The Official *Dell Alienware AW2521H 360Hz* Owners Thread

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Roadsign1993
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Re: The Official *Dell Alienware AW2521H 360Hz* Owners Thread

Post by Roadsign1993 » 15 Jul 2021, 07:31

TrantaLocked wrote:
14 Jul 2021, 17:00
ericl wrote:
14 Jul 2021, 10:42
This monitor has been amazing however now I want more.

I wish I could:
- Overclock it to 390hz (can I?)
- Enable ULMB / strobbing (I can't)

That said, in terms of clarity, color, brightness and build quality, the monitor has been superb. I feel as if Dell/Alienware COULD enable those features via a firmware update but aren't going to bother doing so.
It lets you enable ULMB if you disable G-Sync in NVCP and set refresh rate to 144Hz or 240Hz. I was able to get 363Hz working from a custom resolution in NVCP but with some tweaking to the timings you might be able to hit 370Hz. I remember my old Samsung 60Hz monitor was only working up to 70Hz, but I changed some of the timings and got it up to 75Hz.

what do you think of the 240 hz strobing of the aw2521h ?

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Discorz
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Re: The Official *Dell Alienware AW2521H 360Hz* Owners Thread

Post by Discorz » 15 Jul 2021, 07:37

Roadsign1993 wrote:
15 Jul 2021, 07:31
Image
XL2546K and AW2521H
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

TrantaLocked
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Re: The Official *Dell Alienware AW2521H 360Hz* Owners Thread

Post by TrantaLocked » 16 Jul 2021, 01:54

Roadsign1993 wrote:
15 Jul 2021, 07:31
TrantaLocked wrote:
14 Jul 2021, 17:00
ericl wrote:
14 Jul 2021, 10:42
This monitor has been amazing however now I want more.

I wish I could:
- Overclock it to 390hz (can I?)
- Enable ULMB / strobbing (I can't)

That said, in terms of clarity, color, brightness and build quality, the monitor has been superb. I feel as if Dell/Alienware COULD enable those features via a firmware update but aren't going to bother doing so.
It lets you enable ULMB if you disable G-Sync in NVCP and set refresh rate to 144Hz or 240Hz. I was able to get 363Hz working from a custom resolution in NVCP but with some tweaking to the timings you might be able to hit 370Hz. I remember my old Samsung 60Hz monitor was only working up to 70Hz, but I changed some of the timings and got it up to 75Hz.

what do you think of the 240 hz strobing of the aw2521h ?
It's very clean with minimal to no noticeable artifacts in game; at least to my eyes there are pretty much none. Clarity is a noticeable step ahead of Extreme mode with ULMB off, and at the max pulse width mode you barely lose any brightness. The motion options are just great on this monitor and there isn't really a mode that's just there for filler. I don't have a high end TN to compare though but it seems like a great option for competitive.

coballes19
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360hz + 60fps motion blur?

Post by coballes19 » 02 Aug 2021, 08:51

Hi, anyone who owns this...
Before I pull the trigger on this monitor, I need to know a few things.
Please keep in mind that all of this, is with gsync and backlight strobing turned OFF as they are not technologies feasible for me for various reasons that I don't plan on going into as this will just be unnecessarily long.

1. How is the motion blur performance of this monitor at 360hz playing at fixed 60fps? I've been through some IPS monitors (144hz, 240hz) that everyone "claimed" to have amazing response time (and they do) but are actually crap at displaying 60fps on their native refresh rate. Monitors like MAG251RX were great on 240hz when displaying 240fps but are actually pretty blurry when displaying 60fps no matter what the overdrive setting I use (yes, even with blacklight strobing). 144hz IPS like VG279Q were good at 144hz+144fps but is also crap at 144hz+60fps even with BLB. How does this one fare at such task?

2. If you were able to make this monitor's 360hz+60fps motion almost as clear as 60hz+60fps, what overdrive setting did you use? I don't mind a bit of overshoot as long as I can have a clear motion at all feasible framerates.

I don't need any recommendation on what monitor to use instead or whatever. I just wanted an answer to these particular questions.

BarbEric
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Re: The Official *Dell Alienware AW2521H 360Hz* Owners Thread

Post by BarbEric » 02 Aug 2021, 20:03

TrantaLocked wrote:
16 Jul 2021, 01:54
Roadsign1993 wrote:
15 Jul 2021, 07:31
TrantaLocked wrote:
14 Jul 2021, 17:00
ericl wrote:
14 Jul 2021, 10:42
This monitor has been amazing however now I want more.

I wish I could:
- Overclock it to 390hz (can I?)
- Enable ULMB / strobbing (I can't)

That said, in terms of clarity, color, brightness and build quality, the monitor has been superb. I feel as if Dell/Alienware COULD enable those features via a firmware update but aren't going to bother doing so.
It lets you enable ULMB if you disable G-Sync in NVCP and set refresh rate to 144Hz or 240Hz. I was able to get 363Hz working from a custom resolution in NVCP but with some tweaking to the timings you might be able to hit 370Hz. I remember my old Samsung 60Hz monitor was only working up to 70Hz, but I changed some of the timings and got it up to 75Hz.

what do you think of the 240 hz strobing of the aw2521h ?
It's very clean with minimal to no noticeable artifacts in game; at least to my eyes there are pretty much none. Clarity is a noticeable step ahead of Extreme mode with ULMB off, and at the max pulse width mode you barely lose any brightness. The motion options are just great on this monitor and there isn't really a mode that's just there for filler. I don't have a high end TN to compare though but it seems like a great option for competitive.
I think you have convinced me to switch from 360 to 240 and ULMB
How is the motion clarity at 360Hz? How does the image look at 360Hz?

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Re: The Official *Dell Alienware AW2521H 360Hz* Owners Thread

Post by Chief Blur Buster » 02 Aug 2021, 20:18

Discorz wrote:
15 Jul 2021, 07:37
Roadsign1993 wrote:
15 Jul 2021, 07:31
Image
XL2546K and AW2521H
FYI -- ViewSonic XG2431 has less strobe crosstalk than those images after tuning with the new ViewSonic Strobe Utility by Blur Busters.

Both BenQ and DELL should apply for the Blur Busters Approved 2.0 programme.
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TrantaLocked
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Re: The Official *Dell Alienware AW2521H 360Hz* Owners Thread

Post by TrantaLocked » 03 Aug 2021, 05:46

BarbEric wrote:
02 Aug 2021, 20:03
TrantaLocked wrote:
16 Jul 2021, 01:54
Roadsign1993 wrote:
15 Jul 2021, 07:31
TrantaLocked wrote:
14 Jul 2021, 17:00


It lets you enable ULMB if you disable G-Sync in NVCP and set refresh rate to 144Hz or 240Hz. I was able to get 363Hz working from a custom resolution in NVCP but with some tweaking to the timings you might be able to hit 370Hz. I remember my old Samsung 60Hz monitor was only working up to 70Hz, but I changed some of the timings and got it up to 75Hz.

what do you think of the 240 hz strobing of the aw2521h ?
It's very clean with minimal to no noticeable artifacts in game; at least to my eyes there are pretty much none. Clarity is a noticeable step ahead of Extreme mode with ULMB off, and at the max pulse width mode you barely lose any brightness. The motion options are just great on this monitor and there isn't really a mode that's just there for filler. I don't have a high end TN to compare though but it seems like a great option for competitive.
I think you have convinced me to switch from 360 to 240 and ULMB
How is the motion clarity at 360Hz? How does the image look at 360Hz?
For me 360Hz is quite good but again I don't have much to compare it to and I don't game competitively. Super Fast and Extreme mode look pretty close to solid to me, and with the stock Fast you get just a tad more blur but you have to be looking for it. However I don't think 360Hz over 240Hz would be a deal breaker for choosing a monitor, I just went with the 360Hz because this particular 360Hz AUO panel is currently one of the best 1080p IPS's on the market.

You can go with an Amazon warehouse like-new/open box purchase and feel less guilty about returning it since it makes less of a difference to Amazon. I got a Razer keyboard and it was almost brand new condition.
coballes19 wrote:
02 Aug 2021, 08:51
Hi, anyone who owns this...
Before I pull the trigger on this monitor, I need to know a few things.
Please keep in mind that all of this, is with gsync and backlight strobing turned OFF as they are not technologies feasible for me for various reasons that I don't plan on going into as this will just be unnecessarily long.

1. How is the motion blur performance of this monitor at 360hz playing at fixed 60fps? I've been through some IPS monitors (144hz, 240hz) that everyone "claimed" to have amazing response time (and they do) but are actually crap at displaying 60fps on their native refresh rate. Monitors like MAG251RX were great on 240hz when displaying 240fps but are actually pretty blurry when displaying 60fps no matter what the overdrive setting I use (yes, even with blacklight strobing). 144hz IPS like VG279Q were good at 144hz+144fps but is also crap at 144hz+60fps even with BLB. How does this one fare at such task?

2. If you were able to make this monitor's 360hz+60fps motion almost as clear as 60hz+60fps, what overdrive setting did you use? I don't mind a bit of overshoot as long as I can have a clear motion at all feasible framerates.

I don't need any recommendation on what monitor to use instead or whatever. I just wanted an answer to these particular questions.
I don't think there is more blur at 60FPS in 360Hz mode, only more perceived blur that will affect any monitor, but usually in 60Hz mode the response times are worse than 360Hz for whatever reason. You'd think they could be the same at all refresh rates.

coballes19
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Re: The Official *Dell Alienware AW2521H 360Hz* Owners Thread

Post by coballes19 » 04 Aug 2021, 02:22

TrantaLocked wrote:
03 Aug 2021, 05:46
coballes19 wrote:
02 Aug 2021, 08:51
Hi, anyone who owns this...
Before I pull the trigger on this monitor, I need to know a few things.
Please keep in mind that all of this, is with gsync and backlight strobing turned OFF as they are not technologies feasible for me for various reasons that I don't plan on going into as this will just be unnecessarily long.

1. How is the motion blur performance of this monitor at 360hz playing at fixed 60fps? I've been through some IPS monitors (144hz, 240hz) that everyone "claimed" to have amazing response time (and they do) but are actually crap at displaying 60fps on their native refresh rate. Monitors like MAG251RX were great on 240hz when displaying 240fps but are actually pretty blurry when displaying 60fps no matter what the overdrive setting I use (yes, even with blacklight strobing). 144hz IPS like VG279Q were good at 144hz+144fps but is also crap at 144hz+60fps even with BLB. How does this one fare at such task?

2. If you were able to make this monitor's 360hz+60fps motion almost as clear as 60hz+60fps, what overdrive setting did you use? I don't mind a bit of overshoot as long as I can have a clear motion at all feasible framerates.

I don't need any recommendation on what monitor to use instead or whatever. I just wanted an answer to these particular questions.
I don't think there is more blur at 60FPS in 360Hz mode, only more perceived blur that will affect any monitor, but usually in 60Hz mode the response times are worse than 360Hz for whatever reason. You'd think they could be the same at all refresh rates.
That's what I thought too until I actually tried it on several monitors. Even on the very same monitor, like MAG251RX or VG279Q, its 360hz+60fps is nowhere as smooth as its own 60hz+60fps, all perceived blur taken into account.
Funny enough, my old TN Benq XL2411T can easily display 144hz+60fps in the same caliber of smoothness as its own 60hz+60fps, again taken perceived blur into account. So this whole "IPS has reached TN levels of performance" is just a load of crap I guess.
I'm still waiting for an IPS that can actually perform the same.

coballes19
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Re: The Official *Dell Alienware AW2521H 360Hz* Owners Thread

Post by coballes19 » 04 Aug 2021, 06:42

coballes19 wrote:
04 Aug 2021, 02:22
Even on the very same monitor, like MAG251RX or VG279Q, its 360hz+60fps is nowhere as smooth as its own 60hz+60fps, all perceived blur taken into account.
I mean their respective highest refresh rate, like 240hz+60fps and 144hz+60fps, is not as smooth as their own 60hz+60fps.

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Re: The Official *Dell Alienware AW2521H 360Hz* Owners Thread

Post by Chief Blur Buster » 04 Aug 2021, 15:27

coballes19 wrote:
04 Aug 2021, 06:42
coballes19 wrote:
04 Aug 2021, 02:22
Even on the very same monitor, like MAG251RX or VG279Q, its 360hz+60fps is nowhere as smooth as its own 60hz+60fps, all perceived blur taken into account.
I mean their respective highest refresh rate, like 240hz+60fps and 144hz+60fps, is not as smooth as their own 60hz+60fps.
If the frames are perfectly frame paced, then it will look similarly smooth.

Two reasons:

(A) Stutter from minor framepacing issues
But the finer Hz means 60fps frames can jitter more easily over 4.2ms granularities (1/240sec at 240Hz) than over 16.7ms granularities (1/60sec).

(B) Stutter made more visible from reduced motion blur of faster pixel response
In addition faster pixel response of high-Hz can reduce blur enough to make stutter edge vibration more visible above your flicker fusion threshold (the blur-to-stutter continuum, ala VRR ramping -- www.testufo.com/vrr -- where object edges during low framerates vibrate like a slow guitar string -- and goes blurry at high frame rates much like a fast guitar string. Slow GtG will lower this threshold and fast GtG will raise this threshold. The average human flicker fusion threshold is approximately 70 Hz but it can shift upwards and downwards from the multiple variables (such as LCD GtG). Slow LCD GtG pushes this threshold to below 60 Hz, which is why 60 Hz often looks so smooth on slow 60Hz LCDs.

This is also why things also stutter more visibly on a 60Hz OLED than on a 60Hz LCD, because faster GtG makes the flicker of edge-vibrations of stutter more visible (higher flicker fusion threshold).

To help fix (A), enable VRR for your 60fps content, and then use a millisecond precision framerate capper such as RTSS to force the 60fps framepacing to be smooth.

Or just simply temporarily switch your high-Hz monitor to 60 Hz. Problem solved especially if you use custom Quick Frame Transport (QFT) timings data for a low-latency fixed-Hz mode, if necessary.
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