Asus ROG Strix XG27ACS review: performance gaming on a budget

Asus ROG Strix XG27ACS: One-minute overview

1440p on a 27-inch panel is arguably nonetheless your best option for mainstream PC gaming. It’s additionally cheaper than ever, with even high-refresh choices dipping under $200. In that context, the brand new Asus ROG Strix XG27ACS would not instantly appear like a discount.

For certain, it is cheaper than the equal mannequin from Asus’s premium ROG vary. But at round $300 it is nonetheless a good bit dearer than entry-level screens that tick the 1440p, 27-inch, and high-refresh-rate containers.

Then once more, the Asus ROG Strix XG27ACS does have a fairly sturdy spec listing with which to do battle with the very best gaming monitors. Beyond the 1440p, 27-inch factor, you get 180Hz refresh as a substitute of the 144Hz extra widespread to cheaper fashions, plus 1ms GtG response. That later determine implies that is in all probability an IPS reasonably than VA panel, and that’s certainly the case.

What’s extra, it comes with HDR400 assist, and thus can obtain 400 nits peak brightness. HDR400 is the bottom stage of HDR compliance, so it’s a must to be lifelike about what this sort of display screen can obtain. But it is higher than no HDR assist in any respect.

Then add in USB-C with energy supply and a stand that adjusts each which method, to not point out the truth that it is a monitor from top-of-the-line manufacturers within the gaming enterprise and you’ve got a really engaging general proposition. Sure, it is not the most affordable 1440p panel on the market. But it is fairly fairly priced and really promising on paper.

Asus ROG Strix XG27ACS: Price & availability

• How a lot does it value? $299 / round £325 / AU$450
• When is it accessible? Available now
• Where are you able to get it? Available within the US on the time of writing

At $299 within the US, and certain round £325 within the UK and $450 in Australia (pricing in these two territories has but to emerge on the time of writing) the Asus ROG Strix XG27ACS is not the most affordable high-refresh 1440p panel on the market.

Still, it is fairly aggressive given the specs, together with a 180Hz refresh from an IPS panel, and the truth that it is from Asus. If you need cheaper, you may attempt the Gigabyte G27Q, which can also be an IPS panel however solely hits 144Hz.

Asus ROG Strix XG27ACS: Design

• Fully adjustable stand
• Premium construct high quality regardless of the comparatively low worth
• HDR400 ranking, however no native dimming

As a member of the extra reasonably priced Asus ROG Strix vary, versus the extra premium ROG Swift line, it is maybe not an enormous shock that the Asus ROG Strix XG27ACS is not decked out with a zillion RGB lights. However, you do get a high-quality and absolutely adjustable stand, together with top, tilt, swivel, and pivot into portrait mode.

Generally, it seems and feels a reduce above extra reasonably priced 1440p choices. That extends to the connectivity, which incorporates not solely DisplayPort and HDMI, but additionally USB-C with energy supply.  If the latter is a powerful inclusion at this worth level, the catch is that you just solely get 7.5W of energy supply. So, you may neglect holding a laptop computer juiced up in a single-cable state of affairs, that is not sufficient energy.

Instead, Asus envisages that you’re going to use it to cost your smartphone, for which there’s a slot on the entrance of the stand base. That’s nearly believable, nevertheless it’s not a extremely clear-cut benefit over simply plugging your telephone into the wall. If the stand did wi-fi charging or the USB-C interface did much more than 7.5W then the utility on provide could be an entire lot higher.

Beyond the 1440p and 27-inch fundamentals, the Asus ROG Strix XG27ACS provides a really stable set of specs. You get 180Hz refresh, which is loads for all however probably the most severe esports addicts, plus 1ms response instances. That’s about nearly as good because it will get for an IPS gaming monitor and this panel is comfortably sooner than cheaper fashions based mostly on VA reasonably than IPS display screen expertise. For tangibly higher response, you’d want to hurry almost 3 times as a lot on an OLED monitor.

As for HDR, there’s DisplayHDR 400 certification, which suggests 400 nits brightness. There’s no native dimming, so this is not a real HDR show. However, with a claimed 97% protection of the DCI-P3 shade house, it is a pretty high-fidelity monitor. 

Yes, there are higher-specification gaming screens, together with 1440p fashions. However, the Asus ROG Strix XG27ACS’s spec ticks all of the vital containers for a fantastic gaming expertise.

Asus ROG Strix XG27ACS: Performance

• Factory shade calibration is superb
• Solid SDR visuals in HDR mode
• Incredibly snappy response instances

This is a fantastically calibrated monitor. The colours are pitch-perfect and there is oodles of visible pop. This is a vibrant, punchy, and correct show.

If that each one applies to the default SDR mode, the HDR mode is even higher. But maybe not for the explanations you may anticipate. As an HDR400 panel with no native dimming, there’s solely probably the most primary HDR assist on provide. But it is the way in which SDR content material is dealt with in HDR mode that really most impresses.

In brief, that is the closest an reasonably priced HDR-capable LCD monitor will get to excellent SDR calibration in HDR mode. All too typically this class of entry-level HDR monitor makes a large number of SDR content material in HDR mode. That means it’s a must to maintain leaping backwards and forwards between modes relying on content material sort. But with this Asus Strix panel, you may go away it in HDR mode on a regular basis. It’s a lot less complicated.

Another spotlight is pixel response. This is nearly as good as IPS gaming screens get for perceived pixel response, it is actually, actually sharp and clear. Even higher, within the OSD menu you may select from no fewer than 20 ranges of pixel overdrive. If that seems like overkill, and it’s actually, it means you may strike precisely the steadiness between outright pace and overshoot that you’re keen to tolerate.

In fact, even with the overdrive maxed out the overshoot and inverse ghosting are fairly gentle. In reality, the one actual demerit within the response division is that the ELMB or Extreme Low Motion Blur mode solely barely improves subjective response and does so like all different ELMB modes, by crushing brightness to the purpose it is arduous to think about why anybody would use it.

Anyway, wanting an OLED monitor for about 2.5 instances the cash, you will have a tough time recognizing the additional pace from dearer 1440p panels. Even right here in 2024, 1440p on a 27-inch makes quite a lot of sense for mainstream gaming. You get loads of picture element however with out the debilitating GPU load of 1440p. So, you do not want a $1,000 graphics card to get probably the most out of this show.

At the top of the day, the Asus ROG Strix XG27ACS is not the most affordable high-refresh 1440p panel on the market. But it’s a clear reduce above lesser alternate options in the case of all the things from pace to accuracy and all-round visible pop.

The solely apparent flaw is the pretty pointless USB-C interface with such restricted energy supply (and the gimmicky telephone slot within the stand, if that bothers you). But that apart, that is only a very nice gaming panel with nice specs for a good worth. Highly really helpful.

Should you purchase the Asus ROG Strix XG27ACS?

Buy it if…

Don’t purchase if…

Also Consider

Asus ROG Strix XG27ACS: Report Card

• First reviewed March 2024