Asus PG27U and Acer X27 Impressions (4k/144hz/features)

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darzo
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Re: Asus PG27U and Acer X27 Impressions (4k/144hz/features)

Post by darzo » 11 Aug 2018, 16:18

I might try it. When I had tried changing anything in the Nvidia settings previously everything was applied and I found my picture to be messed up without being able to change that in those settings.

The Asus was back in stock at my Micro Center so I got a replacement, bringing the total up to four monitors I've tried. It's a mixed bag. This monitor was manufactured in July as opposed to June and I was right about the brightness being off in SDR. There are now DP/HDMI SDR YCbCr sRGB Gamma on/off options that when on make the monitor look like other monitors, both on the desktop and in games regardless whether you're using sRGB or Wide Gamut. I wonder whether the absence of these options will affect resale value for the earliest buyers. Shockingly this Asus unit has the dark blotches only the Acer had around the OSD, although not nearly as bad. Very much hoping this is not indicative of practical flaws. The first monitor I got, if I recall correctly, was the only one that didn't seem to halo around or bleed through the Displayport message on start-up. Accordingly, I've noticed practical haloing on this monitor as well but it might not be as bad as the one I just replaced. I'm now using Gsync for both fullscreen and windowed, which shouldn't make a difference, but so far I'm not noticing weirdness in motion at 144hz. I'm also no longer blown away by how Destiny 2 looks in HDR, don't know if that's the first monitor being the golden goose or whatever with the best picture that I just threw away (which I now obviously regret) or I've gotten used to it (although I did compare the Acer to a pg278qr for context). The VESA mounted high-pitched fan noise is probably just as bad on this fourth unit as it was on the first. The first may have had its issues with performance in motion, as I noted earlier.

Shame on these two companies for their quality control. It seems there is no price tag at which they will do their jobs professionally. They should consider themselves very lucky that they have a partnership with Nvidia and better companies like Samsung and LG haven't taken over the gaming monitor market. I don't know if this is something still endemic to Asian manufacturers from certain countries (anyone aware of Hifiman headphones?) but I don't understand their sloppiness. Is it a gold rush environment there? Ironic considering what their values are supposed to be.

PS

I'm also noticing against white backgrounds that this monitor appears to have that Asus yellow tint, especially lower on the screen, something I hadn't noticed on the other units. It's also funny that you can clearly see haloing on their forum where the background is black and the text is white. I'll RMA this monitor at some point in the future when I might have at least two weeks open. Apparently there's no point to returning and replacing anymore. It appears I got lucky initially, at this point I'd be making unreasonable demands from Micro Center.

I read a comment on reddit a week ago from someone who claims to have worked for companies like this. They would build review units in different conditions- meticulously, with different people (not in "sweatshops"), making sure they submit a monitor for review that is the best it can be. Clearly the actual customers are treated differently.

darzo
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Re: Asus PG27U and Acer X27 Impressions (4k/144hz/features)

Post by darzo » 05 Oct 2018, 21:55

I got a 2080 ti and decided to revisit this monitor in Overwatch. For whatever reason I get well over 200 fps at 1920x1080 as well as 4k, much of the time above 240, so I was able to give both monitors a decent shake at uncapped fps (300) with GSYNC disabled. It's a night and day difference. The 240hz TN monitor is much faster and smoother with a big impact on performance. I'm actually surprised that I find OW competitively unplayable on this 4k 144hz monitor even at high fps. I never bothered bottoming out when I tried it in the competitive mode, losing 300-400 sr, but I'm confident I'd stand to lose more before stabilizing. I'm not the best player and may be too sensitive for whatever reason but I would completely shoot down the notion that this is an all-rounder, which at this price you'd really like it to be. It's an expensive toy, and frankly 4k isn't that big of a deal. Throw in the needed 2080 ti that at the highest preset in Destiny 2 gets me an average fps in the 70s with a floor in the 60s and a ceiling at around 100 while at the lowest preset a ceiling at the monitor's refresh rate but also dips at the very least in the teens if not in the singles and an average seemingly in the 120s - not to mention I saw shockingly little difference between the two presets - and I'll gladly disparage myself in saying that this is >$3000 of poorly spent money. Purchases of the desperate, of people with money, or if there's an overlap with your job. Not worth it. Not at the disgraceful level of DACs, amplifiers, and headphones but you are quite fine off not having this stuff, at these prices at least. Hopefully in the future I'll be somewhat more appreciative. Wide gamut in Overwatch is very nice, as I've said before, but the performance pales in comparison to a 240hz TN monitor, don't really know why.

jesyjames02
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Re: Asus PG27U and Acer X27 Impressions (4k/144hz/features)

Post by jesyjames02 » 08 Oct 2018, 16:02

I have to say as far as competitive shooters go, I've noticed the exact same thing comparing the PG27uq vs my 240hz monitor. In Overwatch, I genuinely feel like I can't aim on PG27UQ. If I play with GSync off and try to cap the frame rate at say 180 or so(which I am able to maintain), it feels so off. I've mostly done 144hz and sometimes it feels like weird things are going on, like frames are missing or it stutters, or it gets jerky. It's hard to explain it. I've just recently tried switching to 120hz/gysnc on/vsync on in control panel, frame cap 117 and it feels more consistent but I still feel like my aim is so off. Trying to hit a moving tracer as widowmaker feels like an exercise in futility. Conversely, on my 240hz monitor I'm regularly able to pop off consistent shots that go where I expect them to. I can spend a week straight on the PG27uq and feel like I just absolutely suck and switch back to my 240hz monitor and after 2 games everything in the world feels right. It's possible it's just the input lag making the difference, but I've often felt like something feels really off.

That said, the image quality on the PG27UQ is night and day better than the 240hz so I have to keep swapping monitors and it's really annoying. I'd hoped it'd be the solution to my need for multiple screens, but alas it is not. I do find the increased clarity of 4k very useful in games like PUBG, but the janky feeling to my aim is a definite downgrade.

What's interesting to me is that when I went from my 144hz 27" 1440p IPS screen to a 240hz screen, I didn't feel a substantial difference. There was one, but it was subtle. However, I feel a HUGE difference between 4k 144hz and 240hz. No clue what it is. I don't feel like it should be this pronounced.

darzo
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Re: Asus PG27U and Acer X27 Impressions (4k/144hz/features)

Post by darzo » 13 Oct 2018, 20:41

Huge overlap in impressions here. I was well north of 200 fps without gsync and still the same thing- sort of stuttery, jerky, surprisingly weird. Dealing with a Tracer as McCree or Widow switching down gives exactly that impression of futility whereas on the 240hz monitor her motion is smooth, your aim is smooth, and it's manageable whether you succeed or not. In part people get used to what they play on, for instance aimbotcalvin plays on a 144hz monitor (TN), but you do wonder. The thing is similar to you when going from 165hz 27" 1440 TN to 240hz 27" the difference wasn't really night and day but it was still obvious to me. Before I bought the 4k 144hz IPS monitor I had been switching back to the 1440 monitor to test whether I could play OW and at this point it was clear to me even the 165hz TN monitor was a serious downgrade. Tracer is one example, Lucio is another. He sort of stutters on these sub-200hz monitors and it's really annoying going down to that. At 240hz I don't notice stutters, although targets may be fast I feel like I can aim at them. In the future I'd be excited for faster monitors still but unfortunately nothing of the sort seems on the horizon right now. What's upcoming is a second set of 240hz monitors, one mildly attractive being at 1440 with wide gamut colors, which are quite nice, and a quicker pixel response time with better overall latency but I'm rather skeptical the difference will be serious.

Got CoD Black Ops 4 yesterday, didn't even bother rotating the monitors. It's that big of a difference. For the most part this ultra-expensive monitor just sits around for me. Blame to go around. I hate the Witcher 3, most of those map markings are the same type of procedurally generated crap other shitty games have that idiots fawn over. The settings are consistent and rather generic. Sometimes I really hate people. Multiple screens is where I am at too though and why I've refrained from reselling. Maybe a MOBA or RTS comes around, or a good game like Red Dead Redemption 2, maybe Diablo 4, and the picture would be more important, although I have to say this monitor isn't the window to ecstasy I was hoping for on that front either. I hope its overall slower feeling doesn't translate to everything.

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Re: Asus PG27U and Acer X27 Impressions (4k/144hz/features)

Post by RealNC » 13 Oct 2018, 22:37

darzo wrote:I hate the Witcher 3, most of those map markings are the same type of procedurally generated crap other shitty games have that idiots fawn over.
If you could not insult people, that would be grand.
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Kheri
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Re: Asus PG27U and Acer X27 Impressions (4k/144hz/features)

Post by Kheri » 14 Oct 2018, 03:59

jesyjames02 wrote: I feel a HUGE difference between 4k 144hz and 240hz. No clue what it is. I don't feel like it should be this pronounced.
Could it be pixel response times? Or motion blur? More pixels means there's going to be more motion blur. 144hz = worse motion blur, 4k = more pixels, 240hz = less motion blur. I assume you don't use motion blur reduction. I wonder if your 240hz monitor can do 144hz motion blur reduction mode. Of course, you're probably used to 240hz by now. I'm personally curious if there's really that much difference between 240hz and 144/120hz (same res). Could be the PG27uq is just bad in other important areas?

darzo
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Re: Asus PG27U and Acer X27 Impressions (4k/144hz/features)

Post by darzo » 24 Oct 2018, 03:15

I've been giving this monitor another chance with first person shooters at uncapped fps without gsync after doing better than I usually do in Black Ops 4 with it. It has been a surprisingly positive experience. This time as opposed to playing Widow I've been playing McCree and I don't think there has been a drop off in my play, perhaps the opposite. The picture is definitely better and allows me to see more clearly. The 144hz, IPS, and whatever goes into overall latency doesn't feel bad and I haven't been noticing stuttering of any sort. I'll be getting a 9700k soon and will probably be tempted to see if I can maintain 300 fps with the 240hz monitor at a >100% render scale to help with the difficulties I've been experiencing seeing as clearly. Given how I've repeatedly switched mice despite repeatedly thinking I finally have made my choice I'll be back on the 240hz monitor sooner or later probably.

darzo
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Joined: 12 Aug 2017, 12:26

Re: Asus PG27U and Acer X27 Impressions (4k/144hz/features)

Post by darzo » 26 Oct 2018, 14:52

Back to square one unfortunately. :cry: I'm finding myself unable to aim with this monitor, terrible streaks of missing and I get almost helpless. I'm not the greatest player but once again the 240hz monitor seems to help significantly. I am however starting to gain an appreciation for the picture of this monitor. Even without HDR, but with wide gamut colors selected, it's more vivid and definitely a good deal clearer and more detailed. I'm very hesitant to say it would blow you away but there is indisputable appreciable higher quality (although with the price tag I'd recommend it only under certain conditions, if you have the money without sky-high expectations and are either stupid good at fps games or don't care to be at your best). It's just practically slower than a 240hz monitor. Really unfortunate. Maybe it will hold up better in Call of Duty as it recently did but the way my dual monitor VESA stand works it's kind of a pain in the ass to switch, and right or wrong I prefer to have only one monitor plugged in for maximum performance. Makes me kind of sad as I was warming up to this monitor for constant use. :(

Also, the leaking and halos I realize now are greatly affected by the light inside the room. During the day I can barely tell there is or are any.

darzo
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Joined: 12 Aug 2017, 12:26

Re: Asus PG27U and Acer X27 Impressions (4k/144hz/features)

Post by darzo » 11 Nov 2018, 05:23

Are you noticing something in particular when using gsync and capping the in-game frame rate at 141? It feels like a stutter I do not experience with gsync off and the frame rate uncapped.

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