Should I purchase monitor with DyAc or G-Sync?

[Poïpoï]

Hey guys,

I've been saving up to purchase a really nice monitor, and I've been having difficulties deciding.

The two monitors:
BenQ XL2735
Acer Predator XB271HUA

I can get them at almost exactly the same prices where I live. The potential 165Hz of the Acer doesn't mean much to me compared to 144Hz on the BenQ, but I've never experienced G-Sync before, and I don't know if I'd rather have it or DyAc (which I've experienced and enjoyed).

Has anyone of you tested DyAc well enough to tell how much of a difference it actually makes when playing ?
Also, do you know if the Acer's DisplayPort is 1.2 or later ?

I play CS:GO and other fast-twitch shooters/games, but also thoroughly enjoy playing more performance-intensive games like The Witcher 3, for example.

What do you guys think ?
Thanks.

N.B: I've owned the BenQ for nearly a year before, so please don't come tell me DyAc is like any other backlight strobing. I was very satisfied with its performance, especially the relatively "normal" brightness compared to other backlight strobing technologies.

[Chief Blur Buster]

Yes, DyAc is brighter than BenQ's other non-DyAc strobe backlights. They generate about 300 nits of brightness, which is about 3x brighter than an average strobe backlight (100 nits).

About strobe quality, I'm not sure which one is better:
While DyAc is better than non-DyAc BenQ blur reduction (brightness-wise at least), the XL2735 is not very Large Vertical Total tweak friendly, so it's a bit harder to strobe-optimize the XL2735. Also the 1440p panels do have a *smidgen* more lag than the 1080p panels - scant few milliseconds -- doesn't matter to most people like you or me probably, but of importance to eSports professionals who earn money playing games.

I did add support for XL2735 to Blur Busters Strobe Utility (version 2.0.9) so you can tune it to an extent. I don't personally have experience with the Acer, that said, it's a relatively inexpensive 1440p G-SYNC monitor. (Other 1440p GSYNC monitors are listed here, including TN). The high-Hz 1440p GSYNC monitors (of TN and IPS variety) all have ULMB so that option is also there. You could also check out Dell's SD2417DG, which sometimes goes on sale, and people have also generally liked that model.

If you play games with highly fluctuating framerates, the existence of GSYNC is a big bonus as it smooths out annoying stutter. You can't tell whenever framerate fluctates randomly 25% anymore! (e.g. 50-60fps variance, 100fps-120fps variance, etc) -- the stutters are well-absorbed. The main disadvantage for motion-blur-haters is that GSYNC and ULMB can't easily be combined except via a hack that can be a little bit too flickery for some people. All 165Hz ULMB-enabled monitors do support the "ULMB+GSYNC" hack, but it is only useful in a very narrow set of use cases where the variable rate flicker isn't objectionable. Either way, you can do ULMB-only, GSYNC-only or fixed-Hz only on all 165Hz and 240hz GSYNC monitors.

[Poïpoï]

Thank you very much for your detailed reply, Chief

When I tried a Non-DyAc blur reduction on my BenQ XL2411z a while ago, I could never cope with the decrease in brightness, even after the Large Vertical Total tweak. This might be an unpopular opinion on these forums for obvious reasons, but I'd rather have some motion blur than a dimmed screen.

Hence my dilemma choosing between having a less blurry image with DyAc, or a smoother one with G-Sync.
Planning to play on a i5-8600K & 1080 Ti rig, I'm expecting to see 100-144 FPS on most games I play at 1440p other than games such as CS where smoothness is not an issue with 300+ FPS. That being said, in your own opinion, what is the most sensible purchase?

If you guys have tried one or the other (and especially both), feel free to share your experience!

[Chief Blur Buster]

When I tried a Non-DyAc blur reduction on my BenQ XL2411z a while ago, I could never cope with the decrease in brightness, even after the Large Vertical Total tweak. This might be an unpopular opinion on these forums for obvious reasons, but I'd rather have some motion blur than a dimmed screen.

Not really, although we are Blur Busters, we know about Right Tool For The Right Job. There are many pros/cons of blur reduction, and we know that people who need bright blur reduction, definitely need to go to voltage-boosted strobe backlights such as DyAc or 240Hz ULMB to gain the extra brightness.

Hence my dilemma choosing between having a less blurry image with DyAc, or a smoother one with G-Sync.

Don't forget G-SYNC has ULMB, and ULMB is also very bright on some G-SYNC monitors too.

The ULMB and DyAc on 240Hz monitors are roughly the same brightness (300 nits). For the nit numbers, you can lookup RTings or TFTcentral blur-reduction brightness measurements. (We are looking into providing this data, as well)

Many ULMB implementations also use backlight-voltage-boosted strobing too.

[RealNC]

G-Sync is a very nice option to have. I would highly recommend it, and it also gives you the ULMB option for when you care more about motion blur rather than smooth motion.

Witcher 3 is amazing to play with g-sync Forget these stutters for example when you go to Novigrad and your FPS drops below your refresh rate. It's always nice and smooth with g-sync, and without any of the input lag of vsync.

For games where you always get 120FPS minimum you might then switch to ULMB instead.

[Poïpoï]

Great, thanks again for your replies.

I've made my decision and will buy the Acer monitor. I'd like to try G-Sync, and Chief gave me hope for the ULMB brightness. I guess I'll see it for myself. TFTing gave the monitor a pretty positive review for gaming.

I'll post a small update when I've played around with it enough, for anyone who might find this topic trying to decide what to buy.

[Chief Blur Buster]

Not all 1440p ULMB brightnesses are very bright. I know they're bright on the 240Hz monitors.

Let me know if the brightness meets your needs. Don't forget that nit measurements of ULMB are available by some reviewers (e.g. TFTCentral).