The ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM is a high-end gaming monitor and the true successor to the extremely popular, but dated, ASUS ROG Swift PG279Q and the revised version, the ASUS ROG Swift PG279QZ. It's designed mainly for gaming, with an extremely fast refresh that delivers incredibly clear motion and low input lag. It has native support for NVIDIA's G-SYNC variable refresh rate technology, and it's one of the only 240Hz monitors on the market that supports NVIDIA's Reflex Latency Analyzer technology. It's a very versatile monitor, with one of the widest color gamuts we've ever seen on a monitor, and it has superb gradient handling. It also has a wider selection of inputs than most similar displays on the market, including three HDMI 2.0 ports. Sadly, those inputs are limited to HDMI 2.0 bandwidth, and the stand is a bit less versatile than most ASUS gaming monitors, with a much shorter height adjustment.
The ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM is an impressive monitor overall. It has low input lag, a fast response time, and both G-SYNC and FreeSync support for gaming. The large screen is great for multitasking, and it has wide viewing angles that make it easy to share the screen. It has an incredible color gamut and excellent accuracy out of the box, so it's an impressive monitor for media creators. Finally, it supports HDR, but due to its low contrast ratio and low peak brightness in HDR, this doesn't add much.
The ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM is a very good monitor for office use. The large screen is great for multitasking, and it delivers good text clarity. The image remains accurate at an angle, so you can easily share your screen with someone else, and it has very good ergonomics, so you can easily adjust it to an ideal viewing position. It also has great gray uniformity, remarkable gradient handling, and an incredible SDR color gamut, so it's also a great choice if your work requires accurate colors.
The ASUS PG279QM is an excellent gaming monitor. It has fantastic low input lag and an excellent response time, delivering a smooth, responsive gaming experience with little blur behind fast-moving objects. It supports both FreeSync and G-SYNC variable refresh rates, resulting in a nearly tear-free gaming experience. Finally, it's large enough to deliver an immersive gaming experience, and its great horizontal viewing angle makes it a good choice for co-op gaming.
The ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM is a good monitor for watching videos. The large screen delivers an immersive experience, and it's great for watching during the day, with good reflection handling and very good peak brightness that can easily overcome glare. It also has wide viewing angles, making it a great choice for watching with someone else. Sadly, it's not as well-suited for watching in the dark, as it has a low contrast ratio and disappointing black uniformity.
The ASUS PG279QM is an impressive monitor for media creators. The large screen makes it easy to see more of your timeline at once. It has complete coverage of both the sRGB and the Adobe RGB color spaces, and it has remarkable gradient handling, with almost no noticeable banding. It has wide viewing angles and very good ergonomics, so you can easily share your screen with someone else. Unfortunately, it has low contrast and disappointing black uniformity, so it's not a good choice for working in a dark room.
The ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM delivers a decent HDR experience. It has a low contrast ratio, so blacks look gray in a dark room, and although it has a local dimming feature, it's bad. On the other hand, it has decent peak brightness in HDR, so bright highlights in games stand out well, and they're displayed at the correct brightness level. It also has an incredibly wide color gamut, and remarkable gradient handling, with almost no noticeable banding in areas of similar color.
We tested the 27 inch ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM, the only size available. This monitor is part of ASUS' ROG Swift lineup of gaming monitors, which feature native G-SYNC support. It's the successor to the extremely popular ASUS ROG Swift PG279Q, which has a similar form factor but a slower refresh rate. There are other ROG Swift monitors available in ASUS' lineup, some of which are listed below.
Model | Size | Native Resolution | Max Refresh Rate | Panel Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
ROG Swift PG279QM | 27" | 1440p | 240Hz | IPS |
ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN | 25" | 1080p | 360Hz | IPS |
ROG Swift PG279Q | 27" | 1440p | 165Hz | IPS |
ROG Swift PG279QZ | 27" | 1440p | 165Hz | IPS |
ROG Swift PG348Q | 34" | 3440x1440 | 100Hz | IPS |
If you come across a different type of panel or your ASUS PG279QM doesn't correspond to our review, let us know, and we'll update the review. Some tests, like gray uniformity, vary a bit between individual units due to tolerances and minor variations in the manufacturing process and final assembly. Unless otherwise noted, these results are representative of most units.
Our unit was manufactured in Aug. 2021; you can see the label here.
The ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM is an excellent gaming monitor with a fast refresh rate and some of the best motion handling we've seen. It also has incredible colors, making it a versatile choice that will please almost anyone. Sadly, it's also more expensive than comparable monitors on the market, including the Dell Alienware AW2721D and the Samsung Odyssey G7 C32G75T.
For more options, check out our recommendations for the best 1440p gaming monitors, the best 27 inch monitors, and the best 240Hz monitors.
The Samsung Odyssey G7 C32G75T and the ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM use different panel technologies, each with strengths and weaknesses. The Samsung uses a VA panel and is better suited for gaming in a dark room. The Samsung also has a few extra features, including an optional backlight strobing feature, commonly known as black frame insertion, and it supports Picture-in-Picture and Picture-by-Picture. The ASUS, on the other hand, has much better viewing angles, and it natively supports NVIDIA G-SYNC technology.
The Dell Alienware AW2721D and the ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM are very similar, each with strengths and weaknesses. The Dell has a better vertical viewing angle and better ergonomics, and it's brighter in both SDR and HDR. The ASUS, on the other hand, has better reflection handling and a wider color gamut, and it has built-in speakers.
The Dell Alienware AW2723DF and the ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM are both 1440p, 240Hz gaming monitors with a few differences. The Dell has an overclockable refresh rate of up to 280Hz, which the ASUS doesn't have, and it has also lower input lag. The main difference between the two is that the ASUS has native G-SYNC support, which lets you take full advantage of your NVIDIA graphics card, as you can also use its Reflex Latency Analyzer feature to measure the input lag of your entire setup.
The ASUS ROG Strix XG27AQ and the ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM offer very similar performance. The XG27AQ is a bit more versatile for gaming, as it has an optional backlight strobing feature, commonly known as black frame insertion, which can improve the appearance of motion. On the other hand, the PG279QM is a bit better for HDR, as it's brighter and can display a wider color gamut.
The ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG27AQN and the ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM are both excellent gaming monitors with a 1440p resolution and native G-SYNC support. The main difference is that the PG27AQN has a higher 360Hz refresh rate and quicker response times for better motion handling. Besides that, both monitors are similar, so choosing one over the other comes down to which max refresh rate you want.
The ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM and the LG 27GP850-B deliver very similar performance, each with strengths and weaknesses. The ASUS has better ergonomics, so it's easier to place it in an ideal viewing position. On the other hand, the LG has a faster response time at the max refresh rate, and it has an optional backlight strobing feature to improve the appearance of motion.
The Samsung Odyssey G7 S28AG70 and the ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM deliver very similar performance, but they each have advantages and disadvantages. The Samsung has a higher resolution screen, resulting in a more detailed, immersive gaming experience. On the other hand, the ASUS has a faster refresh rate and better motion handling at 60Hz, making it a better choice for fast-paced games like MOBAs.
The ASUS ROG Strix XG279Q and the ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM offer very similar performance overall. The XG279Q has an optional backlight strobing feature, which can improve the appearance of motion, and it has slightly better ergonomics. The PG279QM, on the other hand, has a slightly faster refresh rate and low input lag. There's also a difference in supported variable refresh rates, as the PG279QM natively supports G-SYNC, resulting in a more visually consistent gaming experience if you have an NVIDIA graphics card.
The Acer Predator XB273U GXbmiipruzx is better for gaming than the ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM. The Acer has a faster response time, resulting in clearer motion with less blur behind fast-moving objects. The Acer has an optional backlight strobing feature, commonly known as black frame insertion, but you can't use it if the variable refresh rate feature is enabled. On the other hand, the ASUS has native hardware support for NVIDIA's G-SYNC technology, ensuring a more visually consistent gaming experience at any refresh rate.
The MSI Optix MAG274QRF-QD and the ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM offer very similar performance, each with strengths and weaknesses. The ASUS is a bit better for HDR, as it has a local dimming feature, and it's a bit brighter in HDR. The MSI has better ergonomics and an optional backlight strobing feature, which can help improve the appearance of motion in some games.
The ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM is better than its predecessor, the ASUS ROG Swift PG279Q. The PG279QM has a much faster response time at 60Hz, and unlike the PG279Q, it supports HDR. The PG279QM also has slightly better text clarity. On the other hand, the PG279Q is a bit more versatile for gaming, as it has an optional backlight strobing feature, which can improve the appearance of motion.
The ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM is a bit better than the ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG259QN overall. The PG279QM has a faster response time at 60Hz, and it has a larger, higher-resolution screen that delivers a more detailed, immersive gaming experience. On the other hand, the PG259QN has an optional backlight strobing feature, which can improve the appearance of motion.
The ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM is slightly better than the ASUS TUF VG27AQ. The PG279QM has a much faster response time, especially at 60Hz, resulting in clearer motion overall. The VG27AQ has an optional backlight strobing feature to improve the appearance of motion, but it still doesn't look as good as the PG279QM. There's also a difference in supported variable refresh rates, as the PG279QM natively supports G-SYNC, resulting in a more visually consistent gaming experience if you have an NVIDIA graphics card.
The ASUS VG279QM is a bit better than the ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM. The VG279QM has an optional backlight strobing feature, commonly known as black frame insertion, designed to improve the appearance of motion. The VG279QM also has much better ergonomics and a faster response time at the max refresh rate. On the other hand, the PG279QM has a higher resolution screen, resulting in better text clarity and a sharper image when gaming or watching videos.
The ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM is a bit better than the Dell Alienware AW2521H. The ASUS has a larger, higher-resolution screen, resulting in a more immersive gaming experience. The ASUS is also better for office use, as the greater screen real estate is better for multitasking. On the other hand, the Dell has a faster refresh rate and better motion handling at the max refresh rate, making it a better choice for fast-paced shooters and MOBAs.
The Gigabyte AORUS FI27Q-X is a bit better than the ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM. The Gigabyte has a much wider vertical viewing angle, ensuring the top and bottom of the screen remain uniform if you're sitting up-close. The Gigabyte has a wider range of extra gaming features, and it has a faster response time. There's also a difference in supported variable refresh rates, as the PG279QM natively supports G-SYNC, resulting in a more visually consistent gaming experience if you have an NVIDIA graphics card.
The Dell S3222DGM and the ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM use different panel technologies, each with strengths and weaknesses, but the ASUS is much better overall. The ASUS has better viewing angles, better ergonomics, and much better colors. The ASUS also supports HDR, and it has much better gradient handling. Finally, the ASUS has better motion handling, with a faster response time and no black smearing behind dark objects.
The ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM and the Dell Alienware AW2524H are both G-SYNC gaming monitors, and choosing one over the other depends on the type of games you play. The ASUS delivers sharper detail thanks to its 1440p resolution, while the Dell is better for gaming at a high frame rate due to its 500Hz refresh rate. The Dell has better motion handling with high-frame-rate signals, but the ASUS is better with low-frame-rate signals.
The ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM has a very gamer-oriented design. The stand is very different from the original ASUS ROG Swift PG279Q, but it's solid and supports the monitor well. It has very thin bezels on three sides, with a ROG logo on the bottom bezel. The gamer aesthetic continues on the back, with lines etched in the back panel and a large ROG logo that doubles as RGB bias-lighting.
The ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM has great build quality. The stand is very sturdy, with metal feet that support the monitor well and don't allow for much wobble. The main body is mainly plastic, and there's a bit of flex in the back panel near the RGB logo, but there are no other noticeable issues with the overall build quality.
The ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM has very good ergonomics. It has a great tilt range, and it can swivel from side to side, so you can turn it to share the screen with someone else. Sadly, the height adjustment is a bit short, which is a bit disappointing, but it's still okay.
The back of the monitor has a gamer design to it, with a futuristic pattern etched across half of the back panel. There's a large ROG logo that doubles as an RGB light. There's a cutout in the stand (closeup) for cable management , and there's an included cover that hides the inputs.
The stand has a large footprint, but it supports the ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM well, allowing for very minimal wobble, even at the maximum height extension. The legs are slim, leaving plenty of space in front of the monitor for small objects.
The ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM has mediocre contrast, so blacks look gray if you're in a dark room. Unfortunately, because the local dimming feature can only illuminate entire columns of light at once, it's ineffective at boosting contrast with the checkerboard test pattern. It's most effective at boosting contrast in scenes with larger dark areas.
The contrast photo shows a reddish tint. This is from an interaction between the backlight and the camera sensor; it's not noticeable in person.
However, if you prefer a 1440p, 240Hz monitor with a near-infinite contrast ratio, then look into the LG 27GR95QE-B, which uses an OLED panel.
Unfortunately, the local dimming feature on the ASUS PG279QM is bad and ineffective at improving dark scene performance. It can only illuminate entire columns of light at once. Any point of light in a column causes the entire column to light up, resulting in terrible blooming with most content. It's especially noticeable in dark scenes with subtitles. In scenes that are dark enough for zones to turn off, it's very effective at reducing black levels, but there's such a huge difference between dark zones and bright zones that it can be very distracting.
There are 32 local dimming zones, which is a bit unexpected, as reviewers with pre-production units reported only 16 zones. As fast-moving objects transition between zones, it can react quickly, but this can be very distracting in dark scenes as zones flicker on and off. The 'Level 3' Variable Backlight setting offers the best performance overall. Zone transitions are a bit slower with the 'Level 2' setting, and there's less flicker overall, but it also raises the black levels in zones that are off.
The ASUS PG279QM has very good peak brightness in SDR. It's extremely close to the advertised peak brightness of 350 cd/m², which is bright enough to overcome glare in bright rooms. There's also very little variation in brightness with different scenes, which is great.
These measurements were taken after calibration, in the 'Racing Mode' Picture Mode, with the backlight at max and Variable Backlight (local dimming) set to 'Level 3'.
The ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM has just decent peak brightness in HDR. It's bright enough that most games stand out a bit, but it's not bright enough to deliver an impactful cinematic experience. Most scenes are displayed at the correct luminance level, which is great, but like most monitors, there's a very sharp cut-off at the monitor's peak luminance. This causes fine details in bright scenes to blend together.
These measurements were taken before calibration, with HDR enabled, Brightness at '100', and Variable Backlight set to 'Level 3'.
The ASUS PG279QM has an impressive horizontal viewing angle. Colors wash out at a moderate angle, but most people won't have any issues viewing this monitor from the side. It's a great choice for co-op gaming or if you have to share your screen with someone sitting beside you.
The ASUS PG279QM has an okay vertical viewing angle. The image appears washed out at moderate angles above or below the display, so it's not ideal for sharing the screen with someone standing next to you, for example.
The ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM has great gray uniformity. The sides of the screen are a bit darker than the center, and there's a bit of dirty screen effect in the center, but it's not very noticeable.
Note: The gray uniformity photos show a reddish tint. This is caused by an interaction between the backlight and the camera sensor; it's not noticeable in person.
Unfortunately, the ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM has disappointing black uniformity. The screen appears cloudy because of the low contrast ratio. Due to the limited number of dimming zones, local dimming results in worse black uniformity, with significant blooming around the test cross.
The ASUS PG279QM has excellent accuracy out of the box. Gamma follows the sRGB curve very closely, but most scenes are slightly darker than they should be. Color accuracy is amazing, with no noticeable issues, and the white balance is very good, but brighter shades of gray are a bit off. Finally, the color temperature is a bit cool, resulting in a slightly bluish tint out of the box.
The ASUS PG279QM has two separate options that allow you to limit the color gamut to the 'sRGB' color space, which is useful if you don't enjoy an over-saturated image. Setting GameVisual to sRGB locks the gamut, but like most monitors, it also severely limits the picture options that you can change, and almost everything is locked. Setting the Display SDR Input setting to 'sRGB' also locks the color gamut to the sRGB color space but leaves all picture settings unlocked. This allows you to fine-tune the picture settings for an accurate hardware calibration, which is wonderful and extremely uncommon. Both sRGB modes achieve roughly the same accuracy out of the box, but 'Racing Mode' with the separate sRGB clamp delivers the best results overall without the usual sRGB mode limitations.
After calibration, the ASUS PG279QM has nearly perfect accuracy. Any remaining issues with the white balance and color accuracy aren't noticeable, and gamma follows the sRGB target curve nearly perfectly. The color temperature is extremely close to the calibration target.
The ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM has an incredible SDR color gamut, with complete coverage of both the sRGB and the Adobe RGB color spaces. It actually exceeds the Adobe RGB color space when sent an Adobe RGB signal, causing reds to appear oversaturated.
The ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM has superb color volume. Thanks to its complete coverage of both the sRGB and Adobe RGB color spaces, it fills out the color volume well at most brightness levels. Due to the low contrast ratio, it can't display dark saturated colors well, but this isn't very noticeable.
The ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM has an amazing HDR color gamut, one of the widest we've ever measured on any display. It has nearly complete coverage of the DCI P3 color space used by most current HDR content. It also has great coverage of the wider Rec. 2020 color space, which is rarely used at the moment, but it's important if you want to future-proof your monitor.
Thanks to the wide HDR color gamut, the ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM has excellent color volume in HDR. It's limited mainly by its incomplete HDR color gamut, as colors are displayed well at most brightness levels. Due to the low contrast ratio, it can't display dark saturated colors very well.
The ASUS PG279QM has good reflection handling. The matte anti-reflective coating helps reduce the intensity of direct reflections but also adds a slightly hazy look.
Note: The reflection photos show a reddish tint. This isn't a calibration artifact, as the monitor has a near-perfect white balance and color temperature after calibration. It's not noticeable in person; it's likely an interaction between the backlight and the camera sensor.
The ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM has an extremely fast refresh rate. Like most monitors, the max refresh rate is only available over DisplayPort, as the HDMI ports are limited to HDMI 2.0 bandwidth. If you want a 1440p monitor with an even higher 360Hz refresh rate, check out the ASUS ROG Swift 360Hz PG27AQN.
The ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM natively supports NVIDIA's G-SYNC variable refresh rate technology, but it's also compatible with FreeSync, ensuring a nearly tear-free gaming experience from almost any source.
Overdrive Setting | Response Time Chart | Response Time Tables | Motion Blur Photo |
Off | Chart | Table | Photo |
Normal | Chart | Table | Photo |
Esports | Chart | Table | Photo |
Extreme | Chart | Table | Photo |
The ASUS PG279QM has an excellent response time at the max refresh rate of 240Hz. The 'Esports' and 'Normal' OD modes deliver the best overall results, with an extremely fast rise/fall time that delivers extremely clear motion, with almost no noticeable blur behind fast-moving objects. The 'Esports' mode is recommended, as it has slightly less overshoot than the 'Normal' mode. These modes show significant overshoot in all transitions, but it's a very short burst, and the monitor falls back quickly, so it's not noticeable as inverse ghosting. The 'Off' setting has no overshoot, but the average transition time is almost twice as long, resulting in more noticeable blur. Like most monitors, the 'Extreme' setting has much more noticeable overshoot, and unlike the lower settings, this is noticeable as a white trail behind fast-moving objects, so it's not recommended.
Note: Due to the overshoot in the 'Esports' and 'Normal' modes, the PG279QM isn't scoring as well as it should, and the 'Off' mode actually scores higher than what we've included here. Visually, 'Esports' and 'Normal' deliver the best response time experience, and either of those modes are recommended as the best for most people, even though they're scoring a bit worse.
Overdrive Setting | Response Time Chart | Response Time Tables | Motion Blur Photo |
Off | Chart | Table | Photo |
Normal | Chart | Table | Photo |
Esports | Chart | Table | Photo |
Extreme | Chart | Table | Photo |
The response time at 120Hz is excellent, with very little blur behind fast-moving objects, and no noticeable overshoot with the recommended 'Off' OD setting. This monitor strangely doubles frames at low refresh rates, but not at 120Hz. Because of this strange behavior, the total 120Hz response time is actually a bit slower than at lower refresh rates. The 'Off' mode delivers better performance at 120Hz than the 'Esports' or 'Normal' modes, both of which have noticeable overshoot. It's not too bad, though, so if you're looking for a "set and forget" mode, either 'Esports' or 'Normal' are still the best choice. As always, the highest 'Extreme' setting has way too much overshoot to be usable.
Overdrive Setting | Response Time Chart | Response Time Tables | Motion Blur Photo |
Off | Chart | Table | Photo |
Normal | Chart | Table | Photo |
Esports | Chart | Table | Photo |
Extreme | Chart | Table | Photo |
The ASUS PG279QM has an exceptional response time when gaming at 60Hz. There's less overshoot at 60Hz than at the max refresh rate; otherwise, the different OD modes behave similarly at any refresh rate, ensuring a visually consistent gaming experience across the entire refresh rate range without having to change the setting.
The response time results at 60Hz are unusually good for a 60Hz display. The monitor is doubling frames when sent a 60Hz signal and is actually refreshing at 120Hz. This frame doubling is invisible to the user and simply results in better response times at 60Hz.
Somewhat surprisingly, the ASUS PG279QM doesn't have an optional backlight strobing feature, commonly known as black frame insertion.
The ASUS PG279QM has fantastic low input lag, ensuring a responsive gaming and desktop experience, with almost no delay between your inputs and the action on-screen. It also supports NVIDIA Reflex Latency Analyzer feature, which can help you measure the latency of your gaming setup. The 60Hz input lag is a bit higher than usual due to the frame doubling issue mentioned in the Response Time @ 60Hz section.
The 1440p resolution provides a detailed gaming experience, but if you prefer sacrificing resolution on something with a higher refresh rate, check out the Dell Alienware AW2524H.
This monitor has decent compatibility with the PS5. Unfortunately, unlike most 1440p monitors, it can't display a downscaled 4k image, likely due to the G-SYNC hardware. There are a few other oddities, though, as HDR doesn't work when gaming at 1080p @ 120Hz on the PS5.
The ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM has good compatibility with the Xbox Series S|X. It supports most common formats, but unlike most 1440p monitors, it can't display a downscaled 4k image. This also means that it doesn't support HDR from the Xbox Series X, as the Xbox only supports HDR with a 4k resolution. Like with the PS5, there are a few oddities. Since 1440p @ 60Hz isn't natively supported from the Xbox Series X, you have to manually enable it from the Xbox.
Very surprisingly, the ASUS PG279QM has three HDMI inputs, but sadly, they're all limited to HDMI 2.0 bandwidth.
The ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM has a built-in USB hub, but no USB-C connectivity.
The ASUS ROG Swift PG279QM has a few additional features available. Some of them include: