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.

So I was a cynic at first. Someone told me about 3D gaming and I shrugged it off as simply a "gimmick." I also was a bit skeptical at the claim that 120hz was better than the traditional 60hz I had been so accustomed to playing with. I figured how could it possibly be any better than 60? Well, to each of these I finally broke down and had to give them a try, and boy am I glad I did. Once you play Battlefield 3 in 3D, or maneuver around your desktop with the 120hz applied, you can never go back. I was in between this and a higher resolution screen, and let's just say until they can incorporate 120hz/3D at those higher res panels, I will be firmly planted in the world that is 1080p. Now, the monitor isn't perfect, but it is so close that I feel bad even mentioning the minor flaws. However, a good review wouldn't be useful without them. So I'll start by saying that the picture out of the box wasn't that good, and I highly recommend "Googling" for calibration settings. Once you get the monitor calibrated to your personal preference though, the screen is absolutely fantastic. Also, there is a slight glitch with the 3D IR sensor embedded in the monitor - or at least for me there was. Once I had charged up the 3D glasses, I tried going into the Nvidia control panel to enable the 3D settings, but the light on the IR sensor wouldn't turn on. I did some researching, and I found that simply leaving everything plugged in, then unplugging and re-plugging in the monitor's power cable fixed the issue, and now it works perfectly everytime. Odd, but hey it worked. So in the end, is this worth it? Depends on what you're looking for. If you're a professional photographer or graphics designer, then no, I don't see it being very useful. However if you're teetering between a higher resolution screen, or a 120hz/3D monitor, I would suggest going with the latter. Not only does the monitor come packed with everything you need for 3D straight out of the box, it also is a really well built/attractive monitor. Games now take on a whole new level of playability and realism with 3D. Max Payne 3 comes to mind, as you use slow-motion sometimes, and bullets seem to fly out of the screen...it's simply amazing, and makes games just POP out. TLDR: This is one damn fine 3D/120hz monitor that, if within one's budget, every gamer should have. 3D is no gimmick, and 120hz truly feels fast. I'm now a believer :D

As far as the monitor itself goes, it is great for gaming in 2D or 3D. Has fantastic colors, and the 3D is extremely sharp. I've owned one since last August or September. I recently picked up 2 more for Nvidia 3D Surround. Those of you who want to do this setup should be aware that even though Amazon says this is a VG278H, the internal designation of the monitor is VG278HR, which means it will not work for 3D surround with an older VG278(all monitors need to be identical) unless you fool the drivers and OS into thinking they are all the same (search the web for "EDID override"). I spent a day trying to get it to work in various configurations, and was ready to send back the 2 new ones since Amazon didnt tell me they were new models. Next day, everything just worked fine by itself, and it does look amazing. Still on the fence about keeping or not since it may stop working, but even if it did, 2D works fine, its just that 3D doesn't. 1 more interesting thing is that my original set of glasses stopped working. I'm not sure if they are incompatible with the newer monitors, but since I have the 2 extra pair I haven't worried about it. I thought about putting the old monitor in the middle, but I don't want to break the setup, so I will leave it as is.

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.