Asus VG259Q Review – 1080 144Hz IPS Gaming Monitor with ELMB8 min read

Pros:

• Accurate IPS Panel
• Excellent ELMB Performance
• Impressive Pixel Response Time
• FreeSync/G-Sync Compatible
• High Brightness and Contrast

Cons:

• Lower sRGB Coverage
• Gamma Needs Improvement
• Pricey Compared to Competitors

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The Asus VG259Q offers a fast 1080p IPS panel that offers both speed and image quality which TN variants failed to satisfy in the past. IPS variants have considerably better viewing angles and clarity, but their most prominent advantage is their potential in color reproduction. The Asus VG259Q is very attractive for a wide audience, but can it pull off the same kind of performance as its bigger brother, the VG27AQ?

Asus VG259Q Specifications

• Screen Size: 25 Inches
• Resolution:1920 x 1080 FHD
• Aspect Ratio: 16:9
• Panel Technology: In-Plane Switching (IPS)
• Refresh Rate: 144Hz
• Response Time: 4ms (1ms MPRT)
• Contrast Ratio: 1000:1 (Static)
• Brightness: 400cd/m²
• Speakers: Yes (2 x 2 Watts)
• Stand: Height -Yes
• Stand: Tilt – Yes
• Stand: Swivel – Yes
• Stand: Pivot – Yes
• VESA Compatibility: Yes (100 x 100)
• Connectivity: HDMI 1.4 x 2, DisplayPort 1.2 x 1, 3.5mm Jack
• Dimensions (W x H x D): 21.16” x 14.06” x 8.7”
• Weight: 11.24 lbs

Design and Features

The Asus VG259Q follows the old design formula the brand has used for its premium gaming monitors in the past. The matte black chassis has a nice texture that’s durable and very easy to maintain against dust and fingerprints, so the monitor will always manage to look new. This model isn’t bezel-free, but the borders are already very thin and almost unnoticeable while gaming.

The functional look is always easy to like and assimilate into an existing build, plus it ensures you don’t have to build your system’s looks around it when you upgrade. It’s the main reason why we prefer the older look instead of the aggressive-looking Strix and ROG Swift variants we see today.

This model doesn’t have RGB lighting features at the rear, so you only get the futuristic etchings and the bold TUF Gaming logo at the top of the upright. This isn’t surprising since the monitor belongs to a value gaming sub-brand, unlike the ROG Swift variants. However, we don’t think this is a loss since you can add your own LED strips if you really want some thematic lighting.

Build quality isn’t sacrificed even if the Asus VG259Q is at the cheaper end of the TUF gaming monitor stack. The plastics used feel thick and durable, while there are no visible cosmetic defects on the monitor. The mechanism on the stand is smooth, but its firm enough to retain the angle you set for as long as you want.

You also get a joystick with a four-button combination on the Asus VG259Q for OSD manipulation and switching between various filters and modes. This implementation is always easier to use, especially when navigating through a lot of sub-menus in the OSD. You can’t see the buttons, but its position makes it easy to familiarize and simply reach over to tweak something.

One of the best things about the Asus VG259Q is its fully adjustable stand which is robust and reliable. You don’t need to spend the extra for VESA mounts even if they are compatible since you can already tilt, swivel, pivot, and adjust the height of the screen. The squarish base creates excellent footing for the monitor, so it won’t easily topple over.

The Asus VG259Q comes with a DisplayPort 1.2 and dual HDMI 1.4 slots for video inputs so it can accommodate your gaming PC plus two consoles. There is also a 3.5mm jack for headphones, but you don’t get USB slots with this model. It’s not a big loss, but it would be nice to have some which could handle some peripherals and enable better cable management.

There is also a pair of 2-watt speakers on the Asus VG259Q, but we think they won’t get a lot of use from the product’s intended audience. The pair sound tinny and they easily distort at higher volume ranges, so they won’t be ideal for gaming. You are better off with a pair of separate speakers or a headset which is always preferable for competitive gaming.

Display and Performance

The Asus VG259Q sports a 25-inch IPS panel with a 1920 x 1080 resolution, 144Hz refresh rate, and 1ms minimum response time. The backlight tops out at a healthy 400 cd/m2, while contrast sits at a typical 1000:1 just like most IPS panels. The 1ms claim isn’t native to the panel, but it describes the monitor’s ELMB feature which boosts pixel response times to reduce ghosting.

Gaming monitors in the 24/25-inch format with a 1080p resolution are still popular since they are the widely accepted standard for competitive gaming. Its also easier to hit the maximum refresh rate with almost any GPU, allowing gamers to build a more affordable system that achieves maximum speed. You won’t need scaling on this monitor for basic tasks thanks to its reasonable sharpness.

The Asus VG259Q is capable of decent color starting with 96% coverage of the sRGB gamut with an average accuracy of around DeltaE 2.1. It’s not the best we’ve seen, but the screen still looks balanced and sufficient for competitive gaming use. The color temperature is slightly under the 6500K point, so you don’t have to tweak settings to get a more temperate appearance from the IPS display.

Contrast is also excellent on the Asus VG259Q, reaching as much as 1250:1 using moderate brightness settings. One thing that missed the standard, however, is the gamma which stayed at 2.06 and made some scenes too dim or too bright. You are going to need a colorimeter to achieve a 2.2 gamma which will look more natural.

Panel uniformity, on the other hand, was excellent for the Asus VG259Q test unit since it did not have backlight bleeding or clouding on any of the screen’s quadrants. The slightly grayish glow when viewing dark images is still there, but for the most part, there aren’t any noticeable blooms that will ruin low-light scenes. But take note that IPS monitors aren’t completely identical since there are manufacturing tolerances that you have to consider.

Pixel responsiveness is where the Asus VG259Q excels thanks to its ELMB feature which boosts the screen’s response times. What’s great about this feature is that it doesn’t lock out adaptive sync, so you can still enjoy buttery-smooth frames without ghosting or trailing. However, ELMB will drop the brightness noticeably and it doesn’t place nice with framerate drops below 100-120FPS, so make sure that your game settings are optimized.

If ELMB is out of the question, you can always use the Asus VG259Q’s Trace-Free setting in its OSD which is similar to a pixel overdrive tool. We found that its best to use around 40-50 since anything higher will induce noticeable overshoot. These new batch of IPS panels have better pixel response times after all, so it doesn’t take a lot of boosting to clear out the common blurring issues we see in competitive gaming scenarios.

The Asus VG259Q is a FreeSync gaming monitor, but it works flawlessly with G-Sync if you have an Nvidia GPU. You are, however, going to need at least a GTX 10-series GPU with the latest drivers to use the feature so you might need to upgrade if you are on an older system. Input lag sits at around 4ms, so there is no need to worry about delays or “de-synced” instances while gaming.

Thoughts on the Asus VG259Q

The Asus VG259Q is an excellent gaming monitor as far as image quality and responsiveness are concerned, but it doesn’t compare to the VG27AQ or the cheaper AOC 24G2 in some aspects. The IPS panel is accurate out of the box and very responsive, so you don’t have to suffer through TN’s limited viewing angles if you want that 1ms performance. We love the timeless design, plus its such a huge advantage the monitor works with both FreeSync and G-Sync.

However, the aforementioned limitations of the Asus VG259Q can be a deal-breaker for purists especially since the product is priced higher than its closest competitors. The lower gamut coverage is a minor issue, but the stubborn gamma can make some games look too dark or washed out. However, we still think that this monitor is a good buy if you have your heart set on it, provided that you are willing to exert effort to correct these issues.

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About the Author:

Paolo is a gaming veteran since the golden days of Doom and Warcraft and has been building gaming systems for family, friends, and colleagues since his junior high years. High-performance monitors are one of his fixations and he believes that it’s 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.