It is clear that, based on many of the products launched at Gamescom this year, premium, luxury gaming is becoming a bone fide thing.
Not only have we had a few major announcements about high-performance graphics cards (including a few yet to be unveiled), gaming monitors from Samsung and, now, Asus are proving that there is a growing market for highly-desirable gaming monitors.
Samsung wowed us with its latest 57-inch Odyssey Neo G9 ultrawide display, and we're equally as impressed by the new Asus OLED range – not least the 49-inch ROG Swift OLED PG49WCD super-ultrawide monitor.
Featuring pro-level colour reproduction and contrast, it is really something to behold. I got to see it in action during the Republic of Gamers Gamescom press conference and was left in awe at the image quality.
I own an OLED TV, so am fully aware what the tech brings to the table. The on/off pixels and no backlight don't just provide deep, involving black levels, but a colour palette that, I feel, is second to none. However, the 144Hz refresh rate and 0.03ms response time should ensure that games move as well as they look.
The panel has a resolution of 5120 x 1440, which is more than enough these days – I'm happy to swap a 2160p resolution for 1440p if it keeps the frame rate high and allows for a wider field-of-view. I can't also help feeling that this would be ideal for work use too, with all that real estate on offer.
All it seems to be missing is the DisplayPort 2.1 connection Samsung has added to its new monitor, but most devices still only support DP1.4 anyway.
It goes on sale in October, with price details to follow.
Equally impressive, albeit for different reasons, is the ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDM – said to be the "world's first" 32-inch gaming monitor using QD-OLED technology.
It is capable of a peak brightness of 1,000nits and, while it isn't wide nor curved, it does have a refresh rate of 240Hz and a similar 0.03ms response rate. Also like its larger stablemate, the danger of screen burn is greatly diminished through the use of a custom heat sink and graphene material used in the panel construction.
It too uses DisplayPort 1.4 rather than 2.1, and is powered through USB-C.
I was particularly impressed with its handling of contrast, as the demo gameplay was set in darkened rooms with stark lighting effects. It picked everything out very nicely indeed.
The PG32UCDM will be available in early 2024 (Q1). Again, pricing is yet to be revealed.
Finally, the ROG Swift OLED PG34WCDM is a 34-inch ultrawide monitor with 800R curvature and a 240Hz refresh rate. It too reduces the risk of burn-in through a dedicated heat sink.
Its peak brightness is the highest of the trio of new releases, at 1,300nits, and it is DisplayHDR True Black 400-compliant, plus G-Sync compatible.
You get a HDMI 2.1 port alongside the DisplayPort 1.4 and USB-C power.
Again, the PG34WCDM will be available in Q1 next year. We'll update you on pricing when possible.
Certainly, when considered at as a collection, it's a marked step in the right direction for premium play. Now we just need consoles to catch up to the PC gaming rigs these displays will best serve.
