ASUS PB287Q vs Samsung U28D590D 28-in 4K UHD Monitor Review

The growth and adoption of 4K resolution panels (most commonly 3840x2160) has really been the biggest story of the past year or so in the world of PC gaming. After a couple of TVs that ran at 3840x2160 over HDMI at 30 Hz found there way into our offices, the first real 60 Hz 4K monitor that I got some hands on time with was the ASUS PQ321Q. This monitor was definitely targeted at the profressional market with its IGZO display (near IPS quality) and somewhat high price tag of $3500. It has since dropped to $2400 or so but it remains somewhat complicated by the use of MST technology (multi-stream transport) that was required to hit 60 Hz.

Earlier this month I took a look at the Samsung U28D590D 28-in 4K panel that was capable of 60 Hz refresh rates for just $699. This display used a single-stream transport DisplayPort connection to keep setup simple but used a TN panel rather than IPS/IGZO. This meant viewing angles were not as strong (though better than most TN screens you have seen before) but...that price!

Today we have our second low cost, SST 4K monitor to evaluate, the ASUS PB287Q. We saw it at CES back in January and with a launch date of June 10th and an MSRP $649, ASUS is setting itself up for an impressive release.

[vuetoob]

Since you uploaded the video of your studio construction I can't stop watching this channel. I can't get enough of it! I even watch the lengthy live streams with much delight. Keep the videos coming guys.

[GerardFreeman]

I want to hook up three ASUS PB287Q 4k monitors side by side. The AMD Radeon R9 295X2 graphics card, is the only card with 4 diplay ports that will push these three 4k monitors. Or four 4k monitors all at full 4k res. right?

[tooltalk]

ASUS is clearly winner based on VESA stand and the monitor stand?   how about the quality of display?

[RetroHamer]

Here's to hoping they are here in the UK for around the £450 or even less by december.

[YesYou-zykp]

What does it look like when you browse files using Windows File Explorer? Using a video editor? Is the text too tiny to read? Is it crisp? None of these questions were answered. Almost all monitor reviews on YouTube always speak about the gaming aspect. I don't game very much and would appreciate a review showing what the monitor is capable of during regular use.

[mvztvp]

Thanks for the review! Sealed the deal for me!

[ARKELPZ]

You have to put they same image in both monitors

[stanislavshopov]

OK but if you purchase this monitor, can it use free sink (with firmware update)?

[MrFloRolf]

i'd almost be down if it was 30 or 32". Not sure how important ips is for me over a really good TN.

[qaisarabbas]

Dose chrome cast works with Samsung U28D590D monitor ?

[hirschab]

Why did you not mention that the Samsung has freesync and the ASUS does not? Seems important to me!

[armanis]

Hi, I got this monitor asus 4k and have random blackouts when power up pc on windows 8.1 do you experience this kind issue? Thanks

[alyelziny]

I'm coming purchase monitor and use of the Games and graphic design, including your advice be choosing the best screen

[mrtsoo]

In Euope the Asus one is around 150€(200$) more than the Samsung. Given i will only use 1 monitor and i dont need the pivot mode it seems way too much to pay for a better stand. Also the panels are identical so you wont lose/gain any color accurcy. But hey if its only 50$ difference in USA then the Asus is the nobrainer deal.

[NorthWolfe]

First off, thanks for all the great info...Naturally, those wanting more info should visit the review site in the description.
I think that 4K is not there yet, in fact the compromises are totally unacceptable to those that use monitors for work/productivity/photo and video production. Only thing these monitors have going for them...They are cheep.
I had the opportunity to test this Asus and noticed a fair bit of threading, along with the usual color issues...Besides this, most software isn't ready for the necessary scaling, so apart from gaming I found it to be pretty useless.

When do you think the ''full package'' will arrive? In one year..longer? And, finally, is 4K the solution...Do you feel it has a future outside gaming (specially for photo/video production)?
Cheers.

[Punisher]

Those games are not the only games people play you know. I am getting a 4K monitor to play other games on it that I can actually run like Starbound, Terraria, Space Engineers. Older titles to give them a new coat of paint. You can also lower the resolution in-game to something that runs better. 

[CaydeSmax]

i'm a bit of a noob when it comes to 4k monitors so please don't hate on me for asking some silly questions :)

1) if running a lesser powered gpu say a hd4890 via dvi, would it work on these 4k monitors at a lower resolution of 1920x1080p ?

2) how do does an xbox via hdmi look on these ?

[TechGamingOfficial]

Can someone guide me on the best 4k monitor for a good price?

[vsauceisepic]

Can a 750ti drive this monitor
I won't be gaming by the way

[nicholasjohnson]

Towards the end, he said you need one DP per UHD monitor. This is true. Nvidia only recently went modern to support three monitors per GPU (finally) whereas AMD has done this for ages. My HD 7970 / R9 280X CrossFire both have two mini DisplayPorts each. AMD was very good. However, with the R9 290X / R9 290, they have actually sunken DOWN to the level of Nvidia and are offering two DVIs and only one DP. Talk about going backwards. However, it is no worse than Nvidia and it is the best that Nvidia has ever done. But if you support me in wanting to eliminate the bulky, slow and featureless DVIs in favour of many DPs (who longs for another real Eyefinity 6?), then send AMD an email like I did and tell them to get their act back together and send to the appropriate department the suggestion for more DP and less DVI. Don't even bother with Nvidia though. They wouldn't know a good standard if it hit them in the head. The only standards they like are the proprietary ones, much like Apple. Well, those don't turn out. AMD is releasing FreeSync which will replace G-Sync technology except without having to have licenses to use it. It will be technology for all, open source style, which is why I respect AMD.