ASUS VG27AQL1A 170Hz WQHD IPS model
As an Amazon Associate and Newegg Affiliate I earn from qualifying purchases made using the “Buy” button at the bottom of this post. Where possible, you'll be redirected to your nearest store. Further information on supporting our work.The marriage of high refresh rate and high resolution is very attractive to many, with IPS-type panels often being particularly appealing for their colour performance and respectable responsiveness. The ASUS VG27AQL1A (a long model designation – Philips would be proud) continues the company’s expansion of their TUF Gaming series. The monitor has a robust look, with chunky matte black plastic stand base, neck and bottom bezel. The top and side bezels are sleeker, with a fairly slender panel border that’s flush with the rest of the screen. Plus a slim hard plastic outer component. The OSD (On Screen Display) is controlled by the a joystick and buttons at the rear of the screen, towards the right side as viewed from in front. This arrangement is common for models in this series and is one most find quite intuitive to use. If preferred,’DisplayWidget Lite’ software can be used to control it.
A 27″ 2560 x 1440 (WQHD) IPS-type (In-Plane Switching or similar) panel is used, with light matte anti-glare screen surface, 1000:1 static contrast and 178° horizontal and vertical viewing angles. More specifically a variant of the Innolux M270KCJ—K7B. A 170Hz refresh rate is supported via factory overclock, alongside Adaptive-Sync – this includes Nvidia’s ‘G-SYNC Compatible Mode’ and AMD FreeSync, with a variable refresh rate range of 48 – 170Hz (plus LFC). 10-bit colour is supported and a flicker-free backlight is employed, delivering 95% DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage and a 400 cd/m² typical maximum luminance. This is a significantly wider colour gamut and a slight maximum luminance boost compared to the VG27AQ. The monitor is VESA DisplayHDR 400 certified, allowing it to respond to HDR10 content and put its colour gamut and brightness to good use. This very basic HDR level does not include any support for local dimming to enhance contrast or a particularly high luminance by HDR standards, however.
LBL (Low Blue Light) settings are also included for a more relaxing viewing experience whilst a ‘Shadow Boost’ setting is included to allow for enhanced visibility in dark areas of the image. The monitor has a 1ms MPRT response time, specified using its ELMB (Enhanced Low Motion Blur) strobe backlight technology. The monitor also supports ELMB Sync, meaning that ELMB can used at the same time as Adaptive-Sync. The included stand offers full ergonomic adjustment and can be removed to reveal 100 x 100mm VESA holes for alternative mounting. The ports face downwards and include; DC power input (external ‘power brick’), 2 HDMI 2.0 ports, DP 1.2a+ (HDR feature set), 2 USB 3.0 ports and a 3.5mm headphone jack. 2 x 2W speakers are included for basic sound output.
Further information is available on the manufacturer’s website. The monitor is listed for ~$550 USD.
