Aiming Study: Featuring 240hz vs 120hz/144hz ULMB Display

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ericl
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Aiming Study: Featuring 240hz vs 120hz/144hz ULMB Display

Post by ericl » 14 Sep 2017, 11:50

I just saw the 240hz vs 120 ULMB and I swear I thought I started that thread! This is timely because I just completed extensive testing on the subject. (And I tried to be as scientific as possible... while minimizing human error <-- Quite difficult to do when you're aiming!)

Preface:
I have the good fortune to have multiple 120hz+ monitors at my disposal so I have been using aim hero to determine which monitor set up provides the best aiming performance.

Seeing as most people probably won’t know what Aim Hero is… it’s just a simple aiming program that matches your sensitivity in CS:GO or Overwatch so you can build muscle memory by doing drills.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/518030/Aim_Hero/
(It’s $5 and no, I am not associated with them!)

By doing the reflex map inside Aim Hero (with default settings), I receive a score based on my aiming performance. Even though I do vary (human error), it does provide a relatively consistent score and I can see immediate increases/decreases based on different monitor setups.

Testing ULMB vs 240hz

1. I tested my current daily monitor, the Asus PG258Q which was running ULMB @ 144hz with the monitor’s built-in crosshair. My max score was about 95-100k inside Aim Hero with that setup. (Aim Hero provides a score after 300 shots)

2. Then I tested using a small dot as a crosshair… and my score immediately jumped to 110-115k!! It turns out, using the Asus built-in crosshairs isn’t as good as using a simple, bright dot.
[Discovery #1: Crosshair had an impact on accuracy]

3. Then I tested 240hz (instead of 144hz ULMB) and ONCE again, my score went up! I fluctuated around 115k-120k scores at the end of Aim Hero testing. Turns out, for fast aiming, I perform better at 240hz than 144hz ULMB on this monitor… EVEN if the 144hz looks sharper with faster movements. The rapid input of 240hz makes aiming easier.
[Discovery #2: Even though my eyes prefer 144hz, results show that I aim better at 240hz]

This was a big discovery because I thought that 144hz ULMB would be better (because it visually feels better) but the aiming tests consistently show better performance at ‘regular’ 240hz.

Crazy right? I had never been able to quantify it like that.

4. Then I put back my ‘old’ monitor, Asus ROG P278Q, 27″ 144hz monitor. For this one, I set it to my favorite setting which is 120hz ULMB. And… after the second run, I scored a new high score! This, in spite of having not used the monitor in months (so I certainly wasn’t used to it). I scored 130k which is a significantly higher score.
[Discovery #3: Large screen size is more important for aiming]

And.. the crazy thing is that going from the 240hz on the Asus PG258Q to 120hz ULMB on the Asus P278Q felt laggy. When I move my mouse to aim at 120hz ULMB, there is a noticeable input lag delay where the crosshair begins to move AFTER I move the mouse.
Discovery #4: You can REALLY feel the input lag with 120hz ULMB when you go back and forth. It is very significant.

Yet, in spite of this, I scored my highest score yet… LIKELY due to the fact that the 27″ is significantly large than 25″ (even though the different appears small… it really isn’t. There is a massive difference in size.)

Also, the P278Q allows for 2560x resolution which makes things even clearer… this MIGHT be a contributing factor (I don’t know) but in spite of having more input lag, I scored the highest with that screen.
Assumption #1: A higher Resolution might make things "crisper" and contribute to a better aim.

5. Then I went back to the 240hz mode to test… and was unable to break a score of 115-120k. (This was right after scoring 130k on the 27″)… so the winner for the reflex test was the Asus P278Q at 120hz ULMB.

HOWEVER…

This was just the reflex test and I found for tracking quick movement, the 240hz really helps. So now I’m still on the Asus PG258Q as my daily driver, just at 240hz instead of 144 ULMB.
[Discovery 5: Fast tracking is easier with 240hz]

(And, about 3 weeks later, I ended up breaking my high score on the 240hz with a score of 133k. I didn’t included this during the regular testing because in 3 weeks, my aim has improved so that’s likely the reason why I scored so high. All the previous tests were done within the same hour so my ‘human machine’ was as consistent as it’s going to get.) I’ll have to go back and test the 27″ again sometime soon.

Ultimately, this tells me that the ultimate monitor for me would be a 27″, QHD resolution, 240hz monitor with ridiculously low input lag. (Oh, and I love the option to switch to ULMB, so hopefully that’s in there)

tl;dr;
Aiming results: On a 25.5″ monitor, 240hz is better than 144hz ULMB for flick/reflex shots even though ULMB feels better. 27″ (and perhaps a higher resolution) helps even more… with 27″ 120hz ULMB being the winner for reflex shots.

Tracking is still unproven however I feel as if 240hz is the best for tracking because the input is noticeably quicker. I just posted this on my personal gaming site http://www.clutchkills.com/gaming-revie ... 44hz-ulmb/ but really, I think more people will read it here!

p.s. I KNOW there is currently a hacked up version of a 27" that runs at 240hz (I saw the other thread of the guy selling DIY kits/monitors but after seeing it on LinusTechTips, I'd rather wait for a real manufacturer to make one. I'm thinking we're going to get a 27" monitor running at 240hz with 0.5ms soon enough!

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Re: Aiming Study: Featuring 240hz vs 120hz/144hz ULMB Displa

Post by Chief Blur Buster » 14 Sep 2017, 15:16

Paging spacediver!
spacediver wrote our human reflex article at http://www.blurbusters.com/human-reflex

We are writing multiple articles about input lag, so if you're willing to freelance for Blur Busters, let me know if you're interested!

Also, I've since discovered that strobing has much less lag on certain displays than other strobed displays. Some of them pre-buffers too much, while others use no buffering (GPU Large Vertical Totals) or a very bare minimum of partial buffering for scanout-acceleration purposes. Also PG258Q has 144Hz ULMB, and higher Hz ULMB tends to have less input lag -- can you test it too? Also, XL2546 strobing has far less strobe input lag than PG278Q ULMB. Also ULMB doesn't work well for stationary-crosshairs aiming tests, see HOWTO: Using ULMB Beautifully & Competitively for different situations that ULMB helps better.
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jorimt
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Re: Aiming Study: Featuring 240hz vs 120hz/144hz ULMB Displa

Post by jorimt » 14 Sep 2017, 21:22

@ericl, you could mess around with this program for comparative tracking purposes as well:
http://www.draebenstedt.de/reaction/reaction.html
(jorimt: /jor-uhm-tee/)
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Displays: ASUS PG27AQN, LG 48CX VR: Beyond, Quest 3, Reverb G2, Index OS: Windows 11 Pro Case: Fractal Design Torrent PSU: Seasonic PRIME TX-1000 MB: ASUS Z790 Hero CPU: Intel i9-13900k w/Noctua NH-U12A GPU: GIGABYTE RTX 4090 GAMING OC RAM: 32GB G.SKILL Trident Z5 DDR5 6400MHz CL32 SSDs: 2TB WD_BLACK SN850 (OS), 4TB WD_BLACK SN850X (Games) Keyboards: Wooting 60HE, Logitech G915 TKL Mice: Razer Viper Mini SE, Razer Viper 8kHz Sound: Creative Sound Blaster Katana V2 (speakers/amp/DAC), AFUL Performer 8 (IEMs)

ericl
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Joined: 09 Jan 2014, 14:50

Re: Aiming Study: Featuring 240hz vs 120hz/144hz ULMB Displa

Post by ericl » 14 Sep 2017, 22:36

Wow, cool. Blast from the past! The only thing is that this would use the Windows sensitivity (i'm assuming) and I have been training myself with a specific Overwatch sensitivity. Doing a few hours of this would probably mess me up and create odd test results because I would possibly improve over time as I adjust myself to the program/sensitivity/etc.

There is a tracking exercise inside Aim Hero so I might try that even though it doesn't have the amazing statistics that the reaction program you linked has.

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Re: Aiming Study: Featuring 240hz vs 120hz/144hz ULMB Displa

Post by Chief Blur Buster » 15 Sep 2017, 12:00

BTW, Blur Busters relaunched in spring 2017 and are ramping up with expansion in articles and new subject.

Presciently, we've just posted our HOWTO: Low-Lag VSYNC ON for people who are stuck using VSYNC ON for one reason or another (emulators, locked frame rates, console ports, stutter-free ULMB, or other reason).

You could do before/after aiming tests. VSYNC OFF will usually be better for professional competitive CS:GO but it can improve aiming for those pesky times where you need to "Keep Calm and VSYNC ON" your situation.
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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!

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