Buying Help for Competitive FPS Monitor

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Chief Blur Buster
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Re: Buying Help for Competitive FPS Monitor

Post by Chief Blur Buster » 27 Nov 2021, 13:48

The ASUS panels are good too.

But there's some additional reasons;

The panel vendor's panel (Innolux 23.8" 1ms 240Hz IPS LCD) panels are also VERY good even without strobing. I daresay slightly better than 25" panels -- but it is a personal preference. Some people actually like it better than the other brands. Also some prefer 23.8" over the 24.5" (25") or 27" panels for easier peripheral vision view.
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StarWarsCoffee
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Re: Buying Help for Competitive FPS Monitor

Post by StarWarsCoffee » 27 Nov 2021, 13:56

Chief Blur Buster wrote:
27 Nov 2021, 13:48
The panel vendor's panel (Innolux 23.8" 1ms 240Hz IPS LCD) panels are also VERY good even without strobing. I daresay slightly better than 25" panels -- but it is a personal preference. Some people actually like it better than the other brands. Also some prefer 23.8" over the 24.5" (25") or 27" panels for easier peripheral vision view.
Good point. I think I prefer the 23.8" display for the slightly higher PPI compared to 24.5". It's a small but noticeable difference. Either way a big reason why I went back to 1080p from 1440p was that I prefer <25" displays. >=27" displays feel like mini TV's to me now.

But if your opinion is that the 23.8" Innolux panel is better on its own compared to the other 240hz 24.5" panels (regardless of strobing), then it sounds like a good pick either way. If I use strobing then I get XL2546K levels of motion clarity on an IPS panel and if I don't then I get a 240hz panel that's slightly better than what I can get from the 24.5" variants.

I'm a little worried about how dark the monitors will get using strobing but I suppose I'll only know whether it's an issue if I try it first hand.

teo
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Re: Buying Help for Competitive FPS Monitor

Post by teo » 27 Nov 2021, 17:41

I don’t know your financial situation and general interest in tech, but to me playing around with the strobing settings adds value on its own. If you think you’d be left wondering “this looks nice, but I wonder if strobing would add that little bit extra?” I would say it’s a stone worth turning over. The XG2431 unstrobed performance is also great if you don’t find the pure xp modes useful. If you’re able to order from somewhere with easy returns, I’d try it out.

I also keep my monitors at fairly low brightness values, to the point where Pure XP “normal” is slightly brighter than my unstrobed settings. The nice thing about the BB 2.0 certification is that if you do find strobing helpful, you can customize the settings at your preferred bright-enough level so you’re not leaving anything on the table.

StarWarsCoffee
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Re: Buying Help for Competitive FPS Monitor

Post by StarWarsCoffee » 27 Nov 2021, 18:30

teo wrote:
27 Nov 2021, 17:41
If you think you’d be left wondering “this looks nice, but I wonder if strobing would add that little bit extra?” I would say it’s a stone worth turning over. The XG2431 unstrobed performance is also great if you don’t find the pure xp modes useful. If you’re able to order from somewhere with easy returns, I’d try it out.
This is how I’m thinking about it currently. Even if I don’t end up caring for strobing then I have what seems like a better standard 240hz IPS display than the AW2521HF’s I’m using right now. I think I’m going to take advantage of the $299 price on eBay and pick a pair up. The VG259QM is very tempting at $229 a pop right now, but I have a feeling that while being slightly faster than my Alienware’s, I’ll probably still wonder if there’s better motion clarity to be had. The BenQ XL2546K still sits in the back of my mind but I think I’m being lured in by UFO tests and will be underwhelmed overall with the display in everyday use. From what I read the XG2431 should basically be the IPS equivalent of how good DyAc+ is on the BenQ’s.

Do you use strobing only when gaming, or is it a “set it and forget it” type of setting? I use my setup for working during the day and I’m unsure if the strobed monitors would create extra unnecessary eye fatigue or if I wouldn’t notice it at all.

teo
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Re: Buying Help for Competitive FPS Monitor

Post by teo » 27 Nov 2021, 21:21

StarWarsCoffee wrote:
27 Nov 2021, 18:30
Do you use strobing only when gaming, or is it a “set it and forget it” type of setting? I use my setup for working during the day and I’m unsure if the strobed monitors would create extra unnecessary eye fatigue or if I wouldn’t notice it at all.
with the timing of when I got the xg2431, I haven't used it for a full day of work. but at 240hz I just leave strobing on for games and normal browsing and haven't noticed any additional strain. it is nice that turning on/off or changing pure xp modes is purely on the monitor side, so it can be done via OSD on the fly or via software with the strobe utility. this is particularly helpful because strobing at 60hz is atrocious on desktop if you also use that mode for specific content.

strobing and adaptive sync are mutually exclusive, though. this would only be a real inconvenience if you were regularly wanting to switch between adaptive sync and strobing in the same game, as for different titles you could set the necessary settings on a per program basis in nvidia control panel (or amd equivalent, I assume). for me that's one more reason I hope vrr-sync becomes more common in the coming year(s) but it's not a deal breaker.

IIISLIDEIII
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Re: Buying Help for Competitive FPS Monitor

Post by IIISLIDEIII » 28 Nov 2021, 06:15

StarWarsCoffee wrote:
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?)
Omen x25 is better than xl2546k without dyac, better response time, panel sharpness and overall image quality, one of the panels with the best response time on the market (without strobing), no ips on the market can give you the same clarity.

If you play competitive games like valorant and csgo also consider Acer xv252qf, ips whit strobing at 390hz with 230 nits, (without strobing the response time is acceptable, not at Omen levels), it is the most responsive, fluid and less tearing panel than there is on the market, more responsive than all 240hz, playing apex with locked 240 fps will be smoother and more responsive on 390hz than on 240hz but then again, it does not have the response times of the best tn, no ips has them.

If you are attracted to 1440p you can consider asus xg27aqm or predator xb273ugx, both 27 inch ips at 270 hz, they have similar performance and when you play competitive you can use "no scaling" function from nvcp and create a 1:1 resolution for 24 inch image inside the panel, so as to have the sharpness benefits of a 1440p, a wide color gamut (which on ips 1080 you don't have) and the 24 size suitable for the competitive, the only drawback you will have to accept is to have the black bands around the image.

There is no perfect monitor, any choice has trade-offs, either on response time, or on sharpness, or on responsiveness.

P.s
Little opinion on strobing based on my little experience:
I don't love it, it introduces some vertical micro stripes visible in fast flicks, probably many don't notice it and for them it's not a problem, for me it was a constant annoyance.
Also, with high fps in game I have never perceived such important differences on clarity compared to non-strobing mode, big differences on the UFO test, few differences in game, I wouldn't choose a monitor based on strobing, I prefer to use monitors with its natural response time. (just my opinion).

Truenozz
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Re: Buying Help for Competitive FPS Monitor

Post by Truenozz » 28 Nov 2021, 08:42

I would like the opportunity to ask in this thread about the VG259QM. Currently, I've a Lenovo Y25-25 and I'm reading that the biggest issue with the VG259QM is its colours. Would I notice any difference between my Lenovo and this Asus? I'm currently quite happy with my Lenovo colours.

buddha
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Re: Buying Help for Competitive FPS Monitor

Post by buddha » 29 Nov 2021, 16:54

Truenozz wrote:
28 Nov 2021, 08:42
I would like the opportunity to ask in this thread about the VG259QM. Currently, I've a Lenovo Y25-25 and I'm reading that the biggest issue with the VG259QM is its colours. Would I notice any difference between my Lenovo and this Asus? I'm currently quite happy with my Lenovo colours.
I believe the only real difference is the overclock to 280hz so I doubt it would be worthwhile.

masterblaster
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Re: Buying Help for Competitive FPS Monitor

Post by masterblaster » 29 Nov 2021, 17:39

Truenozz wrote:
28 Nov 2021, 08:42
I would like the opportunity to ask in this thread about the VG259QM. Currently, I've a Lenovo Y25-25 and I'm reading that the biggest issue with the VG259QM is its colours. Would I notice any difference between my Lenovo and this Asus? I'm currently quite happy with my Lenovo colours.
Who buys gaming monitors for "colors" anyways. ;)

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Re: Buying Help for Competitive FPS Monitor

Post by Chief Blur Buster » 06 Dec 2021, 04:28

StarWarsCoffee wrote:
27 Nov 2021, 12:21
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.
BTW, Blur Busters Strobe Utility lets you turn on/off PureXP via a quick mouse click in the System Tray.

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So you can turn on/off PureXP anytime without touching monitor menus.
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