3D gaming and what we think
2D image quality
Marketed as a 3D monitor first and foremost, most folk will still spend the majority of time looking at it in regular 2D. After toggling a few settings - 90 brightness, 62 contrast - the 2D image is sharp and clear. However, move your head away from a front-on look at the panel's appeal diminishes quickly. Whites have a blue-ish tinge to them and text is difficult to read from more than a 45-degree angle. In fact, a six-year-old Dell 2405FPW monitor has a better overall picture, while any new IPS panel - we also have an ASUS ProArt PQ238 in the labs - simply beats it hands-down for 2D image quality.
The size and resolution of the panel - 27in, 1,920x1,080 - leads to an interesting pixel-pitch size of 0.311mm that's comfortably larger than the 0.270mm found on 24in, same-resolution monitors, or 0.251mm on 30in, 2,560x1600 screens. Larger, in this sense, isn't always better, as fonts feel too big and, consequently, words too large. There's no real way around this, because NVIDIA/ASUS don't want to go to the expense of launching a 2,560x1,440 panel that would be very difficult to drive in GPU-taxing 3D mode. Perhaps we're too picky on this point after using low pixel-pitch monitors for almost a decade now.
On the upside, videos run fluidly and 2D gaming is very smooth, helped to the fast refresh rate of the screen. There are no instances of ghosting and everything is presented with pin-sharp focus.
3D gaming
Hooked up to GeForce GTX 570 GPU sat on a Core i5 2500K Sandy Bridge PC, we tested a number of high-profile games in 3D mode. The quality of the 3D is, for NVIDIA, dependent upon how well the game is optimised for 3D Vision. Titles such as Crysis 2 are Vision poster-childs and look just right, while other titles, with less grounds-up NVIDIA support, render fine but may have the odd '3D error' here or there.
Crysis 2 looks excellent in 3D. Dabbling with the specific LightBoost settings acutely shows the difference between the first- and second-generation of the technology, where zero LightBoost is generally representative of 3D Vision 1. Increasing the lighting does a very good job of removing the overriding dimness that we have experienced before, and we feel confident that users looking at side-by-side 3D Vision 1 and 2 setups will see a similarly marked difference.
Indeed, play Crysis 2 for any period of time and the 3D effect becomes automatic; you feel as if the game needs to be in 3D. The depth is fulsome and environment immersive. Take off the glasses, whizz back into 2D mode, and, if you excuse the egregious pun, it looks rather flat in comparison. The same is true for Batman: Arkham City - another NVIDIA-heavy title - but less so for Battlefield 3, which in 3D can look awesome in parts and a little off in others. The ASUS monitor is good enough to showcase just how potently alluring 3D Vision can be, though its transparency also serves to highlight any sub-par 3D Vision'd titles.
And it is this inconsistency that, personally, changes 3D Vision 2 - and any other 3D technology - from being a must-have to merely desirable. If all games looked as good in 3D as Crysis 2 and Batman: AC then the extra cost for upgrading to a full 3D gaming package becomes palatable. There needs to be a gold 3D standard for all triple-A titles for it to become genuinely mainstream.
Thoughts
The ASUS VG278H 27in, full-HD monitor is an average 2D performer that's really brought to life with NVIDIA 3D Vision 2 technology. Put on the supplied second-generation glasses, fire up a game that's particularly partial to 3D love and the results can be mesmerising.
While undeniably impressive given just the right material to chew on, the £550 monitor-and-glasses bundle isn't well-rounded enough to garner automatic recommendation at the price point. Such an outlay demands excellence in every area, and the VG278H falls short when 2D quality is really called upon.
That said, NVIDIA has shown that a few tweaks here or there can genuinely improve its 3D experience. What we really need is cheaper screens that take advantage of 3D Vision 2. Really, make it such that 3D becomes more of a necessity than a luxury.
Bottom line: the ASUS VG278H monitor can provide jaw-droppingly good 3D visuals when allied to the latest iteration of NVIDIA's burgeoning Vision technology. But merely average 2D quality and a high retail price ultimately count against it for an unreserved recommendation.
The Good
3D quality can be immense
LightBoost practically cures the 3D dimness problem
The Bad
Have to use DVI for 3D Vision
2D quality is merely average
High street price for glasses-bundled package
HEXUS Rating
ASUS VG278H 3D monitor
HEXUS Where2Buy
The reviewed monitor is available from Scan.co.uk.
HEXUS Right2Reply
At HEXUS, we invite the companies whose products we test to comment on our articles. If any company representatives for the products reviewed choose to respond, we'll publish their commentary here verbatim.
