I've recently upgraded from old LG 24inch 75Hz 1080p monitor to Philips Evnia 27inch 180Hz 1440p (Philips Evnia 5000 27m2n5500), both IPS, and I have noticed that there is annoying pixelation or scan lines when playing games. When the picture is (mostly) static it looks smooth, but when there is motion I can see vertical scan lines, like I'm seeing the pixel grid itself, but it goes smooth again when the motion is over. Haven't tasted many games yet, but it's most noticeable in Total War because of the flat map. If I look closer, I can see that it motion pixels are getting slightly brighter making dark lines between them more noticeable. If it means anything, Total War's FPS isn't stable, around 58fps average with dips to around 48 and monitor is jumping between 55-60Hz to 105-120Hz.
After spending some time trying to figure out how to get rid of it, I've concluded that FreeSync is causing it. When the FreeSync is off, games look smooth all the time. Is there something that can be done about it or should I just keep FreeSync off and not bother with it?
I'm running 6700XT, latest Radeon driver, monitor overdrive is off, DisplayPort.
Is it normal for FreeSync to cause scan lines?
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Re: Is it normal for FreeSync to cause scan lines?
It's display dependant. Lines/chessboards are usually related to LCD inversion algorithms, which may change during toggling VRR on/off.
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Re: Is it normal for FreeSync to cause scan lines?
Yes, i've seen discussion about that on this forum. I've done some more testing:
I'd say that those lines most noticeable on white (as they appear as tiny red and green squares) are always there,
VRR itself doesn't affect it, they are just more visible on low refresh rate,
My old LG 24MP400P doesn't seem to have it, instead the whole picture becomes blurry in motion, like there is motion blur applied on top of the monitor (is it possible or am I crazy?
).
Can this be affected by FRC? If my monitor is 8bit + FRC, would switching down to just 8bit have any effect on this?
And would it be fair to assume that overall this depends on panel quality? I understand my monitor is pretty much on the low end, but would more expensive IPS monitors be free from this issue?
I'd say that those lines most noticeable on white (as they appear as tiny red and green squares) are always there,
VRR itself doesn't affect it, they are just more visible on low refresh rate,
My old LG 24MP400P doesn't seem to have it, instead the whole picture becomes blurry in motion, like there is motion blur applied on top of the monitor (is it possible or am I crazy?

Can this be affected by FRC? If my monitor is 8bit + FRC, would switching down to just 8bit have any effect on this?
And would it be fair to assume that overall this depends on panel quality? I understand my monitor is pretty much on the low end, but would more expensive IPS monitors be free from this issue?