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Re: Acer XB252Q vs Asus PG258Q (240hz)

Posted: 19 Sep 2017, 22:09
by SilentMarket
lexlazootin wrote:I bet the Asus/Acer are identical. They did Contrast set to 40 which is also brightness so that probably makes up for the slightly lower on the Acer.
Well, it doesn't need to be bet anymore. I have confirmed that Acer XB252Q is worse than Asus PG258Q. For a rush finding out, I just brought my monitor to my friend's house who has a PG258Q. And yes indeed PG258Q is brighter at the lowest setting, but the problem is not all about the brightness, and the brightness doesn't actually matter much.

Under similar color, brightness, gamma settings, within minutes of an eye staring comparison, it's obviously more comfortable sitting in front of PG258Q even at higher brightness and it didn't feel the pain to watch in the white background. And I played some games with that monitor for one and a half hour and didn't have eyes strain. On the contrary, we both agree that XB252Q is causing eyes stain way faster within just 20 minutes. And it seems that Acer has 3 light layers, I don't know for sure, judging by the abrupt brightness increase/decrease during calibration, one for brightness, one for adaptive contrast, one for ULMB.

The only thing I can think of that causes this eye drains difference is the blue light filtering technology. Acer even has a self-claimed eye protect feature, which is lame compared to that Asus has at least TÜV low blue light certification. It's hard to believe that Acer XB252Q is worse than Asus PG258Q simply because Asus monitor has a better blue light filter. But I can't find other explanation.

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And Acer XB252Q doesn't have certification?

Here is the ambient light setup that I have no problem with previous LG29UM67. It's not dim, well, just not works with Acer XB252Q :(
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The conclusion: Acer XB252Q returned, waiting for a refund thanks to the fast local online store, ready to go for a PG258Q.
And life lesson learned in a hard way once again. If you're not aware of every aspect of technology the product has, don't buy the cheap one, buy the expensive PG258Q.

Re: Acer XB252Q vs Asus PG258Q (240hz)

Posted: 20 Sep 2017, 17:19
by frunction
I always thought with Asus you were paying for the fancy stand and better OSD. I was planning to get the Acer because I use a VESA mount and didn't want to pay for a stand I won't use.

I wonder if it's your copy, or all Acer's exhibit this difference. I see Blur Buster's did extensive testing with the XB252Q, was eye strain an issue noted?

Also, I was planning to get the exact same side monitor (29" LG). Are there still issues running monitors at different refresh rates? Or that is a thing of the past?

Re: Acer XB252Q vs Asus PG258Q (240hz)

Posted: 20 Sep 2017, 18:26
by jorimt
No eyestrain with the XB252Q I tested with, but your experience may vary.

Honestly, eyestrain at even the lowest brightness is a rare complaint for any monitor; most gamers tend to set their monitors on the brighter side, so I'm not sure what specific issue @SilentMarket is experiencing, let alone what is causing it.

As far as I know, the "Blue Light" function on both the ASUS and Acer are distinct modes that must be manually engaged, and are not active at default, so I'm not sure how that would cause the difference either; they both have the same panel, and manufacturers implementing the same panel are usually only responsible for the chassis, OSD design, and overdrive implementation, with no changes made to the backlight or panel itself otherwise.

Re: Acer XB252Q vs Asus PG258Q (240hz)

Posted: 10 Oct 2017, 03:09
by SilentMarket
jorimt wrote:No eyestrain with the XB252Q I tested with, but your experience may vary.

Honestly, eyestrain at even the lowest brightness is a rare complaint for any monitor; most gamers tend to set their monitors on the brighter side, so I'm not sure what specific issue @SilentMarket is experiencing, let alone what is causing it.

As far as I know, the "Blue Light" function on both the ASUS and Acer are distinct modes that must be manually engaged, and are not active at default, so I'm not sure how that would cause the difference either; they both have the same panel, and manufacturers implementing the same panel are usually only responsible for the chassis, OSD design, and overdrive implementation, with no changes made to the backlight or panel itself otherwise.
It's strange. I guess the Acer XB252Q I got has some issues.

But after returning it, I didn't buy the PG258Q, instead, I bought a Zowie XL2546 and an Acer XB271HU.

These two monitors are both good especially XL2546 is a wild monitor that even gradually changes gaming play style. It has better calibration settings and better black/white level than the XB252Q returned. It looks comfortable and I can stare at the monitor continuously even though it is not flicker-free with DyAc enabled. Blur reduction is important at higher fps.
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Re: Acer XB252Q vs Asus PG258Q (240hz)

Posted: 10 Oct 2017, 10:20
by laped
I have an XB252q and I havn't noticed any eyestrain either. I think asus and acer are pretty much the same. But can anybody tell me how the blue filter are suposed to work? When I enable it the brightness are forced to 80/100? Why cant you enable blue filter and set a custom brightness?

Re: Acer XB252Q vs Asus PG258Q (240hz)

Posted: 10 Oct 2017, 12:14
by lexlazootin
laped wrote:I have an XB252q and I havn't noticed any eyestrain either. I think asus and acer are pretty much the same. But can anybody tell me how the blue filter are suposed to work? When I enable it the brightness are forced to 80/100? Why cant you enable blue filter and set a custom brightness?
I have the same monitor and have no problem with eyestrain.

The Acer and Asus are the same, you are correct.

The 'blue light' mode just lowers blue light, that's all. You can enable it and turn down your brightness and it will stay on but it will say off. If you goto the color setting and check the color temp it will be in 'blue light' mode were it will just lower the blues and a bit of the greens.

That's all it does.

Re: Acer XB252Q vs Asus PG258Q (240hz)

Posted: 10 Oct 2017, 13:24
by Chief Blur Buster
Different people have different eyestrain sensitivities.

Also, PWM dimming versus blur-reduction strobing has ended up being mostly apples-vs-bananas. While, some people are bothered equally by both -- some people get more strain from motion blur! There are people here who get eyestrain from PWM dimming, but not from high-Hz blur-reduction strobe backlights.

We have some people here complain of eyestrain from motion blur (that disappears with ULMB / LightBoost / CRT / Plasma).

So the classic ergonomic factors (flicker, blue light, excess brightness) aren't the only eye strain factors. Every human is different on their biggest eyestrain factor.

Alas.... The ideal display to fit the widest range of human vision eyestrain factors would be closer to a real life display with no finite frame rate (blurfree sample and hold via infinite refresh rate / frame rate) -- no side effects / no flicker / no strobe / no blur from limited Hz / no phantom array effects -- and infinitely adjustable color/brightness! Alas, such a "real-life, looking out of a window" monitor or TV doesn't exist on the market. They try to come close, but they all have imperfections one way or another, and fixing an imperfection creates other imperfections. So we have to just decide on what the best monitor to get for current technology *today*.