Looking for a monitor upgrade but need some help/information

[tajjada]

Hello everyone,

I am somewhat new to this. All of my monitors so far have been crappy 60hz LCDs. After trying games on a CRT and reading a lot of articles on the technologies that exist for new high-end gaming monitors, I am convinced that it is worth it for me to get less motion blur and upgrade to some of the new high-end LCDs. So, now I want to find the ultimate monitor for myself.

I have been doing quite a bit of research on my own over the past days, but I wanted to post here to see if you guys have any helpful recommendations or information I should keep in mind. I am new to BlurBusters forums so I am not entirely sure if I am posting in the right place. Also, I only started looking at high-end monitors fairly recently (after I understood the advantages of having one), so I am not really familiar with what options are available and what to look for. I registered here because I became quite intrigued by display technology.

My priorities are as follows:

1) Linux support. I am primarily a Linux user and only use Windows for certain games that I can't get the best experience for otherwise. So, it is important for me that all of the functionality offered by the monitor is usable from Linux. By usable I don't mean user-friendly or even configurable, just usable. It is fine with me if it requires commandline / xorg.conf hacks, or even if it requires me to reboot into Windows to configure in the monitor and then boot back into Linux with the settings not getting lost (I read this could be done with some Benq monitors, which require a Windows utility to configure, but remember their settings (unless fully powered off) and so the settings persist across reboots or even different source devices). Ideally though, I'd prefer as much of the functionality as possible to be accessible from the monitor's firmware / OSD, so I could access it any time regardless of OS or even source device. I have an NVIDIA GTX 980 card, and use the latest official (proprietary) drivers on both Windows and Linux, and AFAIK, functionality like G-SYNC is supported on Linux too (but I have never had a compatible monitor, so I don't know for sure).

2) At least 100 Hz. Anything better is a plus, but I don't want anything below 100 Hz.

3) Strobing! I would ideally want my gaming display to have something like ULMB or LightBoost. Again, as long as it is usable from Linux. In most cases, I'd rather have stuttering than motion blur. So, strobed backlight > G-Sync.

4) Contrast and black levels; backlight bleed. I play mostly in a fully dark room, so I don't care that much for how bright my display can get. I want to have deep black levels (hard to do on an LCD, I know) so it looks nice when my room is fully dark. My current display is horrible for this. In the dark, black areas look gray due to backlight bleed, much worse than some other displays I've seen. It irritates me. I'd be happy with anything better.

5) Resolution. Either 2560x1440 or 2560x1600. More would require too much gpu power, less I don't want. Please no dual-panel/tiled displays. Those are bad with Windows even, and extremely horrible with Linux. Personally, my favorite aspect ratio is 16:10 (my current monitor is 2560x1600, great for productivity), but those monitors are rare nowadays, so, for gaming I wouldn't mind 16:9 even though usually it feels a little too wide for me, I don't want to restrict my options based on aspect ratio. As long as it isn't wider than 16:9, it's fine. I don't like those ultra-wide displays.

5) Lastly, G-SYNC is a nice extra to have (might use it for certain games, don't know yet, never had it, no experience), but not that important. My gut tells me that I would like it if I was experienced with it, don't know. Maybe someone here can convince me that G-Sync is more important than LightBoost/ULMB/Strobing, who knows...

Also, I have never owned or seen an IPS panel. My current monitor is TFT and I have some TN ones. I don't know or understand very well what the practical differences between these technologies are. I heard that IPS has better color and viewing angles, but that is about all I know. I would appreciate it if someone could explain this to me. I also heard that IPS have glow / backlight bleeding? If that is the case, I'd much rather have good contrast, deeper blacks, and less backlight bleed, than have better colors and viewing angles. Could someone please explain to me what are the tradeoffs/advantages/disadvantages of each of these (TFT, TN, IPS), or at least tell me some good resources to learn about it (when I google, I found mostly technical explanations of how they work and generally very vague information about the advantages of IPS)?

My budget is quite liberal. Anything is fine as long as it doesn't go to ridiculous levels (above $1000 or something like that).

The physical size of the monitor doesn't matter to me, as long as it is not greater than 35" or so. Construction features like bezel thickness, etc, are also irrelevant, I just care about actual visual quality of the picture I get.

Right now I really need the help of someone more experienced to explain all of the above to me and tell me what to look for in order to further my research and find myself a good monitor. Also, am I perhaps missing some important characteristics that would be nice to have for a good gaming experience?

I have looked at the Acer XB270HU monitor that everyone (on reddit at least) seems to be in love with. It looks really great in terms of specs, but I heard that it had very bad backlight bleeding, which is something I really don't want. Could someone here who has experience with that monitor clarify if that really is the case? Should I maybe look for a TN monitor rather than an IPS (as I said, the differences aren't that clear to me)?

Thank you in advance.

[Edmond]

I have looked at the Acer XB270HU monitor that everyone (on reddit at least) seems to be in love with. It looks really great in terms of specs, but I heard that it had very bad backlight bleeding, which is something I really don't want. Could someone here who has experience with that monitor clarify if that really is the case? Should I maybe look for a TN monitor rather than an IPS (as I said, the differences aren't that clear to me)?

Well. IPS vs TN is a night and day difference. Once you have seen IPS, TN will look like a bad joke to you.
The xb270hu is a gift from the gods, as it finally united IPS and 144hz. Before it we had to choose between a fast disgusting TN or a beautiful but slow IPS.

Also it comes with gsync and strobing @ locked 100hz, being the first strobed IPS.
It really is a big deal. Because gsync is an absolute must for anyone. And If you want strobing instead i would choose the strobed IPS over TN always.

The backlight bleed issues you have heard about are PRECISELY as common as on the asus TN rog swift. Or as any "gaming" monitor actually.
These new monitors are just very famous in of themselves.

If you get one with bad bleed, you return it and get a new one. If some store doesnt want to change it then just return it and get your money back and buy again. In EU at least its a regulation that you can return and get a full refund within the first 6 months for electronics.

If you want, you can wait a few months. There are some 144hz gsync VA panels coming. VA is basically IPS with a bit worse colors, but its still miles better than TN, because it doesnt have those broken viewing angles and such. VA will probably be able to be strobed @ 120hz. And VA is immune to backlight bleed.