ASUS MG279Q Firmware Issues and Delays

Asus MG279Q Firmware Issues and Delays

| Source: OC3D Author: Mark Campbell

ASUS MG279Q Firmware Issues and Delays

ASUS MG279Q, their 27-inch 1440p IPS 144Hz FreeSync Monitor has been delayed due to Firmware Issues. FreeSync will also not operate at the monitors full 144Hz. Reports have been flying all over the internet regarding this panel for many reasons, firstly due to it's amazing specs and secondly due to many of the issues surrounding this monitor.

I will start by saying that this monitor had been recalled due to firmware issues, delaying shipments of this monitor to the UK and taking it away from retailer shelves in Sweden. The issue in question is that this monitor has had problems maintaining it's refresh rate of 144Hz, skipping every 6th frame or so, giving users a rather jerky experience.

ASUS will be shipping this monitor with a newer firmware, so this issue should not be seen by any consumers, provided that your retailer has returned their current stock. ASUS will also replace any users who currently own this monitor through their warranty service.

This monitor will sadly not be able to use AMD's FreeSync Technology to this monitor's full 144Hz, but will operate at a range of 35-90Hz. This is due to the fact that current IPS and Scalar hardware have proven very difficult to get running at higher framerates, though understand that this is a limitation of current Scalar hardware and not of FreeSync itself, nor does this limit FreeSync in it's ability to operate at high framerates for other types of screens.

When FreeSync is running at above 90Hz with this monitor can cause visual artifacts, so ASUS decided to lower the limit in order to maintain this monitor's visual quality. According to our source this was done with AMD's involvement.

Here is a quote from an ASUS Representative on the OC3D Forums;

"It was a choice, effectively. We could only put FreeSync on the monitor over a certain range, owing to technical limitations.



So one option was to have a high ceiling, and a high minimum, and the other was to have a low ceiling and a low minimum. In our internal testing, it was determined that the most benefit was seen within this window, so that's why we set the minimum at 35 Hz. In an ideal world, we would have done 35-144 Hz but it just wasn't possible right now (or at the very least, not possible to do without significant sacrifices). Once framerates go over 90 fps the benefit wasn't huge, whereas under 40 it make a huge difference so it seemed the obvious way to go."

At present it is exceptionally difficult to see the 90Hz limitation as a major issue for AMD users, as given this displays large resolution of 1440p and the inability for FreeSync to be used in Crossfire configurations it is hard to see many people being able to run many modern games at above 90FPS.

ASUS with this monitor has given us a monitor with the lowest limit we have seen in a FreeSync monitor, which right now is a very good trait. While it is disappointing to see that FreeSync will not work at this monitors full 144Hz refresh rate, we do like prefer that this monitor has a lower refresh rate limit, given the current state of FreeSync (lacking crossfire support) and the high resolution of this display.

To be clear this monitor will have it's firmware issues resolved before it is made available in almost any retailer, as ASUS have recalled these panels before the have made it to many, if any consumers.

Right now FreeSync is in it's infancy, with scalar manufacturers still in the process of creating strong FreeSync compatible monitor scalars, which is one of the reasons why FreeSync monitors have a rather disappointing Adaptive range when compared to G-Sync monitors.

ASUS and FreeSync monitors in general need to better inform their consumers as to the adaptive refresh range of their displays, as right now if you purchase (or in this case Pre-order) a MG279Q, you are never explicitly told of this monitor's maximum Adaptive refresh (or FreeSync range) in the monitor's specifications, which means that many consumers will buy this monitor thinking they can use FreeSync at 144Hz and will no doubt be disappointed when they find out they can only go up to 90Hz with FreeSync turned on.

You can join the discussion on ASUS's MG279Q 1440p IPS FreeSync monitor on the OC3D Forums.

ASUS MG279Q, their 27-inch 1440p IPS 144Hz FreeSync Monitor has been delayed due to Firmware Issues. FreeSync will also... Posted by OC3D on Monday, 11 May 2015 ASUS, MG279Q, their 1440p IPS 144Hz FreeSync Monitor has been delayed due to Firmware Issues. http://t.co/MLklkxMXE9 pic.twitter.com/aGhNZj4IW6 — OC3D (@OC3D) May 11, 2015

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