ASUS ROG Swift OLED PG27AQDM is compatible with macOS, but there are some issues. You can only get a 60Hz or 120Hz refresh rate over HDMI as VRR doesn't work at all, and if you're using a MacBook, windows return to their original position after closing and reopening the lid or when putting the MacBook to sleep.

It supports VRR when using a DisplayPort to USB-C cable, but it doesn't properly connect at first. The first time we connected it, we had to change DisplayPort Stream from '1.4' to '1.2' for it to work, then the second time we connected it, we had to unplug and replug the cable, and set DisplayPort Stream back to '1.4' for it to work.

The ASUS PG27AQDM has a few extra features, including:

• Aspect Control: You can change the aspect ratio of the image to its original size, a 1:1 ratio, or 16:9, but with a 25-inch screen size.
• Aura RGB: Controls the RGB lighting on the back of the monitor and on the stand.
• Blue Light Filter: Removes blue light to help reduce eye strain.
• GamePlus: Includes different gaming features like an FPS counter, crosshairs, sniper mode, stopwatch, and timer.
• Shadow Boost: Adjusts gamma so that you can see opponents better in dark scenes.
• Power Saving Mode: Limits the power consumption but also disables many settings.

While the settings menu has options to adjust the volume and mute, it's for external speakers, as the monitor itself doesn't have any speakers.

Like most OLED displays, there are also a few settings to help reduce the risk of burn-in, which you can find in the Screen Protection section of the OSD:

• Adjust Logo Brightness: Dims static logos that are on the screen, like if you're watching TV.
• Pixel Cleaning: This feature corrects any individual pixels that may be broken. It happens after you turn off the screen and takes about six minutes to finish. There's also a setting to remind you to turn off the monitor so it can perform the cycle.
• Screen Move: Moves the image by a few pixels to one side to help reduce the risk of burn-in.
• Screen Saver: Automatically dims the screen when there's inactivity.

Burn-in can occur with constant exposure to the same static elements over time, so the best ways to reduce the risk of burn-in is by watching varied content, hiding the taskbar, using a black background, and taking advantage of these settings. You can learn about our current longevity and burn-in test here.

While you can use the on-screen display to change the settings, you can also download ASUS Display Widget Center if you want to adjust the settings with your mouse, which needs to be connected to the monitor.