ASUS PQ321Q 31.5-Inch 4K UHD 16:9 LED LCD Monitor (Black)

I just took the plunge and got the Asus PQ321Q, in large part because Apple has certified that it is capable of 60 hz on the Mac Pro (Late 2013) when using this display. See Apple's support page. People have been repeating this all over the internet.Apple says: "Mac Pro (Late 2013) also support 60 Hz displays using multi-stream transport (MST). These displays need to be manually configured to use MST. Follow the steps below to use the display's built-in controls to enable this feature.ASUS PQ321Q: Choose OSD menu > Setup > DisplayPort StreamYour Mac will automatically detect an MST-enabled display."Well, I got the display and set it up on my nMP with dual D500s. Its connected to my nMP using a display port to minidisplayport cable. [...]As soon as I turn on MST, the screen goes black. I have to turn off MST to get it working. I finally talked to Asus support. The support rep made me wait while he talked to a supervisor, and then he swore that it simply isn't possible. Here is part of our discussion:Shahid Haque-Hausrath Fri, 7/11/2014 05:07:18 pmCan you tell me what kind of cable I can use to connect a Mac Pro (newest model, only has mini display port) to the monitor, and get 60hz? Because this is absolutely supposed to be possible.Cordell S. Fri, 7/11/2014 05:07:47 pmyou will not be able to get 60hz when using that mac as the output on the mac is mini display port. it would have to be coming from a full display port connection that your mac does not have.and who told you that?Shahid Haque-Hausrath Fri, 7/11/2014 05:08:11 pmApple. [...]I don't get how what Apple says can jive with what you said about mini display port not working. The Mac Pro only has mini display port. I'm trying to research which cable I need to make this work, as many have attested that they have 60hz on the new Mac Pro. I just need to know how -- if the cable is the problem then what do I need to do instead.[Going back and forth.]Shahid Haque-Hausrath Fri, 7/11/2014 05:26:14 pmThen how does it work with the Mac Pro late 2013 model? Or are you saying that Apple is wrong?Cordell S. Fri, 7/11/2014 05:27:18 pmcoming from a mini display port, no it will not be able to get 60hz. and sounds like it to me. you can get 60 hz from this monitor using 2 hdmi cables or a displayport to displayport connectionShahid Haque-Hausrath Fri, 7/11/2014 05:27:55 pmYet, none of those are possible on a new Mac Pro. It has only one HDMI port and mini displayport. And they advertise that its possible.Cordell S. Fri, 7/11/2014 05:28:11 pmno, they are not. apple may, but we do not.we do not state anywhere that you will get 60hz from our monitor using minidisplayport to displayport-----I'm thinking that Asus is wrong that its simply not possible, but perhaps the cable I am using is the problem. I am going to see if this one will work since it is DisplayPort 1.2 compatible. [...]I don't want to go up to 4k at the expense of 60 Hz. That is exactly why I blew so much money on this display, which is supposed to work. If it won't, I'll return it to Amazon.Also, I do have one stuck pixel. I am usually super obsessive about stuck pixels, but this time I may not end up needing to replace it. Its hard to see on a display like this. On the other hand, it would be better to have one without any stuck pixels.----------------Update 07/14/2014: Asus tech support was off base. 60hz on the new Mac Pro (late 2013) is possible using a cable that is DisplayPort 1.2 compatible, like this one: I'm thinking that Asus is wrong that its simply not possible, but perhaps the cable I am using is the problem. I am going to see if this one will work since it is DisplayPort 1.2 compatible. [...]I just got it working. I also did an exchange with Amazon and got a new display without any dead or stuck pixels at all. I'm very pleased now.----------------Update 07/23/2014: As discussed above, I have the display set to MST to get 60 Hz. I was unable to get iTunes to display HDCP content. I was worried that the MST setting does not support HDCP, as I saw on one Amazon review saying: "a word to the wise, if you are wanting to watch a BluRay movie on your computer, you have to set the Displayport stream back to SST where the video player will see that your system supports HDCP."Asus support was very helpful this time. They gave me a firmware update that fixed this issue. For anyone who needs, it, I put it on my Dropbox: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3392062/PQ321_Firm_V1100.zip

As someone with a multi-monitor setup at work, I like having lots of desktop space. While some people purchase 4K monitors and then depend on scaling to keep things from being too small, my intent was to make use of all 3840x2160 pixels with no scaling whatsoever.First impression is that this monitor is huge! Coming from a 24" monitor, this is a substantial increase in size, but that's a good thing. If you want a smaller monitor, buy a smaller monitor. The shock of the larger size wears off after a while, so don't let that aspect intimidate you.To drive such a high resolution monitor, you're going to need a decent video card. I chose an ASUS STRIX 750ti for its ability to support 3840x2160 via DisplayPort and that it wouldn't run its fans unless the card was stressed (such as when playing games). I want as quiet an environment as possible, and this card served that need. The only thing that I wished it had was an HDMI 2.0 connection for future compatibility with other 4K displays that might not have a DisplayPort connection (such as a 4K TV), but in this situation, the monitor and the video card matched up well, and the price was good.Even with a 32" monitor, I was a little concerned going in that it would be too small for comfort to use without scaling. By comparison, a 24" 1920x1200 monitor is approximately 96 dpi, whereas this monitor is approximately 140 dpi. Without scaling, that means that everything is going to be about 50% smaller.Everything went very smoothly upon installation, and Windows 8.1 detected the high resolution of the monitor and automatically set it to scale so that dialogs and programs weren't too small to see decently. Unfortunately, this caused text to be slightly blurry, and no adjustment of the scaling settings could get the sharpness that I'm accustomed to in non-scaled displays. Since I wanted the extra desktop real estate, I set the display to not scale, but that reduced the size of programs and dialogs to a physical size that made it difficult to see things comfortably. It did make the text very sharp, and I really wanted this to work out, so I spent a couple of weeks trying to come up with a scenario that I would be happy with.To see an illustration of the difference between scaled and non-scaled, I have attached screen captures of Adobe Dreamweaver in both modes. The non-scaled image is very sharp, while the scaled image has a slight blur to everything that can be tiring when viewing text for many hours a day.That aside, once you see the gorgeous images that this monitor is capable of, you may not want to use a lesser monitor. Watching 4K videos on YouTube (esp. those in the Jacob + Katie Schwarz channel) will assure you that this is a monitor you'll want to keep unless something gets in your way. Unfortunately, the scaling issue as well as the small size of non-scaled content was a big negative for me.The second negative came from the monitor itself. Unfortunately, my monitor had a buzzing sound emanating from around the power plug connection. In a busy office environment it may not have been noticeable, but in my quiet office, it was annoying. Given that I bought the monitor from Amazon Warehouse Deals at a substantial discount off the list price of a new monitor, I really wanted it to work out, so I tried to see if I could deal with it. Even after a couple of weeks, I was never able to get over it, and while I could have tried to get a replacement, I decided that the issue that I had with the size of the display in the non-scaled mode was another negative that I couldn't overcome.The buzzing problem is a risk you take when buying something that is not new. Looking at many reviews for this monitor, it appears to be an isolated issue and not a widespread issue. Kudos to Amazon for its great return policy.This experience showed me the benefits of having a 4K monitor, though, and I think I'm hooked. I just know, that for my situation, I need to have a larger monitor so that the dpi is less than 140 so I don't need glasses just to see things comfortably. That means that something in the 40" range would probably work quite well, but there is only one monitor available domestically that is 40" that is specifically intended to be used as a monitor (the Philips BDM4065UC). The reviews are a little questionable on that unit, and the only other options are monitors sourced directly from South Korea, so I'm looking at 4K TV's that can do 3840x2160 at 60Hz and 4:4:4 chroma, which is a rabbit hole all in its own. I keep hoping that more manufacturers will release 40-43" monitors in the meantime, but it's been a couple of months, and nothing yet.If you can deal with the slight blurriness of the display when being scaled (or find a setting that suits you that I couldn't), or you have very good eyesight to see very small (but sharp) text, this is a very nice monitor. Its retail price is quite high, though, so I suggest looking at the specs and reviews for other 4K monitors to see if they might fit your needs at a lower price. The 27" market is crowded, and the 32" less so, with 40" a rarity, but once you see a 4K display you might never want a 1080p monitor again, and you'll look at your 1366x768 laptop with disdain for its shortcomings.

As someone who's had this monitor since it started shipping out (I pre-ordered), I think it's one of the best 4k monitors out there. It has good color reproduction, and I have not noticed any lag or ghosting. I absolutely love being able to game on this.Now for my main gripe for only giving it 4stars - if you are the owner of an nVidia card, enabling MST mode means not only does the screen NOT turn on turing POST, but I also suffer from a "cold boot bug". I have an Asus Rampage IV Extreme and two EVGA 780 GTXs in SLI. When I initially turn on my PC, the system freezes with debug code of 62. There's no BIOS fix from Asus for their motherboard. There's no official firmware update for the monitor from Asus to fix this. If I run in SST mode, I get no POST issues, and I can see my BIOS screen.The menu buttons are all on the side of the monitor, which makes them awkward to use since you can't see what you are pressing. They include a sticker you could place on the side of the monitor, but I find that to be a ridiculous fix for such bad placement. If MST just worked perfectly all the time, I probably would not need to screw around with the OSD much, and it would be a non-issue I guess.nVidia has stated that Asus does have a firmware update that fixes the above POST issues, but I would need to contact their CS to get the firmware. Well it's been two weeks since I opened a ticket, and I've heard nothing. I've apparently been thrown into a black hole. When you spent such large amounts of cash, I would expect much better support. Perhaps you are better off waiting for a deal on the Sharp 4k monitor, which is pretty much the same monitor as this. You could also wait until next year for Dell to release their 4k version. Dell definitely has the better customer service.