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).