ASUS has announced three new gaming monitors under their ROG Strix and TUF Gaming lineups: the ROG Strix XG27UCG Gen2 (or XG27UCGR), the XG27UCS Gen2 (or XG27UCSR), as well as the TUF Gaming VG27UQEL5A.
Despite the complicated naming schemes, all three monitors have pretty similar displays – a 27-inch, 4K IPS panel with a 0.3ms response time. Where they differ is in the Dual Mode refresh rate options they provide.
Dual Mode has been a part of ASUS’s display offerings for a while now, but in case you’re wondering, it boosts the default refresh rate of the monitor while shifting down the resolution, allowing you two different resolution / framerate options which you can swap between depending on what you’re using your monitor for.
These are the resolution and framerate options that all three monitors support:
|
ROG Strix XG27UCGR |
4K@162Hz / FHD@485Hz |
|
ROG Strix XG27UCSR |
4K@160Hz / FHD@324Hz |
|
TUF Gaming VG27UQEL5A |
4K@80Hz / FHD@310Hz |
You can find ASUS’s Smart Pixel 4K upscaler on all three of the new monitors.
Image: ASUS
All three monitors also support ASUS’s Smart Pixel technology, or what is essentially a 4K upscaler. Typical brightness for all three monitors are also similar, ranging from 350 to 400 nits. All three monitors support HDR, with the ROG Strix monitors rated to reach a peak brightness of 500 nits through HDR.
That the ROG displays provide a bit more luxury is a running theme. Chief among them are the 10-bit colour depth, with the ability to display over a billion colours, as well as connectivity options; both the XG27UCGR and XG27UCSR have USB-C ports which support DP Alt Mode and 15W Power Delivery, alongside the HDMI 2.1 FRL, DP 1.4 and headphone jack ports.
The TUF Gaming VG27UQEL5A is the more economic option between the three new monitors, but it’s no slouch either.
Image: ASUS
The VG27UQEL5A, by contrast, does have USB-C but only as a service port; it can’t be used as a display-in port, so you’ll have to settle for ‘only’ two HDMI 2.0 ports (which is fair given the 4K@80Hz refresh rate) and DP 1.4 port. What is does have over the Strix monitors, though, is ELMB Sync, which ASUS states will get rid of smearing and blur when objects on the screen are in motion.
Pricing and Availability
The ASUS ROG Strix XG27UCGR, XG27UCSR and TUF Gaming VG27UQEL5A are available now, though it appears you can’t get it through ASUS’s first-party channels yet. The ROG Strix monitors are priced at S$649 and S$449 respectively.
As for the TUF Gaming monitor, the price-for-features ratio is a little bit more tantalising. It will go for S$339; a sub-$400 price that’ll net you a 4K resolution or a refresh rate over 300Hz at 1080p. It’s a shame that the VG27UQEL5A couldn’t reach 4K@120Hz, but the flexibility that Dual Mode offers (and that price) could make up for it. In any case, the VG27UQEL5A may prove to be the more popular option amongst more budget-minded consumers.
