ASUS TUF Gaming VG27AQL1A Monitor Review

The ASUS VG27AQL1A is well-built, with a sleek and modern design. It looks different than its predecessor, the ASUS TUF VG27AQ, as it has a new stand and thin bezels on three sides. Even though it has a gamer-oriented style, it should fit well into any office setup.

The V-shaped stand is different than the square-based stand found on previous ASUS monitors. It has a wide footprint, but you can easily place things in front, like a keyboard or mouse. It supports the monitor well and there's no wobble.

The ergonomics are great, so you shouldn't have any trouble placing it in an ideal viewing position. However, it's a bit of a downgrade from the ASUS TUF VG27AQ because the swivel range isn't as wide.

The back of the ASUS VG27AQL1A has some etched designs, giving it a gamer-friendly aesthetic. Cable management is serviced through the stand. Sadly, there's no quick-release button to easily take off the stand.

The borders are thin and aren't distracting.

The screen itself is thin, but the stand is thicker and takes up a fair amount of space.

The ASUS VG27AQL1A has a good build quality. The entire monitor is made of solid plastic and there aren't any obvious issues. The stand supports the monitor well and there's no wobble.

Update 10/14/2020: We previously stated this monitor doesn't have a local dimming feature. We corrected the mistake and updated the review.

The ASUS VG27AQL1A has a low contrast ratio, which is expected from an IPS panel, and the local dimming only slightly improves it. Blacks appear closer to gray when viewed in dark rooms. Note that contrast may vary between units. If you prefer something similar with a VA panel and better contrast, then check out the ASUS TUF Gaming VG27WQ1B.

Update 10/15/2020: We previously stated this monitor doesn't have a local dimming feature. We corrected the mistake and updated the review.

This monitor has a terrible edge-lit local dimming feature. There are four dimming zones that only slightly improve contrast. Zone transitions are slow and visible, and the local dimming doesn't improve the picture quality in HDR. The setting to control it is called Dynamic Dimming and it can't be used with the Black Frame Insertion feature. It automatically turns on in HDR.

Update 10/15/2020: We previously stated this monitor doesn't have a local dimming feature. We retested SDR peak brightness with local dimming, but it didn't change the results.

The SDR peak brightness is good. It gets bright enough to combat glare, and it's very similar to the ASUS TUF VG27AQ, except small areas aren't as bright.

We measured peak brightness after calibration in the 'Racing' Picture Mode. If you want a slightly brighter image, we reached 339 cd/m² before calibration.

The ASUS TUF VG27AQL1A has decent peak brightness in HDR. It's a nice improvement over the ASUS VG27AQ, and it meets its DisplayHDR 400 standards. It makes some highlights stand out the way the content creator intended. We used the 'HDR Gaming' Picture Mode as it's brighter than 'HDR Cinema', which has a peak brightness of 455 cd/m².

Like most IPS panels, the ASUS TUF Gaming VG27AQL1A has a great horizontal viewing angle. The image remains accurate when viewing from the side.

The vertical viewing angle is okay. The image remains fairly accurate if you mount it above eye-level, but you may notice a loss in color or brightness.

Excellent gray uniformity. There's no dirty screen effect and even though the edges are slightly darker, it shouldn't be too distracting. Uniformity is even better in near-dark scenes. Note that gray uniformity may vary between units.

Update 10/15/2020: We previously stated this monitor doesn't have a local dimming feature. We corrected the mistake and updated the review.

Our unit of the ASUS TUF VG27AQL1A has disappointing black uniformity, but this may vary between units. There's significant clouding throughout, and backlight bleed near the top and bottom right corners. The uniformity is worse with local dimming enabled because there's more blooming around the center cross as large zones are turned on.

The ASUS TUF Gaming VG27AQL1A has poor out-of-the-box accuracy, even worse than the ASUS TUF VG27AQ, but this may vary between units. Most colors are inaccurate and white balance is very off. The color temperature is warm, giving the image a yellow/red tint. Gamma doesn't follow the target curve well either, as dark scenes are too dark and bright scenes are too bright. There's an sRGB mode available, but it results in a slightly worse color and white balance dE.

The accuracy is outstanding after calibration. All white balance and color inaccuracies are corrected, and the color temperature is extremely close to the 6500K target. Gamma follows the target curve better overall, but some scenes are still over-brightened.

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.

Update 10/14/2020: We previously stated this monitor doesn't have a local dimming feature. We retested SDR color gamut with local dimming, but it didn't change the results.

The ASUS VG27AQL1A has an outstanding color gamut. It has perfect coverage of the sRGB color space used in most web content, and impressive coverage of the Adobe RGB color space used in photo editing.

Update 10/15/2020: We previously stated this monitor doesn't have a local dimming feature. We retested SDR color volume with local dimming, but it didn't change the results.

The ASUS TUF Gaming VG27AQL1A has remarkable color volume. It displays a wide range of colors at different luminance levels, but it has trouble displaying dark, saturated colors well due to the low contrast ratio.

The ASUS TUF Gaming VG27AQL1A displays a good, wide color gamut for HDR content. It has excellent coverage of the commonly-used DCI P3 color space, but its coverage of the wider Rec. 2020 is a bit limited.

Note: The DCI P3 coverage is much lower than the advertised 95% coverage. This is normal and is due to the way we measure DCI P3. We measure DCI P3 by sending a Rec. 2020 signal, but unlike most reviewers, we limit the colors we're sending to the DCI P3 primaries. This results in a lower, but arguably more accurate measurement.

The ASUS VG27AQL1A has a great HDR color volume. It displays a wide range of colors due to its wide color gamut; however, it can't display dark colors well because it has a low contrast ratio.

The ASUS VG27AQL1A has no signs of temporary image retention, but this may vary between units.

The ASUS TUF VG27AQL1A has incredible gradient handling. You shouldn't notice any banding, and it's an improvement over the ASUS TUF VG27AQ because it has a 10-bit panel, as opposed to an 8-bit panel on the older model.

There are some signs of vertical color bleed. Although it's not ideal for photo editing, you shouldn't notice it with most content.

The ASUS TUF VG27AQL1A has good reflection handling. It shouldn't be a problem in a moderately-lit environment, but if you place it opposite a window with direct sunlight, the reflections may become too distracting.

The ASUS VG27AQL1A has decent text clarity. It can be improved by enabling ClearType (top photo). This helps the appearance of the diagonal and curved lines as seen on the letters R, N, G, and S.

The ASUS VG27AQL1A has excellent response time at its max refresh rate of 170Hz. The recommended overdrive setting is '60', which results in smooth motion. It has overshoot in some transitions, and if that bothers you, you can set it to '40', which has a slightly slower total response time, but less overshoot.

The response time at 60Hz is good, and it's an improvement over the ASUS TUF VG27AQ. Unlike at its max refresh rate, the recommended overdrive setting is '20', so you may have to change the setting if the frame rate of your game drops. It has a quicker response time than the '0' setting, and there's a lot less overshoot than the higher settings.

The ASUS TUF VG27AQL1A has a flicker-free backlight, which helps reduce eye strain.

There's an optional Black Frame Insertion feature to reduce motion blur. It's called ELMB Sync, and it works with VRR enabled, which is rare for monitors. However, its BFI range is a lot more limited than the ASUS TUF VG27AQ.

The ASUS TUF VG27AQL1A has an incredible refresh rate with native FreeSync support. The native 144Hz refresh rate can be overclocked to 170Hz if you're using a DisplayPort connection. G-SYNC compatibility only works over DisplayPort.