Asus ROG Swift OLED PG42UQ Review: Just Get It.

So I have beside me a really awesome gaming monitor, or perhaps at this size, it’s already more akin to a TV. This is the Asus ROG Swift OLED PG42UQ and we’ve tried it out for about a month now. So we’re going to share our thoughts about this but TL:DR, if you’re even thinking about this... just get it, it’s awesome.

So right off the bat, let’s talk about specs and there is quite a bit to go through.

Specs

Now first and foremost, if you are anywhere familiar with the LG C2 OLED TV, this is basically using that same exact panel, except with a few tweaks and optimisations courtesy of Asus. So we have a 41.5-inch OLED panel running a 4K resolution in standard 16:9 with a maximum overclocked refresh rate of 138Hz.

The panel is 10-bit capable and will also cover over 100% sRGB (133%) and up to 98% DCI-P3, with a typical brightness of 450 nits in SDR mode and up to a peak brightness of about 800 nits in HDR mode with support for HDR10. Additionally, it is G-Sync Compatible. Overall, it is quite similar in specs with the LG and as mentioned, rightfully so.

But there are differences and one of them would be the I/O.

Unlike the LG which features four HDMI 2.1 ports, the Asus drops that down to just two HDMI 2.1 ports, with the other two being HDMI 2.0 instead. But in return, you do actually get a single DisplayPort 1.4 with support for DSC. For most PC users, we daresay this is much preferred. You also get plenty of other things such as optical audio, 3.5mm headphone jack and a USB Hub with four USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports in various locations, including one up top to easily pair with a webcam thanks to the presence of a ¼-inch mount.

It’s pretty clear that Asus has tweaked and optimised this very monitor for desktop use and it doesn’t stop there.

Features

One other neat feature is the fact that this monitor wakes up from sleep really fast. Just under 5 seconds in all of our experiences, be it with a desktop, a MacBook or perhaps a console like the Xbox Series X. In addition, there is an auto-switch function in which when the active device turns off, it automatically switches to the other device that’s connected. Everything is just really snappy just like you would expect from a monitor and that’s really great.

Now one of the biggest issues with using an OLED TV as your primary monitor is the way that OLED TVs manage the overall sustained screen brightness. When you have a very small window of white on screen, say a document for example, you’ll notice that it can get really bright and nearly pure white. But as soon as you expand that window to fill a quarter of the screen, half or all the way to full, you will find that the brightness will drop tremendously accordingly.

Asus has implemented a feature called Uniform Brightness and it does pretty much almost exactly as it says. What it does is limit the upper max brightness possible and sets a minimum brightness threshold that the display cannot fall under. To our understanding, that minimum threshold is about 200 nits. However in actuality, there is still a little change in brightness when you do the exact same action. It’s just way less aggressive.

We would say that it isn't perfect and we really wished it was. But compared to most OLED TVs, it is way better and to that, we would say that this implementation is passable.

The Gaming Experience

But in any case, how is the gaming experience? Suffice to say, it’s been incredible. Over the course of a month, we’ve managed to put it through its paces by playing a variety of games with it. Using a PC and the Xbox Series X, we played games like Halo Infinite, Genshin Impact, Ori and Valorant.

With either the PC or the Xbox, you can be rest assured that you’ll be using the full capabilities of this display, supporting the full 4K resolution and up to 120 Hz or 138 Hz overclocked especially for the PC.

The image quality is just gorgeous with OLED and it really provides you that extra punch in visual fidelity that really makes it stand out from the competition full of IPS and VA offerings. This is especially so when you take a game like Ori, which has a beautiful art direction and design or a game like Genshin Impact, where the overworld is simply filled with beautiful sceneries of vibrant colors. You really just feel like you’re part of the game and it’s just breathtaking to look at.

The only thing you do have to consider is space for comfort, especially if you’re more into first-person type games instead, like Valorant or Halo. While it’s still going to be fantastic, we do find that sitting at the general usual distance away from a monitor might be a little tough on the eyes especially if you can’t change the FOV settings in game. We would suggest moving slightly further away for a better experience, and for some, to even possibly reduce headaches.

Or you can make use of the built-in Aspect Control function that Asus has implemented.

Using the OSD, you can quickly shift the size of the overall usable area of the monitor down to 24-inches, 27-inches, or even go ultrawide at 34-inches. While this feature isn’t anything new in the industry per se, the resulting experience is pretty stellar thanks to OLED. The unusable areas are black and they remain truly black since the pixels just turn off, so you wouldn’t get that gray tinge like you would with a standard backlit type display.

Now apart from gaming, it’s also going to perform equally well for consuming content such as your favourite series or movies from Netflix or Disney+ and more. Couple that with a pretty decent built-in speaker setup with two 10W speakers and a single 15W woofer, you’ll also be getting plenty of sound without any additional setup. Obviously, pairing a headset with your system will still be better but if you’re just listening to music on the side or perhaps just having a video running in the background, this is more than adequate for a good listening experience.

Productivity

So we’ve established the fact that this is really awesome for gaming and entertainment. But what about other tasks, like productivity?

Needless to say, with a 4K resolution at 42-inches, there is plenty of room for activities. If you’re just using the monitor with a standard PC, you could easily have two windows open side by side with plenty of space for text or even three or four with ease especially if you’re on Windows 11. Conversely if you’re someone who uses plenty of professional software such as Adobe or DaVinci, this will allow you to take a look at your photos in great detail or perhaps have all your timeline and tools at a glance with more space to spare. Additionally, we do have to mention that text is really clean and sharp thanks to the sub-pixel layout which anyone can definitely appreciate.

In addition, the monitor also supports Picture-by-Picture (PbP) or Picture-In-Picture (PiP) layouts with different inputs. So you can have your PC and console connected and have it displayed at the same time. It’s all up to you. But of course, one major thing to be concerned about with OLED is burn-in. Thankfully, Asus has done a few things to ease your worry.

One is the custom heatsink inside the monitor. According to Asus, it allows up to 8% lower temperatures and in effect, it provides better OLED performance and especially longevity. To top it off, it is a fanless design which ensures total silent operation.

The other is a little feature where if you left the monitor on and inactive for 8 hours, a Pixel Cleaning notification will appear and will appear again every subsequent 4 hours if left unattended. Now if you do turn off the monitor, Pixel Cleaning will begin automatically and will take about 6 minutes to complete. In the event you turn on the monitor before the process is completed, not only will you experience a longer boot up turn than usual, but that same notification will reappear once every 4 hours yet again. On the other hand, you can initiate this process anytime you like via the OSD.

Price

So now at this point, we’re pretty sure that most of you are going to compare this with the LG C2 and especially so given the fact that both are priced similarly. The LG C2 costs US$1,399 or S$2,449 while the Asus PG42UQ costs US$1,399 or S$2,549. But those prices are MSRP. Nowadays, you can find the LG C2 going for about US$100-200 cheaper on sale and possibly even more in the upcoming end of year deals.

That means you’re getting pretty much the same experience for quite a bit less… or are you?

Our Thoughts

Honestly, Asus has done a really good job with the ROG Swift OLED PG42UQ and we daresay that it is worth that extra bit of cash for it especially if you’re going to be using it with a PC. Having a DisplayPort is a huge benefit, and so are the other nifty things like a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Hub, the matte coating, the implementation of Uniform Brightness and the fast wake from sleep amongst many other things.

All these upgrades might be small in itself but add them all up and they do truly make the overall experience with a PC that much better, putting it ahead in comparison to the LG C2 for the same purpose. So like we mentioned at the start. If you’re even thinking of getting this, just get it for It is pretty darn good.