Event Coverage

HWM+HardwareZone.com Tech Awards 2017: Editor's Choice - Part 2

By Team HardwareZone - 14 Mar 2017

Best Gaming Monitor

Best Gaming Monitor

For most if not all PC gamers, the most important component combination is the graphics card and the gaming monitor that we choose to play our games on. One of the great things about gaming monitors is that, unlike graphics cards where their life span is usually a few years, a good display can keep you going for the better part of a decade. With such a long lifespan, it pays to get something you’ll be happy with for years to come.

As with all PC technologies, gaming monitors have evolved tremendously over the past couple of years. Where TN panels used to be the preferred choice over IPS panels by gamers due to its higher response rate and refresh times, the latter has gotten better in recent years. IPS panels now not only give better color production and superior viewing angles than TN’s, but have also become speedier with its response rates and refresh times.

This this year's Tech Awards, all our gaming monitor finalists, have similar specifications. They are all 27 inches in size, have a response time of 4ms or less, at least a 144Hz refresh rate, have IPS panels (except for one with a TN panel) and support 2,560 x 1,440-pixel resolution. The monitors were then judged on performance, features, and value to determine the winner.

 

Nominees:

  • Acer Predator XB271HU
  • AOC AGON 271QG
  • ASUS ROG Swift PG279Q
  • BenQ Zowie XL2735
  • ViewSonic XG2703-GS

 

And the winner is...

ASUS ROG Swift PG279Q

The ASUS ROG Swift PG279Q gets the edge over its competitors thanks to a combination of color superiority, build quality and an easy-to-use menu system. Thanks to that IPS screen, colors look great even from off-angles. The base is sturdy (and allows for lots of tilting, pivoting, and height adjustments) and the bezel is fairly thin, which is nice for a 27-inch monitor that’s already taking up a good deal of space.

The biggest drawback to such a fine monitor, of course, is the price. It is not the most expensive monitor in our shootout, but S$1,369 is still a hefty investment nonetheless. But having said that, we consider a monitor a long-term investment. We recommend buying a great monitor that will still be going strong half a decade from now. So while there are other notable gaming monitors similar to ASUS’ offering, it is our opinion that the ASUS ROG Swift PG279Q is the best gaming monitor you can buy right now.

Scoring Breakdown
Model/ Criteria Acer Predator XB271HU AOC AGON 271QG ASUS ROG Swift PG279Q BenQ Zowie XL2735 ViewSonic XG2703-GS
Design 9.0 8.0 9.5 9.0 7.5
Features 8.0 8.0 8.0 8.5 8.0
Performance 8.5 8.5 9.5 9.0 7.5
Value 9.0 7.5 8.5 8.0 7.5
Overall 8.5 8.0 9.0 8.5 7.5
Price S$1,199 S$1,398 S$1,369 S$1,049 S$1,399

*Note: Prices and ratings listed are accurate at the time of individual product evaluation.

For more details on how we selected our winners, check out the full reviews and articles listed at the References section at the end.

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