Asus has presented its fastest gaming monitor yet, boasting up to 610Hz refresh rate and motion blur reduction technologies. Targeting demanding esports players, the upcoming ROG Strix XG248Q5G-P display makes visual clarity its focal point.
Asus unveiled the monitor during an event held in China where it shared some specs, and most importantly, the price. For ¥7,999 (£820), you get a super-fast 610Hz monitor based on a 24.1in TN panel, complete with ELMB 2 (Extreme Low Motion Blur 2) and dual-backlight technologies. That said, the resolution is necessarily kept at 1080p in order for it to be useful to most esports players. Not a big deal for its target audience.
ELMB 2 is a proprietary display technology found on gaming monitors that’s meant to reduce blur and improve fast motion clarity. It does so by strobing the monitor’s backlight in sync with the refresh rate to hide the pixel transition between each refresh cycle. However, as you can guess, brightness takes a hit since the backlight remains off a good portion of the time. Enter what the brand calls Clear Motion Picture 2.0, a solution to boost brightness by combining the power of two light sources. Together, they make Asus’ strategy to achieve better image clarity than competing 600Hz displays.
Another strong aspect of the Asus solution is its support for VRR (Variable Refresh Rates). Where ELMB 1 required disabling FreeSync and G-Sync, ELMB 2 is built to run with VRR technologies. This means you can leverage the benefits of AMD FreeSync Premium and Nvidia G-Sync alongside ELMB 2’s clear motion. Lastly, Asus packs an AI Vision technology meant to scan the screen in real time to apply the best picture mode, in addition to the usual crosshairs and shadow enhancements.
The remaining specs consist of a 0.1mm GtG pixel response time, 90% DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage, and HDMI 2.1 plus DisplayPort 1.4 ports as video inputs – sufficient for this FHD panel. Note, however, that the ROG Strix XG248Q5G-P is equipped with a monitor arm instead of a stand which gives it much better ergonomics.
Depending on how much it will end up costing outside of China, the XG248Q5G-P could offer a nice alternative to the 600Hz BenQ ZOWIE XL2586X+ at £1,099. Until then, the 540Hz AOC Agon Pro AG246FK value is hard to beat thanks to its £429 price tag.
