Can't decide on new monitor

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pzkY
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Can't decide on new monitor

Post by pzkY » 30 May 2017, 17:11

Hello guys,
first off all, as the title says, I'm looking for a new monitor for some reasons. Currently I own the Benq XL2411Z
The reasons I want to switch are:
- I want a higher resolution
- a smoother image (on the Benq with Strobe Utility the picture is only smooth on slower movements, on faster ones it's stuttering hard)
- better colors (the colors of the Benq are bullshit, like srsly, everything looks like it got bleached..an ICC Profile fixed it a bit)
- eventually a higher refresh rate (although I don't expect a big improvement over 120Hz)

I currently have two (or three) monitors in my sight.
Either the "Acer XB271HUbmiprz" (800€ new, IPS and 27") or the "Dell S2417DG/Dell S2716DG " (600€ new, TN and 24"; sadly/TN and 27")

So, I currently have 500€ I could use on a new monitor (I can get both for roughly 500€, even though the Acer is originally much more expensive). I just need to decide on which one..and that's where I ask you guys

Are the color-differences really as big as some tell me between those two monitors (or TN and IPS at all)?
Is motion blur really so strong on IPS panels, that it's, if playing competitively, unbearable?
How big is the difference between 144 and 165Hz, if I'm not using ULMB and does 165Hz have less blur than 144Hz does?
What monitors could you recommend for both colors and (nearly) not existent motion blur, up to 800€ new (where I could grab it for 500-600€ as b-ware)?

I will use that monitor for:
- Singleplayer games (where I prefer having no motion blur and good colors)
- more or less competitive games (osu!, CS:GO, CoD4; where I rather prefer ulmb off with my benq due to the stuttering)
- watching movies (good colors again)

My hardware, if needed. I'll just share it:
- i5 3570k@5Ghz
- GTX 1080Ti Aorus Xtreme
- 2x8GB DDR3 1866Mhz CL9


I'll thank in advance for anyone giving me some ideas/tips on which to choose and recommendations, before I forget it later.
pzkY

P.S.: I thought about 240Hz too, but I don't expect better colors than my benq has there, so I'm not sure if I should go for one with 240 (and I don't expect a much smoother experience, maybe someone can lighten me up)

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RealNC
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Re: Can't decide on new monitor

Post by RealNC » 31 May 2017, 05:31

I have a similar monitor to the Acer (it's an XG2703-GS and has the same panel as the Acer.) There's no motion blur. The image is very good; both colors and contrast.

The differences compared to TN are huge (I have two TN monitors.)

The difference between 144Hz and 165Hz is not something I can actually detect. Looks the same to me. I use 144Hz for that reason (165Hz counts as "overclocking" on monitors that use this panel, and since I can't see a difference, I chose not to OC.)

Make sure the store you buy from has a strong return policy. These 165Hz IPS monitors (Acer, Asus, AOC, ViewSonic) seemed to have QA issues (dead pixels, backlight bleed, dust on panel.)

I wrote my impressions of the monitor here:

http://forums.blurbusters.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3337

(With links to actual reviews.)
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pzkY
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Re: Can't decide on new monitor

Post by pzkY » 31 May 2017, 12:20

RealNC wrote:I have a similar monitor to the Acer (it's an XG2703-GS and has the same panel as the Acer.) There's no motion blur
According to the review on https://pcmonitors.info/reviews/viewsonic-xg2703-gs/ the pictures for motion blur don't even look too bad without ULMB.
May I ask what's the game you have to move the camera the fastest? So I can take a reference.

And, what are the actual differences between the ViewSonic and the Acer (since the ViewSonic is much cheaper; and looks better/not bloated like Acers)?

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RealNC
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Re: Can't decide on new monitor

Post by RealNC » 31 May 2017, 14:53

pzkY wrote:According to the review on https://pcmonitors.info/reviews/viewsonic-xg2703-gs/ the pictures for motion blur don't even look too bad without ULMB.
Actually it's not just "not too bad", but in fact excellent. It has less ghosting and less artifacts than my AOC G2770PF (which uses a TN panel). In fact, I can't see any ghosting at all here. Not in testufo and not in games. With my previous TN monitors (a very old LG whose model I forgot, a Samsung XL2370 and the AOC G2770PF,) there was always at least some ghosting, however minimal. This is in fact the first LCD monitor I ever used where I cannot see any ghosting whatsoever. This was indeed very surprising, since I always assumed IPS has more ghosting than TN.

Motion clarity-wise, it's heaps better than my old TNs (the LG and the Samsung, since those were 60Hz and 75Hz,) and either just as good or a bit better than the AOC (144Hz.) Definitely not worse.
May I ask what's the game you have to move the camera the fastest? So I can take a reference.
If animation is too fast, ghosting is harder to see, actually. Mid-speed is where it actually shows (for example, if you set the testufo speed too fast, you can't tell if there's ghosting or not.)

So "normal gaming" is where you see ghosting the most. If you're snapping the mouse quickly left and right (checking angles in CS:GO for example), there's nothing to see, really. Frames are too far apart for ghosting to affect motion clarity.
And, what are the actual differences between the ViewSonic and the Acer (since the ViewSonic is much cheaper; and looks better/not bloated like Acers)?
They should be very similar when it comes to image quality. The rest is about stuff like USB connectors, the frame, the stand, etc. Also brand recognition. Asus has the highest "gaming gear" brand recognition, so they price their stuff higher. Acer is second, ViewSonic has no "gaming" reputation.

I got the ViewSonic because it doesn't look silly (I don't like my PC looking like a kid's Power Rangers toy :P) If I wanted the cheapest, I would have bought the AOC AG271QG (which also has a review on pcmonitors.info). But I didn't like the stand, and I have trust issues with AOC due to past bad experiences with their monitors (which doesn't mean the monitor is bad, it just means I personally don't trust AOC :P)

Edit:

One thing should be mentioned though. If ULMB rather than G-Sync is the most important thing to you, a TN monitor is going to perform better. All of these IPS monitors have higher crosstalk compared to a good TN monitor.

Also (and Chief, feel free to correct me), the larger the monitor, the more crosstalk there will be in ULMB mode. So a 24" has less crosstalk than a 27".
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pzkY
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Re: Can't decide on new monitor

Post by pzkY » 31 May 2017, 17:31

RealNC wrote:I got the ViewSonic because it doesn't look silly (I don't like my PC looking like a kid's Power Rangers toy :P)
That's pretty much the reason why I asked for differences, it looks decent and not, in your words, "like a kid's Power Rangers toy".
RealNC wrote:If I wanted the cheapest, I would have bought the AOC AG271QG (which also has a review on pcmonitors.info). But I didn't like the stand, and I have trust issues with AOC due to past bad experiences with their monitors (which doesn't mean the monitor is bad, it just means I personally don't trust AOC :P)
I've read that AOC has big problems with back light bleeding (according to reviews on Amazon, while those on the Acer where much better
RealNC wrote:One thing should be mentioned though. If ULMB rather than G-Sync is the most important thing to you, a TN monitor is going to perform better. All of these IPS monitors have higher crosstalk compared to a good TN monitor.
I won't be gaming with ULMB only, I just use the Blur Reduction of the Benq since it's extremely high on it without it.


Guess I'll get the Viewsonic/Acer then, if no one else has any different recommendations/comments to this :) Thanks for your input!

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Re: Can't decide on new monitor

Post by Chief Blur Buster » 31 May 2017, 19:15

RealNC wrote:Also (and Chief, feel free to correct me), the larger the monitor, the more crosstalk there will be in ULMB mode. So a 24" has less crosstalk than a 27".
Not always.

Certainly, the 24" ASUS VG248QE and its ultra-low-crosstalk LightBoost, really set the standard -- it has almost zero crosstalk for screen centre. However, I've seen 27" panels with much less strobe crosstalk than 24" panels.

That said, 1ms GtG (10%->90% measurement spec) came to 24" TN panels before it came to 27" TN panels. It's easier to reduce strobe crosstalk on 1ms TN panels than 2ms TN panels. And 1ms is more common on the 24" panels than the 27" panels.

However, there's almost no difference in ULMB strobe crosstalk between ULMB on my 27" PG278Q and my 24" GSYNC-modified VG248QE (ULMB in GSYNC mode). There is slightly more strobe crosstalk with ULMB than with LightBoost, because getting better colors (wider dynamic range) tends to very, very slightly increase strobe crosstalk. LightBoost is well known to have poor colors, and ULMB has better colors.
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Re: Can't decide on new monitor

Post by Chief Blur Buster » 31 May 2017, 19:20

pzkY wrote:Guess I'll get the Viewsonic/Acer then, if no one else has any different recommendations/comments to this :) Thanks for your input!
If you plan to buy via Amazon, don't forget to support Blur Busters via buying here:
Official List Of Best Gaming Monitors

You quoted Euro currency, so if shopping via another country, search for the monitor via these links:
Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.fr | Amazon.de | Amazon.es | Amazon.it

Thank you! :)
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Forum Rules wrote:  1. Rule #1: Be Nice. This is published forum rule #1. Even To Newbies & People You Disagree With!
  2. Please report rule violations If you see a post that violates forum rules, then report the post.
  3. ALWAYS respect indie testers here. See how indies are bootstrapping Blur Busters research!

intheskyhaii
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Re: Can't decide on new monitor

Post by intheskyhaii » 01 Jun 2017, 16:06

I have an ASUS PG248Q, and if you're doing anything remotely FPS like it's a game changer. One of the best investments I've made to my computer.

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Re: Can't decide on new monitor

Post by UdanFnyO » 23 Jun 2017, 01:52

I have the same ASUS PG248Q and it's working for me just fine, but it's up to you, because they will be lots of advice from many people. The best Idea is to go to shop website and check the prices, resolution, size etc.

open
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Re: Can't decide on new monitor

Post by open » 08 Jul 2017, 10:49

You can always do some reasearch. Pixel transitions occur across a range of possible color to color transitions. 1ms is just the best case scenario on these monitors. Looking at motion blur pictures or getting detailed measurements like the ones on tft central will give you a better idea of what it will perform like.

And always chose based on what is most important to you. There are many monitors that have almost no motion blur whatsoever with strobing. Where they will differ is color quality, crosstalk, non strobing (high refresh rate) motion blur, gsync support, brightness, and input lag.

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