LABS TEST / HDR MONITORS
W
henweoriginallyreviewedthe
PG27UQ,welamentedits
relativelymodestscreensize
forthe price and felt its 4K resolution
unnecessary. Enter the PG35VQ, which
corrects both those problems, although it
adds a couple of its own.
Most obviously, there’s the even higher
price. You can buy a 55in OLED TV for
watching all that HDR video and a 34in
ultrawide monitor for your PC and still
have change left over for a few games,
peripherals or whatever else you might
spend £500 on. FALD backlights are
expensive to produce, and the likes of this
display make that abundantly clear.
You get a total of 512 (32 x 16) backlights
behind this LCD display that combine to
create a truly dazzling HDR display. If you’ve
never experienced a display that’s capable of
really good HDR production, it’s quite a shock
to see just how much more lifelike images
can be. You almost have to adjust your brain
to take in what you’ve been missing out on all
this time.
This sensation is also down to the
extended colour range that HDR provides,
and sure enough, the PG35VQ covers this
ASUS ROG SWIFT
PG35VQ /£2,600 inc VAT
SUPPLIER amazon.co.ukwith ease. You also get proper separate sRGB
and HDR colour modes, so you can use the
PG35VQ for sRGB content creation. As with
the PG27UQ, you can also turn the variable
backlight on and off manually, allowing
you to play around with the extra contrast it
provides even on non-HDR content – using
the variable backlight in non-HDR games can
really elevate the experience.
We’re also incredibly glad to see the
PG35VQ sport a 3,440 x 1,440 resolution,
as is standard for this size of display, rather
than anything higher. This means you don’t
have to mess around with windows scaling,
plus you can run games at higher frame
rates than with 4K displays, when gaming at
native resolution.
There’s one fly in the ointment though: this
display uses a VA-type LCD panel instead of
IPS. Not only do we prefer the overall image
quality of IPS (especially for work and other
desktop use) but we find it’s a better option
for gaming too. Despite a whopping 200Hz
refresh rate, this display doesn’t feel as
clear and responsive as similarly speedy IPS
displays, thanks to its slower pixel response
time. It seems a strange choice too, as
the main advantage of VA is better native
contrast, but with a variable backlight, you
don’t need to worry about native contrast.
Elsewhere, the PG35VQ delivers all the
premium touches you’d expect such as a
stylish metal base, two external lighting
zones, G-Sync and a USB hub. It weighs a
hefty 13.6kg though – you’ll need a sturdy
desk for this one.Conclusion
This huge, dazzling display is arguably the finest
monitor money can currently buy, and you’d
hope so given its eye-watering price. However,
it’s still not quite perfect, thanks to the sluggish
pixel response of its VA panel. It’s a very good
HDR monitor, but not quite perfection.SPEC
Screen size 35in
Resolution 3,440 x 1,440
Panel technology VA
Maximum refresh rate 200Hz
Response time 4ms
Contrast 2,500:1
Display inputs 1 x DisplayPort 1.4, 1 x HDMI 1.4
Audio 3.5mm audio out (no volume control)
Stand adjustment Height, rotation, tilt
Extras G-Sync, 512-zone FALD backlight,
several external lights, USB hub
HDR standard DisplayHDR 1000VERDICT
You need to provide perfection to justify a
price as high as this and the PG35VQ gets
very close, but doesn’t quite hit the mark.
GAMERS
+StunningHDRvisuals
+Fantasticgaming
performance
+Huge screen is great
for everything
REPUBLICANS- We prefer IPS for
desktopwork - Not ideal for colour-
criticalwork - Mind-bogglingly
expensive
IMAGE QUALITY
28 / 30
FEATURES
18 / 20GAMING
26 / 30
VALUE
8 / 20OVERALLSCORE
80 %%