Pros: refresh rate
joystick
osd
vesa mountable

Cons: price

Other Thoughts: very nice monitor, mine came with NO dead pixels or any other flaws, and this is my 4th ASUS monitor that Ive bought, and have had great luck and results with. I have read about a lot of people getting new monitors with bad pixels, scratches, etc.. I cannot say the same! This monitor is obviously designed around gaming, which is why I bought it, and it does perform well. The fact that you can monitor your fps on screen through the monitor and not someother running software while gaming is something I really like! I think there is a lot to like about this monitor, except for the price.....but any worthy monitor is going to cost big dollars unfortunately.

Pros: -144hz / Freesync = Tear-Free FPS gaming.
- Great base design, and highly adjustable with height, tilt, and pivot.
- Tons of settings and color profiles to customize.
- Easy to navigate menu thanks to the joystick.

Cons: - Horrible back light bleed - not just around the edges. (See below for more)
- Button positions on the right of the screen make it harder to use in a multiple monitor setup.
- No VGA?
- Asus customer care said the defects i saw with this monitor were normal. Either this is simply a terrible display, or Asus has horrible customer care. (See below for more)

Other Thoughts: Playing games like GTA V was great at 1440p with freesync turned on. I didn't see any tearing in any of the games i played. However, within a few hours of use over a few days of ownership, my first unit developed what i can only call the worst back light bleed i have ever seen. While most monitors have some back light bleed around the edges, this was different - the white/black levels didnt just vary from the outside of the monitor tapering in, slowly dissapearing - well, that was there too - but, a centered area of the screen also displayed back light bleed. The best way i could describe it is as if someone sat on the monitor, and the screen pushed up against itself, and the diffuser/etc. burned in to the display, which permanently meant that the center of the screen was brighter than the area around it. When playing first person shooters in particular, especially ones with a lot of dark areas, the light issue was incredibly distracting.
I contacted Asus directly at first, and their customer care told me that this was normal. I did not believe them, as i've never had any monitor, even cheap ones, display this bad of a distortion. Newegg effortlessly replaced the monitor with another, which, after a few hours, slowly displayed the exact same burn in back light bleed, in exactly the same position.

If this monitor was MUCH cheaper, and/or not billed as a "gaming" monitor, this back light issue might not be a problem. Experiencing it twice also makes it seem like it is either operating as designed, or there is a serious manufacturing flaw. I really wanted to love this monitor, especially since there are so few good freesync options out there at 27" or higher and 1440p or higher, but this was simply a huge dissapointment to me, and i expect it would be for any serious gamer.

I expect Asus to attempt to open a ticket and respond to this review, as they seem to patrol their newegg reviews quite closely. If they paid as much attention to their products as they did the reviews of their products, perhaps i wouldn't now be typing this review on a competing brand's monitor.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,

Hello, I would like to thank you for taking your time in writing this review. We certainly value your feedback. I am sorry to hear that are experiencing horrible back light bleed on the entire right side of your monitor and the inconvenience this caused you. Have you tried calibrating with your brightness settings to see if that helps with your back light bleed? If you do not mind, can you please send me pictures of your back light bleed? Please contact me at cl-justin@asus.com, so I can further investigate your case. I'm here to assist our customers with our products and dedicated in bringing a resolution to all issues that they may come across. Your case for reference is N160352559

Thanks for choosing ASUS

Regards,
Justin
ASUS Customer Loyalty

Pros: The monitor is great while gaming, also it's good for watching movies.

Cons: acclimation time. when i first received the monitor it had bad back light bleed in the middle and on the sides. After calibrating and letting the monitor burn in it no long showing in the middle and the sides have reduced.

Other Thoughts: I want people to know that this monitor will adjust from back light bleeding once it has run for a couple of days. Just give it some time and the bleeding will reduce and even out across the monitor.

Pros: - No dead pixels
- Bright, high contrast. Excellent colors for a TN panel.
- Amazing stand

Cons: Backlight bleed out of the box but very minimal, only isolated to the bottom right corner of the display. Bleeding seems to have become worse over the next few days, stretching out 3-4" from the bezel towards the center of the monitor. There is a very noticeable oval in the center of the display when viewing black images or video.

Other Thoughts: RMA for a replacement with Newegg. My fingers are crossed for a better panel!

Pros: - After calibration (tomshardware settings), color is very good and natural. Blacks / dark greys are the only areas that I would like to see improvement, but still better than most TN panels I've seen
- Viewing angles are surprisingly good for a TN panel
- Housing / Base Stand are top notch
- Includes DP, HDMI, DVI cables which is a bonus
- 2k, 144Hz + FreeSync at 27" and overall quality for the price are the reasons you would buy this display over some of the ultra high end 165Hz IPS displays now out that run in the $700~$1000 range
- not a single stuck / dead pixel

Cons: - Contrast is not as high as IPS or other higher contrast panel types
- minor back light bleed on the sides (however this seems common and varys to a degree from display to display even of the same type and manufacturer).
- speakers are not the greatest, but better than what my HP Elite book 8440p has, although you don't buy this display for it's "sound" system
- OSD joystick is a bit finicky, doesn't always seem to register presses
- some of the quick settings seem extremely washed out or overly exaggerated colors, not sure why you would want to play a game / watch a movie with those settings unless your in it purely for the competition (like racing)

Other Thoughts: Here's the "but" part. My display as some minor back light bleeding on the left side, which is expected from high speed TN panels and is not really noticeable in use except for pure black images, even then you wouldn't notice it unless your looking for it. However on the right side, I have what I can only think of to describe as the appearance of a semi-circle "coffee stain" that is internal. This could be a coating application defect or a defect in the panel itself. It's not intense, but certainly noticeable when displaying any darker colors such as navy blues, dark purples and blacks. HomeWorld 2 Remastered it's particularly noticeable as the backgrounds range from very bright vibrant to the darker purples, blues and blacks of deep space. Because it's a strategy game your not always focused on the center of the display you would typically be in a FPS game.

What makes it noticeable is that the back light bleeds onto this area, thus extending the 1/4 inch of normal and mild back light bleed out several inches in that semi-circle area. There also seems to be a bit more back light bleed on the lower right one third of the display, but again that's only noticeable in pure black images.

I am in the process of contacting Asus for a rapid replacement. If this was a $150 display I would live with it. It's not intrusively bright, but rather subtle. However it is there and is noticeable enough to detect with my peripheral vision even if I'm focusing my eyes on the center of the display like one would typically do in games. For a $500 + display, I find that unacceptable. We'll see if Asus pulls through on their warranty / service. If it were not for that significant defect (or if the display were sub $200) and having to go through this process I would give this a full 5 stars. If Asus pulls through and delivers a replacement that doesn't present such an odd anomaly I will re-post a an updated review...to be continued!

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Valued Customer,

Hello, I would like to thank you for taking your time in writing this review. We certainly value your feedback. It is unfortunate that your monitor has noticeable back light bleed which prompted you to plan on getting a rapid replacement. Sorry for the inconvenience this caused you. I will gladly help you set up a rapid replacement, feel free to contact me at cl-justin@asus.com and I will help you to the best of my abilities. I'm here to assist our customers with our products and dedicated in bringing a resolution to all issues that they may come across. Your case for reference is N160282248

Thanks for choosing ASUS

Regards,
Justin
ASUS Customer Loyalty

Pros: was easy to put together, looks really nice and has great quality. I love how you can turn the screen vertically and move it up and down for your preference

Cons: My monitor came with some odd back light bleed. In an oval pattern encompassing the whole middle of the screen. Very noticeable, on mid to light colors. There was also a bluish color across the bottom of the screen, which i could deal with but the oval patterned bleed I cannot.

Other Thoughts: Paying this much for a monitor you really wouldn't expect to see this sort of issue, but maybe that's just my luck. I contacted Newegg for a replacement, and sent out the defective screen today. Hopefully the new one is better, i will update my review accordingly.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Brian,

Hello, I would like to thank you for taking your time in writing this review. We certainly value your feedback. It is unfortunate to hear that you are having trouble with your monitor having back light bleed and bluish color on the bottom of the screen. Sorry for the inconvenience this caused you. It looks like you are getting a replacement from Newegg. I hope it comes in working order. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me at cl-justin@asus.com and I will help you to the best of my abilities. I'm here to assist our customers with our products and dedicated in bringing a resolution to all issues that they may come across. Your case for reference is N160259077

Thanks for choosing ASUS

Regards,
Justin
ASUS Customer Loyalty

Pros: I have never had an ASUS monitor before. I came from a 1080p 60hz monitor. You WILL BE BLOWN AWAY by this monitor if you are coming from 1080p 60hz like me. It is a whole new level of gaming experience. Freesync works PERFECTLY. 144hz is BUTTER SMOOTH. 1440p LOOKS AMAZING. I found a color setting wich in my opinion looks FANTASTIC. The fact that this had a TN panel has no bothered me a single bit this panel is INCREDIBLE. Stand is really nice looking and functioning. All cables included. BUY THIS MONITOR NOW. WOW (the speakers suck but who didnt know that)

Cons: NONE

Pros: - very bright
- mountable
- came with USB 3.0 (for onboard hub), Displayport, HDMI, and DVI cables
- Freesync!
- Easy to navigate interface for changing display mode (brightness, RGB balance, contrast) presets

Cons: - The little joystick for navigating the monitor interface feels a bit cheap, but it works.

Other Thoughts: I'm using this with my R9 390x from MSI, and Freesync is awesome! I have my old LG 1080p monitor above this one and the difference is so obvious. This monitor is incredibly smooth and sharp in comparison, and I absolutely love it.

My build:

Case: Phanteks Evolv PH-ES515E_AG Anthracite Gray
Motherboard: ASUS E3 PRO GAMING V5
Processor: Xeon E3-1230 V5
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo
Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 3200
Graphics: MSI R9 390x Gaming 8G
Boot Drive: Samsung 950 Pro SSD
PSU: CORSAIR RM Series RM750
OS: Windows 10 Pro 64-bit

Pros: -Great color for doing my photoshop painting
-Quality is great and sturdy
-144 Hz makes playing games more responsive
-Contrast is really nice

Cons: None

Other Thoughts: I haven't tried to see what the difference would be yet if I had freesync but hopefully I will soon whenever I get my GPU upgrade

Pros: 144hz
1440p
Tilt
Height adjustments

Cons: Vertical lines when moving the camera around.

Other Thoughts: This monitor is amazing! The one I got had very minimal back light bleed, and no stuck/dead pixels.However, upon firing up CS I immediately noticed vertical lines, and sometimes I notice checker board boxes, or the "Screen Door Effect". From what I've read this issue is a common issue with most of the current 1440p/144hz TN panels. I didn't know this was an issue before purchasing this monitor. I looked at multiple reviews and not one that I read stated that this monitor had issues with "cross hatching" and "Pixel Inversion". I read an article stating that Asus claimed it was due to incorrect pixel mapping. I just wish I'd known that this was an issue before purchasing. Other than this issue this monitor is amazing and had the potential to easily be the best monitor I've ever had.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Rene,

Hello, I would like to thank you for taking your time in writing this review. We certainly value your feedback. It is unfortunate that your monitor suffers from vertical line and sometimes checker board boxes.. Sorry for the inconvenience this caused you. Despite this issue, it looks like everything else is fine. If you wish to submit an RMA, you can at http://www.asus.com/us/support. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to contact me at cl-justin@asus.com and I will help you to the best of my abilities. I am here to assist our customers with our products and dedicated in bringing a resolution to all issues that they may come across. Your case for reference is N160231479

Thanks for choosing ASUS

Regards,
Justin
ASUS Customer Loyalty