Best 240 Hz for Overwatch, Battlefield, and Destiny 2?

[TheUnforgiven1993]

Hi,

I have a 1080 Ti coming in the mail and I really want the best equipment I can have to be the best I can be at the games I listed in the title.

I currently have a VG248QE. I love the ULMB at 120Hz for Battlefield, but I prefer standard 144Hz for Overwatch for some reason. It has some dead pixels and is getting pretty old, so I was thinking about upgrading to one of the newest 240Hz monitors. First, and most important question, is it worth $500+ to go to a 240Hz monitor from the VG248QE? I know this is opinion, but I'm just looking for opinions.

I'm thinking about buying the Alienware 25 inch with G-Sync, as it is the cheapest option with G-Sync right now on Amazon ($480). Any thoughts on this monitor or suggestions on a different one if the AW isn't great? I've never had G-Sync, is it even necessary at 240Hz? I'd assume I won't be able to hold 240 FPS in newer games, even with the 1080 Ti, which is why I was thinking G-Sync would be nice.

How do the colors and blacks look on the 240 Hz panels? Are any better than the others? Will they be better or worse than my VG248QE?

Thanks!

[Chief Blur Buster]

AOC is fine if you're choosing the G-SYNC version. The G-SYNC based AOC is essentially AOC's 2nd generation 240Hz -- and its overdrive is much better than the first AOC, and no frameskipping bug.

Currently, all the 240Hz G-SYNC models seem to be nearly identical in quality -- this is because NVIDIA has done a really good job of calibrating the 240Hz overdrive on these models to have less ghosting. Even eSports players that do not use G-SYNC, will find the reduced ghosting a redeeming attribute -- higher quality low-lag 240Hz during VSYNC OFF.

While TN and usually pushing the Hertz can cause color degradation, the good news is that colors aren't worse. Colors appear slightly better than most early 144Hz panels from 2013-2014. That said other than colors, blacks won't be blacker, and viewing angles is similar. Overall, the 240Hz have generally turned out to be better than the early/cheap 144 Hz panels. Definitely especially the VG248QE, which is a 144Hz monitor that came out in year 2013. It was an amazing monitor when it first came out but it's still a fairly old panel.

-- Currently, all G-SYNC powered 240Hz monitors currently has at least slightly better colors than VG248QE. Yes, even AOC.
-- ULMB is brighter and better colors than the VG248QE's LightBoost

Currently, these are all the available 240Hz GSYNC monitors:

240 Hz G-SYNC Monitors as of November 2017

• Acer Predator XB252Q (24.5")
• Acer Predator XB272 (27")
• ASUS ROG PG258Q (24.5")
• AOC AGON AG251FG (24.5")
• Dell Alienware AW2518H (24.5")

[whiteyfu]

I've been using a xl2540 for a month or so, but upgraded to a 1080ti and haven't been super happy with it overall, but I just pulled the trigger on a dell AW2518H so we'll see how much better the Gsync makes it.

[Odin76]

I've been using a xl2540 for a month or so, but upgraded to a 1080ti and haven't been super happy with it overall, but I just pulled the trigger on a dell AW2518H so we'll see how much better the Gsync makes it.

Please let us know how it compares. I have the XL2540 and I am considering buying the AW2518H but only if it is better.

[Chief Blur Buster]

]

I've been using a xl2540 for a month or so, but upgraded to a 1080ti and haven't been super happy with it overall, but I just pulled the trigger on a dell AW2518H so we'll see how much better the Gsync makes it.

Please let us know how it compares. I have the XL2540 and I am considering buying the AW2518H but only if it is better.

Keep us updated -- we're interested to hear as well from seeing both screens side-by-side!

[Odin76]

Currently, all the 240Hz G-SYNC models seem to be nearly identical in quality -- this is because NVIDIA has done a really good job of calibrating the 240Hz overdrive on these models to have less ghosting. Even eSports players that do not use G-SYNC, will find the reduced ghosting a redeeming attribute -- higher quality low-lag 240Hz during VSYNC OFF.

Chief,

Do you think there would be a difference in quality between the Alienware AW2518HF 24.5" FreeSync Gaming Monitor and the Alienware AW2518H 25" NVDIA G-Sync Gaming Monitor?

[TheUnforgiven1993]

Checking back in with you all - I have had my Alienware 25 inch 240 Hz G SYNC monitor for nearly a month now...

I have been having major microstuttering issues at high frame rates that I have not been able to diagnose. I got a 1080 Ti just after the Alienware, and I originally diagnosed my stuttering issues as coming from the 1080 Ti. My replacement card is arriving today. However, while waiting for my graphics card to arrive, I've been playing Overwatch on my laptop on the Alienware.

My laptop tends to push anywhere from 150-220 FPS depending on the map. I noticed there were still microstutters even from my laptop, which made me think maybe the issue was the monitor, not the graphics card. I pulled out my old trusty VG248QE, and what do you know, perfectly smooth gameplay from my laptop at 144 Hz. No stuttering at all.

I was just about to ship my 1080 Ti back... but since I now thought maybe it was the monitor, not the graphics card anymore, I tried it again with Alienware and VG248QE. It was without fail consistently smoother on the VG248QE with identical settings between the two monitors. But there was still much more stuttering on the VG248QE with my new 1080 Ti than with my laptop. The further I push past the 144 Hz of the VG248QE on the Alienware, the worse the stutter would get on the Alienware.

I have spent hours and hours troubleshooting both the monitor and the graphics card, using the laptop and the VG248QE controls. At this point I'm starting to think I got both a bad 1080 Ti and a bad Alienware monitor. Like I said at the start, tonight I should be able to run some tests again with the new graphics card. Hopefully the new card will be perfectly smooth on the Alienware, but I expect it will not be, and I will be returning the monitor.

[RealNC]

Run TestUFO tests. Do they stutter?

Run the frame skipping TestUFO test. You need a camera with long exposure time to take photos of frame skipping.

[daggertx]

I just bought this monitor too, hope its not problem.

[Chief Blur Buster]

TheUnforgiven1993, to be clear, are you using VSYNC OFF or G-SYNC?

TestUFO frame skipping works with Android/iPhone camera, but you may need to use a 3rd party app that makes exposures longer (e.g. 1/4sec) since we found other 240Hz monitors that has frame skipping bugs at 240Hz, but they're all non-G-SYNC monitor. I would be surprised if there is frameskipping on a G-SYNC monitor as I've never come across that artifact on a G-SYNC monitor.

I'd love to figure out why you're getting microstutter.