The Asus ROG Swift PG34WCDM aims to impress with its brand-new WOLED panel and arsenal of desirable features. It’s one of the most heavily-equipped ROG Swift monitors to date, making it more than just a high-end display for gaming. Its not going to be cheap, but let’s take a closer look to know if it’s a worthy investment.
Asus ROG Swift PG34WCDM Specifications
- Screen Size: 34 Inches
- Resolution: 3440 x 1440 UW-QHD
- Aspect Ratio: 21:9
- Panel Technology: WOLED
- Refresh Rate: 240Hz
- Response Time: 0.03ms
- Contrast Ratio: 1500000:1
- Brightness: 250 cd/m² (450 cd/m² Peak)
- Built-in Speakers: Yes (2 x 5 Watts DTS)
- Stand: Height – Yes
- Stand: Tilt – Yes
- Stand: Swivel – No
- Stand: Pivot – No
- VESA Compatibility: Yes (100 x 100)
- Connectivity: DisplayPort 1.4 x 1, HDMI 2.1 x 2, USB-C PD90W x 1, USB 3.2 x 3, 3.5mm Audio Jack x 1, SPDIF Out x 1
- Dimensions (W x H x D): 30.94” 21.69” x 11.54”
- Weight: 18.52 lbs
Design and Features
The Asus ROG Swift PG34WCDM resembles the original PG348Q, but it drops the orange accents in favor of a bolder and more mature aesthetic. The monitor has a matte black finish with RGB LED lights at the back and on the stand. The screen barely has any borders, so you get a clean and seemingly larger viewing area with this compared to the first model.
34-inch ultrawides may not be as large as they seemed back then, but this beast will still take up a lot of space on your desk. It needs almost a foot of depth, and it’s certainly wider than your average desktop monitor. It is lighter at 18.52 pounds, but that’s because it doesn’t have the added heft of a complex backlight.
As always, you can expect fantastic build quality from most of Asus’ products, especially their high-end ones. The monitor’s chassis is free from any type of defects, and every panel is precise and durable enough to withstand cracking and flexing. The included stand is firm and stable, so there is no need to worry about wobbling or sagging.
The Asus ROG Swift PG34WCDM has an OSD joystick for convenience, along with the Asus Display Widget. The latter allows you to tweak settings via the software instead of using a remote or switch on the device. This double layer of convenience is invaluable since it eliminates annoyances and makes adjustments on the fly more convenient.
The included stand offers tilt, swivel, and height adjustments for your convenience. Pivoting wasn’t included since ultrawide in portrait mode does not make sense. You can use VESA mounts, but that only becomes necessary in certain instances.
We love that Asus finally upgraded its connectivity layout beyond what most G-Sync monitors have. This model has DisplayPort 1.4 and dual HDMI 2.1 slots, but it also has a 90-watt USB-C port that you don’t normally get on ROG models. There is also a trio of USB 3.2 ports, a 3.5mm jack, and a SPDIF or optical audio port for speakers.
Display and Performance
The Asus ROG Swift PG34WCDM boasts a 34-inch WOLED panel with a 3440 x 1440 resolution, a 240Hz refresh rate, and a 0.03ms response time. The panel has a 250 cd/m2 output and a 450 cd/m2 peak,. While the contrast is listed at 1500000:1. This model is HDR 400 True Black certified, immediately putting it above the regular HDR-certified monitors when it comes to performance in that regard.
34-inch 1440p monitors are great for both gaming and productivity because of the extra peripheral viewing space. There is more room to maneuver your apps and optimize workflows, while games are able to provide a wider field of view through it. It’s more demanding on a GPU, but it’s not going to be as much of a power hog as a 4K 240Hz model like the Alienware AW3225QF.
The Asus ROG Swift PG34WCDM covers more than 100W% sRGB and 97% DCI-P3 for stunning color in games and movies. Its default accuracy had a deltaE average of 2.81, so it is not the most accurate monitor out there. However, gamers won’t need to calibrate it since this score means that color errors won’t affect gaming at all.
Calibrating it reduced the dE average to 1.89, which isn’t a great result for a high-end display. It is within the brand’s claim, but a colorimeter was needed to achieve this result. It’s worth getting one to maintain the panel, but most gamers won’t mind.
The panel reached 265 cd/m2 at 100% brightness, but its absolute peak reached 1104 cd/m2. Its contrast ratio is infinite as well, so blacks are true black, and night scenes are deep and eerie. Monitors like this are better for HDR over mini-LEDs because of these facts, plus they are starting to get better prices, too.
Panel uniformity for the test sample was great since there were no major issues like backlight leaks. This is OLED’s big advantage over LED monitors, which rely on backlights that introduce some issues. Note that this can still vary with every unit made due to tolerances, so it is still possible to get one with some flaws.
The Asus ROG Swift PG34WCDM’s pixel response time is fantastic since it doesn’t have to rely on a backlight for transitions. This performance is available at both the max refresh rate and 120Hz/144Hz, so you won’t have to deal with smudging. This is another noted advantage of OLED panels versus their counterparts, so we dare say that they are more suitable for competitive play.
The Asus ROG Swift PG34WCDM is compatible with FreeSync and G-Sync for tear and stutter-free gaming. This duality is essential for a big purchase like this to ensure that you will have VRR functionality in the future if you switch to the other GPU brand. Its input lag sits at 3ms at 240Hz, making it one of the fastest ultrawide monitors in the market.
Thoughts on the Asus ROG Swift PG34WCDM
The Asus ROG Swift PG34WCDM is the best 34-inch gaming monitor you can buy now if the price isn’t considered. It’s faster, more vibrant, and filled to the gills with features that make it a good investment for your setup. It is future-proof and built quite well, so there is no doubt that it can be your main monitor for years if you take care of the OLED panel.
However, WOLED seemed worse than QD-OLED when it came to the fringing issue while viewing text. Asus did implement a solution for it in the OSD, but the results are mixed according to feedback. But on the other hand, it is the best ultrawide monitor money can buy right now.
Pros:
- Fantastic Contrast and Brightness
- Rich Colors and HDR Output
- Very Fast and Responsive
- Lots of New Features
Cons:
- Expensive
- Prone to Fringing
About the Author: Paolo has been a gaming veteran since the golden days of Doom and Warcraft and has been building gaming systems for family, friends, and colleagues since junior high. High-performance monitors are one of his fixations; he believes that every citizen’s right to enjoy one. He has gone through several pieces of hardware in pursuit of every bit of performance gain, much to the dismay of his wallet. He now works with Monitornerds to scrutinize the latest gear to create reviews that accentuate the seldom explained aspects of a PC monitor.
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