The better 27 inches IPS 240Hz monitor? (Asus VG279QM vs Dell AW2720HF)

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Arx
Posts: 14
Joined: 12 Jul 2020, 16:53

The better 27 inches IPS 240Hz monitor? (Asus VG279QM vs Dell AW2720HF)

Post by Arx » 12 Jul 2020, 17:59

Recently, I am looking to buy an IPS 27 inches 240Hz monitor, I always miss the days when I was using 27''~32'' size of monitors, and now I have the option to choose them with no sacrifice on refresh rate or viewing angle.
After read the reviews from TFT and Rtings, my comparison converges to Asus VG279QM vs Dell AW2720HF. I am trying to break the tie for my decision, need help and much appreciate for any advice or suggestion!
(Acer XV273X or XB273X are not available here (Ottawa). I haven't seriously considered any other brands than Asus, Dell and Acer.)

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Factors that I want to exclude out of my comparison: {1. Price (+-$100), 2. Input lag (+-1ms), 3. Performance at 60Hz}
1. They are in similar price.
Dell AW2720HF: USD $300 (regularly USD $600, now at 50% off)
Asus VG279QM: USD $400
2. Regarding input lag, reported by reviews on Rtings, Asus VG279QM has slightly lower input lag. (1 ms or less)
Consider the whole button to photon delay chain often involves 10~30 ms delay, I would completely ignore this difference.
3. Performance at 60Hz is not an issue, I don't use it for console games.
Neither of them have "native" G-sync support, and I don't trust the G-sync compatible as much (it performs terribly on my aw2518hf).

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Factors that I values a lot:
0. Panel Quality
Not sure if they are using the same panel or not. Asus VG279QM can support 10 bits color depth, while Dell AW2720HF only has 8 bits. Of course I don't need that 10 bits depth, but this difference indicates they are two different panels? As the Dell AW2720HF has much higher regular price ($600), I wonder if it is using some premium panel or something.

1. Motion Clarity
Asus VG279QM can be overclocked to 280Hz, although I doubt how significant this extra refresh rate is in terms of motion clarity. After all, the pixel response time is not decreased in 280Hz mode, and not many games can maintain a stable 280 fps.
Despite the refresh rate difference, Asus VG279QM is also measured a very slightly lower G2G. By just looking at the values, they seem to perform almost the same in motion clarity? (both scored 9.7 in motion clarity section on Rting reviews)

2. Image Accuracy
According to reviews on Rting, Asus is the better one. But individual models may vary, so I cannot fully rely on reviews for this one.
Asus one supports 10 bit, which I will never actually use. But would this bring some advantage in 8 bit mode?

3. Build Quality
I don't see the internal PCBs, but it looks like Dell AW2720HF is the clear winner here.

A factor that I don't know, and I need your help to decide!
"Black Frame Insertion" (A.K.A Blur Reduction)
Asus VG279QM supports "Black Frame Insertion" between 120Hz and 280Hz.
I have never tried any LCD monitors with "Black Frame Insertion" in my life, so I don't know if I will like it or not.
How useful would it be? And what if the game fps is not stable enough, and often less than maximum refresh rate? (I heard it cause some problem when the fps is lower than refresh rate)
I had CRT monitors back in the old days, liked them though.

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reviews:
<Asus VG279QM>
https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/asus/vg279qm
https://www.tftcentral.co.uk/reviews/as ... g279qm.htm

<Dell AW2720HF>
https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/ ... e-aw2720hf

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<Unrelated background info to the comparison>
I am currently using AW2518HF (240Hz 24.5'' TN) for competitive games. It is a good gaming monitor, downside is the quite significant overshot, even with the lowest overdrive setting. (I actually prefer to have a slightly overshot in FPS games, it creates an outline around edge of targets which helps flicking shot moving targets.) But a good implementation of overdrive is certainly a good plus to me.
I am not a professional player, and I switch between different competitive games frequently. But my performance is quite high, among world tops in Aim Lab, my score beats many professional players who also warm up in AimLab daily.

Arx
Posts: 14
Joined: 12 Jul 2020, 16:53

Re: The better 27 inches IPS 240Hz monitor? (Asus VG279QM vs Dell AW2720HF)

Post by Arx » 15 Jul 2020, 10:11

One thing really confused me is:
Rtings' review lists this monitor as 10 bit color depth, while I can't find any information about 10 bit from Asus's website.
Also TFT's review lists it as 8 bit.

Arx
Posts: 14
Joined: 12 Jul 2020, 16:53

Re: The better 27 inches IPS 240Hz monitor? (Asus VG279QM vs Dell AW2720HF)

Post by Arx » 17 Jul 2020, 18:58

Regarding 27'' IPS 240Hz panels, after did some research, quite sure there is only one model of panel from AU optronics (M270HAN03.0). But different companies released them in different time. (For example, Asus spent more time fine tuning their VG279QM, which I believe is because of the 40Hz overclocking feature.)

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