With more graphics cards and games supporting 4K, there has never been a better time to get a 4K monitor – here is our review of the Asus PB277Q 4K one.
The ASUS PB287Q True 4K ultra-high definition (4K UHD) monitor, featuring a 16:9 aspect ratio WLED display that delivers next-generation 4K UHD visuals, with resolution up to 3840 by 2160. With a pixel density of 157 pixels-per-inch (PPI), the PB287Q provides over 8 million pixels, four times the pixel density of standard Full HD displays for astonishingly detailed visuals – allowing you to experience more onscreen real estate and stunning image clarity that have to be seen to be believed. The PB287Q also delivers an impressive 1ms GTG fast response time and a 60Hz refresh rate for ultra-smooth gameplay.
Specifications
What’s in the Box?
The box contains the monitor, base, power cables, manuals, audio cable, an HDMI cable and a DisplayPort cable.
A Closer Look
The stand is already attached to the monitor, although you can remove it if you wish to wall mount it.
The base is very sturdy and easily attaches to the monitor.
Like so.
Using the PB287Q Monitor
The power and the other connectors are at the rear of the monitor behind a removable plastic strip. I found it easier to rotate the screen itself to fit the cables I wanted to use.
I connected the monitor via DisplayPort to my Windows 8.1 PC which has a GeForce GTX 680 graphics card in it. Windows and the GeForce software immediately picked up the monitor, however I noticed that it was only offering me a refresh rate of 29 or 30Hz even though DisplayPort should give me up to 60Hz (if you are using HDMI then 30Hz is your maximum).
A quick bit of checking revealed that the monitors DisplayPort Stream setting was on DP 1.1. When I changed that to DP 1.2 60Hz was selectable.
The menu system on the monitor is very easy to use and includes various modes and other settings.
Final Thoughts
The monitor comes packaged in its box very securely and only took a few moments to put together. I liked that the only thing I had to do was fit the stand and hand twist a screw! Once attached it felt very sturdy and secure.
One of the things that drew me to this monitor was the 3 possible connections – 2 HDMI (one of which being MHL) and a DisplayPort connector. For those people with multiple devices they would like to connect to the monitor having more than a single port makes it very useful, and tidy to just everything connected and use an input selector to switch between whatever is connected. And the inclusion of PIP is also very useful, so well done Asus on that front. The ports are fairly easy to access, just pop away the plastic covering and that’s it – although as I mentioned I found it easier to rotate the screen to fit the cables.
All of the on-screen menu options and functions are accessibly via a series of buttons located on the rear of the monitor. They are easy to use although it takes a little getting used to. The menu selections appear quickly so its easy to select what you want.
You can adjust the height of the monitor on stand with very little effort – I found that monitor was at the perfect height for my desk by just extending it all the way up. The viewing angles are great as well, you can choose between –5 degress and 20 degrees. If you need anything different to the viewing angle or the height you could always mount the monitor. You can also pivot the monitor so that it’s vertical if that’s your preference.
The monitor has a number of different modes that include all the things you would expect to find such as brightness, contrast, saturation, sharpness, etc, but there is also a mode called Splendid, which enables you to choose a setting for the monitor depending on what you are viewing. For example, there is a Game Mode for the gamers out there, and even a Standard Mode if you are just doing things like emails and word processing. The best thing to suggest is to try each of these modes and see which suits both your environment and whatever it is you are displaying. All of the modes work very well and I found myself swapping between them more than I thought I would.
Playing 4K games on the monitor, or displaying 4K video content was superb – the quality and clarity is striking, and going back to non-4K you can really see the difference. The very low input lag is a very important feature if you are wanting this for gaming.
The monitor also has in-built speakers, which get the job done, but don’t expect anything superb from them though. There is also a headphone socket to for connecting up your headphones if you dont want to use the speakers. Personally I stayed with my existing speaker setup but it was a useful addition though.
Overall I was really impressed with the PB287Q and can highly recommend it as a great monitor to jump into 4K with, especially if you want to do 4K gaming!
The Asus PB287Q 4K Monitor is available now from Ebuyer for £449.99.
