How to decide between 1080p 360Hz and 1440p 240 Hz?

[Nocta]

Hi,
I have always been playing on slow LCD panels (60Hz VA panels) since I left the CRT world.
I'm getting more and more annoyed by the bad motion quality of those panels and I'm ready to finally bite the bullet for a qualitative screen.

The problem I'm facing is that I play various types of games, from singleplayer scenery ones to fast paced multiplayer FPS.
My desire to have the best motion quality for fast paced games means that a 25" 1080p 360Hz monitor like the Dell Alienware AW2521H (IPS) would be the right choice.
But my love for deep blacks and high resolution in atmospheric games also means that a 32" 1440p 240 Hz monitor like the Samsung Odyssey G7 (VA) would be a treat.

I've been waiting for OLED to come and fix it all for years but I don't see it being an option under the 500€ barrier anytime soon so I need to take a decision now.
How would you decide between those two opposite direction if you did not know yet how much you will accept the drawbacks of each technology?

Also I have read that some screens can have VRR and strobing at the same time. How good does this work? This seems like a holy grail yet reviews sites seem to not care about this, why?

[Sirslicey]

I have the same question too, as someone who primarily plays competitive Overwatch on a 1080p@120Hz strobed monitor, but also likes to indulge in other slower paced games like Squad, where higher resolution is key to seeing enemies clearly at range. I think the answer for me personally lies in getting a 1440p @240Hz monitor(or waiting for 1440p @360hz) and enabling motion blur reduction. The motion blur reduction will be clearer at 240hz than at 360Hz non-strobed, with the added versatility of 1440p. If in games like OW or Valorant, you may decide that 1440p is not beneficial enough for the cost of lowering your framerate, you can always adjust the resolution scale lower to achieve the desired framerate.

At the end of the day, and I could certainly be wrong, I think 240Hz strobed is superior in fast-paced, high motion games like Overwatch, Quake, Unreal Tournament, etc, to 360Hz sample and hold. In fact, I'm not sure, but are there ANY monitors that can strobe higher than 240Hz, like at 360Hz? From what I've seen I think the answer is no, right? As far as VRR+strobing, I've yet to hear about that yet, but that would be sweet.

Edit: Some quick research shows that some of the latest monitors can indeed combine VRR and strobing, I've been out of the monitor world for some time, but that's got to be really neat.

[Nocta]

Hi Sirslicey, thank you for your feedback!
Do you use strobing for games like Squad too? How much of an improvement is it?

[Sirslicey]

I use the BenQ XL2720Z using the 1500VT tweaks @120Hz strobed, with the undocumented overdrive setting that I believe Falkentyne popularized. I installed the Blur Busters strobing utility to adjust the exact amount of crosstalk and persistence just as I like, and I've been EXTREMELY happy with it for maybe about 6 or 7 years now. I use motion blur reduction with all games and all tasks, movies, games, productivity, I don't care. I daily drive it and I love it. I've tried using 144hz non-strobed, and everything is just a blurry smeary mess to me, compared to strobed. It makes it much harder, in my opinion, to play as well as I do with backlight strobing. Harder to get headshots. Harder to notice fine details during high motion. The added latency from downgrading to 120hz from 144hz to enable strobing is absolutely worth the massive gains in motion blur reduction, and I've basically never looked back in any games, including slower and faster paced FPS, RTS games, single-player, isometric, etc. Motion blur reduction does have some drawbacks, like stuttering when FPS is lower than refresh rate without V-Sync ON, but I've learned to look past it over the years, or just turn on V-Sync for some titles that really could use it, like Squad, where my FPS can be as low as 60 easily. In the end, 120Hz strobed is night and day difference from 144hz sample and hold, and in my experience, a major competitive advantage.

On a side note, it appears that there are indeed monitors that can strobe higher than 240Hz, as well as monitors that can enable VRR + Backlight strobing A good place to find the different strobing characteristics of the latest monitors is on Rtings.com

[Nocta]

Thanks again, it's very interesting. In Squad you play locked at 60fps with strobing if I get you right? How is the flickering in that situation?

[Falkentyne]

I use the BenQ XL2720Z using the 1500VT tweaks @120Hz strobed, with the undocumented overdrive setting that I believe Falkentyne popularized. I installed the Blur Busters strobing utility to adjust the exact amount of crosstalk and persistence just as I like, and I've been EXTREMELY happy with it for maybe about 6 or 7 years now. I use motion blur reduction with all games and all tasks, movies, games, productivity, I don't care. I daily drive it and I love it. I've tried using 144hz non-strobed, and everything is just a blurry smeary mess to me, compared to strobed. It makes it much harder, in my opinion, to play as well as I do with backlight strobing. Harder to get headshots. Harder to notice fine details during high motion. The added latency from downgrading to 120hz from 144hz to enable strobing is absolutely worth the massive gains in motion blur reduction, and I've basically never looked back in any games, including slower and faster paced FPS, RTS games, single-player, isometric, etc. Motion blur reduction does have some drawbacks, like stuttering when FPS is lower than refresh rate without V-Sync ON, but I've learned to look past it over the years, or just turn on V-Sync for some titles that really could use it, like Squad, where my FPS can be as low as 60 easily. In the end, 120Hz strobed is night and day difference from 144hz sample and hold, and in my experience, a major competitive advantage.

On a side note, it appears that there are indeed monitors that can strobe higher than 240Hz, as well as monitors that can enable VRR + Backlight strobing A good place to find the different strobing characteristics of the latest monitors is on Rtings.com

The new Alienware QD-OLED looks splendid, and there are absolutely zero rta overdrive artifacts on it but for some reason, it doesn't support blur reductio, when this panel should be perfect for it. I have no idea why.

The lack of ghosting or smearing besides pure sample and hold persistence makes this monitor look like an inbetween from traditional displays to strobing, but it's still sample and hold in the end.

[Sirslicey]

Thanks again, it's very interesting. In Squad you play locked at 60fps with strobing if I get you right? How is the flickering in that situation?

No problem, it is indeed. I do not play locked at 60fps. I always play at 120Hz strobed and aim for as much FPS as possible in competitive titles. But in some titles, the game is not quite as optimized to play well in excess of 120fps, or my GPU is not enough to keep up(GTX 1070+R7 5800X). In games like Squad where some maps drop down well below 120fps, down to 50-75fps in some instances, I just seem to prefer having V-Sync on. I don't seem to notice added latency with v-sync on in a game like that, but I do notice the added clarity, especially at range without tearing and major stuttering. No flickering since it's strobing at 120hz. However in other games like Overwatch where I have 300-400fps at practically all times, having v-sync on is a major difference in added latency versus off, and with little to not benefit in added clarity. The tearing/stuttering is very minimal.

As far as the new Alienware QD-OLED, I have to agree with you. It's unfortunate that motion blur reduction is not prioritized in most monitors, because I personally believe it's a major advantage in competitive titles, even at the cost of added latency sometimes(120hz strobed vs 144hz non-strobed etc).

Falkentyne, on a side-note, what do you think about the upcoming EVE Spectrum QHD 280Hz? Maybe something like that would be a worthy upgrade for someone like me, but I'm just not sure sure. I guess we'll have to see in time.

[DPRTMELR]

Another thing to consider is the satisfaction you would get from upgrading your monitor(especially you since you say you like to enjoy the sceneries and details in single player games). You really don't get that ahmahgawd its so clearrrrrrrr by upgrading your screen in the same resolutions, in fact the colors might look worse than your current one.

But then what happens when the rich kids gets their 480hz sometime this year or next year, now you are so far behind tough call really.

[Nocta]

Thanks to both of you for your inputs.
I did some reading on VRR strobing and it’s apparently not so good so far.
Best to keep a stable frame rate or use VRR only apparently.

I agree with you both about OLED and can’t wait to have one but the cost is too high for me right now.

The MSI optix mag274qrf-qd seems to offer a very good strobing and is also a good fast IPS so maybe that’s a good stopgap in the meantime.
The Odyssey G7 has very good reviews too and I love deep blacks but the strobing is not very good apparently.
We still have to pick our poison after all these years or so it seems…

Edit: just saw your post DPRTMELR. That’s exactly my fear, I already have 1440p and decent blacks, I’m a bit worried about that aspect.
I’m not competitive enough to need the max Hz to be on top of my game, but I do want clarity in movement, that’s why I’m wondering so much about the strobing aspect…

[DPRTMELR]

Sorry that I don't have any specific model to recommend (obviously what I am using is the best #1 and you stink) but maybe go for 1440p/240hz that's confirmed great and buy some of the 360hz monitors thats gonna be on the sale later down the road after things would've matured more, people would stop with there's no point going above 120hz and all giving you more balanced reviews(wait for a LTT video with former pros doing 'is it worth' rofl), waiting is not bad.

like that color quality isn't going away and will give you smiles every now and then. but your need for higher-er-er refresh rate may change over time, and chances are you are gonna want to run it on 1080p or even lower anyway for consistent frames. just my 2 cents

this is my fps results for overwatch on 1080p with 3080ti (it was just set "ultra" in settings) https://imgur.com/a/4K6Niy1
I am well with my 360hz decision, but many people may see that and go man maybe you should've got a 240hz 1440p monitor.