Buying Help for Competitive FPS Monitor

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StarWarsCoffee
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Buying Help for Competitive FPS Monitor

Post by StarWarsCoffee » 26 Nov 2021, 14:27

Hey all, I'm looking for some straightforward advice on which monitor to purchase. With the Black Friday/Cyber Monday deals, I want to make this new purchase asap.

For some context, I used to be top-tier in the CS 1.5/1.6 days but now consider myself a "hardcore casual" when it comes to FPS games. I by no means grind them to actually play professionally or at the highest level, but I still want to be the best I can realistically be. I mostly play Apex Legends right now but competitive games and FPS titles are usually my main choice of games.

I recently bought two AW2521HF's when they were on discount for $279 and while 240hz is a noticeable improvement, they leave something to be desired that I can't quite put my finger on. I'm looking for someone to steer me in the direction of some undisputed great monitor choices.

Based on some research, the ones I'm looking at are:

BenQ XL2526K (I hear nothing but praise for DyAc+)
ViewSonic XG2431 (BB2.0 certification, I don't know much about all that but seems like a good pick for that alone?)
ASUS VG259QM (280hz, fastIPS, seems good, but I see mixed takes on this one compared to the alternatives)
Omen X25 (See a good amount of Pros using this, but is it better than the BenQ at the same price point?)
AW2521H (is this noticeably better all around than the HF besides just having 360hz?)
AW2521HF (should I just stick with these?)

masterblaster
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Re: Buying Help for Competitive FPS Monitor

Post by masterblaster » 26 Nov 2021, 22:16

Heres my input. I am a long time retired former pro gamer from quake 1 days and just kind of play casually every so often these days. With that said...

Heres my feedback if it helps..

XL2546K(Im assuming is what you meant): Great monitor. I loved the DyAc+ feature, it was amazing. Many claim it has higher input lag with DyAc+ enabled which I think is true as ive seen some benchmarks on it. I loved the monitor, used it for about 2 weeks or so, but theres no way in hell its worth $500 + tax. Its just not. I returned it. Youre paying $200 fee just for DyAc+. If you want strobing, buy the Viewsonic XG2431 for $300 right now...... Boom done.

Viewsonic XG2431 I am using as we speak. Great monitor. This is maybe the best bang4buck gaming monitor at the moment. Its even on sale as I said above.. I am debating switching to 1440p or a acer 390hz monitor(which should maybe be on your list), so I may be returning this XG2431 even though its pretty damn good. I dont like the smaller desktop space and inability to go to 1440p on it.

Asus VG259QM: I used this for a few weeks like last year. It seemed like a pretty good monitor, but I ultimately returned it. There were a few things I didnt like about it but I cant remember what they were. It was like last year.

Omen X25: I should have probably kept this monitor as it was one of the best for input lag and response times. I think I returned it because it was super expensive at the time and I was using it while all the new fast IPS panels were coming out so I think I was trying to avoid having another TN panel. Probably a mistake to return it because its pretty good. I think I had bought it for $500 so I figured that was not worth a 25" TN panel.

AW2521H: Never used
AS2521HF: Never used

If I were you, maybe my top 3 monitors to choose from would be the viewsonic XG2431, Acer Nitro 390hz, and maybe the Omen X25 or X27(if you wanted 27").

StarWarsCoffee
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Re: Buying Help for Competitive FPS Monitor

Post by StarWarsCoffee » 26 Nov 2021, 22:34

masterblaster wrote:
26 Nov 2021, 22:16
If I were you, maybe my top 3 monitors to choose from would be the viewsonic XG2431, Acer Nitro 390hz, and maybe the Omen X25 or X27(if you wanted 27").
This is very helpful, thank you. I think I'm leaning XG2431 because it sounds like basically the new IPS equivalent to the XG2546K.

After posting, I don't know that buying any of these TN panels makes sense when (1) they are $500+ and (2) there are really good IPS alternatives out there. I'm by no means a color/viewing angle snob, but the price point alone is a hard sell by comparison.

I think with that I'm between the XG2431 ($299) and the VG259QM ($229). Not sure I would go MSI over the Asus so that's out.

As far as strobing, I'm not 100% sure if I want/need it or not. I haven't used strobing since the early days of BlurBusters and I don't know what the more modern and better strobing technology is like.

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Discorz
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Re: Buying Help for Competitive FPS Monitor

Post by Discorz » 27 Nov 2021, 07:22

StarWarsCoffee wrote:
26 Nov 2021, 22:34
I think I'm leaning XG2431 because it sounds like basically the new IPS equivalent to the XL2546K.
Good choice!
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StarWarsCoffee
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Re: Buying Help for Competitive FPS Monitor

Post by StarWarsCoffee » 27 Nov 2021, 08:56

Discorz wrote:
27 Nov 2021, 07:22
Good choice!
I'm officially torn between the XG2431 ($299) and the VG259QM ($229).

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Re: Buying Help for Competitive FPS Monitor

Post by Discorz » 27 Nov 2021, 09:11

StarWarsCoffee wrote:
27 Nov 2021, 08:56
I'm officially torn between the XG2431 ($299) and the VG259QM ($229).
For me it would be XG for sure. Because VG has much more cons like:
- bad strobing due to extreme and locked overdrive
- no low Hz strobing
- no strobe phase adjustment
- no strobe duration adjustment
- huge fixed low Hz lag
- slightly slower IPS panel and older (2019)

And 24.5" vs 23.8" and 280 vs 240Hz is negligible. Although I'm not sure how good is uniformity on XG, VG is very nice in that matter.
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StarWarsCoffee
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Re: Buying Help for Competitive FPS Monitor

Post by StarWarsCoffee » 27 Nov 2021, 12:21

Discorz wrote:
27 Nov 2021, 09:11
For me it would be XG for sure.
I haven’t used strobing in a monitor since I tried the early BlurBusters stuff in like 2012 or something. Does the XG make it super dark like most do or is it like the XL2546K that maintains normal brightness? I’m someone who typically uses my monitors at ~25-35% brightness anyway.

I will also use these for working at home for 7-8hrs a day and then gaming after. Will the strobing give me a headache throughout the day you think? I’m looking for the monitor that can do it all without having to constantly change profiles and stuff.

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Discorz
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Re: Buying Help for Competitive FPS Monitor

Post by Discorz » 27 Nov 2021, 12:36

Its a classic brightness reduction. You have an options to choose between strobe duration/motion clarity and brightness anyways. It shouldn't be an issue if u normally use 30%.

Strobing is optional, you can always toggle it. Only you can know if flickering is giving you headaches.
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StarWarsCoffee
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Re: Buying Help for Competitive FPS Monitor

Post by StarWarsCoffee » 27 Nov 2021, 12:42

Discorz wrote:
27 Nov 2021, 12:36
Strobing is optional, you can always toggle it. Only you can know if flickering is giving you headaches.
Gotcha, makes sense. If I ended up not using strobing, then does the XG2431 make less sense compared to the VG259QM? Strobing aside, would I then just want to go for the highest HZ I can?

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Discorz
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Re: Buying Help for Competitive FPS Monitor

Post by Discorz » 27 Nov 2021, 13:45

StarWarsCoffee wrote:
27 Nov 2021, 12:42
If I ended up not using strobing, then does the XG2431 make less sense compared to the VG259QM?
If u don't use strobing than I guess you don't need XG. And if u don't worry about small blur advantages than you're good with both.
Last edited by Discorz on 27 Nov 2021, 13:48, edited 1 time in total.
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