On colour coverage, a budget AOC can come surprisingly close. On out-of-the-box accuracy, published measurements still favour the ProArt. We have not run these measurements ourselves; the figures below come from independent reviewers, and we explain at the end how you can test your own screens. Tom's Hardware measured the budget AOC Q27G4XY at about 99% of sRGB and 88% of DCI-P3, with average colour errors (ΔE) of 2.48 to 3.11 in its default mode, falling below 1 after calibration. Display Ninja measured the ASUS ProArt PA279CRV at 99.6% sRGB, 96.5% DCI-P3 and 97.8% Adobe RGB, with an average ΔE of 0.58 in its colour presets straight out of the box. For web and general photo work, a calibrated AOC can be good enough; for print, brand and client-proofing work, the ProArt's wider verified gamut is what you pay for. At SourceIT, the Q27G4XY is S$357.50 and the PA279CRV S$779 (listed 30 Oct 2026).
What do published measurements show?
| Measurement | AOC Q27G4XY (budget QHD VA) | ASUS ProArt PA279CRV (27" 4K IPS) |
|---|---|---|
| sRGB coverage | 98.88% | 99.6% |
| DCI-P3 coverage | Just over 88% | 96.5% |
| Adobe RGB coverage | Not reported | 97.8% |
| Out-of-box accuracy | Greyscale ΔE 3.11, gamut ΔE 2.48 (default PC mode); sRGB mode "very accurate" | Average ΔE 0.58 in Adobe RGB and DCI-P3 presets; 1.42 in Native mode |
| After calibration | Greyscale ΔE 0.91 | Average ΔE 0.4 |
| Factory claims | No ΔE claim found | ΔE < 2, Calman Verified, 99% DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB |
| SourceIT price | S$357.50 | S$779.00 |
AOC figures from Tom's Hardware's Q27G4XY review (16 May 2025); ASUS figures from Display Ninja's PA279CRV review (4 Oct 2025) and ASUS's specification page. Different reviewers, instruments and methods, so read this as indicative rather than a head-to-head test.
How big is the difference in practice?
Tom's Hardware's guide to Delta E puts it this way: an error below 1 is usually imperceptible, around 2 is barely detectable to a trained eye, and the average person will not notice errors under 3. On that scale, the AOC's default mode sits near the edge of what a careful viewer might spot, while the ProArt presets sit well below it. The bigger difference is gamut. The ProArt covers almost all of Adobe RGB, the colour space many print workflows use; the budget AOC's measured coverage stops at about 88% of DCI-P3, so some saturated colours simply cannot be shown, and no amount of calibration can add them back. BenQ's guidance on calibration makes the same point: software calibration corrects accuracy within a panel's gamut but cannot widen it.
Calibration can make a budget monitor accurate. It cannot make it show colours its panel does not have.
When is the budget AOC good enough?
- Web graphics, social media and video for online platforms, where sRGB is the target and the AOC's sRGB mode was measured as very accurate.
- Hobby photography where final output is a phone or laptop screen.
- Mixed gaming and creative use, where 180Hz matters as much as colour.
When does the ProArt earn its price?
- Print and packaging work in Adobe RGB, where gamut coverage decides what you can preview.
- Client proofing, where you need accuracy without calibrating first.
- Multi-monitor studios where screens must match; ASUS lists daisy chaining and Calman verification.
The gaming-versus-professional question is covered in Can a Gaming Monitor Be Used for Professional Photo Editing? and gamut choice in 99% DCI-P3 Sounds Impressive. But Does Your Work Actually Need It?
How can you test your own monitors?
- Get a colorimeter. Options include the Datacolor SpyderExpress (launched at US$119) and the Calibrite Display Plus HL (US$339), which also handles bright OLED and Mini-LED screens.
- Warm up the monitor for about 30 minutes and set the preset you actually use.
- Measure before calibrating. Free tools such as DisplayCAL (or HCFR, which Display Ninja used) report gamut coverage and ΔE against sRGB or DCI-P3.
- Calibrate and measure again. On a ProArt, ASUS's free ProArt Calibration software stores the result inside the monitor rather than on the PC.
- Compare like with like: the same target, the same brightness, the same software.
Buying in Singapore
SourceIT supplies the AOC Q27G4XY (S$357.50), the ASUS ProArt PA279CRV (S$779) and other ProArt models such as the PA278CV (S$487), with a GST invoice. Prices listed 30 Oct 2026. Browse AOC gaming monitors and ASUS monitors. For a quotation, use Request for Quotation on the product page, call (65) 6978 3502, email Sales@sourceit.com.sg or use our contact page.
Frequently asked questions
Is an AOC gaming monitor accurate enough for photo editing? For web and sRGB work, often yes. Tom's Hardware measured the AOC Q27G4XY's sRGB mode as very accurate, with greyscale ΔE below 1 after calibration.
How accurate is the ASUS ProArt PA279CRV? Display Ninja measured an average ΔE of 0.58 in its Adobe RGB and DCI-P3 presets out of the box, and 0.4 after calibration.
What Delta E is good enough? Below 1 is usually imperceptible, about 2 is barely detectable to a trained eye, and most people will not notice errors under 3.
Can calibration make a budget monitor match a ProArt? It can improve accuracy within the panel's gamut, but it cannot add colours the panel cannot show, such as wider Adobe RGB coverage.
Did SourceIT test these monitors? No. The figures come from Tom's Hardware and Display Ninja. A colorimeter and free software such as DisplayCAL let you measure your own screens.
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Researched and verified by the SourceIT team for Singapore buyers.
