Asus XG27ACDMS - Doesn't support 60fps VRR

[WDeranged]

I upgraded from a XG27AQDMG (WOLED) to the XG27ACDMS (QD-OLED) and it's a better display in almost every sense.

• Massively reduced VRR flicker.

• Stable gamma no matter the refresh rate.

• No black crush.

• No ABL dimming in HDR 400 mode (yes, small highlights aren't as quite as bright but I don't care).

• Solid sRGB mode that just works with no need for software fixes.

• Much cleaner low luminance uniformity (yes, it's a lottery but this beats every WOLED I've had so far).

Anyway. The Achilles heel of this otherwise beautiful monitor is that in VRR mode it cannot smoothly support framerates lower than around 80hz. The display is sold as supporting a 48-280hz VRR window so I assumed it'd be fine for retro emulation (NTSC and PAL) and older low refresh PC games just like the XG27AQDMG was.

Unfortunately when framerates drop below 80fps there is obvious frametime stutter and a lot of VRR flicker. It's clearly broken. 60hz is still the most fundamental refresh rate in gaming. It works fine in native (non VRR) 60hz mode, just with the added inherent latency.

My hope is that ASUS will fix it with a firmware update. These monitors turned up on Amazon UK months before their worldwide release (Which is happening now) so maybe I've been using it in a pre-release state.

Has anyone else tried this display?

[RealNC]

If it has a VRR anti-flicker option, try enabling that at its lowest setting. It forces LFC to kick-in much sooner. Maybe it will help. Don't use the strongest setting, it will prevent VRR altogether with some frame rates.

Another option you could try is raising the VRR range manually with CRU. You will need to disable DSC in the monitor for this to work though. Setting the VRR range to start at 100Hz might help. Also try 138Hz.

[WDeranged]

If it has a VRR anti-flicker option, try enabling that at its lowest setting. It forces LFC to kick-in much sooner. Maybe it will help. Don't use the strongest setting, it will prevent VRR altogether with some frame rates.

Another option you could try is raising the VRR range manually with CRU. You will need to disable DSC in the monitor for this to work though. Setting the VRR range to start at 100Hz might help. Also try 138Hz.

Thanks for the reply.

VRR flicker isn't a big issue on this monitor. It's more a side effect of how the monitor loses sync when dipping below 80fps. There are actual visible frametime judders.

Say I run the screen at 120hz and cap fps to 70fps in VRR mode, it cannot display the frames with a smooth cadence. Raise the cap to around 80fps and it's perfectly smooth as you'd expect.

[RealNC]

If it has a VRR anti-flicker option, try enabling that at its lowest setting. It forces LFC to kick-in much sooner. Maybe it will help. Don't use the strongest setting, it will prevent VRR altogether with some frame rates.

Another option you could try is raising the VRR range manually with CRU. You will need to disable DSC in the monitor for this to work though. Setting the VRR range to start at 100Hz might help. Also try 138Hz.

Thanks for the reply.

VRR flicker isn't a big issue on this monitor. It's more a side effect of how the monitor loses sync when dipping below 80fps.

Which is why I suggested those things to try out. They prevent the panel from falling below 100 or 130Hz or 160Hz (or whatever the minimum is when enabling the anti-flicker setting.) This allows you to still use the maximum refresh rate. If you switch to 120Hz or whatever, you're paying a price in latency. But if you raise the VRR range's minimum, you keep your max refresh rate and force lower frame rates to LFC to higher refresh rates instead.

[WDeranged]

I see what you're saying, unfortunately it didn't help. I suspect the issue is with the LFC itself. Hopefully reviews will start appearing now that the display is officially available.

[SPARSTE96]

Whoa, nice to know, this monitor will be shipped to me in 5 days, it just came out here. I'll let you know if it has the same problem, even tho i don't think it'll be a big deal for me because i can't stand anything lower than 100-120fps

[WDeranged]

Whoa, nice to know, this monitor will be shipped to me in 5 days, it just came out here. I'll let you know if it has the same problem, even tho i don't think it'll be a big deal for me because i can't stand anything lower than 100-120fps

I think you'll be impressed with the screen. You might not even notice anything in modern 3D games. It's 60fps 2D scrollers in Retroarch that clearly show the issue for me.

Anyway, please post your experience!

[xenphor]

Was this problem ever fixed? I want to get an OLED monitor but need a solid VRR experience and good sRGB mode. The XG27AQDMG was just on sale for around 450, but the posts about VRR flicker kept me from buying it. Is the XG27ACDMS the only option? I'm fine with using frame rate caps, which is how I normally use VRR, even on an IPS without flicker issues. One issue with that is the SpecialK limiter seems to be the most accurate but the compatibility with games is very spotty, so I would have to fall back to RTSS.

[WDeranged]

Was this problem ever fixed? I want to get an OLED monitor but need a solid VRR experience and good sRGB mode. The XG27AQDMG was just on sale for around 450, but the posts about VRR flicker kept me from buying it. Is the XG27ACDMS the only option? I'm fine with using frame rate caps, which is how I normally use VRR, even on an IPS without flicker issues. One issue with that is the SpecialK limiter seems to be the most accurate but the compatibility with games is very spotty, so I would have to fall back to RTSS.

There was a firmware upgrade a few months ago. I don't know if that's what fixed the problem but VRR is working fine in every game I test.

Only Retroarch refuses to give proper frame pacing with VRR.

The XG27ACDMS does have VRR flicker but it's barely visible compared to the XG27AQDMG.

It's a superior monitor in all aspects. Only thing that irritates me is the delicate screen coating. Even a microfibre leaves scratches if you're not insanely careful.