Buy a 240hz Monitor now or wait?

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theguy95
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Buy a 240hz Monitor now or wait?

Post by theguy95 » 03 Feb 2019, 07:58

Hey there,

I wanted to buy a 240hz monitor for ages now but i never actually did. Since i am starting to get serious about fps gaming again i really want one now. At the moment i am playing on a Asus Rog Pg279q that i have for like 4 years now. I got a 1080ti at the moment and plan to upgrade again with the generation after the current rtx cards. Also for fps gaming i kinda like having something around 24"-25" so i have everything in my field of focus.

So i was looking at the Benq Zowie Xl2546 and the Asus Pg258q for some time now but there are alot of mixed reviews and opinions on both of those. Then i saw there are alot of new panels supposed to be released some time between q1/q2 2019. I saw the Lenovo Legion Y27gq which would be kinda cool because i don't have to step down in resolution but i don't think i will get near 240fps in any recent games on 1440p though and it is 27" again. But there are supposed to be some 1080p 240hz 0.5 ms panels too so i was wondering if i would regret buying one of the mentioned above if said panels are to be released soon anyway :lol:

Notty_PT
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Re: Buy a 240hz Monitor now or wait?

Post by Notty_PT » 03 Feb 2019, 19:38

The current 240hz panels are all bad. Let´s be honest. They still deliver objectively lower input lag than any 144hz monitor, due to the 4,2ms persistence, but that´s it. Everything else is worse. Response time/Overdrive, overshoot, grainy image, blur, problems dealing with lower than 220 framerates.

Honestly I would wait for 240hz to mature; this is coming from someone that tried almost 10 models and ended up keeping a 144hz monitor. 240hz is objectively superior to 144hz, but the time to go 240hz is not there yet. Too many drawbacks and too little difference from 144hz to make it worth it.

theguy95
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Re: Buy a 240hz Monitor now or wait?

Post by theguy95 » 04 Feb 2019, 05:12

Notty_PT wrote:The current 240hz panels are all bad. Let´s be honest. They still deliver objectively lower input lag than any 144hz monitor, due to the 4,2ms persistence, but that´s it. Everything else is worse. Response time/Overdrive, overshoot, grainy image, blur, problems dealing with lower than 220 framerates.

Honestly I would wait for 240hz to mature; this is coming from someone that tried almost 10 models and ended up keeping a 144hz monitor. 240hz is objectively superior to 144hz, but the time to go 240hz is not there yet. Too many drawbacks and too little difference from 144hz to make it worth it.
Hmm ok thanks for your input. I guess i'll atleast wait for the new panels to be released and see reviews and tests on them. I remember reading somewhere that the new panels should have fixed alot of the problems old ones still have.

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Re: Buy a 240hz Monitor now or wait?

Post by Chief Blur Buster » 07 Feb 2019, 15:18

Notty_PT wrote:In my opinion, the current 240hz panels are all bad. Let´s be honest. They still deliver objectively lower input lag than any 144hz monitor, due to the 4,2ms persistence, but that´s it. To me, for the several monitors I have tried, Everything else is worse. Response time/Overdrive, overshoot, grainy image, blur, problems dealing with lower than 220 framerates.
The original unedited is too blanket statement, so fixed that for you in bold.
While there's some teething problems with many 240Hz panels....

Let's cherrypick for a bit.

The best 240Hz monitors is better in ghosting than the some of the worst 144Hz. For example, the Acer GN246HL has worse overshoot than almost all 240Hz monitors. Being Chief Blur Buster, I have seen more monitors than you have, and I see less overshoot on some better 240Hz monitors. Also, some 144Hz monitors only have 3 overdrive settings. The Acer XB252Q blows away Acer GN246HL when it comes to ghosting even when then 240Hz is set to 144Hz. Granted, the old GN246HL was known for its bad ghosting...

Also, many older 144Hz TN monitors have worse inversion artifacts (checkerboard pixel) effect. Most 240Hz monitors blow away my old ASUS VG278H, and the still-popular ASUS VG248QE, which had more visible inversion artifacts.

Next, my ViewSonic XG2530 blows away my older BenQ XL2411Z, XL2420G, XL2720Z in color qualify. The colora are much nicer on the ViewSonic monitor than those BenQs when you want to play punchy-colors gamess.

Also, if you like blur reduction such as ULMB, many 240Hz monitors have much brighter blur reduction than 144Hz monitors, as well as less strobe crosstalk at same Hz (120Hz blur reduction versus 120Hz blur reduction).

Finally, if you are super sensitive to tearing artifacts where they fully distract your brain from concentraton, VSYNC ON tearing 150fps is less visible at 240Hz than at 144Hz. The tearlines flash for only 1/240sec rather than 1/144sec. This is a law of physics that can outweigh ghosting for some people.

There's more, but suffice to say, there is really just no blankettelling people not to buy 240Hz here at Blur Busters. There is just too many pros of 240Hz that satisfies many people. What one guy may get so distracted by ghosting, the next guy may be so distracted by tearing instead.

I know people who are very picky about certain image attributes, and some of them may outweigh other flaws.
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theguy95
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Re: Buy a 240hz Monitor now or wait?

Post by theguy95 » 07 Feb 2019, 17:03

The main reason i want to get a new monitor is that the motion blur on my pg279q just feels really bad which i didnt notice most of the time playing rpgs and stuff but on shooters you can feel it. The reason i started this post is that i saw news on all the monitors that are supposed to be released in q1/q2 2019 and i wanted to know if the advantages of the newer panels is reason enough to wait. But after researching a bit and seeing most of the monitors haven't even officially been announced yet i am not sure if they will even come q1/q2. Also not sure if the lenovo y27gq will release in europe the same time it will release in the us.

Edit: I wanted to add that colour accuracy and the whole ips vs tn thing is not one of my concerns for the new monitor. I am wondering if i will feel the step down from 1440p to 1080p though

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Re: Buy a 240hz Monitor now or wait?

Post by Chief Blur Buster » 07 Feb 2019, 23:33

theguy95 wrote:The main reason i want to get a new monitor is that the motion blur on my pg279q just feels really bad which i didnt notice most of the time playing rpgs and stuff but on shooters you can feel it. The reason i started this post is that i saw news on all the monitors that are supposed to be released in q1/q2 2019 and i wanted to know if the advantages of the newer panels is reason enough to wait. But after researching a bit and seeing most of the monitors haven't even officially been announced yet i am not sure if they will even come q1/q2. Also not sure if the lenovo y27gq will release in europe the same time it will release in the us.

Edit: I wanted to add that colour accuracy and the whole ips vs tn thing is not one of my concerns for the new monitor. I am wondering if i will feel the step down from 1440p to 1080p though
PG279Q? A great monitor if you're looking for the lowest blur IPS.

But if you can't stand the lowest-blur IPS, then you definitely need to go TN!

All my NVIDIA GSYNC (native version with dynamic overdrive) 240Hz monitors have less blur/ghosting than PG279Q at any framerate.

First, have you tried ULMB?
Enable 85Hz/100Hz/120Hz ULMB on your PG279Q. Use a lower Hz if needed to maintain framerate=refreshrate=stroberate. Use one of the low-lag VSYNC tricks since ULMB looks so much better with full framerate match. And make sure you adjust your mouse to "high mouse DPI, low in-game sensitivity" such as 1600dpi for ultrasmooth ULMB-friendly slow mouseturns without the jittery/microstuttery effects. Even 85fps@85Hz ULMB looks clearer than non-ULMB 240fps@240Hz, if you're a very blur-sensitive person. See HOWTO: Using ULMB Beautifully or Competitively.

Alternate options If you're very blur sensitive:
1. Get a TN 144Hz or 240Hz monitor, make sure you keep framerates perpetually high as possible (e.g. near 144fps or 240fps).
2. Get a 240Hz GSYNC monitor, if you want the least-blurry variable refresh (NVIDIA's version of GSYNC has variable overdrive).
3. Or use a blur reduction mode (and do your goddamndest best to make sure framerate matches refreshrate). Some monitors have brighter blur reduction than PG279Q, if blur reduction brightness is important to you.

Low framerates (e.g. 72fps@144Hz) will add extra blur, as motion blur is proportional to frametime whenever you're not using a blur reduction mode. And GtG issues (whether IPS or bad overdrive) can be additional blur above-and-beyond. When you're not using blur reduction -- frametime in its own unique refresh cycles, is directly proportional to display motion blur. Where GtG is not a limitation, 240fps@240Hz has half the motion blur of 120fps@120Hz, and quarter the motion blur of 60fps@60Hz.
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theguy95
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Re: Buy a 240hz Monitor now or wait?

Post by theguy95 » 08 Feb 2019, 14:55

Chief Blur Buster wrote: PG279Q? A great monitor if you're looking for the lowest blur IPS.

But if you can't stand the lowest-blur IPS, then you definitely need to go TN!

All my NVIDIA GSYNC (native version with dynamic overdrive) 240Hz monitors have less blur/ghosting than PG279Q at any framerate.

First, have you tried ULMB?
Enable 85Hz/100Hz/120Hz ULMB on your PG279Q. Use a lower Hz if needed to maintain framerate=refreshrate=stroberate. Use one of the low-lag VSYNC tricks since ULMB looks so much better with full framerate match. And make sure you adjust your mouse to "high mouse DPI, low in-game sensitivity" such as 1600dpi for ultrasmooth ULMB-friendly slow mouseturns without the jittery/microstuttery effects. Even 85fps@85Hz ULMB looks clearer than non-ULMB 240fps@240Hz, if you're a very blur-sensitive person. See HOWTO: Using ULMB Beautifully or Competitively.

Alternate options If you're very blur sensitive:
1. Get a TN 144Hz or 240Hz monitor, make sure you keep framerates perpetually high as possible (e.g. near 144fps or 240fps).
2. Get a 240Hz GSYNC monitor, if you want the least-blurry variable refresh (NVIDIA's version of GSYNC has variable overdrive).
3. Or use a blur reduction mode (and do your goddamndest best to make sure framerate matches refreshrate). Some monitors have brighter blur reduction than PG279Q, if blur reduction brightness is important to you.

Low framerates (e.g. 72fps@144Hz) will add extra blur, as motion blur is proportional to frametime whenever you're not using a blur reduction mode. And GtG issues (whether IPS or bad overdrive) can be additional blur above-and-beyond. When you're not using blur reduction -- frametime in its own unique refresh cycles, is directly proportional to display motion blur. Where GtG is not a limitation, 240fps@240Hz has half the motion blur of 120fps@120Hz, and quarter the motion blur of 60fps@60Hz.
First of all thanks for all the tips but i tried ulmb and it still felt way worse then the Aoc g2460pg i owned before the pg279q. I am pretty set on getting a 240hz tn but still not sure which one i should get or if the new panels coming soon will be worth the wait.

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