ASUS PA249Q Pro IPS Monitor Review

Up Close

Monitors rarely provide the most interesting photos. After all, we’re interested in the display quality rather than the aesthetics. However, with an immense quality stand that demonstrates how woeful most included stands are, and sensibly placed inputs, outputs and controls, the PA249Q clearly has a lot of thought put into it.

Highlighting the emphasis upon the professional user, the stand and monitor bezel both have built-in compass/ruler markings to ensure the most accurate workspace. No longer will you have to rely upon either manual alignment, or even the ruler option in Photoshop. Further showing how much thought has been put into the design they are both easy to see if you want to, yet not intrusive if you’re just planning on watching a film or fragging some people.

How many times have you brought a monitor and found that the stand barely tilts, much less is adjustable for height and definitely doesn’t rotate between portrait and landscape mode. Given that a high quality stand is around the £50 mark it provides excellent value on an already keenly priced display. USB ports are something that you can never have enough of, especially if you’re in a professional environment where you’re sharing work or wanting to plug your Intuos in without someone stealing it.

The PA249Q accepts all the input types, from VGA, DVI, HDMI to DisplayPort. The other end provides the power input and the hard on/off switch. 

With so many manufacturers attempting to hide the OSD controls it’s nice that ASUS have placed them within easy reach. Furthering the clever design they are handy whether you’re in portrait or landscape. The button at the top is a four-way selector which has a very cool secondary function which we’ll look at next.