NVIDIA G-Sync Pulsar monitor - Asus ROG Strix XG27AQNGV

[Nautilius]

im updated from 1.1.8 to 1.1.10 and it feels alot cleaner at 1440p 360Hz with Gsync and Vsync with 327fps on Asus. With powerfull enough GPU and DLDSR 1920p or 2160p downscaled to 1440p Pulsar new firmware just looks amazing

[hammelgammler]

Maybe a dumb question, but apart from <10% duty cycle (which gets a bit too dark for my taste, 50 nits I can still live with) and freely adjustable Hz strobing, does the XG2431 has any real advantage to the pulsar monitors?

I thought that maybe because of QFT, 60Hz might has less input lag than ULMB2? Given that many console only support 1080p60 anyways, that would be cool, but I guess QFT doesn’t work with consoles anyways. But at least for PC? Subjectively, 60Hz ULMB2 on the pulsar does seem quite high of an input lag, especially compared to my CRT. I knew it will be higher and even if it’s a bit lower with QFT, trading it for 1080p compared to 1440p is also not the best.

Edit: I saw in this thread that the XG2431 indeed seems to have lower input lag. Too bad you can’t properly use QFT/LVT with consoles.

It seems like, now that I tried the XG27AQNGV 60Hz ULMB2, I might simply keep the Sony W900 for 60Hz gaming, as that should have even lower lag than the XG2431 and a better brightness/clarity ratio.

—

Other topic, but I might return the XG27AQNGV after all. All in all, the motion clarity is indeed very nice, but in practice and with how I play first- and third-person games (very high mouse/controller sensitivity), the difference is not as big as I thought. I mean on paper it is, but I don’t seem to eye track things in motion but rather turn very fast to have a „still image“ again (where 165Hz OLED is already good enough).

So comparatively, I look at far more frames which are already clear enough with 165Hz OLED than frames that are in motion. And for all frames, especially „static“, good HDR with OLED (Samsung S95F, 4000 nits peak, 400 nits full) is simply far better than IPS SDR, by a huge margin.

I may simply be too far gone in the OLED rabbit hole already too break out of it. But of course that’s SDR vs HDR. Maybe with SDR content, I prefer the Pulsar, but even then OLED will look better in „static“ frames.

Given that CRTs look also really good for static frames compared to IPS, I may stick to the W900 60Hz, FW900 >60Hz SDR and S95F HDR combo…

So annoying that the only way to get a display that is good at everything equally, is a 4k 3000Hz or so OLED with proper CRT beam simulation. But I doubt we will be there any time soon. Until then, you need to make trade offs.

And then there’s VR, where we „need“ proper motion clarity and extreme resolutions, so I don’t see proper HDR here any time soon as well. Damn physics!

[RonsonPL]

This post is rather off-topic

(....) but in practice and with how I play first- and third-person games (very high mouse/controller sensitivity), the difference is not as big as I thought. I mean on paper it is, but I don’t seem to eye track things in motion but rather turn very fast to have a „still image“ again

That's a habbit. You just need to change how you play. Use fluid motion of your hand to look around. With a monitor capable of handling motion well, you don't need to move the camera like a chicken moves its head. Focus on it for like 1 hr of playing divided to 20 minutes per day and then this way of controlling mouse will become the default for you brain - so you won't need to think about it anymore.
When I upload my videos with me playing an FPS game, people ask if I play on a joypad or something, casue I move the camera "weirdly" as they say. The commenters are all behind the blur wall. They have never ever seen a game on a CRT, HFR OLED or strobed display. They are shocked anyone moves camera differently to what they think is "the norm".
This applies to single player and playing competetive games casually. For e-sport pros, I guess "the chicken" is correct way of playing.

Anyway.
You are probably aware of the input issues - USB polling rate, settings, all that stuff, which Chief documented very well. You could try higher pollng rates like 4000 and applying Chief's suggestions for how to set the mouse speed in game and OS etc.

I'd also recommend giving joypad a try in single player TPP games. I don't know how people play on samepl-and-hold displays and ride a horse for a few minutes. I'd die of boredom after 2 minutes, if I wasn't able to look around while seeing every detail in motion.

(....)
So annoying that the only way to get a display that is good at everything equally, is a 4k 3000Hz or so OLED with proper CRT beam simulation. (....)

1440P 720Hz is very close. 1000Hz is definitely OK. You do need thousands or tens of thousands of fps/Hz to eliminate the strobing effect for the motion you don't track with your eye, but no, you don't need to wait for 3000Hz to get CRT motin clarity. There's a chance for 1000Hz 1440p OLEDs within next few years. Lesser chance for 4K, as we still don't even have rumors about 4K 500Hz.

And then there’s VR, where we „need“ proper motion clarity and extreme resolutions, so I don’t see proper HDR here any time soon as well. Damn physics!

Nah, we don't need 6K per eye and IMHO the FOV > resolution in VR.
2500x2500 per eye would be OK, I think. Of course - more for wide FOV if such even existed. MicroLEDs were supposed to go mainstream in VR over 6 years in 2022, but in 2026 this progressed nowhere outside of glasses-like form factor and this form factor is not for gaming, so we're stalling instead of progressing, sadly. And it's still superexpensive, not to mention not being mass-production ready. Check this page from time to time if you dream about HDR HMDs with perfect CRT motion clarity: https://www.microled-info.com/


If only history went through different path, where SED and FED tech wasn't abandoned

[hammelgammler]

What I‘m pretty certain about though, is that I do prefer scrolling games on Pulsar, e.g. Anno or I guess Diablo. It’s just not a genre I play often. And for games like Baldurs Gate 3, I‘m pretty sure I do want good HDR instead.

But again, don’t want to be too off topic, but the Pulsar monitors are really great for what they are, so a point where I still think about keeping it. But I also don’t want to force finding use-cases just to have another think I need the space for. With all the CRTs, it’s hard already.

Something I didn’t say yet, is the strict frametime needed with pulsar. I thought that won’t be an issue, because I already do it to mitigate VRR flicker on OLED, but it seems to be even more strict/annoying if it’s not the case. E.g. in Final Fanatasy VII Remake, when in a big down, standing still I get around 240 FPS. When I now move the camera, it drops to around 140 FPS, CPU bound I might add. I need to limit my FPS to like 130 to not have the „pulsar hitches“. Comparing this to my OLED, I run at 156 FPS and because it’s not a dark scene, I don’t experience any VRR flicker. But even the VRR flicker in other scenes is less annoying to me than the pulsar hitches.

That’s not something I expected to be honest. I’m fine with limiting my FPS to have like 80% usage or whatever I need to have a stable frametime, but in that case, I needed to get down to like 40% GPU usage. And given the 1440p resolution, I’m likely often CPU bound compared to GPU, even with my 9800X3D and 5090.

I think to summarize my experience with all the tech I got: I prefer something which has less things that annoy me. IPS glow, blacklight bleeding, poor contrast, frametime hitches (no HDR, 1440p vs 4k) annoy me more than less motion clarity (due to my chicken head playstyle) and VRR flicker. For 60Hz, I’m certain I prefer the pulsar monitor, but I do have the fortune alternative with the Sony W900, so again, better contrast and less input lag.

Maybe the current generation of pulsar is just not for me yet, but I do understand everyone who prefers it if IPS/SDR is no issue for one. But to be fair, like with good motion clarity, someone needs to experience proper HDR for a good judgement.

That's a habbit. You just need to change how you play. Use fluid motion of your hand to look around. With a monitor capable of handling motion well, you don't need to move the camera like a chicken moves its head.

Well, to be fair, I do prefer a higher camera sensitivity (be it mouse or controller), because I don’t like to wait an eternity to do a 180 rotation. It’s just faster and even when playing single player games, if I’m getting attacked from behind I want to be quick. Even with 0ms persistence, I‘m pretty sure I will still prefer this playstyle, its simply more fun to me. But I get where you are coming from, don’t get me wrong.

I don't know how people play on samepl-and-hold displays and ride a horse for a few minutes. I'd die of boredom after 2 minutes, if I wasn't able to look around while seeing every detail in motion.

That’s definitely the biggest strength of low persistence to me. But then most things I focus on, e.g. in racing games (which is not my genre anyway), it’s still okay with 165Hz OLED.

1440P 720Hz is very close. 1000Hz is definitely OK. You do need thousands or tens of thousands of fps/Hz to eliminate the strobing effect for the motion you don't track with your eye, but no, you don't need to wait for 3000Hz to get CRT motin clarity. There's a chance for 1000Hz 1440p OLEDs within next few years. Lesser chance for 4K, as we still don't even have rumors about 4K 500Hz.

True, I didn’t compare it to good motion in general but compared to the 120Hz ULMB2 10% PW. 1000Hz will definitely be good enough already. At some points, things are getting to fast that I can’t imagine I will be able to track the motion anyways. The UFO test is sometimes already hard so catch for me and that’s completely predictable.

Nah, we don't need 6K per eye and IMHO the FOV > resolution in VR.
2500x2500 per eye would be OK, I think. Of course - more for wide FOV if such even existed. MicroLEDs were supposed to go mainstream in VR over 6 years in 2022, but in 2026 this progressed nowhere outside of glasses-like form factor and this form factor is not for gaming, so we're stalling instead of progressing, sadly. And it's still superexpensive, not to mention not being mass-production ready. Check this page from time to time if you dream about HDR HMDs with perfect CRT motion clarity: https://www.microled-info.com/


If only history went through different path, where SED and FED tech wasn't abandoned

Well I do own a Quest 3, Valve Index and two Play for Dream MR (with prescription lenses) and I do appreciate the lot highe resolution. In some games with high detail, it’s night and day. Would I prefer a lower resolution with more Hz, like the Steam Frame? Probably if it was OLED as well, but VR without OLED is dark games is simply not immersive enough to me. But as I said, I’m spoiled with dark blacks. The Play for Dream is around 4k per eye and I would not need anything more than that. Only for higher FOV as you mentioned.

[mango87]

Is there a review of the input lag of this monitor in pulsar and ULMB2? I've just got this and tried 60hz/1080p/ULMB2 Vsync with Hollow Knight and Half-Life, which didn't feel bad at all. I'm assuming HDMI input lag will feel the same. The motion clarity is definitely leagues ahead of my XG2431. I did notice a weird bug when the OSD randomly stopped responding to buttons and disappeared. I had to cycle the monitor off and on to bring it back.

[mawi]

In general, how do you ensure 60, 120, 240 and 360 Hz on ULMB2 if you want to avoid vsync? I tried RTSS (as I use it anyway for pulsar)... all variants, front edge, async etc. If I limit the frame rate to these values... its a tearing mess. I remember this was discussed here months ago when 60 Hz mode became a thing, I cant find it anymore. If someone can tell me the page, i am happy to read these things again myself

I played both Ori games and some recompiled pc ports like mario kart 64 or wave race with 60 and 120 Hz ULMB2. With vsync it looks really clean but for me the input lag is really noticable. Vsync is no option.

[kyube]

In general, how do you ensure 60, 120, 240 and 360 Hz on ULMB2 if you want to avoid vsync? I tried RTSS (as I use it anyway for pulsar)... all variants, front edge, async etc. If I limit the frame rate to these values... its a tearing mess. I remember this was discussed here months ago when 60 Hz mode became a thing, I cant find it anymore. If someone can tell me the page, i am happy to read these things again myself

I played both Ori games and some recompiled pc ports like mario kart 64 or wave race with 60 and 120 Hz ULMB2. With vsync it looks really clean but for me the input lag is really noticable. Vsync is no option.

1.) Find a refresh rate that's either comfortably 1/2 the frame rate you're achieving (e.g.: 240FPS game @ 120Hz ULMB2) or FPS=Hz (for SK/RTSS)
2.) Use one of the following solutions:
• Special-K's LatentSync (most adjustable) OR RTSS Scanline-Sync (2 frames of latency) [labeled online as "lagless VSYNC" aka frame rate limiters where you can adjust tearline position]
• Nvidia Fast-Sync (Special-K has a similar feature in it's UI)

1440P 720Hz is very close. 1000Hz is definitely OK. You do need thousands or tens of thousands of fps/Hz to eliminate the strobing effect for the motion you don't track with your eye, but no, you don't need to wait for 3000Hz to get CRT motion clarity. There's a chance for 1000Hz 1440p OLEDs within next few years. Lesser chance for 4K, as we still don't even have rumors about 4K 500Hz.

...except that CRT's are able to achieve 3000 px/s of UFO speed at <1 px of blur, which means they're at minimum <333µs pulse on-time aka +3000Hz in effective motion clarity
Anyone who claims "CRT motion clarity" and talks about <4000 Hz values is either:
- Playing really slow games, where you never needed a CRT in the first place.
- Doesn't understand how impulsed path works.
or a combination of the two.
People need to understand that strobing and refresh rate open up higher speeds that you're able to track.
FPS games are played at much faster speeds than 1000 px/s. So are racing games.

Also, 24-27" QHD 1kHz won't happen in the next 5 years at minimum.
Likely even more. It's a severe cable bottleneck to chase that level of bandwidth.

If only history went through different path, where SED and FED tech wasn't abandoned

I'm glad they were both abandonded.
It's a shame that LCD manifacturers took too long to make proper strobing a reality. It should've taken off instantly, even on early LCD panels.

[hammelgammler]

...except that CRT's are able to achieve 3000 px/s of UFO speed at <1 px of blur, which means they're at minimum <333µs pulse on-time aka +3000Hz in effective motion clarity
Anyone who claims "CRT motion clarity" and talks about <4000 Hz values is either:
- Playing really slow games, where you never needed a CRT in the first place.
- Doesn't understand how impulsed path works.
or a combination of the two.
People need to understand that strobing and refresh rate open up higher speeds that you're able to track.
FPS games are played at much faster speeds than 1000 px/s. So are racing games.

Also, 24-27" QHD 1kHz won't happen in the next 5 years at minimum.
Likely even more. It's a severe cable bottleneck to chase that level of bandwidth.

Maybe it’s just my Sony GDM W900 (1920x1200@60), but when I compare it with the UFO Test to the Pulsar with ULMB2 120Hz 10% PW, the latter is definitely clearer in motion. I think even 60Hz was better, but I can double check again later. I would need to check my other CRTs as well though, maybe it’s just the W900 which is slower?

Are you sure about those numbers regarding CRTs?

[kyube]

Maybe it’s just my Sony GDM W900 (1920x1200@60), but when I compare it with the UFO Test to the Pulsar with ULMB2 120Hz 10% PW, the latter is definitely clearer in motion. I think even 60Hz was better, but I can double check again later. I would need to check my other CRTs as well though, maybe it’s just the W900 which is slower?

Are you sure about those numbers regarding CRTs?

CRT @ 3000 px/s UFO
vs
120Hz ULMB2 @ PW=10, frog pursuit 4920 px/s

It's likely clearer to you due to the severely better pixel density of LCDs and lack of phosphor trailing.
Dot pitch of those trinitron CRTs is lower than 27" QHD LCDs and degrades with time.
I don't have the exact ceiling of either panels, as no one did oscilloscope + light probe data. Only estimates.
I do think the ULMB2 mode, for the QHD/4K image resolution space, is good to use now. Assuming one is OK with the fixed 120,240,360Hz steps... and the abhorrent price point (550-600€)

[hammelgammler]

Is there a review of the input lag of this monitor in pulsar and ULMB2? I've just got this and tried 60hz/1080p/ULMB2 Vsync with Hollow Knight and Half-Life, which didn't feel bad at all. I'm assuming HDMI input lag will feel the same. The motion clarity is definitely leagues ahead of my XG2431. I did notice a weird bug when the OSD randomly stopped responding to buttons and disappeared. I had to cycle the monitor off and on to bring it back.

A few people in this thread measured it at 60Hz compared to the XG2431 and DyAc:

- DyAc adds about 5 ms
- PureXP adds about 8 ms
- ULMB2 adds about 13 ms

This seems to be about in line as the LG CX, which also adds around a frame (14 ms) of input lag with BFI enabled.

So from a purely competitive standpoint, the XG2431 do seem to perform better. At least compared to my CRT@60, I definitely noticed the increased latency of ULMB2@60.

At least on the NVIDIA forum, they may seem to try to lower the 60Hz latency, so hopefully they too can reduce to 5-8 ms.