Earlier this year, Asus took the wraps off of a 28-inch 4K monitor, model PB287Q. The display was slated to ship sometime in the second quarter at a respectable price of $799 but plans have since changed - and in a good way.
The company has pinned a launch date on the display - May 12 - but more importantly, they've dropped the price to just $649. That's one heck of a price for an Ultra HD display and there's even more to get excited about once you take a look at the specifications list.
The monitor boasts a resolution of 3,840 x 2,160 (157 pixels per inch) at 60Hz, doing so using DisplayPort's Single-Stream Transport (SST) mode. As The Tech Report correctly points out, most 4K monitors are built using a dual-tile design that combines two video signals using DisplayPort's Multi-Stream Transport capabilities. The PB287Q is able to do so as a single tile which means you won't run into compatibility issues often associated with dual-tile displays.
The specifications sheet also highlights the fact that the monitor is based on an 8-bit TN panel although dithering is used to push it into 10-bit territory. It's capable of displaying 1.07 billion colors and can deliver outstanding color reproduction and saturation thanks to its 330cd/m² brightness and a 100,000,000:1 ASUS Smart Contrast Ratio (ASCR).
Screen aside, the unit comes with a stand that offers height, swivel and tilt adjustments and it can even be used in portrait orientation should you choose. A VESA-compatible mount is built into the backside for easy wall mounting.
If you're in the market for a budget 4K display, the PB287Q should certainly be on your list of candidates.