Asus' 42-inch gaming monitor is officially available to pre-order in the UK, reports flatpanelshd.
The ROG Swift PG42UQ – a 4K OLED monitor with an overclocked 138Hz refresh rate – debuted at CES earlier this year. After much speculation, it's now listed on Amazon UK for the princely sum of £1399 (around $1700 / AU$2500) with a waiting time of "1 to 2 months".
The PG42UQLG will likely go toe-to-toe with some of the best gaming TVs on the market including our current favourite, the LG C2. But, as Asus points out, the PG42UQ is a 'proper' gaming monitor.
Whereas OLED TVs have a glossy finish that can be distracting for gamers, the PG42UQ uses a clever "Micro-texture coating" that reduces glare in the hope of delivering a more immersive experience.
Asus has beefed up the internal cooling, too. While TV makers sometimes cap brightness levels in order to slow down pixel burnout, Asus has installed a custom heat-sink that "ensures 8% lower temperatures for OLED longevity".
Brightness is said to peak at 900 nits. By comparison, LG's C2 is thought to max out at 750 nits.
To ensure the gamer-grade monitor appeals to both console and PC fans alike, Asus has added two HDMI 2.1 ports with support for 48Gbps bandwidth, in addition to two HDMI 2.0 ports, a DisplayPort 1.4 connector and a USB hub.
There are plenty of other gamer-friendly niceties – a tripod socket on the top for fixing a webcam, FreeSync and G-Sync support, etc – but don't expect a TV tuner or built-in access to streaming services like Netflix. HDR support is limited to HDR10, which seems a shame.
Still, if mind-blowing graphics, tear-free gaming and super-efficient cooling are top of your list, the 42-inch ROG Swift PG42UQ should be worth eyeing up. Want a bigger screen? The 48-inch version is currently listed for £1499 (around £1800 / AU$2600) on Amazon.
Not to be outdone, Samsung has launched The Odyssey Ark – a massive 55-inch monitor with curved display powered by pricey Quantum Mini-LED technology. A snip at £2599 / $3500 / AU$4000.
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