Unlike the vast majority of 24inch displays available today, the Asus PA248Q has a 16:10 aspect ratio which was once the norm, with a native resolution of 1920x1200 pixels. The display retains the ability to display full HD video content, albeit with borders at the top and bottom of the picture. This format also adds a significant amount of screen space when working on two vertical format documents side-by-side. See all: 19-24in display reviews.
Typically for a monitor aimed at professionals rather than consumers, the Asus PA248Q's design is rather more functional than stylish: Made from dark grey plastic, it incorporates a stand with tilt and height adjustments as well as the ability to rotate into portrait mode. See also: Group test: what's the best display?
Controls are provided in the form of physical buttons rather than the fiddly touch-sensitive ones we’re used to seeing on some consumer monitors. It also includes a five-way cursor control to help navigate the menus more easily. An unusual QuickFit mode overlays various measurement grids on the display for precise measurement of on-screen items and the ability to preview images at popular print sizes.
As you would expect from a serious monitor, there's a sophisticated level of control over image quality with selections in real numeric values such as "6500K" and "Gamma 2.2" – there’s none of your "Warmish" or "Gamma mode 3" nonsense. VGA, DVI-D, HDMI and DisplayPort inputs are provided, along with a four port USB 3.0 hub and a headphone jack.
Asus PA248Q: tests
We configured the monitor with a white point of 6500K and a gamma of 2.2 and then tested the display with a Spyder 4 Elite Calibrator. We found the results to be close, but by no-means spot on.
Asus advertises a pre-calibrated accuracy of less than 5 deltaE and our measurements showed this to be the case. With an average colour difference of 1.31 deltaE this display will look very accurate to the human eye. However, we’ve seen cheaper monitors produce even more accurate results.
In fact we’ve seen more accurate calibration results out-of the box from some less expensive pre-calibrated IPS displays. However, results post calibration were very good and we would expect many users of this kind of monitor to use their own hardware calibrator anyway. Unlike cheaper displays, the PA248Q gives you six-axis colour control for fine-tuning of the colour output and a zero-defective-pixel warranty.
Viewing angles were impressively wide, with just a little contrast shift at the widest viewing angles. The backlight uniformity is also very consistent. Contrast levels are more than adequate, but if you’re after a display for watching video or playing games you’ll find much more dynamic results available from many consumer displays.
