Few people in the PC world, if any, aren’t familiar with Asustek Computer Inc., better know as Asus. The Taiwanese based company has been in existence since 1990, and as of 2011 is listed as the fifth largest PC vendor in the world. The company involves itself with many aspects of PC hardware which include video cards, sound cards, desktops, laptop tablets, and motherboards just to name a few. Today though we will be focusing on one of the products Asus’s offers from their LED display lines, the VG278H 3D LED monitor.
Now I know what many of you are saying. “Duuuude! The monitor came out ages ago. How are you just NOW reviewing it?!” Honestly we got sidetrack with a couple of our other reviews, and kinda let this one slip through the cracks. Sorry : (
Even though many would agree watching 3D videos, viewing pictures in 3D, and playing in 3D does give you that “oh wow” effect, many people downplay the need for 3D, in particular for gaming. A popular opinion among gamers is that 3D is just a gimmick, and it does not enhance your gaming experience enough to justify the extra money it requires to have a 3D ready set up.
More, and more companies however don’t seem to share the “3D is not worth it” opinion, and have increased their support for the 3D market. Is this a wise choice, or are these companies destined to write off their time, and efforts into 3D as a lost? That we can’t answer as time will tell. We can however tell you how the Asus VG278H stacks up not only as a 3D display option, but as display which boosts 120hz in 1080p with a 2ms refresh rate all with sporting a 27in screen. So enough chit chat lets get to it.
Packaging & Aesthetics
First off the Asus VG278H does come in a fairly big box. I mean hey it is 27in display. Make sure you have enough room to open her up.
Presuming you actually listened to us, and opened up the box in a large enough space…(if you didn’t hope you got enough Deco cement to put that lamp you knocked over back together) tadda! Meet your new display.
As you can see in the pic below the monitor is sporting an all black finish with the stand showing off a large 3D icon. I mean honestly if you had any doubt this display was 3D compatible, that icon on the stand more then likely would convince you it is. The VG278H also sports the Asus logo on the lower center, and back of the monitor. The bezel is a bit thick, made of hard plastic. Its pretty sturdy but we wouldn’t recommend you plowing a sledge hammer through it just to see just how tough.
As far as looks go, the monitor does look cool, but to us it looked a bit plain. Hey it’s not all about looks with displays. Its about function. Ok it’s a bit about the looks sometimes, but you get what we are saying : )
The display itself can be adjusted for height, and has tilt capability. Please note that the vertical adjustment function of the monitor is locked by default. To remedy this, which is shown in the display’s instructions, and on the lower back half of the stand itself, is to pull out the metal ring found at rear base of the stand. Once the ring is pulled you can adjust the height to your heart’s content.
The display’s stand is a disc design, and this kind of made us a bit nervous as we usually prefer stands that have feet. Call us crazy but the feet design in our heads gives us a stronger sense of security that the display will not fall from its own weight, especially dealing with larger screen monitors. However we were pleasantly surprised at how well the stand performed. The material is (find out name), and it really does keep the display steady. Kudos to Asus on their choice of stand.
Located at the bottom right of the display is the menu button which of course allows you to access the menu options for the VG278H. Additionally there are six other buttons which control power on/off, display input options, menu option select, and menu guidance. More on the menu options later.
As you can see the display sports a total of three video in options which are HDMI 1.4, Dual link DVI-D (cable included), and VGA. It also includes a 3.5mm audio jack for use with headphones, and of course the power input port. One thing to note though is that the positioning of the inputs maybe a bit of a headache for some given the way the ports are positioned. We however didn’t have that much of a problem with them, but we could understand how some users would.
In regards to extra options like SD card readers, and USB ports, the display is pretty upfront. There are none. Now is this a bad thing? Depends on what you want in your monitor. If you are looking for a display with extra bells, and whistles, the VG278H is not for you. Now if your only concern is having a display that just…well displays, then keep reading our review.
Now we come to one of the highlights of the VG278H, the 3D sensor. The senor is integrated into the top of the display, and is pretty seamless in its design. An added bonus is the sensor is able to be titled up, or down.
Staying on the topic of the display’s 3D options, the VG278H is Nvidia Stereoscopic 3D certified. As such you will need a Nvidia video card to utilize the 3D capabilities.
Asus bundles the VG278H with Nvidia’s latest 3D wireless glasses which are said to contain improvements in brightness which was an issue with Nvidia’s previous glasses. We found the fit of glasses to be quite good. They did not squeeze into the sides of our head, and are large enough to allow users to wear prescription glasses while in use. The design of the glasses allows for more focus on what you are watching without distractions that may originate from your peripheral view.
Lastly the glasses come with a USB cable which is used for recharges. The initial recommended charge of the glasses is two hours. With our time with the display we rarely needed to recharge the glasses which is a plus.
