NVIDIA G-Sync Pulsar monitor - Asus ROG Strix XG27AQNGV

[Angel Soler]

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.

Thank you very much , Brownvim, for your kind words

I am very happy to do this, because I feel genuinely grateful to this forum. It is the most serious and professional forum I have ever seen, and in a way I feel indebted to it, because many members here — including you — have helped me a lot. So I am glad to contribute in any way I can, and if anything I share is useful, that makes me very happy.

Here I am sending the different photos you asked for:

* one with **ULMB disabled**, where as you can see the result is **11.9 ms**
* and then the measurements with **ULMB at 10, 30, 50, and 100**, so the full range can be seen

That way, I think it helps show quite clearly, as you rightly said, what the strobing is adding.

Regarding the **flicker**, it is true that it does not bother me personally at all. I have been used to CRTs all my life, so it feels completely natural to me. If I had to say which one seems to flicker less, I would actually say the **ASUS**, even though it is a **27-inch screen** and the XG is only **24 inches**. In fact, I think there were moments when I noticed the flicker more on the **XG**. Again, flicker does not bother me in either case, but if I had to choose, I would say the ASUS seems slightly better in that respect.

As for the **24 ms of input lag**, I want to be fair: that is not a high number in absolute terms, and I am sure many people would find it perfectly fine and enjoy the monitor without any issue. I know I am especially obsessive about these things. I am very sensitive to motion blur and input lag, so I judge these displays from a very demanding point of view.

Still, when playing more demanding genres — especially **fighting games, shoot’em ups, or platformers with very tight jumps** — I do personally notice that extra lag, especially in **fighting games**.

That said, if I had to recommend this monitor to someone looking for **motion clarity at 60 Hz**, I would absolutely say it is **wonderful**. For console use, it is basically like the **XG**, but with **virtually no crosstalk** and much higher brightness.

As for the **XG on PC**, when using **Quick Frame Transport** and **CRU**, it is truly amazing. In that scenario, to me, it is basically perfect. Yes, it has lower brightness, but that does not really matter to me because I play in an almost completely dark room with no window — what I call “the Dungeon.”

So overall, yes, I would definitely recommend this monitor. I also agree a lot with **John Linneman from Digital Foundry** when he said how incredible it is to see an LCD with this kind of brightness and this level of motion smoothness. In that sense, it really is something special.

If this monitor had **16 ms instead of 24 ms**, I honestly think it would be **almost perfect**, and I would absolutely be willing to pay **3,000 euros** for it.

I hope my measurements and impressions have been helpful.

[Angel Soler]

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.

Thank you very much , Brownvim, for your kind words

I am very happy to do this, because I feel genuinely grateful to this forum. It is the most serious and professional forum I have ever seen, and in a way I feel indebted to it, because many members here — including you — have helped me a lot. So I am glad to contribute in any way I can, and if anything I share is useful, that makes me very happy.

Here I am sending the different photos you asked for:

* one with **ULMB disabled**, where as you can see the result is **11.9 ms**
* and then the measurements with **ULMB at 10, 30, 50, and 100**, so the full range can be seen

That way, I think it helps show quite clearly, as you rightly said, what the strobing is adding.

Regarding the **flicker**, it is true that it does not bother me personally at all. I have been used to CRTs all my life, so it feels completely natural to me. If I had to say which one seems to flicker less, I would actually say the **ASUS**, even though it is a **27-inch screen** and the XG is only **24 inches**. In fact, I think there were moments when I noticed the flicker more on the **XG**. Again, flicker does not bother me in either case, but if I had to choose, I would say the ASUS seems slightly better in that respect.

As for the **24 ms of input lag**, I want to be fair: that is not a high number in absolute terms, and I am sure many people would find it perfectly fine and enjoy the monitor without any issue. I know I am especially obsessive about these things. I am very sensitive to motion blur and input lag, so I judge these displays from a very demanding point of view.

Still, when playing more demanding genres — especially **fighting games, shoot’em ups, or platformers with very tight jumps** — I do personally notice that extra lag, especially in **fighting games**.

That said, if I had to recommend this monitor to someone looking for **motion clarity at 60 Hz**, I would absolutely say it is **wonderful**. For console use, it is basically like the **XG**, but with **virtually no crosstalk** and much higher brightness.

As for the **XG on PC**, when using **Quick Frame Transport** and **CRU**, it is truly amazing. In that scenario, to me, it is basically perfect. Yes, it has lower brightness, but that does not really matter to me because I play in an almost completely dark room with no window — what I call “the cave.”

So overall, yes, I would definitely recommend this monitor. I also agree a lot with **John Linneman from Digital Foundry** when he said how incredible it is to see an LCD with this kind of brightness and this level of motion smoothness. In that sense, it really is something special.

If this monitor had **16 ms instead of 24 ms**, I honestly think it would be **almost perfect**, and I would absolutely be willing to pay **3,000 euros** for it.

I hope my measurements and impressions have been helpful.

[brownvim]

Thanks a lot for running those extra tests and sharing the pictures — really appreciate it.

To me the Pulsar at 60 Hz ULMB2 only feels like about one frame of extra lag, so I was surprised to see 24–25 ms on the Bodnar. I’ve always considered myself quite sensitive to input lag, so maybe I’m less picky than I thought.

I also wonder if running the Leo Bodnar at 1080p on a 1440p monitor adds a little extra latency due to scaling. Either way, it would be great if NVIDIA could reduce the lag in a future firmware update. If they manage to get it closer to the XG2431’s level while keeping the excellent clarity and brightness, the Pulsar would be a clear step up in every way.

Thanks again for all the testing and detailed feedback, nice to hear your thoughts.

Edit: Am I right in thinking the Leo Bodnar should display 8ms in centre of the screen for a monitor that has “no lag” so the Acer has 16-17ms lag with rolling strobe on?

[Angel Soler]

Thanks a lot for running those extra tests and sharing the pictures — really appreciate it.

To me the Pulsar at 60 Hz ULMB2 only feels like about one frame of extra lag, so I was surprised to see 24–25 ms on the Bodnar. I’ve always considered myself quite sensitive to input lag, so maybe I’m less picky than I thought.

I also wonder if running the Leo Bodnar at 1080p on a 1440p monitor adds a little extra latency due to scaling. Either way, it would be great if NVIDIA could reduce the lag in a future firmware update. If they manage to get it closer to the XG2431’s level while keeping the excellent clarity and brightness, the Pulsar would be a clear step up in every way.

Thanks again for all the testing and detailed feedback, nice to hear your thoughts.

Edit: Am I right in thinking the Leo Bodnar should display 8ms in centre of the screen for a monitor that has “no lag” so the Acer has 16-17ms lag with rolling strobe on?

Yes, I had also been thinking the same thing. Since the monitor is a 1440p display and the Leo Bodnar outputs a 1080p signal, there has to be some scaling involved. And it is true that this could add a few milliseconds of lag.

As for what you said: on a 60 Hz display with no added lag at all, the absolute minimum input lag would be around 8.3 ms, so it would be impossible to go below that. So if a display had that baseline input lag, and the strobe added another 8 ms or so, then we would be talking about roughly 16 ms total.

In fact, the XG has around 8.5 ms of input lag without PureXP, and then with the strobe mode enabled it goes up to around 16 ms, so in that case the strobing is only adding about 8 ms.

But the MSI model tested by a YouTuber who measured the input lag using NVIDIA’s device, and it also came out at around 24.4 ms whith UMLB ON. So I do not know, but it seems like this may be something common across all Pulsar monitors.

So yes, if there were a way to verify that the Acer has those same 8 ms or so of base input lag without ULMB, and that enabling ULMB only adds another 8 ms, then we would indeed be talking about roughly 16 ms total.

In other words, if the Acer really has 16 ms, I would buy it immediately.

How could we verify that, though? Because of course, you do not have a Leo Bodnar tester.

[brownvim]

I reckon all the Pulsar models should have very similar lag figures since they use the same panel and scaler.

Just to clarify what I meant earlier: when you measured ~24–25 ms with 60 Hz ULMB2 on, subtracting the ~8 ms theoretical minimum for 60 Hz puts the actual added lag with strobing at around 16–17 ms. That’s roughly one frame compared to the XG2431’s ~8 ms total.

As you said, 16 ms is already the limit for you, so I completely understand why the Pulsar didn’t quite meet your standards.

[Angel Soler]

I reckon all the Pulsar models should have very similar lag figures since they use the same panel and scaler.

Just to clarify what I meant earlier: when you measured ~24–25 ms with 60 Hz ULMB2 on, subtracting the ~8 ms theoretical minimum for 60 Hz puts the actual added lag with strobing at around 16–17 ms. That’s roughly one frame compared to the XG2431’s ~8 ms total.

As you said, 16 ms is already the limit for you, so I completely understand why the Pulsar didn’t quite meet your standards.

Yes, I understand what you mean.

What is interesting is that I also have another monitor, the XL2411P, and when comparing the three monitors, you can really see how differently strobing behaves depending on the technology used.

On the XL2411P, without DyAc enabled, I get around 10 ms in the center of the screen, and with DyAc enabled it goes up to about 15 ms. So in that case, strobing is only adding around 5 ms.

On the ViewSonic XG, without PureXP enabled, I get around 8.5–8.6 ms, and when I enable PureXP it goes up to 16.4 ms. So there, the increase is about 7.9–8 ms.

On the Pulsar, I get around 11.9 ms with ULMB disabled, and then about 25.1 ms with ULMB enabled. So in that case we are talking about an increase of roughly 13 ms.

So based on these numbers, what we have is basically this:
• DyAc adds about 5 ms
• PureXP adds about 8 ms
• ULMB adds about 13 ms

At least based on the measurements I have, that is what the data seems to show.

[brownvim]

So based on these numbers, what we have is basically this:
• DyAc adds about 5 ms
• PureXP adds about 8 ms
• ULMB adds about 13 ms

At least based on the measurements I have, that is what the data seems to show.

This tracks quite close to what edgeintheledge tested, he got 10-11ms with ULMB2 on , so maybe with the Leo Bodnar it adds 1-2ms for scaling 1080p to 1440p.

Without ULMB2 at 60hz edgeintheledge measured 1-2ms (close to his CRT), you measured 11.9ms minus the 8.33ms and maybe 1-2ms for scaling it matches up.

[Angel Soler]

So based on these numbers, what we have is basically this:
• DyAc adds about 5 ms
• PureXP adds about 8 ms
• ULMB adds about 13 ms

At least based on the measurements I have, that is what the data seems to show.

This tracks quite close to what edgeintheledge tested, he got 10-11ms with ULMB2 on , so maybe with the Leo Bodnar it adds 1-2ms for scaling 1080p to 1440p.

Without ULMB2 at 60hz edgeintheledge measured 1-2ms (close to his CRT), you measured 11.9ms minus the 8.33ms and maybe 1-2ms for scaling it matches up.

Yes, you are absolutely right .
The numbers Edgeintheledge measured line up very well with the reasoning you gave

[BLooDS_inc]

Hello everyone, buy a msi pulsar version and it will comes to me 2 days later. Im choosing my new monitor between 500hz oled and this new pulsar tech. And just wanna try a perfect motion clarity without a risk of burn in after several years of use. Comes from a benq zowie xl2735 tn 144hz monitor.
I'm understand all this 60hz hype, console and retrogaming, but im preferably play competitive fps like pubg and mobas like lol or dota.
And now, after i buy and w8 for it, just read the whole 76 pages, in the beginning, mostly it was a positive reviews about motion clarity, just bad <90 fps problems, after firmware update, main reason of this monitor ( pulsar tech ) isnt looks better, and get even worse at 100-200 fps range, so...
1. Is this monitor good for competitive playing now, for games, where u can easily handle the 300-357 fps?
2. Is this pulsar tech still provide superior motion clarity in 300-357 fps range with all settings properly sets like gsync-vsync-reflex on or gsync-framecap357( like in rtss) or any other proper settings for superior clarity compare to other monitors or OLED with high refresh rates?
3. Why the Nvidia refuse to upgrade and qol update to the pulsar tech itself, not a 60hz or 120hz, but for straight motion clarity at higher HZ possible, like 320-357, cause nvidia says with this tech u can get a x4 clarity of 320-357fps@360hz and perfect motion clarity, but last month what I'm reading, all the people not like or don't see any progress >300fps with motion clarity. Isn't this a first of all sell point of this monitors? Just idk.
All of this is from perception of just reading this topic, after 2 days ill myself trying this tech, but don't wanna be the man, who's buying new tech monitor that on words says u get superior clarity, on a real estate u get only bagged implementation of whatever called pulsar.
Thx for those who's will share your opinion about compet play, high hz play, compare to other monitors.

[mawi]

Thx for those who's will share your opinion about compet play, high hz play, compare to other monitors.

I play CS2 with it and I love it.
As you already mentioned yourself... you should probably use RTSS or Special K frame cap instead of vsync. If vsync is turned off, you can leave reflex on. My 1% lows are negatively affected if I have reflex on + vsync on. This looks very bad with pulsar.

Then cap your fps below 360... I think 357 is a bit too close. I would go with ~350.
I assume you have an RTX50 card then you are fine with this.

If not, I would rather go with 240 Hz and set enabletiledisplay to 0 via registry. That is a much better experience with everything in terms of black screens. I cut my fps at 235. According to frameview it does reach 239, rarely also 240. But without any stutters etc. Looks perfectly clear to me and feels perfect.

Once they solve the 90-180Hz issue with ghosting they have introduced with the new fw, I am very happy with the Asus.