NVIDIA G-Sync Pulsar monitor - Asus ROG Strix XG27AQNGV

[RealNC]

Hi all, is there any way to limit the monitor to 180 Hz refresh rate, as I set the FPS cap to 180 anyway, so DSC is completely needlessly used.

1440p 256Hz 8-bit is the maximum you can go without DSC. So why not switch to 240Hz instead? (Assuming that's a refresh rate that the monitor already supports in its EDID.)

[kitabatake_radeka]

Hi all, is there any way to limit the monitor to 180 Hz refresh rate, as I set the FPS cap to 180 anyway, so DSC is completely needlessly used.

1440p 256Hz 8-bit is the maximum you can go without DSC. So why not switch to 240Hz instead? (Assuming that's a refresh rate that the monitor already supports in its EDID.)

240Hz is too much for 10-bit with no DSC, but 180Hz should be ok on bandwidth alone.

Also, I did try to switch to 240Hz, but it introduced weird stutter in some games that was not present in the 360Hz mode; even if the in-game FPS never breached 200 in either case. 120Hz mode worked flawlessly same as 360Hz, so my intuition is 180Hz ought to be the same.

[mawi]

Hi all, is there any way to limit the monitor to 180 Hz refresh rate, as I set the FPS cap to 180 anyway, so DSC is completely needlessly used. While preserving Pulsar of course. I did create a custom refresh rate in the Nvidia control panel, QHD with 180 Hz, all other options on auto, it worked but Pulsar was disabled, ULMB2 there was instead. I am on the original firmware.

May I ask... what display do you have? Was custom resolution always available for you? For me (Asus display, RTX4070), I was only able to use custom resolution after switching Enabletiledisplay to 0 through registry.

But this wont help in your case either. I tried 300 Hz and 280 Hz as custom resolutions and they did not work with pulsar. Not sure if ULMB2 worked, It was set to ULMB but it was anyway greyed out as I had gsync switched on. I did not try to run 300 Hz with ULMB2. I read somewhere that pulsar - eventhough its possible with VRR and can provide 180 Hz - cannot run with a global setting outside its trained timings... which are only there for 240 Hz and 360 Hz for now.
They mentioned somewhere in their latest fw changelog they have added a 120 Hz pulsar mode but it seems that was fake news... Noone has seen this working yet.

As mentioned before, I would be so pleased of they added pulsar compatibilty to - i would say 60 Hz steps on global refresh rate setting... 120 / 180 / 240 / 300 and 360 Hz. This would make all RTX30 and 40 users so happy, being able to run it with singlehead output, no dsc with 300 Hz... no blackouts etc. (assuming 8-bit on all modes of course)

[kitabatake_radeka]

Hi all, is there any way to limit the monitor to 180 Hz refresh rate, as I set the FPS cap to 180 anyway, so DSC is completely needlessly used. While preserving Pulsar of course. I did create a custom refresh rate in the Nvidia control panel, QHD with 180 Hz, all other options on auto, it worked but Pulsar was disabled, ULMB2 there was instead. I am on the original firmware.

May I ask... what display do you have? Was custom resolution always available for you? For me (Asus display, RTX4070), I was only able to use custom resolution after switching Enabletiledisplay to 0 through registry.

But this wont help in your case either. I tried 300 Hz and 280 Hz as custom resolutions and they did not work with pulsar. Not sure if ULMB2 worked, It was set to ULMB but it was anyway greyed out as I had gsync switched on. I did not try to run 300 Hz with ULMB2. I read somewhere that pulsar - eventhough its possible with VRR and can provide 180 Hz - cannot run with a global setting outside its trained timings... which are only there for 240 Hz and 360 Hz for now.
They mentioned somewhere in their latest fw changelog they have added a 120 Hz pulsar mode but it seems that was fake news... Noone has seen this working yet.

As mentioned before, I would be so pleased of they added pulsar compatibilty to - i would say 60 Hz steps on global refresh rate setting... 120 / 180 / 240 / 300 and 360 Hz. This would make all RTX30 and 40 users so happy, being able to run it with singlehead output, no dsc with 300 Hz... no blackouts etc. (assuming 8-bit on all modes of course)

Custom resolution was always available for me with no changes needed in registry. I use 591.86 driver and also installed the display driver from ASUS support.

[mawi]

Custom resolution was always available for me with no changes needed in registry. I use 591.86 driver and also installed the display driver from ASUS support.

Ok. I have also installed the Asus driver. Do you have an RTX50 card? I always wonder if these cards automatically just use single head. This would be one hint to that.
My RTX4070 should be able to run without DSC and on single head with 240 Hz and 8-bit... But it obviously does not.

[kitabatake_radeka]

Custom resolution was always available for me with no changes needed in registry. I use 591.86 driver and also installed the display driver from ASUS support.

Ok. I have also installed the Asus driver. Do you have an RTX50 card? I always wonder if these cards automatically just use single head. This would be one hint to that.
My RTX4070 should be able to run without DSC and on single head with 240 Hz and 8-bit... But it obviously does not.

Yes, I have RTX50 card.

[Discorz]

You're never gonna guess what just happened when I looked at this at PW100...
It skews LOL. I completely neglected to check any of this at max pw but hey, hindsight is 20/20 right?
...

phpBB [video]

There we have it! Method #2 confirmed - Pulse Width @60Hz is controlling the backlight scan speed. PW 100 is clearly rolling in the video. PW 10 looking like global flash might just be due to improper camera shutter setting. Maybe do a quick check to see if you can catch a section with extra-short exposures.

As for the pixels, they are likely still scanning at fixed enlarged" rate (QFT), because it still needs some headroom to do the above cleanly.

[brownvim]

Thank you so much, Edgintheledge, for the time and effort you put into taking those measurements — I really appreciate it

A result of around 10 ms with ULMB enabled at 60 Hz is fantastic

After seeing these results, I’ve decided to order the monitor — it should be arriving in the next few days.

Thanks again, I truly appreciate it.

Really looking forward to your thoughts once it arrives.

Since you already own both the XG2431 and the XL2566K, your comparison will be especially interesting. I’d be particularly keen to hear how the 60 Hz ULMB2 mode stacks up against those two, as well as your general impressions.

I think the Pulsar mode and Fixed rate 120hz+ modes need some tweaks.

[Angel Soler]

Thank you so much, Edgintheledge, for the time and effort you put into taking those measurements — I really appreciate it

A result of around 10 ms with ULMB enabled at 60 Hz is fantastic

After seeing these results, I’ve decided to order the monitor — it should be arriving in the next few days.

Thanks again, I truly appreciate it.

Really looking forward to your thoughts once it arrives.

Since you already own both the XG2431 and the XL2566K, your comparison will be especially interesting. I’d be particularly keen to hear how the 60 Hz ULMB2 mode stacks up against those two, as well as your general impressions.

I think the Pulsar mode and Fixed rate 120hz+ modes need some tweaks.

Hi Brownvim, and hello everyone,

Since you asked whether I could compare these monitors, I wanted to share my conclusions after spending time with the ViewSonic XG2431, the BenQ XL2566K, and the new ASUS Pulsar monitor.

First of all, I want to be clear that I am not an engineer or display expert like many of you here. I am a personal trainer, but I am also a lifelong CRT and gaming enthusiast. I am 50 years old and have been playing video games since I was 8. I own several CRTs, including PVMs, consumer CRT TVs, and CRT PC monitors, and I still use them regularly. Because of that, I am extremely sensitive to motion blur. For me, “almost perfect” is not enough. I also want to clearly separate blur from crosstalk, because they are not the same thing.

For me, the XG2431 is still the best 60 Hz monitor I have seen when properly configured on PC with PureXP, the Blur Busters / ViewSonic utility, and Quick Frame Transport. I was able to get the best results thanks to Chief and Discorz, so I also want to thank both of them for their help. With the right setup, the XG2431 gets incredibly close to CRT motion. At 60 Hz, I have not personally seen anything sharper.

For PC use, I am very happy with the XG2431.

The BenQ XL2566K is a different case. For eSports, it is the monitor I like the most, but specifically at 144 Hz. That is where I personally see the best balance between very low blur, strong sharpness, tolerable crosstalk, and low latency. For competitive gaming, that combination works extremely well for me.

Part of that low-latency feeling also comes from using RTSS together with a guide that Mark posted, where the game is run with V-Sync off and the tearline is moved just outside the visible screen area. With that setup, I get a very good balance between motion clarity and low lag, and that is one of the reasons why 144 Hz on the XL2566K works so well for me in eSports.

At 240 Hz and 360 Hz, even with DyAc enabled, I still perceive a very small amount of blur on the BenQ. It is minimal, yes, but for my eyes it is still there. And below 144 Hz, especially at 120 Hz and 60 Hz, it gets worse. So for me, 144 Hz is the sweet spot on that monitor.

Now, comparing that with the ASUS Pulsar monitor:

For eSports use, meaning 240 Hz and 360 Hz, I personally do not like the ASUS as much as the BenQ. Even with G-SYNC + Pulsar enabled, I still prefer the image on the XL2566K at 144 Hz with DyAc enabled. To my eyes, the BenQ still looks sharper and cleaner in motion. So in the high refresh eSports range, I clearly prefer the BenQ over the ASUS.

And that brings me to the real reason I bought the ASUS.

My real hope was console gaming at 60 Hz.

To be clear, for PC, I am happy with the XG2431 at 60 Hz, and for eSports, I am happy with the XL2566K at 144 Hz. The gap I wanted to solve was console use, especially for Nintendo Switch and other 60 Hz systems.

That is because the XG2431, while amazing, is not fully perfect on console. On PC, with Quick Frame Transport and proper tuning, it is incredible. But on console, since you cannot use CRU or Quick Frame Transport, the remaining crosstalk becomes more noticeable. The actual blur is still essentially gone, which is why I still think the XG2431 is the best thing I have found for console so far, but that crosstalk is still there.

So my hope was that the new ASUS with 60 Hz ULMB would finally become the real solution for console gaming: CRT-like clarity, no meaningful blur, less crosstalk, and excellent input lag.

In terms of image clarity, I have to say the ASUS impressed me. At 60 Hz with ULMB, it is the first thing I have seen that truly rivals the XG2431. The image looks extremely sharp and very impressive.

But then came the big problem: input lag.

I measured it with a Leo Bodnar tester, which many of you already know and which is especially useful for evaluating 1080p / 60 Hz performance. My results were around 25 ms, and this seems to line up with other measurements I have seen as well. I am also including a video I recorded showing the measurement process and the result, so you can see it as a real-world reference.

For me, that was the real disappointment.

In fighting games and other genres where timing matters a lot, I personally consider anything around one frame or less—so under 16.7 ms—to be the ideal range. From my own experience playing competitively and semi-professionally, once input lag goes above 20 ms, it starts to become noticeable enough to affect the experience.

For reference:

ViewSonic XG2431: about 16 ms
New ASUS monitor: about 25 ms

So yes, the ASUS is very sharp, but for me that is not enough. I need both: outstanding motion clarity and truly low input lag.

That is why the ASUS ended up disappointing me so much. I really wanted it to be the answer for console 60 Hz gaming, especially for Nintendo Switch, because that is exactly where I still feel the XG2431 has one remaining weakness: not blur, but crosstalk. Instead, what I found on the ASUS was beautiful clarity, but with more lag than I can personally accept for that purpose.

Of course, I fully understand that many people may find 25 ms perfectly acceptable. I am sure many users could still enjoy it a lot. This is just my own very demanding perspective. I know I am personally obsessive about motion clarity and input lag, and I suspect many enthusiasts on this forum are the same.

So for now, I am still waiting for that “perfect” 60 Hz console monitor.

My hope now is either that NVIDIA improves this mode in a future update, or that one day we get a monitor—hopefully even a Blur Busters certified monitor—that truly delivers the full package at 60 Hz: CRT-like clarity, minimal crosstalk, and truly low input lag.

If a monitor ever combined the kind of image clarity I have seen here with input lag closer to 16 ms, it would be something really special.

Thank you very much for reading.

[brownvim]

Thank you for the very detailed and honest write-up — it’s really valuable coming from someone who owns both the XG2431, the XL2566K, and multiple CRTs.

I have some quick questions if you don’t mind:

1. Did you notice any difference in input lag with 60 Hz ULMB2 on versus off in your Leo Bodnar tests? (i.e. interested in how much extra lag the strobing adds)

2. Would you be able to test the lag at both 10 pulse width and 100 pulse width?

3. How's the flicker in comparison to the XG2431 and XL2566K

You can turn off the ambient light sensor and ambient colour sensor for a brighter picture. On my Acer it gives a noticeable boost in brightness without hurting clarity.

Really appreciate you taking the time to test the monitor and share your thoughts.