NVIDIA G-Sync Pulsar monitor - Asus ROG Strix XG27AQNGV

[liquidshadowfox]

Is PULSAR still limited to 120, 240 and 360 Hz refresh rates; or is it possible to use other rates as well now with the update 1.1.6?

If you are talking about ULMB 2, It only works for 60, 120, 240 or 360 hz modes (unless I'm doing something wrong)

For Gsync pulsar operation it only works when the monitor is set to 360 hz or 240 hz, folks are trying to convince nvidia to allow a 300 hz to allow for Gsync pulsar to avoid the black screen issue with DSC on older hardware (pre 50 series nvidia GPUs) and use a higher refresh range than just 240 hz 8 bit color.

So if you set your gsync pulsar to 360 hz, Gsync will work from 1 - 360 fps with Vsync + Gsync + Ultra low latency mode enabled (which will cap games that don't support reflex to 327 to keep fps within Gsync range safely and avoid vsync input lag)

If you set your gsync pulsar to 240 hz, Gsync will work from 1 - 240 fps with Vsync + Gsync + Ultra low latency mode enabled (which will cap games that don't support reflex to ~220 to keep fps within Gsync range safely and avoid vsync input lag)

[tsarri]

Is there any reason for 360htz pulsar users to be upgrading the firmware from the factory default? 1.1.6 mentions Improved operations for 100-180fps range, is this simply fixing the issues from the last firmware update or is there a noticeable improvement from the default firmware performance?

Default firmware has the following problems
1. Gsync pulsar disengages too often so it's too strict on frame times
2. Gsync pulsar has heavy double images below 90 fps which sometimes ruins clarity at higher refresh rates if your fps dips too much within that range
3. No ULMB 60 hz mode is available
4. Some issues with multi monitor setups.
5. Weird bug where LFC (low frame rate compensation) was activating despite not being needed on this mediatek Gsync module which ruins some lower fps ranges.

I highly recommend the latest update, it fixes a LOT of issues and now gsync pulsar works across the advertised refresh range correctly.

Thanks for the detailed answer.

[daviddave1]

Guys if you play Apex Legends that is capped at 300fps and you manage fps from 240 to 300 ingame so fluctuating fps what are the best settings?

[kitabatake_radeka]

Is PULSAR still limited to 120, 240 and 360 Hz refresh rates; or is it possible to use other rates as well now with the update 1.1.6?

If you are talking about ULMB 2, It only works for 60, 120, 240 or 360 hz modes (unless I'm doing something wrong)

For Gsync pulsar operation it only works when the monitor is set to 360 hz or 240 hz, folks are trying to convince nvidia to allow a 300 hz to allow for Gsync pulsar to avoid the black screen issue with DSC on older hardware (pre 50 series nvidia GPUs) and use a higher refresh range than just 240 hz 8 bit color.

So if you set your gsync pulsar to 360 hz, Gsync will work from 1 - 360 fps with Vsync + Gsync + Ultra low latency mode enabled (which will cap games that don't support reflex to 327 to keep fps within Gsync range safely and avoid vsync input lag)

If you set your gsync pulsar to 240 hz, Gsync will work from 1 - 240 fps with Vsync + Gsync + Ultra low latency mode enabled (which will cap games that don't support reflex to ~220 to keep fps within Gsync range safely and avoid vsync input lag)

Thanks for comprehensive answer.

I already have Gsync + ULL on all the time, so do you recommend to also have Vsync on all the time? Is any further frame capping unnecessary?

Further question for anyone knowledgeable: what Nvidia driver would you recommend for a 5090 GPU? I have found that full operability requires driver no older than the firmware (i.e. 591.74 for the out-of-box firmware and 596.36 for the 1.1.6 firmware), otherwise there are artifacts and black screens. It however seems that with no DSC, any driver would work.
So, are there any downsides to using older drivers with no DSC? And what driver works best in your opinion, in the general "no DSC" scenario, and in the full compatibility scenario?

[mawi]

So, are there any downsides to using older drivers with no DSC? And what driver works best in your opinion, in the general "no DSC" scenario, and in the full compatibility scenario?

What exactly is your issue with DSC? I dont think DSC is a problem at all. Especially not with RTX50 cards. You should have no black screens, custom resolution and super sampling are available even when running at 360 Hz (which is 100% DSC on DP1.4) as your card can process the signal through one head / pipeline without tiling the screen internally.

On RTX40 cards, that is an issue. I force this single tile mode by disabling the tiling via regedit which makes 360 Hz mode disappear. Just lowering the refresh rate does not help here. Maybe its not DSC anymore (there is no way to find this out) but the signal is still passed through two heads / pipelines internally which disables all the options mentioned above. Even lowering to 120 Hz (which should definitely be outside of DSC range) does not help then.

What other downsides of DSC do you expect?

[kitabatake_radeka]

So, are there any downsides to using older drivers with no DSC? And what driver works best in your opinion, in the general "no DSC" scenario, and in the full compatibility scenario?

What exactly is your issue with DSC? I dont think DSC is a problem at all. Especially not with RTX50 cards. You should have no black screens, custom resolution and super sampling are available even when running at 360 Hz (which is 100% DSC on DP1.4) as your card can process the signal through one head / pipeline without tiling the screen internally.

On RTX40 cards, that is an issue. I force this single tile mode by disabling the tiling via regedit which makes 360 Hz mode disappear. Just lowering the refresh rate does not help here. Maybe its not DSC anymore (there is no way to find this out) but the signal is still passed through two heads / pipelines internally which disables all the options mentioned above. Even lowering to 120 Hz (which should definitely be outside of DSC range) does not help then.

What other downsides of DSC do you expect?

As I alluded to, with older drivers, i.e. the 57x and 58x branch, 360 Hz 10 bit color gives me black screen in fullscreen mode.

Switching to 240 Hz 8 bit color (no DSC), there is no issue.

[mawi]

As I alluded to, with older drivers, i.e. the 57x and 58x branch, 360 Hz 10 bit color gives me black screen in fullscreen mode.

Switching to 240 Hz 8 bit color (no DSC), there is no issue.

Interesting. Could it be that with 10bit color and 360 Hz, even RTX50 cards have to use multiple pipelines and run into the same problems as RTX40 cards with 360 Hz 8bit?
In this case... DSC is (again) not the actual problem.

You could try to disable the tiling via registry. With 8-bit color the 360 Hz mode should still be available. With 10-bit it could be gone.

[liquidshadowfox]

I have a 5090 and I run 360 hz + 10 bit color on my PG27AQN + 360 hz 10 bit color ROG Strix XG27AQNGV Gsync pulsar monitor + 240 hz OLED 10 bit color and I have 0 issues with DSC or alt tabbing out of games. I've heard that some 5090s that have black screen issues could be a possible faulty 16 pin power connector or you need a new display port cable or you got a lemon of a 5090 that has that issue.

[mawi]

I have a 5090 and I run 360 hz + 10 bit color on my PG27AQN + 360 hz 10 bit color ROG Strix XG27AQNGV Gsync pulsar monitor + 240 hz OLED 10 bit color and I have 0 issues with DSC or alt tabbing out of games.

ok then it should be fine

[kitabatake_radeka]

To circle back a little bit to my previous question: which driver would you recommend for the firmware 1.1.6 and an 5090 GPU?