Asus ProArt PA27AC 27 " black (90LM02N0-B01370)

Top from Asus

Asus does not often update its line of "graphic" monitors ProArt, so the update of the 2018 lineup attracted a lot of attention among designers. It is especially highly appreciated by MacBook owners who can easily connect the laptop to the monitor using the Thunderbolt port, turning it into a convenient workstation. In general, "connect everything to me" is the unspoken principle of this monitor: on the back panel, you will find a plethora of ports, including a pair of HDMI, DisplayPort, headphone output, and a USB hub with 3 ports (there is also a USB-C with the ability to charge through it). All this allows additional peripherals to be connected without occupying the main ports in the computer or laptop. Other features include built-in speakers, a convenient stand with height adjustment, support for portrait mode, and "picture-in-picture."

27-inch IPS matrix with Quad HD resolution

The Asus PA27AC uses a full-fledged 8-bit IPS-type matrix, which at a screen diagonal of 27 inches provides the optimal resolution for this class, Quad HD (2560x1440 pixels) with a pixel density of 110 ppi. An additional immersion in what’s happening is facilitated by the so-called 4-side frameless design of the frameless matrix, where all four inner frames are minimal in size. The manufacturer claims an increased backlight brightness of up to 400 nits with a truly working system of unevenness compensation, 100% sRGB color coverage, a built-in 14-bit LUT with hardware calibration capability, high-quality factory setup, an advanced unevenness backlight compensation system, and HDR10 standard support.

Not without drawbacks

However, HDR here is not entirely authentic, the monitor managed to pass the VESA specification thanks to software enhancement using Tone Mapping technology. Given the "professional" price tag of around $800, this approach to creating a professional monitor is surprising. Still, this is the reality for 99% of displays with claimed HDR support. The strange approach to color calibration is also disappointing. For some reason, Asus did not want to use correction matrices for a certain type of backlight, as other manufacturers do, and decided to write their own not entirely successful software. In general, if 100% coverage of the sRGB space completely meets your color reproduction requirements and at the same time you need a truly high-quality modern monitor with a bunch of additional features, then there will not be many alternatives to the ProArt PA27AC.