ASUS PG279QM vs XG27AQM

[Ch0b0]

I've been looking into both of these monitors, and I keep going back and forth over which I'd prefer. At this point I might just end up ordering both and return the one I don't like, but I'd rather avoid doing that. I'm wondering if anyone has some personal experience or advanced knowledge of these monitors.

It looks like the PG279QM has:

• Native GSYNC module
• Better out of the box color calibration

And the XG27AQM has:

• 270hz OC
• ELMB Sync

I *think* they use the same underlying panel. So the issue looks to come down to GSYNC vs ELMB sync. I've heard that native GSYNC is better eliminating micro stuttering and provides variable overdrive. I'm not sure if those two things produce differences that are noticeable to the naked eye. I've only had native GSYNC monitors since the kit first came out years ago, so I'm not sure what it'll be like switching off it.

I do love motion blur reduction when it works, but it's often not bright enough for me and sometimes produces a jittering effect which drive me nuts when it happens (I do try to keep FPS == HZ). I'm running a 3090 so I can maintain high FPS in most games.

The games I play tend to be FPS, but I do play RPGs. For example:

• Warzone
• Apex Legends
• Diablo 2 Resurrected
• Wasteland 3

[milojr21]

I would probably get XG27AQM for the lowest input lag and best overdrive setting unless you absolutely needed gsync. From my understanding from the 390hz acer, is it doesn't have a gsync chip like all the other monitors of its class, so it's not bound by nvidia overdrive settings. So acer can tweak it accordingly, and it seems to be the best out of all them. I'm assuming it's the same thing with asus. Hopefully rtings can test both at one point.

[jimbus80]

Oh, it would be nice if you could get both, try them together and share your experience (not numbers but pure gaming experience) with us, because many have also the same doubt as yours (very interested in fluidity and smoothness).

[Ch0b0]

I decided to order the ASUS XG27AQM since I found it in stock, but I still have the PG279QM on preorder. I can only afford to keep one. If I like the XG27AQM enough I will keep it and cancel my preorder and save myself $200.

I will be comparing it to my Viewsonic XG270QG and Alienware AW2521H setup. I'll report back on my experience when it arrives, but if anyone has more knowledge of the fine differences between these monitors feel free to fill us in.

[nightside]

I can't decide between which one either. I plan on playing new world, and playing a musket requiring really good aiming. But the fps in the game isn't the best optimized, probly 80-140 FPS. Should i use the G sync process monitor or just get the non G synch monitor with a faster response rate?>

[CheekiWeeb]

I am in the same boat as everyone here but, I preordered the XG since it is available to buy on amazon. I will probably also grab the PG if it comes in stock before the XG.

I mainly play FPS games (valorant, apex, COD, BF)
I also like playing story driven games (red dead 2, Witcher 3, cyberpunk)

I think the question everyone needs to ask right now is what feature you will miss more?

1. "dynamic overdrive" from the g-sync module if you play demanding titles and you get low FPS (go for PG)
or
2. the ability for strobing/ELMB for fast motion FPS games (go for XG).

[Ch0b0]

My XG27AQM came in today. I played some games with ELMB Sync on. It works pretty well at the higher refresh rates. ELMB doesn't look that great down at 120hz on the UFO test, but 270hz and in game it looked fine. I wish it were brighter for daytime usage, but that's the typical downside. G-Sync pendulum test looked fine in the G-Sync compatible mode.

I played a little Warzone and Quake. I don't think I can go back to my AW2521H for those games now! The extra pixels really help in a game like Warzone with targets farther away. The extended color range over the AW2521H also helps in the competitive sense as the FPS mode is extremely vibrant. I was going to sell the Alienware for the Acer 390hz, but now I'm seriously considering just not replacing my 1080p screen.

Unfortunately none of this answers how it compares to the PG279QM, but I'm really close to cancelling my preorder as I don't think the difference is going to be worth $200 in addition to losing EMLB. Especially now that I've experienced it.

[Discorz]

Now imagine you bought PG279QM and it doesn't have ELMB/SYNC at all. And its more expensive lol.
I think you made a good choice (I'd personally keep AW2521H). The difference between those two should be very small. Probably colors and overdrive is a bit better but that is definitely not worth extra $200, also Swift branding instead of Strix costs extra. There are more downsides with G-SYNC module than with regular freesync/adaptive-sync/g-sc.

There are more overdrive levels hidden in factory osd if u want to improve ELMB and ELMB-SYNC. Read more here.

[CheekiWeeb]

I just received the XG27AQM today from amazon.

For my FPS/Competitive games: (I tried Valorant, Apex, COD: BO, and SC2)
ELMB/strobing is overall great in motion blur reduction with the con of lowering the brightness (I was spoiled by dyac+ when I had the xl2646k but returned it because of TN color and 1080p not 1440p).
The ELMB's brightness reduction was low for me at first but I got adapted to it when I played without my window blinds open. Using the shadow boost also helps here for certain games which are too dark with the ELMB dimming.
The OC works great and I get 270 Hz without any problems.
I did not notice any flickering that some users have reported and I can run the panel at 10-bit color with Nvidia control panel.

For single player games: (I tried: Red Dead 2, Witcher 3, and Control)
G-sync compatible works fine here and I changed the OD to 3 to get the biggest range for VRR without getting too much overshoot (around 120-270hz).
For ELMB-sync (G-sync + ELMB) you initially get locked out of the OD settings. However, you can bypass this lock with the service menu (unfortunately the OD needs to be reinput into the service menu every time you restart your monitor). Please check liquidshadowfox's detailed guide on this thread (he gives also a detailed list of what OD settings to use dependent on how many Hz you get from VRR matching with what frames you get): viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8826&start=50

Other:
The sRGB mode initially locks you out of changing the brightness. A XG27AQM owner told me you can change the brightness while sRGB is enabled via the service menu which saves after you input your desired brightness. This fix has solved that issue for me.
The colors of the monitor are wide gamut which is fine for me as I came from an LG 27GL850-B. (felt like I didn't even change monitors color-wise)
My unit came with your typical IPS glow and no dead pixels.

Concluding thoughts:
I will be keeping the XG27AQM as my main monitor and have cancelled my pre-order for the PG279QM.
I feel the XG27AQM provides a high refresh rate (270 Hz OCed) with great motion blur handling and with the 1440p for my needs of competitive FPS gaming and mixture of single player games. Not mention it is also 200 USD cheaper!
I have not tried the PG279QM yet but I feel missing ELMB/strobing will be more of a feature loss for me than the g-sync module's dynamic overdrive which I myself can tune with the OD menu and the service menu (if I have ELMB enabled with g-sync aka ELMB-sync).
Overall, if you just want out of the best monitor experience without the need to tweak settings go for the PG but if you are more of an FPS competitive player (270hz + ELMB) who also loves single player games that do not mind setting tweaks go for the XG.

I hope this helps anyone in the same predicament.

[Ch0b0]

I just noticed that the side of the box states that the XG27AQM has variable overdrive. Not sure how to verify that, but if it's not false advertising then that's one less advantage of the PG279QM.