The Design Story: ROG Swift PG278Q

We asked the ROG Product Manager behind the Swift PG278Q, what went into designing the Swift PG278Q?

"Well, firstly we have to evaluate customers’ needs and wants for a premium gaming monitor. It's not the first ASUS gaming monitor – we've previously made fast gaming monitors such as the VG248QE, and 3D monitors like the VG278H, so we had some foundation R&D in 144Hz and Nvidia Stereoscopic 3D panels, but still, we have to dig deeper on every new product.

We evaluated forum, media, customer review, talked to PC gamers at events and to eSports teams for feedback. We found many wished to have a monitor that comes with a higher resolution than Full HD that was fast enough to reduce or eliminate blur, yet with good color reproduction.

Before G-Sync, gamers usually tried to solve the problem of display smoothness by turning the V-Sync, but by combining Nvidia's G-Sync with 144Hz / 1ms response technology, gamers can get minimum blur and zero screen tearing together. Asus and Nvidia have long worked together on G-Sync technology, from the original modifications to the VG248QE last year.

After showing Nvidia our customer evidence that gamers wanted greater than Full HD monitors, we have worked closely with NVIDIA to make sure the G-SYNC technology would perform well on a WQHD ROG monitor.

To push above Full HD we went to WQHD (2560 x 1440) resolution at 144Hz. That LCD panel had to be specifically sourced and developed as it did not exit prior to the Swift PG278Q project. It's exclusive to ROG. Yet this was just the first step - there was still a long way to navigate all the design challenges. 

The ASUS Display R&D team worked closely with the panel manufacturer and NVIDIA to and push G-Sync technology to its limits, making the Swift PG278Q the pinnacle of gaming displays, seamlessly combining these latest technologies. 

On the back of our interviews and research, we also discovered a slim bezel and generally 'awesome design' were top of the list. The market has many boring monitor designs, and - often like their PCs - gamer's expressed they something that shouted 'special'. That need to 'wow’ is part of ROG's id, so this was both gratifying to know this aligned perfectly, but also added to the pressure in getting the design aesthetics right.

We used a lot of triangular shapes in the design – in geometry and structural mechanics, triangles symbolize durability and reliability, so this echoed our goal to not only make the ultimate gaming monitor, but also a durable one. 

As part of the initial concept adding a signature red LED ring in the base was envisioned - symbolizing ROG's power and spirit - along with the 6mm super-thin bezel - built on our expertise in MX series - to simulate and edge-to-edge experience and give an almost seamless surround when you put three side-by-side.

Yet, to all this we still needed to add the necessary high-end monitor features like tilt, swivel, rotate and height adjustment. How do we get the LED power to the base when the distance changes as the monitor is moved around? That's is a tall order in mechanical design!

ASUS Display R&D team, NVIDIA, ROG design team work very hard to deliver gamers this signature, ultimate gaming monitor. This may seem trivial, but it requires a significant time investment to run the necessary tests and validation.

Response time and ultra-smooth gameplay are the hallmarks of a true gaming monitor, we therefore have overdrive the refresh rate and response time of the panel to the max. With virtually zero input lag at the G-Sync modules core design and with 1ms response, the Swift is about as fast as you can game on. However, it still needs to be backed by a compatible graphic card and an effective driver to complete the package, which is where Nvidia focuses an ongoing effort."