When comparing ASUS PB278Q vs Monoprice CrystalPro 27" IPS, the Slant community recommends Monoprice CrystalPro 27" IPS for most people. In the question“What are the best 27+ inch monitors?” Monoprice CrystalPro 27" IPS is ranked 3rd while ASUS PB278Q is ranked 4th. The most important reason people chose Monoprice CrystalPro 27" IPS is:
Good image quality due to IPS (In-Plane Switching) LED backlit panel made by LG in Korea with 6ms (grey-to-grey) response time, 60Hz refresh rate and standard 1000:1 contrast ratio and 8-bit colors. This is the same LG IPS panel used in Apple displays, but sold at a fraction of what Apple charges.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Audio I/O
Headphone jack and microphone port available.
Pro QuickFit Virtual Scale
PB278Q has the ASUS exclusive QuickFit Virtual Scale that allows for previewing documents as they would appear when printed.
Pro Sharp, color rich screen
ASUS PB278Q is among the first non-Samsung monitors to use PLS. PLS (plane-to-line) is a Samsung-developed update on IPS. It has a 5ms (grey-to-grey) response time, 16.7 million colors, 1000:1 contrast ratio and is LED-backlit.
Pro DVI, DisplayPort, VGA, HDMI connections
DVI is dual-link with HDCP.
Pro Lightweight
ASUS PB278Q weighs about 8kg. Because of this it is easier to find VESA mounts.
Pro Good image quality
Good image quality due to IPS (In-Plane Switching) LED backlit panel made by LG in Korea with 6ms (grey-to-grey) response time, 60Hz refresh rate and standard 1000:1 contrast ratio and 8-bit colors. This is the same LG IPS panel used in Apple displays, but sold at a fraction of what Apple charges.
Pro Great value for money
With Monoprice CrystalPro listed as $390 with image quality the same as Apple Cinema Displays and excellent support this is a good choice if you are OK with not having additional bells and whistles.
Pro 1 year warranty
Monoprice has a full 1 year warranty. Additionally, they promise less than 5 dead pixels. If you can find 5 dead pixels, they will send you a replacement.
Pro Audio I/O
Monoprice CrystalPro has 1x 3.5mm TRS stereo input and 1x 3.5mm TRS stereo output.
Cons
Con No USB ports
There are no USB ports.
Con Poor stand
Although the footstand is wide it's rather flimsy.
Con Frail stand
The stand is somewhat poor.
Con DVI only
Monoprice CrystalPro lacks USB, Ethernet, HDMI and Thunderbolt connectors. A higher priced version with more inputs is promised at a later date.
Con Unavailable
This model has been discontinued, and is no longer available anywhere on Amazon.
Con Weak built-in speakers
Sound quality of the built in speakers is quite poor.
