Alienware AW2521H Quick Review

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Kyouki
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Joined: 20 Jul 2022, 04:52

Re: Alienware AW2521H Quick Review

Post by Kyouki » 30 Aug 2022, 11:18

Discorz wrote:
30 Aug 2022, 10:27
Kyouki wrote:
30 Aug 2022, 08:43
What would you suggest the best ULMB PWM setting is and at what refresh rate?
Currently playing on 70/75 brightness I think with PWM to 60%, trying to aim for lower to slowly adjust to it overtime.
Response time set to Fast I think (trying to remember / typing on work)
144Hz ULMB is the way to go on this panel. For best PWM keep the regular brightness at max and use PWM instead to reduce brightness/MPRT. Keep reducing it until you're satisfied with overall brightness - The lower the PWM the sharper the motion.

With ULMB overdrive is locked to Extreme or higher. Outside strobing Fast is the most balanced option for 360Hz. If the overshoot of Super Fast doesn't distract than why not use it too. Although I'd prefer they gave us something in between these two.
Thank you so much! Gonna try it out.
CPU: AMD R7 5800x3D ~ PBO2Tuner -30 ~ no C states
RAM: Gskill Bdie 2x16gb TridentZ Neo ~ CL16-16-16-36 1T ~ fine tuned latency
GPU: ASUS TUF 3080 10G OC Edition(v1/non-LHR) ~ disabled Pstates ~ max oced
OS: Fine tuned Windows 10 Pro, manual tuned.
Monitor: Alienware AW2521H ~ mix of ULMB/Gsync @ 240hz/360hz
More specs: https://kit.co/Kyouki/the-pc-that-stomps-you

ysenojftw
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Joined: 17 Feb 2021, 23:53

Re: Alienware AW2521H Quick Review

Post by ysenojftw » 31 Jan 2023, 16:09

If going to 240hz at super fast to reduce ghosting from 360hz, is there anything we need to do outside of just putting it on 240hz? I seen people said you need to use cru to get timings down to 240hz or it would be slower than a normal 240hz

santicanti
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Joined: 17 Oct 2023, 05:25

Re: Alienware AW2521H Quick Review

Post by santicanti » 17 Oct 2023, 05:32

Discorz wrote:
19 Jun 2022, 13:31

Sample and Hold Performance

Default VRR Range: 1-360 FPS for Nvidia, 1-255 FPS for AMD gpus
For AMD range must be manually modified to 360 with CRU. LFC starts kicking in at around 30 fps and I wasn't able to modify this value anywhere. Disabling g-sync is only virtually available through Nvidia or AMD panel, there is no option within OSD.

Custom refresh rates are not supported. Nvidia is being very strict here. Only available refresh rates are 360, 300, 240, 144, 120, 60 Hz, custom ones are "out of range".

Variable Overdrive: Fast, Super Fast, Extreme
Thankfully variable overdrive is fully working on AMD cards.

Some might think what you see in test ufo is what you get in game but that is not always the case. To demonstrate this I used Smooth Frog for pursuit camera and custom TestUFO pattern. Fixed refresh rates (TestUFO, no VRR) and in-game (Smooth Frog, with VRR) frame rates can sometimes behave very different and AW2521H is a good example of that. For reviewers and testers reading, keep that in mind. This is even more true for today's vrr + strobing implementations such as ELMB-SYNC, MPRT-SYNC, Aim Stabilizer Sync which will always strobe different at fixed and vrr situations.

Copyright/Trademark acknowledgement:
Blur Busters granted unique permission to me (Discorz) to use the UFO temporarily in SmoothFrog. Normally, Blur Busters only gives automatic UFO permission only as part of posting TestUFO results anywhere on the Internet. No permission is required to post www.testufo.com results anywhere, since TestUFO results are generally self-crediting. However, due to the problem of browser vendors not yet supporting variable refresh rate, I asked Chief Blur Buster directly and obtained unique permission to temporarily use the Blur Busters UFO trademark in SmoothFrog for the purpose of posting VRR UFO results on Blur Busters. Currently, Blur Busters is working on an eventual VRR-compatible (FreeSync, G-SYNC) solution to certain TestUFO tests. These are interim results. Chief Blur Buster Mark Rejhon requests that any reviewers who want to use the copyrighted UFO trademark outside of an official TestUFO test, to contact Blur Busters for explicit permission first.


Ones framed in cyan is what testufo will show.

View images in full resolution for detail! (5972 x 2370)

Overdrive Fast

@360 Hz
Image
360 Hz input, 60-360 FPS, G-SYNC enabled, Overdrive Fast, ∼960 pps

We don't get to see panel's native performance (very likely same as PG259QN OD OFF) but we can see Fast successfully removes some of the ghosting with no overshoot and that holds true through full vrr range. This is well tuned overdrive. However ghosting is still visible down to 200 fps or even lower. There is still quite a bit of room left for improvement.

Next images are at different input refresh rates.

@240 Hz
Image
240 Hz input, 60-240 FPS, Overdrive Fast, ∼960 pps

A good eye will notice ever so slightly more ghosting as we decrease input refresh rate, more about that in Super Fast section.

@144 Hz
Image
144 Hz input, 60-144 FPS, Overdrive Fast, ∼960 pps

@60 Hz
Image
60 Hz input, 60 FPS, Overdrive Fast, ∼960 pps

Overdrive Super Fast

@360 Hz
Image
360 Hz input, 60-360 FPS, Overdrive Super Fast, ∼960 pps

Super Fast @360 Hz/fps looks ok I guess. Normally I wouldn't prefer this settings due to some presence of overshoot, but for 360 Hz I'd say it is necessary because we want to fit those response times within 360 Hz refresh window of 2,8 ms as much as possible. Unfortunately Super Fast is not fully there, some ghosting can still be spotted. Which means this fast IPS panel is not fast enough for such high refresh rates. If we were strict, this would of been a 144 Hz panel max.

Weirdly enough Nvidia/Alienware somehow managed to make this mode look like it's not fully variable. It's ok down to ~300 fps, bellow that overshoot starts intensifying, ~240-144 looks worst, from ~144 and down overdrive gain is lineary decreasing, nicely 60 Hz/fps is always overshoot and ghost free. Something in-between Fast and Super fast would be ideal, perhaps closer to Fast. Saying this for a monitor that has variable overdrive is not good. What is the point of having such feature when ideal setting is not met. Manufacturers tend to do this quite often. We want more options, preferably a 0-100 gain, yes even for variable overdrive.

@240 Hz
Image
240 Hz input, 60-240 FPS, Overdrive Super Fast, ∼960 pps

One way to reduce overshoot and ghosting is by decreasing monitor's input refresh down to 240 Hz. Notice how different the overdrive behaves. This is what I was refering to when saying TestUFO sometimes doesn't match what you get in game. This amount reminds me of VG279QM OD 80 which I believe is the maximum of what can be achieved with these 2019/2020 fast IPS panels without going too far with overshoot. All manufacturers should of stuck with this imo. For today's standards 240 Hz performs good here.

Does this mean 240 Hz is better? Well not really and it depends. We still get faster 360 Hz MPRT but due to non-instant GtG this LCD panel is not fully 1.5x better over 240 Hz. For those who are very sensitive to ghosting/trailing specifically 240 Hz or lower would suit them better.

@144 Hz
Image
144 Hz input, 60-144 FPS, Overdrive Super Fast, ∼960 pps

Reducing refresh rate further keeps improving things for this overdrive and this is nice because if overdrive gain was kept the same for all fixed refresh rates (like on most non-variable overdrive monitors) overshoot would unnecessarily worsen at lower refresh rates.

@60 Hz
Image
60 Hz input, 60 FPS, Overdrive Super Fast, ∼960 pps

Overdrive Extreme
Extreme is very similar to Super Fast and has just a little more overshoot so I didn't bother doing pursuits. This is a wasted setting imo. It would be better if Alienware left Fast as first, renamed Super Fast to Extreme and tuned something more balanced in between the two. Bellow are some existing images (from Bijan Jamshidi) so you can see what I mean.

@360 Hz 360 FPS, ∼1920 pps
https://i.ibb.co/TrQJ4bD/AW2521-H-360-H ... 920pps.jpg

@240 Hz 240 FPS, ∼1920 pps
https://i.ibb.co/vDMP95c/AW2521-H-240-H ... 920pps.jpg

Response Times
I don't have any gtg measuring equipment so I came up with these response times which are manually measured out from RTINGS charts. I haven't used any tolerance so numbers should be more realistic compared official ones. Overshoot can't be trusted since there is no information on light level and gamma correction wasn't used anyways. Unfortunately at the time of making this review monitor wasn't re-tested with new 1.2 test bench which would of include VRR 60, 120 and 360 fps data.

Fast @360 Hz 360 FPS
Image
See DIY charts of linear responses

Super Fast @360 Hz 360 FPS
Image
See DIY charts of linear responses

And here is XV252QF, Normal chart for comparison. AW2521H could of been pushed faster than Fast with no distracting overshoot.

And some extra pursuits, but at 780 pixels/sec ufo speed which the actual speed of 390Hz at 960pps preset comparison. Check what real speeds of other refresh rates here.
AW2521H, 360Hz, 780pps Fast: https://i.ibb.co/n8vp1Lx/AW2521-H-Fast-780pps.jpg
AW2521H, 360Hz, 780pps Super Fast: https://i.ibb.co/6b5H5Tv/AW2521-H-Super-Fast-780pps.jpg
XV252QF, 390Hz, 780pps (from Techless): https://youtu.be/x7PDKjUhi_I?t=149

Fast @60 Hz 60 FPS
Image
See DIY charts of linear responses

Super Fast @60 Hz 60 FPS
Image
See DIY charts of linear responses


⠀.png
Hi.I have Aw2521h and ı use Amd graphic card.But i cant disabled G-sync.Disabling g-sync is only virtually available through Nvidia or AMD panel, there is no option within OSD.I dont understand virually.How disable g-sync?

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Discorz
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Re: Alienware AW2521H Quick Review

Post by Discorz » 17 Oct 2023, 09:13

santicanti wrote:
17 Oct 2023, 05:32
On amd cards u can't fully disable VRR like on nvidia. There is a OFF/ON toggle within amd settings/panel but it only seems to silence it.

BUT

Someone very recently discovered VRR can be disabled through CRU. See here: viewtopic.php?p=98028#p98028
By removing either range numbers in edit window or freesync range block in extension blocks. Then run restart64 or restart PC and you should be good to go (ULMB unlocked). Make sure to backup your numbers if u want to use VRR again.

Idk if u need to use ULMB, but please let me know if ULMB is unlocked after this mod.
Compare UFOs | Do you use Blur Reduction? | Smooth Frog | Latency Split Test
Alienware AW2521H, Gigabyte M32Q, Asus VG279QM, Alienware AW2518HF, AOC C24G1, AOC G2790PX, Setup

Kambodia
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Re: Alienware AW2521H Quick Review

Post by Kambodia » 28 Oct 2023, 11:06

Hi Discorz,

I just registered to inform that this mod unfortunately does NOT work for AW2521H.

Although open to doing experiments to have ULMB enabled, just need someone to direct me on what to do in CRU!

Thanks!

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Discorz
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Re: Alienware AW2521H Quick Review

Post by Discorz » 01 Nov 2023, 14:16

Kambodia wrote:
28 Oct 2023, 11:06
Although open to doing experiments to have ULMB enabled, just need someone to direct me on what to do in CRU!
Hi,

Did u remove the range in edit window or range extension block, or both if available? And did u run restart64?
Compare UFOs | Do you use Blur Reduction? | Smooth Frog | Latency Split Test
Alienware AW2521H, Gigabyte M32Q, Asus VG279QM, Alienware AW2518HF, AOC C24G1, AOC G2790PX, Setup

Kambodia
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Re: Alienware AW2521H Quick Review

Post by Kambodia » 06 Nov 2023, 21:35

Discorz wrote:
01 Nov 2023, 14:16
Kambodia wrote:
28 Oct 2023, 11:06
Although open to doing experiments to have ULMB enabled, just need someone to direct me on what to do in CRU!
Hi,

Did u remove the range in edit window or range extension block, or both if available? And did u run restart64?
I did, I'm not sure how to attach an image, as I did the last time...

Image

But ULMB on my AW2521H still does not come up.

Thanks!

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Discorz
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Re: Alienware AW2521H Quick Review

Post by Discorz » 07 Nov 2023, 14:45

Kambodia wrote:
06 Nov 2023, 21:35
Did VRR work after the mod?
Compare UFOs | Do you use Blur Reduction? | Smooth Frog | Latency Split Test
Alienware AW2521H, Gigabyte M32Q, Asus VG279QM, Alienware AW2518HF, AOC C24G1, AOC G2790PX, Setup

Kambodia
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Re: Alienware AW2521H Quick Review

Post by Kambodia » 08 Nov 2023, 04:01

Discorz wrote:
07 Nov 2023, 14:45
Kambodia wrote:
06 Nov 2023, 21:35
Did VRR work after the mod?
How do I check if:

1. If VRR is on?
2. How do I test for this?

Would this be it?

Image

Sorry for the question, but I tried searching for it and couldn't find for Windows 11 w/ 7900 xtx.

Thank you!

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Discorz
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Re: Alienware AW2521H Quick Review

Post by Discorz » 09 Nov 2023, 02:43

https://www.amd.com/system/files/2019-12/DH2-013-02.PNG
or
https://preview.redd.it/z8oltandmrvb1.p ... ef7cab6416

If done correctly it should say not supported, or something along those lines.
Compare UFOs | Do you use Blur Reduction? | Smooth Frog | Latency Split Test
Alienware AW2521H, Gigabyte M32Q, Asus VG279QM, Alienware AW2518HF, AOC C24G1, AOC G2790PX, Setup

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