ASUS’s ROG Strix XG248Q is one of the few 240 Hz gaming monitors sold in India. It has a 23.8-inch viewable area and supports both FreeSync and G-Sync. As an ROG Strix unit, the monitor has signature red and black design language. In general, excellence in one direction always has its downsides in all other aspects of a monitor and we need to check if the ROG Strix XG248Q is suffering from the same problem. This particular model has been available in the international market for quite some time and recently came to the Indian market. It is currently available on a specific ecommerce website for Rs 37,000 with a 3-year manufacturing warranty.

Construction

If you have seen some recent ROG gaming monitors, you will know what to expect from ROG Strix XG240Q. In front of you is a 24-inch bezel which is about one centimeter thick at the top and side where the bottom bezel is slightly thicker than the rest. ASUS calls these ultra-narrow, but we wouldn’t call them ideal for multi-display setups. This is a subjective judgment that varies from user to user. Otherwise, the monitor itself has a very clear appearance from the front. The bezels themselves are not deep (z-axis) and have a matte finish so that they do not reflect too much from the monitor or external light source.

The ROG Strix XG248Q uses a 3-point stand that makes it more stable than virtually any other type of stand. There is absolutely no oscillation motion on uneven surfaces due to the use of only 3 points. A ROG logo is projected on the surface from the advanced base of the monitor. You can adjust its brightness through the OSD panel. Swivel junction just above the base that rotates 50 degrees clockwise and counterclockwise. Above the junction is a small cutout to slip your cables.

The panel can be pivot clockwise by 90 degrees and adjusted by 12 cm in height. Finally, the panel is tilted 20 degrees to the front and 5 degrees to the inside. All of these compatibility features, including the overlay layout within the monitor OSD, help ensure an even-looking multi-display setup.

On the back of the monitor, you have the OSD key with a 5-way joystick and a circular RGB LED array around the mounting point. The joystick is a convenient feature but the problem with it is that if it breaks you will lose 5 input access at once. We realized that the joystick of the XG248Q requires very little force for actuation. The entire back I / O is covered with a plastic cover to maintain an aesthetically pleasing look.


Speaking of I / O, the XG248Q has 2x HDMI, 1x DP, 3.5mm stereo out, USB 3.0 passthrough and 2x USB 3.0 ports connected to the specified passthrough. The ports are not gold plated and you can bend the cables at an awkward angle if you want to root them with a plastic I / O cover. There is a small plastic edge around the panel opening that helps keep the wires in place when you insert the plastic I / O cover. Bending thick wires along a 90-degree angle in such a small space can damage the wire or port. The DP connector that goes to the most remote port is the most susceptible to damage in this manner.

Performance

The XG248Q’s panel is made by Innolux (M238HHJ0-K70) and is rated for a 200 Hz refresh rate, but the ASUS website states that the monitor has a native refresh rate of 240 Hz. Most of the panels capable of 240 Hz are currently TN panels and so on. There are IPS panels capable of hitting 240 Hz but considering that they are quite expensive at the moment and existing TNs are not cheap, one can only imagine the price of IPS panels.

The panel has a contrast ratio of 1000: 1 and a W-LED backlight ৷ It also has a 6-bit panel with FRC for 8-bit simulation. Minimum response time is 1ms but average can be around 8ms. In our color reproduction test prior to calibration, the highest Delta E observation of all patches was 19.09 and the average was 2.62. The average is slightly higher and can be visually detected by any user above 3. Then we started calibrating the monitor and for that we had to drop the red and blue values ​​by 3 to get the color values ​​correct. Gamma was kept at 2.2. After the calibration, the average has dropped to Delta E2.1 which is still not great but it is definitely better than before.

When we switch backgrounds to a truly black image, we notice a lot of clouding. This is a very thematic element which can be annoying to some users. This is especially noticeable when you’re playing video games, most of which are visually dark, such as the recently released Wolfenstein: Young Blood and the recent Resident Evil 2 remake.

In terms of brightness, we clocked it at 380 nits which is close to the spec and the contrast ratio measured around 970: 1 which is very close to the spec. This is not the highest we have seen from ASUS.

For uniformity of brightness, we measured an average delta e of 1.45 which means the panel is illuminated very evenly. After calibration, the average power draw was about 31 watts.