Help deciding: PG258Q / BenQ XL2540

Ask about motion blur reduction in gaming monitors. Includes ULMB (Ultra Low Motion Blur), NVIDIA LightBoost, ASUS ELMB, BenQ/Zowie DyAc, Turbo240, ToastyX Strobelight, etc.
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hanman5000
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Joined: 25 Sep 2017, 08:51

Help deciding: PG258Q / BenQ XL2540

Post by hanman5000 » 25 Sep 2017, 08:59

Hi guys,

I've been reading all the information on these forums for the past month, trying to understand how to decrease motion blur and input lag as much as possible. There's so much information and so many variables, I've learned a lot but I'm still so confused. I saw the previous topic about these two monitors but my situation is a bit different, so I hope this warrants another topic without being considered spamming or not searching.

My main goal is to have the optimal competitive setup for Overwatch. I'm pretty high in the rankings but I want to climb more, and I think my accuracy definitely has room for improvement. My setup is: i7 3930k overclocked to 4.5GHz, GeForce 1080TI, fast ram. I get around 240~300 FPS in game with low settings. I play with 800DPI and 6 in game mouse settings. Also, I'm pretty sure I track movement instead of just looking at the crosshairs.

I went ahead and bought the PG258Q and my aim on Overwatch has improved a lot, but I'm still having some issues.

I tried playing at 240hz, and for the most part I was able to get 240 FPS so it worked out. I turned on G-Sync but didn't really notice much of a difference. I think it's also important to note that sometimes I do get frame drops (not drastic ones though).

I decided to try ULMB (but unfortunately on the PG258Q it only goes up to 144hz if ULMB is enabled) and surprisingly I'm pretty sure my aim improved! I was a bit upset when I found out this monitor doesn't support ULMB at higher than 144hz.

After doing more reading I read that the BenQ XL2546 can do motion blur reduction above 144hz. Now I am considering returning my PG258Q and getting the BenQ before my return window closes.


I would really appreciate some expert input to help me figure out this situation. I have done a lot of reading on this forum (thank you guys for that) but I really need some expert opinion on the matter.

EDIT: OH MY GOD ACER ALSO HAS A 240HZ MONITOR NOW. How does that compare? 27" might be nicer than 24.5...

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lexlazootin
Posts: 1251
Joined: 16 Dec 2014, 02:57

Re: Help deciding: PG258Q / BenQ XL2540

Post by lexlazootin » 25 Sep 2017, 11:27

Acer and Asus both have 24.5" and a 27" 240hz monitor.

Does overwatch have a frame cap? if so, i recommend capping your framerate below the minimum it dips down to, if it's not below 240fps then just cap it at 238fps and turn on G-Sync.

Also it can help a little to double your DPI and half the sensitivity in game.

This will help smoothness and make your image consistent with little to no latency. The thing is, is that there isn't really anything you can do to reduce input latency because your setup would already be pretty good.

You can check out in depth input latency testing on Overwatch here: http://www.blurbusters.com/gsync/gsync101-input-lag/

Busterino
Posts: 3
Joined: 27 Sep 2017, 14:26

Re: Help deciding: PG258Q / BenQ XL2540

Post by Busterino » 27 Sep 2017, 15:11

Hello,
try read these viewtopic.php?f=8&t=3604
I am owning the benq zowie xl2546 and wrote about how to overdrive it via the factory menu:
Now I'm getting an incredible clear image without the downsides of crosstalk and blur that dyac has, when using it along with 240 Hz.
I'm playing fast arena shooters for some years, which have quite faster gameplay than overwatch or counterstrike, so I think I'm able to give credible statements.
Just ask if you want.

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Chief Blur Buster
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Re: Help deciding: PG258Q / BenQ XL2540

Post by Chief Blur Buster » 27 Sep 2017, 21:57

Busterino wrote:Hello,
try read these viewtopic.php?f=8&t=3604
Good overdrive settings for the BenQ/Zowie XL2546, thanks for posting!
hanman5000 wrote:I've been reading all the information on these forums for the past month, trying to understand how to decrease motion blur and input lag as much as possible. There's so much information and so many variables, I've learned a lot but I'm still so confused. I saw the previous topic about these two monitors but my situation is a bit different, so I hope this warrants another topic without being considered spamming or not searching.
Topics are welcome! Yes, it can all be quite confusing.
hanman5000 wrote:I decided to try ULMB (but unfortunately on the PG258Q it only goes up to 144hz if ULMB is enabled) and surprisingly I'm pretty sure my aim improved! I was a bit upset when I found out this monitor doesn't support ULMB at higher than 144hz.
Yeah, I've had many people ask about ULMB vs DyAc. Don't forget that if you strobe closer to the refresh rate, the more strobe crosstalk (Double-image effects) will occur. This is simply because of LCD limitations, and the lack of time between refresh cycles to let the pixels settle in darkness (LCD GtG) between strobe flashes.

NVIDIA simply prevents users from going above 144Hz in ULMB to avoid exposing bad strobe crosstalk to users, while BenQ/Zowie simply gives the user the choice. Some users have found that they can go to about ~180Hz or thereabouts (approx) before the strobe crosstalk becomes unacceptable to them. Others totally don't strobe crosstalk at 240Hz.

Strobe crosstalk is explained in here in this article -- the closer you strobe to the monitor's max Hz, the more double-images you will get.

As a result of that, strobe-crosstalk can sometimes degrade your aiming quality, so some users, might for example (depending on their aiming tactics -- stationary-gaze or eye-tracking) have better aiming at "180Hz DyAc + Large Vertical Totals", than full "240Hz DyAc" -- but it depends on the user. You might aim better at 240Hz DyAc, but you might also aim better at 144Hz ULMB or 180Hz DyAc -- it depends on how much the strobe-crosstalk effects interfere with the clarity of movements.

Related BlurBusters articles
-- Motion Blur Reduction (ULMB/DyAc)
-- Strobe Crosstalk (double image effects not caused by low frame rate)

Related BlurBusters posts
-- HOWTO: Using ULMB Beautifully & Competitively

BenQ/Zowie XL2540 versus XL2546
Reportedly, the BenQ/Zowie XL2546 (strobing official) has brighter strobing than the BenQ/Zowie XL2540 (strobing is unofficial, only enabled via service menu)

BenQ/Zowie's DyAc versus NVIDIA's ULMB
144Hz DyAc versus 144Hz ULMB quality is reportedly roughly similar. BenQ/Zowie simply unlocks your ability to go higher (with progressively degrading strobe crosstalk, the closer you reach max Hz) -- a more complex decision while NVIDIA keeps it simple -- but is appreciated by advanced tweakers. The decision whether to go ULMB 144Hz, or go DyAc >144Hz is a personal preference.

Eventually, I want to do a head-to-head of ULMB versus DyAc, including high-speed-camera input lag tests! (ETA: 2018) But I bet you won't want to wait. It's fairly hard to go wrong competitively with a 240Hz monitor in general either way -- they have consistently been to show extremely high responsiveness, very low lag. And they provide you with a large number of multiple mode choices (VSYNC OFF versus GSYNC/FreeSync versus strobing blur reduction etc). You will generally be ahead of many players using 144Hz monitors! (when all things else equal)

Strobe refresh rate flexibility for ULMB/DyAc
- ULMB: Officially only certain Hz (85Hz, 100Hz, 120Hz and sometimes 144Hz) but has undocumented tricks on certain monitors to support unofficial Hz including 60Hz.
- DyAc: Strobes at any Hz, even above recommended crosstalk-free Hz, but doesn't support single-strobe at 60Hz.
Details: ULMB often only officially support certain fixed refresh rates (though custom resolution tricks permits non-standard ULMB refresh rates such as ULMB 60Hz or 155Hz trick, or simultaneous ULMB+GSYNC trick). While most BenQ/Zowie monitors will let you strobe at any refresh rate from 75Hz to 240Hz -- you can even create a custom resolution and strobe at 174Hz or 189Hz or whatever (but 60Hz single-strobe won't work). If 60Hz strobing (flickermania, painful like a CRT) is important (e.g. emulators), all the current 240Hz monitors with 144Hz ULMB, support the ULMB 60Hz trick

To compare, 240Hz monitors with strobe features
- ASUS PG258Q -- 24.5" / 240Hz VSYNC OFF / 240Hz G-SYNC / 144Hz ULMB
- Acer XB252Q -- 24.5" / 240Hz VSYNC OFF / 240Hz G-SYNC / 144Hz ULMB
- Acer XB272 -- 27" / 240Hz VSYNC OFF / 240Hz G-SYNC / 144Hz ULMB
- BenQ XL2546 -- 24.5" / 240Hz VSYNC OFF / 240Hz FreeSync / 240Hz DyAc (official, brighter) / Strobe Utility compatible
- BenQ XL2540 -- 24.5" / 240Hz VSYNC OFF / 240Hz FreeSync / 240Hz Blur Reduction (unofficial) / Strobe Utility compatible
- List of other 240Hz Monitors
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