There are many good gaming monitors available in all sizes, shapes, and budgets. Only a handful can be called great. What does it take for a display to make this list? Speed is certainly a huge factor; you can’t throw a rock without hitting a monitor that runs at a minimum of 144 Hz. 165 Hz is becoming more common, and 240 Hz is well represented. The bleeding edge is occupied by 360 Hz and now 500 Hz screens.
If you’ve read monitor reviews here at Tom’s Hardware, you know that we consider image fidelity a nearly equal part of the equation, and at the top of that list is contrast. Nothing affects our perception of a 2D image more than the difference between black and white. Lately, Mini LED panels have made huge strides in this area, and I’ve even called them “nearly as good as OLED.” But the operative word is “nearly.” OLED is still king, and in this review, I’ll be testing a 27-inch 16:9 OLED display, Asus ROG Swift PG27AQDM. Spoiler alert: it’s incredible in pretty much every way, which makes it a prime candidate for our best gaming monitors list.
Asus ROG Swift PG27AQDM Specs
| Panel Type / Backlight | OLED |
| Screen Size / Aspect Ratio | 26.5 inches / 16:9 |
| Max Resolution & Refresh Rate | 2560×1440 @ 240 Hz |
| FreeSync: 40-240 Hz | |
| G-Sync Compatible | |
| Native Color Depth & Gamut | 10-bit / DCI-P3 |
| HDR10 | |
| Response Time (GTG) | 0.03ms |
| Brightness | 300 nits SDR |
| 800 nits HDR | |
| Contrast | Infinite |
| Speakers | None |
| Video Inputs | 1x DisplayPort 1.4 |
| 2x HDMI 2.0 | |
| Audio | 3.5mm headphone output |
| USB 3.0 | 1x up, 2x down |
| Power Consumption | 45.1w, brightness @ 200 nits |
| Panel Dimensions | 23.8 x 17.2-21.5 x 10.8 inches |
| WxHxD w/base | (605 x 438-548 × 274mm) |
| Panel Thickness | 2 inches (50mm) |
| Bezel Width | Top/sides: 0.35 inch (9mm) |
| Bottom: 0.9 inch (11mm) | |
| Weight | 15.2 pounds (6.9kg) |
| Warranty | 3 years |
The PG27AQDM starts with an OLED panel made by AU Optronics. It’s my first time testing an OLED not made by LG Display. The viewable area is 26.5 inches, so with QHD (2560×1440) resolution, we get a pixel density of 111ppi. That’s important because nearly all OLEDs today are UHD (3840×2160). However, the larger screens don’t necessarily have sharper images. Consider that a 42-inch OLED panel like Asus’ own PG42UQ has a density of 105ppi.
With QHD resolution comes higher frame rates, and the PG27AQDM offers a maximum refresh rate of 240 Hz with a claimed 0.03ms response time. I found it quicker than any other 240 Hz monitor during testing. In fact, it matches the total lag time I’ve measured for a typical 360 Hz screen and is only a few milliseconds behind the Alienware AW2524H 500 Hz display. It achieves this feat without an overdrive or blur reduction feature. It also includes both flavors of Adaptive-Sync operating over a range of 40 to 240