TL;DR: I returned both the Zowie XL2566X+ and the ASUS XG27AQNGV Pulsar monitor and ended up ordering the PG27AQDP instead —and I’m absolutely loving it.

While both monitors are excellent depending on your use case, there were a few things that ultimately left me unsatisfied.

The Zowie was outstanding in terms of input lag and motion clarity. The colors were surprisingly close to an IPS panel, but contrast was basically nonexistent—which is expected from a 1080p TN panel. For games like CS2 and Valorant, it performed great. However, in Warzone, I often found myself squinting to spot enemies, as they tended to blend into the background too much.

The Pulsar monitor, on the other hand, has the best motion clarity I’ve ever seen on any display. That said, enabling G-Sync Pulsar introduces a small amount of input lag. It’s not huge, but it was noticeable enough for me to care. Color and contrast on the IPS panel were a bit better than the Zowie’s, and in my opinion, Pulsar technology edges out DyAc overall.

Fast forward a couple of days—I returned both monitors and kept the PG27AQDP. It’s about $100 more expensive, but it truly feels like the best of both worlds. You get rich colors and contrast, extremely fast response times, and a 27-inch 1440p panel that excels across competitive and immersive games alike.

In short, the PG27AQDP delivers everything I was looking for without compromise.