Asus VG248QE 27-Inch Screen LED-lit Monitor 144hz 1ms

Pros: 27", 120Hz, 2ms, LED back light, 3D capable, Built in 3D emitter, Comes with 3D Vision 2 Glasses. Cons: Slightly Blue-ish cool tone to it at the factory settings. (easily fixed by reducing the blue palate from 100 to 85) I had wanted a 27" monitor for gamming and movie watching purposes for a long time. About a year ago I bought a bottom of the line 27" from Samsung (S27A550H, see my Amazon review). I was never really happy with it. It just didn't have the color accuracy based on my Asus 24" I use as my 2nd monitor. It might have been fine as a stand alone, but you could just constantly see it was not as vivid as the Asus. So this time I didn't fool around, go big or go home, so to speak, and I am NOT disappointed in the least with this product. Right out of the box it is easy to see that this is a superior product, even from the packaging alone. Games are ultra smooth w/ the 120Hz refresh rate. I am not sure it is as breathtakingly noticeable as others report in other reviews of 120Hz monitors from around the web, but it certainly is noticeable even from just window movements on the screen. This coupled w/ the 2MS response time make this an incredibly fast monitor. Games/movies have no ghosting what so ever. 3D is, I will have to admit, much cooler than I thought it would be. I bought it as just an afterthought or an introduction into the tech, not really expecting to use it much. But am amazed at how well it works in games. It makes things pop on screen that I never would even look at, like the cross bar on the safe room doors in Left for Dead, for example. Now as good as they look, there is still an issue w/ FPS competitive Multiplayer games. The 3D effect kind of distorts your aim just a tad. You can correct it a bit by using the Convergence and 3D Depth controls for 3D Vision, but it still puts you at a disadvantage and you may find yourself shooting just slightly to the right or left of a target that is intent on killing you. Ok if you are playing against the computer, a total disadvantage playing against real people. So although BF3, for example, looks stunning in 3D, you just can't compete in the online games while in 3D mode. I also watched a 3D movie on this monitor as well, which looked amazing. (It was Avengers). The only issues you have to concern yourself with is not this monitor when watching movies, it will do the 3D no problem, but your Blu-Ray player may need a firmware upgrade or your program to watch movies may need to be upgraded (WinDVD, PowerDVD for example). That free version that came with your player may not play the 3D movie. The "Lightboost" tech that is inherent with 3D Vision 2 is supposed to help brighten the screen when playing 3D content. It seems to work, but I have nothing to really compare it to as I have never used the original 3D Vision. As with all Real 3D content, it is a bit darker due to the glasses, but it was not such that I would complain on this monitor, turn out the lights and look at it from straight ahead and the dark scenes are fine. So I am impressed w/the 3D and it will be used much more than I thought it ever would. (MAKE SURE YOU USE THE SUPPLIED DUAL LINK DVI CABLE FOR 3D VISION TO WORK PROPERLY) I can't stress that enough. There are a few complaints here of dead/stuck pixels. My monitor did not have any. Also people complaining of light bleed from around the bottom or edges of the screen. I also have not noticed any of this. So at least on the version that I got, these are not issues for me. The Stand is top notch, the controls are easy enough to use once you get to know where they are. This monitor is a bit on the heavy side for an LCD, but that is of no concern to me, once in place it will never move. The connections are a bit cumbersome to connect, but after reading some helpful reviews, I knew to make sure I did those connections before I put the monitor on the stand and stood it upright. Made it much easier to manage those tight fitting connections for the power cord and the DVI cable. Overall, I would highly recommend this Monitor if you have the means. It looks amazing, both in 2D and 3D.

System = Win7x64 using DVI from a GTX470 card. While considering an upgrade from my 2010 LG 27" 60Hz LED, I looked at a cheaper Acer 3D equivalent of this Asus, but Acer's first-gen 3D wasn't worth the risk of dim imaging and/or smaller field-of-view glasses (there are also some "passive 3D" competitors and likewise they aren't as effective as "active-shutter" 3D.) This costlier Asus VG278H 120Hz is active shutter 2nd-gen 3D, but this model is NOT the full "LED" this page claims it to be - the box clearly announces that VG278H is actually an LCD with LED backlight. That's different than a truly "all-LED" monitor. Nowhere on this Amazon page is this Asus ever described as an LCD - instead "LED" is prominently and repeatedly mentioned - which is misleading since that technology's only providing backlighting for the LCD. As such, this monitor delivers brightness - almost too much glare. You'll need to dial down the factory default settings to minimize gamma, brightness and contrast, or else white pages will be painfully unreadable. Even so, this monitor retains a surprising amount of backlight fill even during "black" screens - at night with all other lights off, this "black" screen continues to glow, which never happened with my former LG 60Hz LED, which was truly black and truly all-LED (but only 2D). Asus instructions are minimal, and Asus website customer service is sparse. I charged up the large glasses and clicked Control Panel settings to activate stereoscopic mode (using the newest software drivers from NVidia's website), but when I played 3D media, only got 2D, despite the glasses' green indicator light. Figuring I must have been an unlucky recipient of a faulty IR transmitter, I prepared to contact Amazon for a disappointed return. However, I first contacted NVidia, and their Indian CS team led me through a few days of reinstalling and reconfiguring various aspects of software drivers (including an unreleased beta), and finally the 3D succeeded. Kudos to NVidia but shame on Asus - I expected them to be better organized, honest and thorough in their descriptions and support - and not to leave customers relatively helpless, especially considering the price of this. My only other hardware gripe is that the earstems of the 3D glasses are more firm than bendable, meaning they begin to pinch after 2 hours, creating discomfort for longer sessions. If the earstems were more rubbery/flexible, that would allow for multiple users' head sizes. If you've got a small head, you're probably fine for these glasses. The 120Hz refresh is nice, with a fast 2ms response rate. Have used the 3D glasses multiple times so far with fine results (games and movies), still on the first charge from weeks ago (the glasses shut themselves off after 5 minutes of 2D mode (no IR transmission) and supposedly a single charge will last 40 hours which I haven't reached yet). Haven't used the monitor's built-in speakers since I already have a surround system. SUMMARY = good 3D, but you must be patient to get this product to deliver its potential. The marketplace is clearly ripe for a 3D all-LED 120Hz 27" (or heck even a 32"), so if Asus doesn't improve their act, competitors have an easy opportunity to surpass this. Right now big living room versions (larger than 42") offer far superior installation.

I've researched this monitor quite a bit and I think it is a good monitor. My complaint is directed toward Amazon.com. I bought this monitor as 'new' directly from Amazon.com (not an affiliated seller, but Amazon itself). I did this because with expensive items I don't want to deal with affiliate return policies and restocking charges. Good thing I did. First of all, I ordered this monitor on March 9th and paid for two-day shipping which was about $55. At the time I placed my order Amazon showed that the item was in stock. Well it wasn't in stock. I received the monitor today, April 12th 2012 - 34 days later. But Amazon still charged me the two day shipping fee. Next, the monitor was shipped in its retail box. For an item this fragile and expensive, the retail box should be placed in another box - in short, this item should be double-boxed. In the two days it was in shipment, the box was pretty beat up. More seriously, as I opened the box there was all kinds of evidence that this monitor had been used. The manufacturer tape that seals the box itself had signs that it had been pulled up and re-applied. Bags holding cables had openings where the cables had been pulled through. The baggies also had a 'crumpled' look to them from having been handled. Manufacturer packaging tape holding things inside the box had been pulled up and then re-applied. The quick start guide had a crease in it from where someone had folded it. A clip that holds the monitor height-adjustor in a locked position while in the reatail box had been reinserted in a way where it wasn't locking the height adjustor, so as I pulled the monitor out from the Styrofoam packaging, the height stand 'sprung' out violently. I was upset at this point but I figured if the monitor still worked and looked good I'd keep it. Started connecting cables and I couldn't plug in the HDMI cable into the HDMI port on the monitor using the HDMI cable that comes with the NVIDIA 3D Glasses. Got a different HDMI cable and that one wouldn't fit either. I have been working with computers for over 30 years and I know what I'm doing. I took a closer look at the HDMI receptacle on the monitor using a flashlight and clear as day, one corner of the HDMI port is bent out of shape. It appears as if someone had been doing something to it with a flathead screwdriver as there are marks on the metal of the HDMI port as well as some small scratches on the monitor casing in that area. Still hoping I wouldn't have to go through the hassle of returning the monitor, I connected my 3D glasses to my PC. Hooked up all the rest of the cables. Press the power button on the monitor and nothing. The monitor does not even power on. It's completely dead. There is no way anyone at Amazon.com could have mistook this used and defective monitor as new. Out of all the different vendors that sell products on Amazon.com, I thought consumers could trust Amazon to ship 'new' items if they in fact advertise them as new. So buyer beware, because not even Amazon.com can be 100% trusted to be honest.

Quick caveat - I've had this monitor for a couple of weeks, but my new computer to take advantage of the 3D didn't arrive until a couple of days ago. I did use it as a screen for my laptop previously, but have just started to use it more intensively for the purposes it's designed for. So this is a quick and dirty review of the positives and negatives so far, and may change after more use: Here are the positives: Great looking - it's not as sleek as the Samsung 3D monitors, but it's clean with a pretty thin bezel. Solid physical construction - also exceedingly easy to attach to the base. Physical buttons, not touch sensitive buttons - although for some reason being under the bottom edge feels awkward. Still, they're solid buttons. Height adjustment (somewhat rare for a monitor this size, I gather) - very easy to raise and lower the monitor. Matte finish, not glossy. Comes with Nvidia 3D Vision 2. When you get it working, the 3D is really cool. It took the latest patch on the PowerDVD software to play a 3D movie, but once I managed to do so, it looked great. 2D looks awesome - though you'll likely have to reduce the brightness and find some 2D settings online to make it look as good as it can. 120 Hz refresh makes moving windows around entertaining for awhile Here are the rough edges: The viewing angle is pretty poor. As soon as you start moving to the side it becomes more and more washed out. You won't be able to, comfortably, watch a 3D movie with friends on this monitor. Using the monitor's menu settings buttons always is awkward for me (to be fair, I haven't found a monitor yet that I like how it does menu settings and choices with physical buttons) The Nvidia 3D quick start guide seems to still be written for the first version, some of the lights that are supposed to come up on the glasses/cord are in different places than the illustrations. The cable connection slots should give a bit more room from the monitor's back. Even the included Dual Link DVI-D cable barely fits into the slot due to there not being enough space (and it's not completely snug). The power connector seems to have the same problem. No DisplayPort connection slot. It took a bit longer than I expected to figure out how to set up 3D for games. Odd 'horizontal stuttering' in Crysis.. if I look left or right, there's a stutter, but moving forward (or even moving while turning left or right) is fine. Someone else referred to this for 'Shooters' in general, so I need to do more testing to see if this is the case in all shooters and whether it matters if it's 3D vs 2D. If this is a persistent problem, then my rating may drop. Some people have noticed an odd 'oval' light bleed pattern appearing in the center of the screen after some use. It worries me, but so far my monitor hasn't shown this effect.. then again, only have been seriously using it for a couple of days. Other units had problems with the integrated 3d emitter not being connected properly, but mine is fine. Bottom Line: Looking at my positives vs negatives, it would seem like I should rate it lower than 4 stars, but once it's working the 2D is awesome, and the 3D is pretty fun. There are issues though, in particular the horizontal stuttering, that may drop my rating after some use. Other issues haven't occurred with my monitor yet (IR emitter not connected, and odd backlight bleed patterns) but are useful for a new buyer to be aware of. Will report back with any changes to the review that are relevant after more use.

I entitled my review "Not Compatible with Windows 8" only because that is what Asus told me when I contacted them for assistance. I am reluctant to believe that, but that is what HAROLD told me. HAROLD was the person who responded to my LIVECHAT session when I contacted Asus online. I wanted to see if I could get this to work with my computer, but HAROLD stopped me cold in my tracks and just stuck to the "Not Compatible with Windows 8" line. I suppose it could be true. I only noticed in a small footnote on Amazon's site it was designed to work with Vista/Windows 7. Sorry I missed that point before I ordered. Something like that should not be a footnote, but should be clearly stated where it is easily seen on Amazon's webpage. However, that wasn't my only problem with the monitor I received. The box it arrived in was the retail box you find in any store. No special packaging beyond that with just a small piece of tape holding the flaps in place. As I removed the monitor from the box, a very distinctive sound came from inside the monitor housing --- something metal (probably a screw) was clanging around inside. I should have stopped right there, but instead I went ahead and unboxed the monitor, assembled the base to the back of the monitor and hooked it up to my computer. My computer is equipped with the new EVGA GTX780 video card. I would have probably kept the monitor (even with the loose screw inside) at this point, but I could not get the 3D functionality to work. Visually, the monitor looked fine, but even after extensive efforts to get the 3D function to work, I never could. The last straw was my LIVECHAT conversation with Harold. Like I said, when I heard the clanging screw inside the monitor chassis, I should have never went any further. Who knows what part this came off of that might have caused me long-term problems. I was foolish to go further with this monitor. Even if the 3D function worked, I should have returned it anyway, which is what I ended up doing. By the way, in case this monitor is supposed to work with Windows 8, let me tell you my problem. The IR EMITTER would never come on.. i.e. the green light that is supposed to show the emitter working never activated. I have the latest NVIDIA drivers; my video card is 3D capable; the wizard took me step by step through the process, BUT THE MONITOR AND THE GLASSES NEVER CONNECTED. Maybe this doesn't work with Windows 8. If not that, then there definitely was a hardware problem out of the box (other then the loose screw). Just curious, does anyone else use this monitor with Windows 8? I gave it 2 stars only because of AMAZON's great return policy. By the way, Harold (ASUS' LIVECHAT TECH) said "Not Compatible with Windows 8" and never talked to me again. Never said bye. Never said another word. I did research this online and noticed a lot of people complaining about the emitter. I am sure there are many more instances where it works fine. Just noticed a lot of complaints. How come you never notice those posts BEFORE you buy? I waited years to buy a 3D monitor and now I find out the one I thought was most recommended WON'T WORK WITH WINDOWS 8. UPDATE: Well, several people are telling me this monitor works just fine with Windows 8 and the latest Nvidia drivers. To be honest, I thought that was probably the case, but HAROLD from Asus LIVECHAT just stopped talking after he told me the Asus site does not indicate this monitor is compatible with Windows 8. He NEVER even said goodbye. Just stopped talking. The loose screw I could hear rattling around the inside chassis was still bothersome and a good enough reason to return on its own, but I am totally confused by ASUS' response.