ASUS PB287Q True 4K Monitor Review

ASUS PB287Q True 4K Monitor Review

Conclusion

Monitors are always a difficult thing to review when it comes to getting the difference across because even if we manage to make the best possible video or take the finest screenshots known to mankind, you’ll still be viewing them on your own monitor. However, let nobody be in any doubt that the quality of the PB287Q is amazing for the money.

The first place to start is before it’s even turned on. It’s huge, as you’d expect from a 28″ screen, but if you’ve been used to a 24 or even 22 inch screen then the difference is enormous. It takes up a lot of space on your desk and it’s at this point you’re glad that ASUS have used the thinnest bezel possible rather than gone for something like their MS236H. The second great feature is the stand. It’s very high quality with adjustments possible in every way to ensure that you have the screen at the perfect height and angle. It even rotates into portrait mode, should the need arise or the desire take you. Connection is simple with just a couple of HDMI ports and a DisplayPort to choose from.

When you turn it on the difference between it and a 1080P monitor is hard to believe, and hard to put into words. Sure it might be a TN panel in specification terms, and nobody will confuse it for a AH-IPS, but then again few people have such a panel in the monitors. Most of us have either a cheap IPS or a TN, and the TN panel in the ASUS PB287Q is easily the best quality we’ve ever seen. The colour reproduction is brilliant viewing angles are great and even the blacks are deep without losing shadow definition. It’s not perfect of course, so if you’re a professional photo editor then the insane resolution isn’t enough. For everyone else you’ll be staggered at the quality, and that’s before we get to the gaming performance.

1ms Grey-to-Grey is up there with the very best models around, and the ability to attain 60Hz via the DisplayPort you can be reassured that the PB287Q doesn’t suffer from ghosting in gaming, nor is the need to push 8 million pixels around limited by a mere 30Hz refresh rate. Backlighting is uniform, and anyone who has suffered with a cheap monitor knows how important that is.

But the resolution is king here. We’re used to having multi-monitor setups here at OC3D, with many windows open covering our social media and website tasks. On the ASUS though this can all be combined into a single display. So whilst you might lose some desk space because it’s 28″, you gain it all back by only needing a single monitor. In these times when workflow optimisation is so vital, the PB287Q frees you up to perform so many tasks at once that you’ll wonder how you managed before. If you’ve only ever used a single 1080 monitor you can’t begin to imagine how much freedom you suddenly have. It’s liberating. All of that for only £599.

It’s hard to beat such a great 4K panel, with a stand that actually adjusts, for the price. Last year 4K screens were the preserve of the extremely wealthy, but with the ASUS PB287Q it’s now within the grasp of the average enthusiast. Seek one out at the earliest opportunity. Unquestionably Gold Award winning. Can we have another?

     

Thanks to ASUS for supplying the PB287Q for review. Discuss your thoughts in the OC3D Forums.