Experience & Opinion: 240hz displays are blurry

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yehaw
Posts: 107
Joined: 21 Dec 2017, 21:41

Experience & Opinion: 240hz displays are blurry

Post by yehaw » 21 Dec 2017, 22:01

These are my opinions and experience:
(I've looked at two 240h'z displays, the alienware and acer and saw the issue in both.)

Edit: Overdrive flaws breakdown
Edit: Complaints from other people
Edit: Pixel inversion flaw + more complaints
Edit: Breakdown of how 240hz can look blurrier than 144hz
Edit: Photo evidence of 165hz vs 240hz @ 165fps

I fell into the hype of 240hz and bought an Alienware G-Sync version about two weeks ago. After using this panel for about an hour in CSGO I thought it was amazing. But after a while I started developing really heavy eyes and small headaches. I noticed this happened when I played games that were I had lower fps like <180 fps.

I switch backed to my AOC 165hz (oc) and for some reason, I notice 165hz at any fps looked smoother than the 240hz panel! The only time the Alienware looked better, is when it's above 200fps! I think to myself, what is going on here? Can this be the "blurry" issue I constantly see people complain about 240hz panels?

I do a comparison, I set my AOC to 144hz vs Alienware at 144hz on the testufo site using the alien invasion test. I stretch the browser window across both screen, and sure enough, the Alienware looks incredibly blurry or fuzzy in comparison. Even if I downscale the AOC 1440p resolution down to 1080p, the Alienware still looks incredibly blurry in comparison. I don't know if it's the pixel overdrive, the coating, or what - but it's terrible when you see it side by side.

I do some more tests. I play Doom(2016 version) at 165hz on the AOC, 240hz on the Alienware. I can only push about 80-110 fps in this game. On the AOC, I run it downscaled at 1080p and play 30 minutes with no issues. Switch to the Alienware, after 15 minutes of playing, eyes start to feel heavy and like they're going to pop out of my head! After a bit, I can feel my eyes strain with every fast swipe. Even settings the overdrive higher, it helps a little, but this is a huge flaw. Or normal overdrive, I start to feel sick.

When this monitor is above 200-220+ fps, it's a lot harder to notice, but once you play single player games that are more demanding on your fps, you will notice it, especially if you have a good gaming panel already to reference.
Last edited by yehaw on 06 Jan 2018, 10:46, edited 29 times in total.

darzo
Posts: 211
Joined: 12 Aug 2017, 12:26

Re: 240hz monitors are not ready for market

Post by darzo » 22 Dec 2017, 01:52

Are you using gsync? You should be if your fps is that much lower.

yehaw
Posts: 107
Joined: 21 Dec 2017, 21:41

Re: 240hz monitors are not ready for market

Post by yehaw » 22 Dec 2017, 01:58

darzo wrote:Are you using gsync? You should be if your fps is that much lower.
Of course. I used it on both, but I'm going to be returning the 240hz panel. I've read people complaining of this exact issue on the ASUS 240hz and the BenQ 240hz, so I figured I'd try the Alienware as not many people buy this version of the 240hz. They all have this big flaw of blurriness.

And this isn't related to g-sync, it's gotta be the coating, pixel overdrive, or the screen size.

darzo
Posts: 211
Joined: 12 Aug 2017, 12:26

Re: 240hz monitors are not ready for market

Post by darzo » 22 Dec 2017, 02:06

Do you have the refresh rate set to 240hz in the games nonetheless? Do not lower it, just use gsync.

yehaw
Posts: 107
Joined: 21 Dec 2017, 21:41

Re: 240hz monitors are not ready for market

Post by yehaw » 22 Dec 2017, 02:09

darzo wrote:Do you have the refresh rate set to 240hz in the games nonetheless? Do not lower it, just use gsync.
It you read my post, I go into detail of testing 240hz in Doom. G-Sync will not fix this, it's a flaw with the current 240hz monitors.

darzo
Posts: 211
Joined: 12 Aug 2017, 12:26

Re: 240hz monitors are not ready for market

Post by darzo » 22 Dec 2017, 02:11

Your post in unclear on whether you have 240hz set everywhere. I've also had bad experiences when changing the refresh rate, but when at 240hz and playing Destiny 2 at as low as 120 fps I had no problems.

yehaw
Posts: 107
Joined: 21 Dec 2017, 21:41

Re: 240hz monitors are not ready for market

Post by yehaw » 22 Dec 2017, 02:16

darzo wrote:Your post in unclear on whether you have 240hz set everywhere. I've also had bad experiences when changing the refresh rate, but when at 240hz and playing Destiny 2 at as low as 120 fps I had no problems.
Even if the monitor wasn't set to the native 240hz, the lower refresh rates should not give me headaches and eye pain when my other 144hz monitor doesn't. I just did 144hz test to do an A/B comparison on the testufo site to compare monitors and see if I could spot any flaws that 240hz might hide, which worked. Like I said, at 200+ fps, it's hard to spot the blurring.

And yes, I have Doom and other games set to 240hz in-games.

darzo
Posts: 211
Joined: 12 Aug 2017, 12:26

Re: 240hz monitors are not ready for market

Post by darzo » 22 Dec 2017, 02:29

The monitor needs to be set to the native 240hz and the refresh rate in-game needs to be that or uncapped. If you want to be stubborn suit yourself, but my 240hz monitor has not had the issues yours has had if you do what I do. Don't claim all 240hz monitors are not ready for market. No clue why you'd choose Alienware too. They sell overpriced computers and are behind when it comes to monitors.

yehaw
Posts: 107
Joined: 21 Dec 2017, 21:41

Re: 240hz monitors are not ready for market

Post by yehaw » 22 Dec 2017, 03:02

darzo wrote:The monitor needs to be set to the native 240hz and the refresh rate in-game needs to be that or uncapped. If you want to be stubborn suit yourself, but my 240hz monitor has not had the issues yours has had if you do what I do. Don't claim all 240hz monitors are not ready for market. No clue why you'd choose Alienware too. They sell overpriced computers and are behind when it comes to monitors.
Sorry, but I don't think your knowledgeable enough on the topic to be giving advice. I appreciate you trying to help though.

And I choose Alienware because it's supposedly the best 240hz monitor out. The ASUS has complains about being blurry, the BenQ has complaints about being blurry, the AOC had complaints about being blurry, and now I can confirm Alienware has the same thing. And how is it overpriced when it's the cheapest 240hz monitor you can buy? You can get the freesync for $370 and gsync for $430, as they constantly go on sale. And you realize Dell owns Alienware? They have some really popular gaming monitors and a long history with monitors.

Honestly, you probably just don't know what to look for, especially if you don't have experience with other high refresh rate monitors. I've had 5 (2 BenQ's, 1 ASUS, 1 AOC, and 1 Alienware) and also have tested and installed a G-Sync module in a monitor when you couldn't even buy a G-Sync monitor. Trust me, I know what looks and doesn't look blurry. Something is wrong with current 240hz panels.

You would probably tell me 27" 1080p panels also look sharp. :lol:

darzo
Posts: 211
Joined: 12 Aug 2017, 12:26

Re: 240hz displays are blurry

Post by darzo » 22 Dec 2017, 03:22

I'm not the one claiming 240hz monitors are not ready for market when you're clearly wrong. I've had a 144hz BenQ, an Asus 165hz 1440, and now an Acer 240hz. Without question the 240hz monitor is the smoothest, without issues at much lower fps. I even tried the Asus 240hz and didn't notice such problems either. Haven't noticed any blur that has me proclaiming 240hz monitors aren't ready for market either. Given my considerable experience as well I would've picked up on the alleged inferiority of my monitor. I'll continue to enjoy playing on my monitor over the other two I've owned while you downgrade.

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