TUF Gaming VG28UQL1A
It's been more than a year since our last monitor review article and today, we're a new gaming monitor - the TUF Gaming VG28UQL1A - which boasts 4K native resolution on a 28-inch display with a 144Hz refresh rate. So how does it fare in the real world? Let's check it out!
Build and Design
The TUF Gaming VG28UQL1A has a modern and futuristic design with sharp edges and sci-fi lines adorned all over the back of the chassis. It comes in an all-black finish with a silver ASUS logo on the top back and front bottom of the monitor as well as the TUF Gaming logo located on the top of the stand at the back.
It has a very clean and sleek look featuring a display with slim bezels on three sides and a thicker bottom, mounted on a two-legged wide base to provide a secure footing.
The stand offers various ergonomic positions, including tilt, swivel, pivot, and height adjustments so you can tweak it to your comfort. With that said, you can adjust it in a portrait position if you have a multi-display setup. For further adjustments, it has 100 x 100 VESA compatibility.
On the back, the OSD menus are controlled by 4 trapezoid buttons and a joystick. For those who like to keep their desk clean and neat, you can manage your cables with the smart cable management clip on the stand.
I/O Ports
As for I/O ports, it boasts quite a number of ports with a DisplayPort 1.4, two HDMI 2.1 ports, and two HDMI 2.0 ports. It also features a USB upstream port, two USB 3.0 ports, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
That's actually a lot of ports as you can connect PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and a PC all at the same time to the monitor and you still have an extra HDMI port. However, I think it would be nice if it also includes a USB-C port with power delivery to at least charge mobile devices if not powerful enough for laptops.
Display
While the monitor uses an IPS panel, it's not the best we've seen in the market as it falls short in producing accurate colors with a 90% coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut.
The 28-inch monitor has a 144Hz speedy refresh rate and 1ms GTG response time, along with AMD FreeSync and NVIDIA GSync compatibility. It is capable of running 4K UHD content at the 144Hz refresh rate, thanks to its HDMI 2.1 port and DisplayPort 1.4. For the monitor to support 4K at 144Hz, you would need a supporting NVIDIA GeForce RTX 20 series, AMD Radeon RX 5700, or higher graphics.
The 4K native resolution provides exceptional image details and sharpness, especially evident on graphics-fest titles like Cyberpunk 2077. We were able to enjoy playing at 4K at 60fps.
As far as the HDR400 verification goes, I'm somewhat disappointed by how low the rating is as this simply means the display has only at least 400 nits of brightness. It's not even close to the HDR600 - HDR1000 range to be considered "true" HDR.
Other Features
In any case, it comes with a host of features that supposedly boosts your gaming experience with the monitor. For one, the 5-level Variable Overdrive feature allows the display to dynamically alter its overdrive setting when frame rates drop to ensure optimal results in any games you play.
Another exclusive feature present on the display is ELMB (Extreme Low Motion Blur) SYNC. Basically, it reduces eye tracking motion blur by turning off the backlight of the monitor between refreshes. The feature works better with high frame rate games with over 85Hz frequency.
On top of that, it also has a Gameplus feature that offers in-game enhancements, including an option to add a crosshair to the screen independent of the game, either as a sniper dot or different colored and shaped crosshairs. It also has other options like an FPS counter, a timer function, and a display alignment tool.
Finally, the GameVisual feature comes with 7 pre-set display modes to optimize visuals for different types of content, including racing, MOBA, cinema, RTS/RPG, FPS mode, sRGB, and scenery. You can configure the modes easily via the DisplayWidget Lite software to improve your overall gaming experience. With the software, you'll be able to adjust other settings like Shadow Boost (which brightens the dark areas without overexposing brighter areas), Blue Light Filter, and more.
Buy or no buy
The TUF Gaming VG28UQL1A monitor is certainly quite an all-rounder with an overflowing amount of features from 4K 144Hz to many exclusive features to improve images on-screen. It also offers more than enough ports for you to connect to next-gen consoles at 4K 120Hz.
While the fast 144Hz refresh rate with 4K resolution is a major perk of this monitor, you won't be able to enjoy it if your current graphics card is not compatible, which means you would have to spend an extra amount of money to get a newer graphics card. Also, if HDR performance is important to you, you wouldn't like the HDR400 on this display.
So would you consider this monitor? At the end of the day, it's up to you to decide which features are you looking for and which sacrifices you're willing to make.
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