A decent gaming monitor is more important than ever, with more and more computers capable of high frames at high resolutions a good 4K monitor can make all the difference. The ASUS TUF VG28U is indeed a 4K monitor with a refresh rate of 144Hz and packed with all the quality of life features you can poke a stick at, but how does it stack up? And more importantly, is it worth the price tag? Keep reading to find out.
Pros: | Cons: |
|---|---|
4K Resolution | Screen flickering |
HDMI 2.1 & DP1.4 | Average on board audio |
Nice build quality | ​ |
Easy assembly | ​ |
Good in game HDR | ​ |
Adaptive Sync and ELMB Sync are awesome | ​ |
Here's what the ASUS VG28U is capable of according to ASUS themselves:
As you can see the VG28U is an IPS panel with a very impressive 1ms GTG response. It has a refresh rate of 144Hz and houses 2x HDMI 2.1 inputs as well as a HDMI 2.0 and a DP 1.4 with DSC. Oh and it's both G-Sync and FreeSync Certified. It has a 1000:1 contrast ratio and supports HDR10 and DisplayHDR400. Impressive right?
Out of the box this thing straight away hits you as being true to its brand name…… TUF, everything about it screams TUF, from the chonky base to the somehow sleek yet harsh lines, there's not a thing about this monitor that doesn't infact live up to its TUF moniker. Assembly itself was super easy and actually consisted of only 1 screw which was able to be done by hand and within less than 3 minutes I went from not having opened the box to having the monitor plugged in and ready to go. The monitor itself houses 4 buttons and a joystick for scrolling through the menus. Which contains a bunch of settings and ‘game enhancements’ etc. One thing I will point out is that out of the box, the picture quality of the TUF VG28U was less than impressive especially for SDR content. The whole thing looks kinda meh and a bit off. But after some tinkering and calibration I was able to get it looking pretty damn good.
I'm not a monitor expert with the equipment to test the specifics blah blah blah. What I am is a gamer, which I am assuming you are too, so I can only give you my personal opinion of all the products I review. And well the ASUS TUF VG28U for me has been a game changer. The combination of 144Hz refresh rate and 4K resolution has absolutely transformed the way I play PC games. It helps of course that I am gaming on an Allied Patriot capable of giving me 144Hz 4K on just about everything I play, but honestly. You truly can't beat 4K 144Hz or above.
Like I said, I am no expert, but after that initial calibration the TUF VG28U looks great, the colours look super accurate, the contrast between light and dark is vast and whether using it for normal desktop use or gaming, the thing barely misses a trick, I said barely for a reason though. I don't know the exact terminology for this but there's one thing that really annoys me. As I move the cursor around on my PC the monitor sort of dims the area around my cursor, I don't know why, or how to stop it as I've tinkered with settings and it persists. I am sure its something quite simple, but I am yet to come across it.
Now I have been using the VG28U with my Allied Patriot-A which is capable of high frame rates with all the bells and whistles and let me tell you, everything looks absolutely incredible with all in game settings on max and all the enhancements the monitor has at 144FPS 4K it comes close to giving my 120FPS LGC1 OLED a run for its money. The only winning factor for the C1 being that OLED technology.
The VG28U comes complete with features such as Adaptive Sync and ELMB which are awesome, if you don't know what they are let me include a little explanation of each below:
Adaptive Sync:
Adaptive Sync is The dynamic adjusting of a monitor's vertical refresh rate to the frame rate of the graphics card (GPU). Adaptive sync eliminates tearing, stuttering and judder and was developed for the video gaming industry. In order to be advertised as a gaming monitor today, it must support a variable and adjustable refresh rate. See tearing, vertical sync and judder.
Credit - PCMag
ELMB:
ELMB Sync , ASUS Extreme Low Motion Blur Sync are ASUS's exclusive blur removal technology, which can be activated simultaneously with G-Sync, AMD FreeSync or Adaptive-Sync to make the game screen smoother and further eliminate tearing, stuttering, and afterimages. In order to effectively solve the problem of motion blur in the screen synchronization technology used by general monitors, ASUS gaming monitors have adopted the advanced blur removal technology called "Extreme Low Motion Blur Sync" (ELMB-SYNC). Through the fast strobing of the LED backlight panel, combined with the "Adaptive-Sync" refresh rate synchronization technology to work together, gamers can enjoy clearer and smoother game scene movement. ELMB sync is a technology that can be used at a dynamic frame rate. It is recommended to use a frequency higher than 120Hz, but it cannot be used at the same time as HDR.
Credit - ASUS
Both of these features as you can imagine make a huge difference to your gaming compared to monitors without them. It leads to motion being silky smooth and really increases the level of immersion in games as well as giving you an edge over your opponents thanks to how smooth the motion is.
The in-built audio for the ASUS TUF VG28U is ok, not amazing, but usable for general consumption. However, if you're looking to use this audio for gaming, I wouldn't. I'd invest in a good headset or speaker system. Like the JBL Quantum DUO. The on board sound is quite flat and lifeless but is ok for light Youtube media etc.
Overall the VG28U is an excellent monitor, it looks great and the combination of 4K resolution and 144hz as well as the dual HDMI 2.1 put it in pretty rare air in terms of competition there's not a massive amount of monitors that offer all 3 so it's good to see. Once calibrated, the image quality is excellent and really makes a big difference. If you want 4K and high refresh rates then definitely look into the VG28U, you won't be disappointed.
