When comparing Planar Helium PCT2785 vs ASUS PB277Q, the Slant community recommends Planar Helium PCT2785 for most people. In the question“What are the best monitors?” Planar Helium PCT2785 is ranked 30th while ASUS PB277Q is ranked 36th. The most important reason people chose Planar Helium PCT2785 is:
The black levels are respectively low at 0.16cd/m², which helps the contrast ratio achieve 1100:1 which is much lower than the advertised 5000:1, but still quite good.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Decent black levels, good contrast ratio
The black levels are respectively low at 0.16cd/m², which helps the contrast ratio achieve 1100:1 which is much lower than the advertised 5000:1, but still quite good.
Pro Pretty fast response times make the system feel quick
The response time is 12ms, which isn't lightning fast, but it's still quick enough to make the system feel more responsive than cheaper monitors. While not fast enough for high-level gaming, this monitor won't make your system feel slow or unresponsive.
Pro 'Massive tablet' design is unique, and versitile
It really does look like a massive tablet with a kickstand - but that's not a bad thing. There's no stand visible, leaving the front looking very clean. The stand can angle anywhere from 15-70 degrees which allows for flexible use, or it can be folded in and used flat on the desk or even mounted using the VESA mounting holes.
Pro Built-in speakers, webcam, and mic
This monitor has many peripherals built-in, and unless you use them heavily they will do the job just fine. Unless you feel the need for dedicated hardware, the built-in stereo speakers work well enough, and the webcam and mic are acceptable quality for occasional recreational use (for business calls or other uses where quality is important, you'll want to upgrade to dedicated hardware).
Pro Can fight glare
The monitor works well in bright rooms with lots of windows as its peak brightness of 350 nits enables it to fight glare.
Pro Comes with speakers
While the monitor's speakers will not satisfy a serious audiophile, they are fine for occasional situations where you just can't be bothered to put on your headphones.
Pro Requires no color calibration
Out of the box, the ASUS PB277Q shows exceptional color accuracy with an average color error dE of only 1.58.
Pro Image retention is not an issue
According to the test results from various sources, the ASUS PB277Q doesn’t suffer from any image retention related problems.
Pro Right amount of display space
The ASUS PB277Q is an excellent tool for multitasking as its 27-inch 2560x1440 panel offers a generous amount of on-screen real-estate. With this monitor, you can comfortably edit two Word documents side by side.
Pro Suitable for gaming
Because of its small input lag and excellent motion handling capabilities, the ASUS PB277Q performs much better than the majority of general purpose monitors in its price range.
Gaming feels responsive because the monitor's input lag is only 7.1 ms, which is an amazingly good value. Only a handful of monitors in this range can outperform the ASUS PB277Q in this regard.
The motion looks smooth and blur-free because of the monitor's full pixel response time of 1 ms, which ensures that each panel's pixel needs only 1 ms to change its color. Such quick pixel transition eliminates traces of fast-moving objects.
Additionally, the dynamic content looks smooth and fluid because of the monitor's native refresh rate of 75 Hz, which is 40% higher than what the majority of competitors in this price range offer.
Pro Can be adjusted for ergonomics
There are many ways you can adjust this monitor to suit your working environment because the ASUS PB277Q supports a wide range of height, tilt angle, and pivot angle adjustments.
Furthermore, you can use this monitor in either landscape or portrait orientation.
Pro Good picture quality
Thanks to its contrast ratio, peak brightness, color accuracy, and gamma, the ASUS PB277Q performs on par with the best monitors in its price range.
The monitor displays a vivid, yet somewhat flat image. The colors are bright and vibrant, with saturated mid-tones. However, the blacks aren’t particularly deep. Colors pop and look crisp because of the monitor's peak brightness of 350 nits. Mid-tones look deep and saturated because of the monitor's gamma response of 2.15. Dark scenes, though, look a bit flat as the monitor's native contrast ratio of 780:1 is too low to produce rich and realistic-looking blacks.
Additionally, colors look life-like because of the monitor's average color error dE of 1.58, which is low enough to make the color inaccuracies invisible to the human eye.
Pro Excellent for mixed-use
The ASUS PB277Q offers large workspace, high responsiveness, and a wide range of ergonomic adjustments, which combined with the monitor's good overall picture quality, makes it one of the most versatile monitors in its price range.
Additionally, the ASUS PB277Q is an excellent option for occasional, non-competitive gaming.
Cons
Con Disappointing color accuracy
The MVA panel (multi-domain vertical alignment: in-between of TN and IPS technologies) doesn't reproduce colors very accurately. It scores just 82% of the sRGB color gamut, while other panels offer high 80s and even above 90%. This display's weakest points are with the green and cyan shades, while reds and blues appeared just fine.
Con Dim display
The display doesn't get very bright - at just 172cd/m² this panel is very dim. Many monitors can achieve 300cd/m² or higher brightnesses.
Con Takes much more power than similar monitors
Without using the ECO mode, this monitor requires about 50 watts to power it. This is double than other monitors. There are different levels of ECO modes, however these dim the display and barely get down to the power level of other monitors when they are all enabled.
Con A couple of USB ports would come in handy
Unfortunately, this monitor is not equipped with any USB ports, which is quite disappointing for a newer model.
Con Narrow viewing angles
You need to sit right in front of the panel to see true colors as the monitor's viewing angles aren't the best. When the vertical angle between a viewer and a panel reaches 13 degrees, the user will notice strong color and shadow shifting.