In the continued push to try and find a solid reason to sell us a monitor while we all wait for 4K to become more mainstream, manufacturers the world over are making them as slim and frame-free as possible, which is why ASUS’ new Designo MX25AQ does away with almost all of the bezel entirely. Not only that, but it packs a 1,440p resolution IPS panel, along with a list of other impressive specifications.
At 25 inches wide, it’s a good size, without being desk-dominating, and features a full, 100 percent sRGB color range. A response time of 5ms is far from fast, but more than enough for the average gamer, likewise with the 75Hz refresh rate.
Connectivity-wise, this display packs a DisplayPort 1.2 connector, HDMI 2 and HDMI 3 ports, an MHL2.0/HDMI connector and a headphone jack. It also has a pair of powerful, 25mm, 3w speakers backed up with ASUS SonicMaster audio technology.
Related: BenQ declares the death of display bezel with new economical EW2750LZ
Beyond the physical benefits of the Designo display however, ASUS also includes a number of software features which are worth considering. The panel features ASUS Eye Care technology, which combines a flicker-free display with a blue-light filter to ease the strain on your eyes throughout long usage periods, and gives you access to different filter settings so you can set up your personal preferences.
Features like GamePlus mode are also welcome, as per Hexus. This gives gamers the ability to add a hard-crosshairs to the screen, as well as a timer to make counting down in RTS and MOBA games that little bit easier. When combined with ASUS’ Gaming mode and Splendid Video, colors and blacks/whites become much richer and deeper than normal, and there’s even a fun little technology known as QuickFit Virtual Scale, which lets you preview to-scale print documents before you send them to the printer.
Although no pricing information has been released for the U.S. as of yet, this display is priced at £300 ($450) in the UK, so expect it to be between $400 and $500 here.
There are quite a lot of features here and ASUS is a strong brand name, but there is also a lot of competition for this size and style of display. What will your next monitor upgrade be?
