Digital Camera World Verdict
The ASUS PA27UCGE delivers exceptional value thanks to its rare hardware calibration with built-in integrated colorimeter, as well as excellent colour accuracy, impressive HDR performance, USB-C connectivity with Power Delivery, and a bundled shading hood. Its not quite perfect: the automated calibration is frustratingly slow, Adobe RGB coverage is only average, and our review sample showed less-than-ideal brightness uniformity, but these drawbacks are relatively minor given the price. For photographers, videographers, and creatives who want consistently accurate image quality without the cost and hassle of aftermarket calibration, the PA27UCGE is a compelling buy.
Reasons to buy
- +
Superb color accuracy
- +
Fully automated hardware calibration
- +
Included hood
- +
USB-C with Power Delivery
- +
Keen pricing
Reasons to avoid
- -
I couldn't equal ASUS' 98% P3 coverage figure
- -
Brightness uniformity could be better
- -
Calibration is very slow
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If you're in the market for a well-specified, color-accurate monitor tailored to discerning creatives, you'd better have deep pockets. This level of image quality doesn't come cheap, and if you also want hardware calibration and a built-in colorimeter to totally automate the calibration process, then expect to pay well into four figures. However, the ASUS ProArt Display PA27UCGE Professional Monitor boasts all this and much more besides, yet it carries an RRP of £749, and can be often had for even less with discounts. Let's see if that relatively low price comes with any compromises...
Specifications
Display area: 27 inches
Aspect: 16:9
Panel type: IPS
Panel bit depth: 10-bit
Display colors: 1.07 billion
Resolution: 3840 x 2160
Pixel density: 163 ppi
Refresh rate: 160Hz
Response time: 1ms
Brightness: 600 cd/m2
Contrast ratio: 1000:1
Color space coverage: 100% sRGB, 98% DCI-P3
Video inputs: HDMI x2, USB-C (DP Alt Mode), DisplayPort
Read more:
The best monitors for video editing
The best photo-editing monitors
The best monitor calibrators
Key features
ASUS has gone large on image quality specs with the PA27UCGE. The 27-inch panel runs at 4K (3840 x 2160) resolution, but more notably it can display an impressive 98% of the DCI-P3 video color gamut. Not only that, ASUS claims it is pre-calibrated to an exceptionally tight tolerance of Delta-E <1. For reference, most monitors claiming to be color-accurate are calibrated to a less strict deviance of Delta-E <2, or 1.5. And to ensure the monitor stays accurate, the PA27UCGE is capable of hardware calibration. That means the color look-up table is saved to the monitor itself, not the connected PC or Mac, meaning you can connect different computers and the monitor's color output will not change. What's more, you don't even need an aftermarket monitor calibrator to perform the calibration process, as the PA27UCGE packs its own motorized colorimeter which can be scheduled to calibrate the monitor automatically when you're not using the screen.
The PA27UCGE is also capable of an above-average 600 nits of peak brightness, earning it VESA DisplayHDR 600 certification for displaying HDR content (the PA27UCGE supports HDR10 and Hybrid Log Gamma standards). And to ensure that content is clearly visible to you, the panel is equipped with ASUS' LuxPixel technology: an anti-glare, low-reflection (AGLR) coating which claims to minimise screen reflection using a matte coating that won't reduce color saturation or sharpness.
Most premium monitors are now USB-C capable, and the PA27UCGE is no exception. It supports a single-cable connection to a laptop, with the video signal and up to 96W of charging power transmitted through one cable. The monitor can also act as a USB hub, with multiple USB-A and Type C ports supplementing your laptop's own connectivity.
Other value-adding extras include a supplied shading hood to further reduce potential screen reflections, and a built-in KVM enables you to control two computers with a single monitor, keyboard and mouse. Those separate video inputs can also be arranged in various Picture-by-Picture and Picture-in-Picture modes, with the option to have each input display in a different color gamut.
Build & handling
Typical of ASUS's ProArt display range, the PA27UCGE has a discreet, function-over-form aesthetic, though you still get slim screen bezels. That's particularly impressive considering the PA27UCGE has a built-in colorimeter. The BenQ PD2770U conceals its colorimeter in an abnormally thick top bezel, but ASUS' implementation is neater, as it's housed in a small protrusion on the bottom bezel. The motorized colorimeter hinges towards you, flipping up to rest on the screen surface.
The base of the supplied stand has a plastic finish (it's metal within), so doesn't feel quite as premium as some, though the upright has a good range of height and swivel adjustment.
The main selection of ports includes two HDMI sockets, a DisplayPort socket, two USB-C connections (one being the DisplayPort alt mode connection, capable of up to 96W power delivery, the other being an upstream connection used to enable the remaining USB ports to work as a hub). These hub ports include two USB-A ports running at USB 3.2 Gen 1 speed (5 Gbps), and there's an additional USB-C downstream port positioned in a more accessible location beneath the monitor controls.
The controls themselves are fairly typical for this sector: a joystick for navigating the on-screen menus, with five buttons between it and the power button. The on-screen menus are clear and easy to operate, with my only complaint being the brightness adjustment, which is on an overly fine scale of 0-400, so changing brightness takes longer than it should.
A standout feature of the PA27UCGE, especially at this price point, is its hardware calibration. You can operate this using ASUS' ProArt Calibration software, or by using the monitor's own on-screen interface. This gives you the option to set an automatic calibration schedule, to take place outside of your work hours, and that's a good thing, as the calibration process is not fast. I set the monitor to calibrate just the DCI-P3 gamut, yet this took over 30 minutes, with numerous monitor restarts along the way. The procedure would have been longer still had I selected more than one gamut to calibrate. What's more, unlike Eizo's hardware calibration which only uses a small portion of the screen area to display the required color swatches enabling you to use the remaining screen area for work, ASUS calibration is a full-screen affair. There's also an option to allow the monitor to warm up for 30 minutes before the calibration starts, which is a good idea if you want maximum accuracy, but select this option and the monitor will not respond to any of its controls during the warmup period - if you need to use it, your only way to exit the calibration is to pull the power cord and plug it back in.
The monitor also packs 2x 2w stereo speakers, but like every other monitor speakers I've encountered, they sound thin, tinny, and are best used as a last resort.
Performance
The first thing that strikes you about the PA27UCGE when you power it up is just how bright it is. Even at 50% brightness this display can hurt your eyes, and I genuinely had to put my sunglasses on when I needed to crank it to max brightness during my test procedure. For general use in a room with moderate ambient lighting, I set the display to 100 on its 0-400 brightness scale, and this was easily bright enough for my editing workflow.
In the default 'Native' color mode, the display looks great, with good contrast and vibrant color saturation, while the 4K resolution on a display of this size provides excellen crispness - the outline of individual pixels can't be seen from a sensible viewing distance. Being an IPS LCD display, contrast doesn't fluctuate depending on your viewing angle, though the anit-glare matte coating does create a slight shimmer which takes a little getting use to (this seems to apply to any monitor with an AG coating, not just the PA27UCGE). Color and brightness uniformity look consistent to the naked eye, with no obvious areas of backlight bleed.
But to get a truly objective measure of the PA27UCGE's image quality, the human eye just won't cut it - you need a colorimeter, commonly known as a monitor calibrator. My device of choice is Datacolor's Spyder Pro, which in addition to calibrating a monitor can also measure key aspects of its display output, to see whether the PA27UCGE actually matches ASUS' advertised specifications.
Lab results
Color coverage
Asus quotes 98% DCI-P3 color gamut coverage, however, I could only record a maximum of 93%, even after adjusting numerous monitor settings and testing various color profiles. Adobe RGB coverage isn't quoted, but I recorded it at 87%.
Brightness and contrast
The PA27UCGE has an advertised max brightness of 600 nits. That's already very bright, but my testing recorded an even more retina-searing 881 nits, and I don't doubt that higher figure - this is one seriously bright display! The 1000:1 contrast ratio is in line with the displays' specifications.
Color accuracy
ASUS makes the bold claim that every PA27UCGE comes pre-calibrated to a delta-E <1 color accuracy. Our review sample turned out to be even better still, recording an exceptionally accurate 0.55 deviance from ideal color, making it one of the most color-accurate displays I've ever tested.
Color uniformity
Color uniformity at 100% brightness is a little mediocre, with a maximum Delta-E deviance between the most and least accurate screen segments of 4.5. But drop the brightness to a much more comfortable 50% and the deviance reduces to a more acceptable figure of 3.
Brightness uniformity
Our PA27UCGE turned out to have an 18% difference between the brightest and dimmest screen regions, regardless of the overall brightness level selected. That number sounds bad, but you'll struggle to see any brightness deviation with the naked eye.
The monitor does have a Uniformity Compensation mode, and this does work well, reducing brightness deviation from 18% to just 9%. Uniformity modes always have the side effect of reducing the overall brightness of the screen, this isn't a deal-breaker here, as the PA27UCGE has so much brightness in reserve. Contrast is also reduced with the uniformity mode enabled, from 1000:1 down to 620:1, but that's not too bad.
Verdict
There's a lot to like about the ASUS ProArt Display PA27UCGE, but the standout feature here is its hardware calibration with built-in colorimeter. You'll struggle to find an equivalent monitor at anything close to this price point, and the excellent value is further enhanced by extras like an included shading hood and USB-C connectivity with Power Delivery. Image quality is also strong, with this being one of the most color-accurate monitors I've ever tested. The PA27UCGE is also a great choice if you edit HDR content, as its already high 600-nit brightness rating turned out to actually be quite conservative - this is one seriously bright display!
Though the PA27UCGE offers is exceptional value as a creator-orientated monitor, it's not quite perfect. Try as I did, I couldn't match ASUS 98% DCI-P3 gamut coverage claim, and there are other monitors that offer superior Adobe RGB coverage. The brightness uniformity results for our review sample were also somewhat disappointing, though this was not noticeable to the naked eye. More frustrating is the built-in calibration, which is painfully slow, only really making sense if you schedule it for a time when you won't be using the monitor.
But if your workflow demands consistently high color accuracy, and you don't want the hassle of calibrating manually with an aftermarket monitor calibrator, the PA27UCGE is by far and away the most cost-effective monitor with fully automated, built-in calibration. Factor its mostly excellent image quality and generous feature-set and the ASUS ProArt Display PA27UCGE is easy to recommend for color-critical image or video editing.
