G-SYNC Upgrade Board Giveaway - FIVE boards! [complete]

[Shrub]

Sigh, I wish it wasn't limited to just the USA and Canada since I fulfil all the requirements.

Good luck to all participants!

[Chief Blur Buster]

lowfat, myxboxcnq & CoolOppo, thanks for your submission!

Also, lowfat, welcome from HardwareCanucks! I recognize you as a moderator from the HardwareCanucks forum.

Sigh, I wish it wasn't limited to just the USA and Canada since I fulfil all the requirements.
Good luck to all participants!

Alas, it is a requirement NVIDIA gave all websites (presumably to satisfy a legal cause) for all GSYNC giveaways. Had to agree to the same requirements... I tried my best, but Apologies! That said, I hope you can still contribute on these forums!

[SnowHydra]

Hello. I am primarily a FPS gamer, who plays many different titles, and also an avid hardware junkie. I haven't had much experience DIY in expensive electronics (besides putting together my PC). Though I have once really messed around with my laptop, which is still functional to this day surprisingly. I've repasted the GPU and CPU (was terrible to get open!), fixed the keyboard, replaced the screen, and increased its cooling capabilities by removing some material. That was probably my biggest experience. I've done smaller stuff too, such as implanting a bluetooth usb into a laptop that had no bluetooth, or taking apart my PSP blind just to clean the dust from under the screen. Admittedly those are much lower-risk, but I've never really found something I'd want to modify so drastically.

I resign that I haven't been reading the Blur Busters blog, but I recall the best test in my opinion was the text one. I liked how SMOOTH it was when I activated lightboost. (Oh, and yeah, I do have the VG248QE)

Side nostalgia: I actually was around during the beginning phases of Blur Busters, but just a lurker, lurking around. There wasn't much on the site back then, but you kept pushing people on the hardocp VG248QE thread to check out your tests.
How nicely the site has grown.

I haven't checked out the new tests if there are any, but I still vividly remember the text one. That test just sold me on it and now I use it whenever I'm playing games at night. Daytime gaming is a bit too terrible due to the low brightness but I rarely game during the day anyway.
EDIT: Here's a link! http://www.testufo.com/#test=framerates-text


To be honest, I'm not expecting to win, but I would just love the hell out of GSYNC. I guess the first thing I'd do is install it, then the second thing would be to play a lot of FPS video games, especially competitive ones like BF or CS. Which is exactly what I did when I got my VG248! I'd also of course give feedback on GSYNC to Blur Busters (since you gave me it!) and nvidia for making this wonderful technology.

I also use this monitor under Mac OS X and Linux. If GSYNC makes it so that the monitor can't be used unless plugged into an nvidia card under Windows, then please take note and do not let me win this competition!
I'm 99% sure that this is not the case (I'm sure I can just switch to DVI? I heard it's displayport only.) If anything, if nvidia wants to go ahead and make their Linux drivers better and even support GSYNC, I'd LOVE to help them out!


Whew, that was a lot of text. Sorry if it's too long!
Thanks for this wonderful site and your very generous giveaway! I'll be checking the blog every now and then; being an avid FPS gamer makes me infatuated with this technology.

[nimbulan]

I'm Nimbulan, and I've been a PC gamer all my life. I recently upgraded to an Asus VG248QE from an ancient 19" panel and it's made a massive difference in my gaming experience. I bought this monitor knowing that it's G-sync upgradable and suspect that G-sync will make a large difference in my experience as well. I've built every computer I've used for gaming and pride myself on being the most knowledgeable person among my group of friends with regards to PC components. I frequently help them with builds, upgrades, and troubleshooting as well.

A few years ago I had a power supply fall victim to capacitor plague. I repaired it myself (which was a difficult job since good quality capacitors are larger than the originals and would not fit on the PCB.) I got 5 more years out of that power supply before I finally had to replace it this year. I've built a number of electronic devices over the years (radios and the like,) and still use some of them today.

My proudest moment though, was repairing my parents' old Marantz receiver from the 70's. Over the years the volume control had worn down to the point where you could only get clear sound out of the left channel and turning the dial produced a lot of static. There is no replacement part that I was able to find so I removed the dual variable resistor, pried the casing open, cleaned the internal contacts and now it works like new.

As for non-electronic DIY, I have done a good amount of work on cars over the years, including helping my father replace the front right axle on his car.

My favorite Blur Busters article is the G-Sync preview. It does a great job explaining and demonstrating how G-sync addresses the different visual artifacts that result from variable framerate rendering and fixed refresh rate displays. http://www.blurbusters.com/gsync/preview/

I plan to use G-sync to test a wide variety games, especially those that stutter badly with vsync on such as Far Cry 3 and the Serious Sam series. I find screen tearing extremely distracting and the visual stuttering that results from the tearing almost always looks worse than it does when vsync is on. Since vsync also stutters quite badly in some games, I am hoping that G-Sync is the solution. Another problem I would like to test G-sync with is games with 64 Hz engine timing (Doom 3, Gamebryo engine games such as Divinity 2 and Skyrim) since that often leads to constant stuttering and high input lag no matter what you do.

My current specs:
Windows 7 64 bit
Intel Core i5-4670k @4GHz
8 GB DDR3-1600
MSI GTX 760 Gaming
Asus VG248QE (of course)

[zachska87]

My name is Zach, and I'm a tech and tinkerer for a living! I am in no way, shape, or form intimidated by tearing apart my monitor and installing this card. In college, I once took apart an LCD monitor to use the LCD screen with one of those old style overhead projectors to make a functional video projector for my dorm room! It was a LOT of fun, made a really awesome "toy" for my time in college, and was the first of many experiences tearing monitors apart successfully. I also work for Amazon Fulfillment as a Sr. Tech in a warehouse and I'm responsible for fixing and frugally maintaining a variety of computers and other hardware here which often involves the GLORIOUS (I'm serious, I love it!) task of taking much of the equipment apart piece by piece for repair. I have a gaming rig at home that I built myself, upgrading it over time. Earlier this year it got a full mobo/proc/ram replacement, and last week I upgraded the parts that make it REALLY shine for gaming right now: my ASUS VG248QE and my Superclocked 780 ti. Despite this awesome setup, I am still getting screen tearing at times in Battlefield 4, currently my favorite game, so I am INCREDIBLY excited about these gsync kits (If I do not win one, I will be trying to purchase ASAP when available.)

The most useful page on the site for me was http://www.blurbusters.com/faq/120hz-monitors/ when I was in the market for a 144hz monitor. Despite just now signing up, I have lurked for a while and that page sealed the deal for me in deciding which monitor to get (specifically for the gsync upgrade, actually!) and it would be completely awesome for that to come full circle and allow me to get the upgrade through this site. http://www.blurbusters.com/zero-motion-blur/lightboost/ was immediately helpful afterwards for helping me get Lightboost configured properly on the monitor!

Another bonus is that I promise to document the process with detailed pictures and text to help others do the same. I frequently make documentation just like this at my job and have a lot of experience in making directions clear, concise, and easy to follow.

Thank you so much for your consideration. I am so excited right now just THINKING about the chance to tinker and install this thing that it's ridiculous.

[joncppl]

Hi, my name is Jonathan. I'm an engineering student currently in my second year of university. As such, I have experience with electronics and circuitry. I have done plenty of work involving soldering together circuits.
I sometimes repair or perform maintenance on friends computers. (I'm sure that a monitor can't be harder to take apart than many commercial laptops!)
In addition to this I've built my own computer (i7-4770k, GTX 770) recently, so I will be able to support G-SYNC.

Because smooth motion is something that bothers me, I purchased one of the ASUS VG248QE monitors for it's high frame rate, and low latency. I use the technique described here http://www.blurbusters.com/zero-motion-blur/lightboost/ (Which I suppose is my favourite blur busters page) to activate the lightboost feature of this monitor to reduce persistence.

I'm also fairly interested in gaming. I mostly play action RPGs (The Witcher 2, Skyrim), some MMOs(Tera Online, formerly WOW), RTSs(LoL, DoTA), and occasionally FPSs(Battlefield 3). Most of the issues that G-SYNC claims to correct frustrate me and distract my eyes while I'm playing. Tearing I can probably overlook, but stuttering is like a rollercoaster going down stopping instantly and a bit later instantly going back to full speed. Infinite deceleration followed by infinite acceleration. It is not pleasant. Since G-SYNC promises to fix this, I hope to adopt this technology as soon as possible so I can experience games as best as I can.

I agree to all the rules:
I qualify myself as a DIYer.
I promise not to resell the kit (WHY WOULD I?)
I have an ASUS VG248QE(And might get more for NVIDIA Surround)
I have a compatible GTX 770 in my rig.
I will perform the mod.
I will provide feedback in a forum post here.
I live in Canada.

[TheExodu5]

Hi there! I'm Jason [snip]

Very nostradamus, very nostradamus. On par with my Arduino Scanning Backlight, in the pre-LightBoost2D-era. I correctly foresaw the era of strobe backlights, and look at where we are today (LightBoost, EIZO Turbo240, BENQ Blur Reduction).

Aha, wow nice. Can't say I saw that one coming.

[Dash]

Hello everyone at Blur Busters!

My name is Rick and I am a Fitness Consultant at Fanshawe College in London, Ontario. I spend my days physically training Community, Faculty and Student members in a Fitness Centre environment. It is quite a rewarding job in terms of helping people meet their health goals and as you can probably imagine, there is never a dull moment! My personal time is spent socializing amongst close friends, resistance training, training in both basketball and tennis and enjoying FPS shooters on my PC. My favorite Blur Busters article is the Lightboost HOWTO (http://www.blurbusters.com/zero-motion-blur/lightboost/). This article introduced me to lightboost and showed me that CRT like fluidity is actually possible on LCD’s!

If I am fortunate enough to win one of the 5 G-Sync board giveaways, I plan on utilizing its benefits for different purposes. I spend a good amount of time playing Quake Live and I plan on using G-Sync’s ability to smooth out my on screen frame transitions at the highest graphic settings possible. There are a few particular maps that struggle with consistent frame rate, so it will be very interesting to see how the G-sync fairs in such conditions. More importantly, I hope that the technology has the ability to really shine in the latest games such as Battlefield 4. This will allow me to join my friends in the fun online action and enjoy G-syncs perks due the game’s variable frame rate!

Thanks for reading, and it is a pleasure getting to learn about members in this new forum and thread. Best of luck to everyone and happy “blur busted” gaming!

[Ch0b0]

Hi everyone, I'm Blake. I am a software engineer by day and gamer by night. I first started gaming on PCs in the early 90s. Tinkering with hardware and playing games are easily my biggest hobbies. One of the hardest transitions for me technology wise was to LCDs. (I truly miss my NEC Diamondtron and FW900.) Thanks to Blur Busters, I can finally tolerate them for FPS games.

My favorite article would have to be: http://www.blurbusters.com/faq/oled-motion-blur/. This article demonstrates that even though newer technology may decrease response times, they will still need to utilize impulse-driving to achieve the smoothest motion.

If I end up with a G-SYNC kit, I'll basically end up playing a ton of FPS games. I plan on seeing on how the the Lightboost implementation looks, then compare it to the default implementation. My time played in BF4 is sure to see quite a spike. My buddy just bought an ASUS VG248QE, so I'll be sure to show him how awesome mine looks with G-SYNC.

[PoWn3d_0704]

Hi, my name is John, I live in Oregon, USA, and I've been a hardcore PC gamer for as long as I could rip a computer apart. Though I'm 19, my PC gaming career started when I was 7 or so with Medal of Honor Allied Assault, a game I still play frequently. Since then, I have been addicted to FPS shooters. Medal of Honor turned into Call of Duty 4, my most played game with over 1000 hours of competivie multiplayer. From there I started playing the Battlefield series, and got very serious in Battlefield 3, losing only one single round in all of my competitive Squad Rush play. Gaming plays a big part in my life, and helps me get all of my competitiveness out.

My various PCs are my daily DIY projects. I have my main gaming machine that is focued on low latency. It has everything i can think of to reduce lag and latency. From the highest DPI mouse from Razer to the mechanical keyboard and short DisplayPort cable. The Asus monitor has one of the lowest latency displays in existance and GSync will only make it quicker. I also run a brand new Scrypt-mining rig that any DIY oriented person would love. The cable management and airflow has to be pristine to contain the heat and power consumption of that beast which fearures 4x MSI Twin Frozr 7950's overclocked past 1.1Ghz. On the other side of DIY's, I own a track day car that needs a lot of modification and love. I've lowered the car and even supercharged her all by myself. I purchased a cable for the car's ECU and tuned it myself. I love fiddling with anything electronic and will attempt to fix anything. I've done everything from delidding my i7 CPU to installing that supercharger in my car. DIY is one of the joys in my life.

So far, http://www.blurbusters.com/faq/120hz-monitors/ been immeasurably helpful for learning about which monitor to buy, and the unofficial Lightboost hack for my Asus 144hz monitor i chose after reading your review have made my gaming PC absolutely grand. I even used your site exclusively to pick out my new Sony KDL 70" TV, which I then promptly overclocked to 120hz. On top of all that, your http://testufo.com site has become one of my favorite bookmarks to show people, since they are always curious about the difference between lightboost 120hz vs 144 and 60 gz. I really appreciate the service.

In the future, I am going to be at PDXLan in early February to play CS:GO and Battlefield 4 against some of the best in the Northwest. I want that tactical advantage. I want to make sure my equipment is the best it can be. My SLI 670's coupled with all my low latency hardware make for an optimal platform from which to show off the GSync module. Considering I already have the Asus VG248QE monitor, one of the best around, the GSync upgrade would top off the ultimate competitive FPS machine. I want to win tournaments in February. Having nVidia demoed GSync to me at PDXLan in November, I know what a competitive edge people with it will possess.

Again, thanks for all you guys do for the high hz, low latency FPS lovers around here.

-John aka PoWn3d_0704