The ROG Swift PG279Q reaches 2650-by-1440 resolution with refresh rate of 144 Hz. Asus is claiming the refresh rate can reach 165 with a GeForce GTX 960 video card. The ROG Swift PG27AQ is the higher resolution sibling, pushing a 4K display reaching 3840-by-2160 resolution.
Both monitors hit around November, with the ROG Swift PG279Q going for $800. No price has been announced yet for the ROG PG27AQ.
Asus RT-AC88U gaming router
Above: Wireless gaming router? Uhm … OK?
Asus is releasing a wireless router later this quarter that has been designed specifically for optimal gaming performance. I am the world’s biggest skeptic when it comes to claims that wireless hardware can provide as lag free of an experience as wired technology, especially when it comes to games. It’s like telling me that cubes of butter are a great replacement for concrete bricks when building a wall. I believe you in that you can actually build with cubes of butter, but is it a good idea and does it actually hold up in the long run? I’m not fully buying it.
The RT-AC88U does contain eight gigabit LAN ports, so skeptics like myself can stick to our wired setups and still gain the benefits this unit presents. Asus is claiming wireless speeds of 2.1GBs per second on 5 Ghz and 1GBs per second at 4Ghz.
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The big feature here, however, is the software. The RT-AC88U router comes with a free subscription to WTFast Gamer Private Network, which is a service that looks to cut down on the amount of server hops game data has to take over the Internet by plotting the most efficient data route using GPN’s own bank of servers located across the country. Wired or wireless, I can at least buy that this feature has the potential to improve online lag.
Asus has not revealed a pricepoint for this device.
ROG G20CB compact desktop
Above: The ROG G20CB.
This seems like an interesting product line from Asus, unfortunately, it was only briefly mentioned at the Republic of Gamers event. The ROG G20CB line of PCs is being pushed as Occulus Rift-friendly machine and, like the G752 line of gaming laptops, is being sold as a “pick your parts” product.
The heart of the machine is a sixth generation Intel i5/i7 processor running off the Intel H170 chipset. Customers will have a whopping eight GPU options, which include the NVIDIA GeForce GTX Titan X, GTX980, GTX960, GTX950, GTX 745, GTX 740, and AMD Radeon R9 380.
Some of the G20CB options are currently available for around $700. All G20CB configurations are expected to be available before the end of the year.
Asus motherboards and video card
Above: The Maximus VIII Impact.
Asus also briefly mentioned their upcoming ROG Matrix GTX 980 Ti video card (based off of the GeForce GTX 980 Ti), which is expected to hit later this month. An announcement on price will be coming soon.
Asus also mentioned the Maximus VIII Impact Mini-ITX motherboard and the full sized Maximus VIII Extreme motherboard. The Impact is expected to ship this month, at $249, with no word on the pricing and availability of the Extreme.
Overall, Asus has a lot of interesting hardcore gaming products hitting the shelf before the holiday. Will it be worth blowing a few grand of holiday cash on this stuff? Hopefully we’ll get a chance to road test some of this and report back on that later.
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