Asus ProArt PA279CV review: a well-calibrated 27-inch Ultra HD USB-C monitor for image professionals

The Asus ProArt PA279CV sports a very classic and versatile design. The matte black plastic is of good quality and does not retain fingerprints. The only distinctive element is the ruler placed at the base of the screen which allows the elements displayed on the screen to be adjusted to actual size.

The stand allows the monitor to be rotated ± 45 °. The marks at the base of the stand allow you to replace the screen perfectly in the center.

This Asus monitor has a height adjustment of 15 cm and the tilt between -5 ° and + 35 °. The stand also allows switching to portrait mode.

The rear of the chassis is made entirely of good quality black plastic. The connection is oriented downwards. The screen is also compatible with VESA 100 x 100 mm mounts once the stand has been removed.

The connection consists of two HDMI 1.4 inputs, a DisplayPort input, a USB-C input, a headphone output, an audio input and four USB 3.0 ports (including two on the edge of the monitor). It also embeds two 2W speakers far from exceptional, but which troubleshoot for system sounds and for viewing short videos. The USB-C to USB-C cable included with the monitor can charge a laptop, use the USB 3.0 ports to connect a keyboard and mouse, for example, and send the video signal to the display. In short, a single cable is enough and allows you to transform the monitor into a sort of docking station. The USB-C port can deliver 65W and can charge almost any laptop on the market. Only people who use powerful computers like the 15/16 inch MacBook Pro whose original power supply delivers 87 watts may be hampered. In fact, it works perfectly and the power supply is only used at full speed during heavy loads. In the case of the 16-inch MacBook Pro, it is the battery that takes over if the required power is too high.

For a reason that remains unexplained, Asus offers buttons here to access the settings, while the majority of the manufacturer’s monitors now have a clickable joystick that is much more efficient and pleasant to use. Fortunately, the menus are clear and the presence of buttons on the front allows smooth navigation, but it is still not more efficient than the joystick. However, the settings offered are numerous (image mode, gamma, temperature, saturation, sharpness, overdrive, etc.).

On our 140 x 60 cm desk, the only 27-inch Asus ProArt279CV is very comfortable. The depth of the stand, limited to 22.9 cm, allows enough space for the keyboard and mouse. The latest versions of Windows and macOS operating systems perfectly handle Ultra HD definition and allow efficient scaling to 150% or even 200% (Full HD equivalent). The text elements are large enough to be readable and the image is crisp. On the other hand, the native definition of 3840 x 2160 px on a 27-inch panel, or 163 pixels per inch (ppi), is almost unusable without scaling. Note that photo editing software like Photoshop perfectly manages this scaling in the interface, but displays the photos using the native definition of the panel, which allows to benefit from a very high level of detail and appreciable for lovers of photo editing.

By lowering the brightness to 23 to obtain white at 150 cd / m², the Asus ProArt PA279CV consumes approximately 26 W, i.e. a relative consumption which reaches 129 W / m², well above the average consumption of the monitors tested (100 W / m²). This is the price to pay to have a very dense Ultra HD panel that lets little light through and therefore requires more powerful backlighting. At minimum brightness (43 cd / m²), it consumes 19 W. At maximum (314 cd / m²), consumption increases to 38 W.

What about the calibration of the Asus monitor except that it is just perfect right out of the box. The temperature curve is perfectly stable with an average measured at 6550 K, respecting the reference value of the video standard (6500 K). Same observation on the gray levels side with a perfectly stable gamma curve over the entire spectrum and an average set on the reference value (2.2). Finally, the colors are simply perfect with an average Delta E measured at only 1.4 and only two colors (green and yellow) which match the value of 3, the threshold above which the human eye begins to perceive a difference between the colors requested and the colors displayed. Once the brightness is lowered to 23, the values ​​remain generally the same; the temperature rises slightly to 6600 K and the Delta E drops to 1.3. In view of these results, calibration via a dedicated probe does not add much.

The native contrast of 950: 1 is a little behind that measured on theAsus TUF Gaming VG27AQ and theAOC 27G2U, in both cases greater than 1200: 1. This contrast is average for an IPS panel, without being bad. In any case, this monitor remains far from the contrast seen on the best VA monitors on the market, such as the Philips Momentum 436M6 where the MSI Optix MAG271CR which benefit from a rate greater than 4000: 1. Darker scenes and black areas appear grayish, especially in a dark room. However, this does not pose any problem during daytime use.

The average white homogeneity deviation is 5% on the 27-inch panel. There is thus no variation in brightness perceptible to the eye. We did not find any light leaks in the corners or any clouding (cloud effect) on our test model. IPS technology also offers very good viewing angles with very little variation in the angles.