The ASUS TUF VG1A 31.5” gaming monitor boasts interesting features with a 170 Hz refresh rate, 1ms response time, and a 178 degree viewing angle. Gaming monitors are known to be some of the best monitors on the market since they usually have panels that are fast, have great colour reproduction, and have eye-catching designs. The ASUS TUF VG1A I’m reviewing today is no exception. In this article I’ll discuss its ergonomics, connectivity, performance controls, and who I think this monitor is best suited for.
Unboxing and setting up the ASUS TUF VG1A
For a large 31.5” monitor unboxing and setting up the ASUS TUF VG1A was much faster than I imagined. In the box the monitor is split into 3 pieces, the panel, the monitor arm, and the base. Setting up the monitor was straight forward only requiring a screwdriver to secure the monitor to the stand. In total, setting up the monitor took about 10 minutes.
ASUS TUF monitor ergonomics and adjustments
When it comes to ergonomics the ASUS TUF VG1A has basic adjustments. With this monitor you will only be able to adjust tilt. That being said, the large 31.5” screen does not require much adjustment if any at all. The panel is large enough that your entire field of view is covered. However, it would’ve been nice for ASUS to include a left/right pivot built into the monitor stand.
For those that want more flexibility in making monitor adjustments the ASUS TUF VG1A is VESA compatible and can be mounted to a monitor arm.
Connectivity for all your needs
The ASUS TUF VG1A has a good number of connectivity options. Along the bottom rear of the monitor you’ll find 1x DisplayPort 1.2, 2x HDMI 2.0, and 1x earphone jack. During my testing I found this to be more than enough connection points. I was able to connect multiple computing and gaming devices to the monitor. For a modern monitor, I would’ve also liked to see a USB-C Thunderbolt connection point. Having this port would mean that I can easily connect my laptops or phone to this monitor without having to use a USB-C dongle.
ASUS TUF VG1A eye catching display
The display of ASUS TUF VG1A is a 31.5” flat VA panel with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels. The panel offers a moderately fast refresh rate of 170 Hz, a 1ms response time, and viewing angles up to 178 degrees.
ASUS’s choice to use a VA panel is perfect for gamers. VA panels are known for their colour reproduction, deeper black levels, and higher contrast ratios. The panel of the VG1A is also compatible with AMD FreeSync Premium allowing the monitor to match the frame per second (FPS) as your computer’s AMD Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). For users that have NVIDIA GPU’s the ASUS TUF VG1A doesn’t support NVIDIA G-SYNC.
Gaming and media performance
As a gaming monitor the ASUS TUF VG1A excels when playing games and consuming content. During my testing I played Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 and had a blast. The large 31.5” screen gave me a competitive advantage by allowing me to see more details and see more of my surroundings. The fast 170 Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time are fantastic for fast paced games like Warzone 2.0. Even though the ASUS TUF VG32QA1A doesn’t support NVIDIA G-SYNC I rarely saw any distortions in the image quality while playing games.
Consuming content was also fantastic on the ASUS TUF VG1A. The large screen was great for watching movies and offered a cinematic experience.
Overall, the TUF VG1A is excellent for gaming and consuming media. At times I found myself wishing that the panel of this monitor was curved. A curved screen would really help with increasing a user’s immersion with content. Because the panel is flat there were times where I needed to turn my head to see what was happening on the left and right sides of the monitor. However, if the monitor was curved I could still see what’s happening on the edges of the screen without needing to turn my head.
Plenty of space for productivity
The ASUS TUF VG1A is a great tool for content creators and productivity professionals. It’s 16:9 aspect ratio and high resolution provide a lot of screen real estate to work with. During my testing, I used this monitor as my primary monitor for sending emails, taking meetings, reading documentation, and video editing. Overall, I found the high resolution and panel size was perfect for multitasking and satisfied my productivity needs.
Average speakers
It’s rare to find speakers on monitors these days so it was a surprise for me to find that ASUS has included 2x 2 watt speakers on this monitor.
During my testing these speakers sounded average with good mid and high tones but did not have strong bass. The speakers did have a slight hollow sound however this is likely caused by the plastic housing of the monitor.
I compared the speakers of the TUF VG1A with both my MacBook Air (2021) and PixelBook Go (2019). I found myself preferring the volume and tone of both laptops more. That being said, the ASUS TUF VG1A speakers are serviceable speakers and would work well for anyone on a budget or needing a pair of back-up speakers.
Easy to use controls
I always appreciate when manufacturers make the controls on monitors easy to find and use. On the rear right of the ASUS TUF VG1A monitor you will find 4 buttons and a navigation joystick. The buttons are hard to miss, they are large, raised, and easy to press. The buttons are used to control power on/off, shortcuts to Game Visual settings, shortcuts to Game Plus settings, and cancel/back.
The Game Visual shortcut allows users the ability to quickly change the monitor’s scene settings based on the game they’re playing. On the other hand, the Game Plus shortcut allows users to turn on features such as FPS counter, Crosshairs, and timers.
Overall, I found the controls of the monitor to be intuitive and easy to use.
Final thoughts on the ASUS TUF VG1A gaming monitor
The ASUS TUF VG1A is a great monitor for gamers and productivity professionals. I liked the monitor’s fast 170Hz refresh rate, 1ms response time, and the large 31.5” panel. If I could make one addition to this monitor it would be a USB-C Thunderbolt port. This port would eliminate the need to carry around a USB-C dongle.
If you’re looking for a minimalistic monitor with a large panel and high resolution I suggest having a look at the ASUS TUF VG1A gaming monitor.
If you’d like to know what other gaming peripherals are made by ASUS you can check them out here.
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