Asus TUF Gaming VG28UQL1A: Specifications
Screen size: 28 inches
Decision: 3840 x 2160
Refresh rate: 144 Hz
Inputs: DisplayPort, HDMI, USB-A, USB-B, 3.5mm audio
Dimensions: 25.2 x 21.3 x 8.4 inches
If I were to buy a gaming monitor tomorrow, it would probably be the Asus TUF Gaming VG28UQL1A. After testing quite a few monitors in recent weeks, I could not help but notice that almost all of them had a significant drawback. Whether it was a difficult design, a dull color palette, or an outdated array of ports, almost every device I analyzed had some critical flaws that threatened to compromise the experience.
On the other hand, $ 800 VG28UQL1A is almost flawless. It has a beautiful screen with vibrant colors; it has an elegant design with a simple layout; it has smart functionality for both powerful PCs and current generation consoles. While HDR can be a little more accurate and menus a little more intuitive, the VG28UQL1A is simply one of best game monitors we have been testing for quite some time. Read our review of the Asus TUF Gaming VG28UQL1A for more.
Table of Contents
Asus TUF Gaming VG28UQL1A Review: Design
With its minimalist base and thick stand, the Asus TUF Gaming VG28UQL1A looks like a gaming monitor. However, it does not look like a disgustingly over-designed game monitor, which favors simple angles and only a few geometric blooms. The screen measures 28 inches across, with minimal frames on the sides and top, and a slightly larger frame with the Asus logo on the bottom. The device should look like home in a game corner. But the VG28UQL1A would look just fine in a professional or creative setting as well, especially since it’s powerful enough to handle all kinds of graphic design work.
A particularly useful feature of VG28UQL1A is that you can orient the screen vertically. It’s a boon for productivity users, but it’s easy enough to go back when you’m ready to play. You can tilt the screen back and forth 25 degrees, rotate it from side to side 30 degrees, or move it up and down about five inches. No matter how you like to play, VG28UQL1A should have a configuration for you.
When it comes to ports, the VG28UQL1A has most of what you need, but not absolutely everything. It has two HDMI 2.1 ports, two HDMI 2.0 ports and one DisplayPort, which should be enough to connect many consoles and at least one serious PC. For routing, you can also connect a USB-B cable, and access two USB-A ports and a 3.5mm audio jack. My only complaint here is that the gates are quite out of the way, so it’s probably not worth the effort for peripherals that you may need to unplug often.
In the same way, the monitor could have benefited from at least one USB-C port. Between carrying video signals, charging gadgets and connecting new peripherals, USB-C has become quite common in the gaming area in recent years, and even just one port would have gone a long way.
Asus TUF Gaming VG28UQL1A Review: Monitor
If there is one thing I want to convey about the Asus TUF Gaming VG28UQL1A screen in this review, it is that it has an absolutely beautiful screen. Twenty-eight inches is a nice size for most desktops, while the 4K resolution and 144 Hz refresh rate are ideal for games, TVs, movies and a variety of productivity tasks. The image is bright, sharp and sharp, and the colors are vibrant and lifelike.
Here’s how VG28UQL1A stacks up to a few similar monitors:
| Brightness (nits) | sRGB spectrum (%) | Delta-E | |
| Asus TUF Gaming VG28UQL1A (Scenery) | 263 | 133 | 0.23 |
| Asus TUF Gaming VG28UQL1A (HDR) | 233 | 133 | 0.23 |
| Acer Nitro XV282K (standard) | 185 | 137 | 0.31 |
| Acer Nitro XV282K (HDR) | 248 | 136 | 0.22 |
| Sony Inzone M9 (standard) | 396 | 145 | 0.31 |
| Sony Inzone M9 (HDR) | 793 | 145 | 0.31 |
The benchmark indices are generally in line with our observations. VG28UQL1A benchmarked well compared to some of the closest analogues, including Acer Nitro XV282K and Sony Inzone M9. While the VG28UQL1A was slightly lighter than the XV282K in a standard configuration (263 nits vs. 185 nits), it was slightly weaker in HDR (233 nits vs. 248 nits).
Similarly, VG28UQL1A’s sRGB color spectrum of 133% did not match up to XV282K’s 137%. However, the VG28UQL1A produced more accurate colors, with a Delta-E measurement of 0.23, compared to the XV282K’s 0.31. (Closer to zero is better.)
Interestingly, the Inzone M9 surpassed both of these machines in every way except color accuracy. Still, the Inzone M9 is brand new and costs $ 100 more than the VG28UQL1A, so it may not be surprising that the references are a little better.
Asus TUF Gaming VG28UQL1A Review: Performance
One interesting thing about the Asus TUF Gaming VG28UQL1A is that it worked well with every single one of my test games. Most game monitors stand out with certain titles and falter on others, but the VG28UQL1A made demanding games on both PC and PS5 look beautiful, with deep, rich colors and floating frame rates.
On the PC, I played through bits of Age of Empires IV, Eternal doom, Cyberpunk 2077 and Final Fantasy XIVwhile I chose Nioh remastered and Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Dawn of Ragnarok on PS5.
To put things in perspective, I play a lot of Doom Eternal, as it is one of my best games to test all types of gaming equipment. I have never seen this game look as good as it does on VG28UQL1A. The deep, exaggerated, hellish reds and oranges of the volcanic landscape contrasted beautifully with the matte gray of a shotgun, the electric blue of a plasma gun or the rich green of Doom Slayer’s armor.
The monitor also did not spare the other games, with beautiful contrast in the night cities FFXIV, and deep blue tones and green on the medieval battlefields of Age of Empires. The blues and grays in Cyberpunk 2077 were not quite as striking as I had hoped, but the electric pinks and oranges drew me straight back in.
But with HDR enabled, the graphics on the PS5 looked a little darker than I expected. Activating the monitor’s console mode did not seem to change much. Both Nioh and AC Valhalla still had excellent contrast and rich colors, but the screen simply did not look bright, which gave difficulties in well-lit rooms or dark environments in the game. You can play with the PS5’s HDR settings and each game’s graphics settings, but there’s more effort than I expected to spend on each game to make it look good. It’s not a dealbreaker by any means, but PC games really look perfect without user input, and I was hoping the PS5 would be the same.
Asus TUF Gaming VG28UQL1A Review: Interface
Asus TUF Gaming VG28UQL1A has a menu system that is full of options, but also a bit convoluted. You have tons of options, from Variable OD, to GamePlus, to Shadow Boost, but it’s not entirely clear what each option does, or which of them you can use with HDR settings. There are simply many complicated permutations available. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but I wonder how many players will learn the complex menus in and out, and how many of them will simply jump into a game.
One thing you can do with the Asus menu is to raise and lower the volume, and this is worth discussing. While the VG28UQL1A is not the only game screen with a set of speakers, it is one of the only game screens with a decent set of speakers. Although the speakers are nothing special, they compress bass, treble and vocals a little more than I want, they are perfectly usable for everyday playing. After playing through about half an hour of Cyberpunk 2077, I realized that I had no desire to plug in my headphones, which can be a record for a game monitor.
Asus TUF Gaming VG28UQL1A Review: Dom
Although the Asus TUF Gaming VG28UQL1A is not an absolutely perfect gaming screen, it is temptingly close. The HDR brightness could have been a little better, and a USB-C port would not have gone wrong. But these errors reduce little for a screen that gives life to demanding games with a minimum of effort.
To be fair, benchmarked the VG28UQL1A in the same way as the XV282K and Inzone M9, and I do not think Asus is better than the two competitors in every way. If you are going to look at one, you might as well look at all three. But if you’re looking for a game screen that does everything right, look no further.
