ASUS VG27AQ 27" Black

The ASUS TUF VG27AQ delivers buttery smooth 165Hz gaming and a crisp 1440p image for a price that won't make your wallet cry. Just don't expect its HDR or built-in speakers to impress.

The ASUS TUF Gaming VG27AQ is that one monitor your friend who's been doing all the research keeps telling you to buy. It's a 27-inch 1440p IPS panel that nails the essentials: 165Hz refresh, G-Sync compatibility, and a stand with more adjustments than a yoga instructor. For competitive shooters and everyday gaming, this thing punches way above its typical asking price. The 1440p resolution at this size gives you crisp text and enough screen real estate to not feel cramped, and the motion clarity is genuinely impressive. If you've been stuck on 1080p 60Hz, the jump here feels like putting on glasses for the first time.

That said, ASUS had to cut a few corners to hit the price, and you'll notice them. HDR is a paper spec that looks worse than SDR in practice, the built-in speakers are an afterthought, and brightness just about hits "fine" unless your room is bright. But for pure gaming performance and ergonomic comfort, this monitor is a fantastic deal if you shop around.

We expected smooth sailing at 165Hz, but what surprised us was how well the motion handling holds up even when your framerate dips. ELMB Sync lets you keep backlight strobing active alongside G-Sync, so you get minimal ghosting without tearing, a trick many competitors still fumble at this price. The 1ms MPRT spec is a bit of marketing fluff (you'll only see it with the strobe mode on), but in real world Overwatch or Apex sessions, I couldn't spot any smearing. The 1440p panel is sharp, though the 8-bit color and ~71st percentile color performance won't make your photo edits pop. It's a gaming monitor first, and it shines there.

Prices on this monitor are all over the place—we've seen it as low as $219 and as high as $609. Let's be real: at $600 you're getting robbed, but around $300-$350 it's a steal. Newegg often has the best deal if you keep an eye out, and that's where we'd pull the trigger. At that price, you're getting top-tier gaming performance and a stand that puts most $400 competitors to shame.

The most direct rival is the LG UltraGear 27G810A-B, which pushes to 240Hz and gets brighter, but its stand is flimsier and you'll pay a premium for those extra hertz. If you're a contrast junkie, the Samsung Odyssey G65B's VA panel offers deeper blacks and punchier HDR, but you lose the wide viewing angles and snappy IPS response times. For OLED glory, the MSI MAG 321CUP QD-OLED is in a different league entirely—but also a different budget. For 1440p 165Hz IPS gaming on a sensible budget, the VG27AQ is still the one to beat.

If you're even remotely serious about HDR gaming or want a monitor with speakers loud enough to fill a room, skip this. Grab a Samsung Odyssey G65B for far better contrast and color volume, or an LG 27GP850-B if you need more brightness and don't mind a slightly worse stand. This ASUS is a gaming-first panel, not a multimedia hub.

Buy this monitor if you want a responsive, no-nonsense 1440p gaming display that won't empty your bank account. The ergonomics alone make it a desk champion, and the motion performance keeps it relevant against pricier options. Just go in knowing you'll need headphones or external speakers, and pretend the HDR button doesn't exist. At the sub-$300 price point, it's an easy recommendation.