05/22/2020 UPDATE. The IPS 240hz monitor tier list.(I've measured/tried the all) and my honest explanation why.

[purplew]

Yeah, honestly I've got to say - the MAG251RX's fastest setting (there's normal, fast, fastest) is completely unusable. I know that RLCSContender said it's the best but just no. Especially in web browsing it's hurting my eyes a lot. Fast is completely fine though.
Also it's even noticeable in games in fast motion scenarios, it just messes up everything

If I had to pick a monitor again I'd either go the XB253Q GX or the AW2521HF that's like $200 cheaper or a good TN, strobing is not too useful on the mag unless you have 200+ fps, but then it's a bit dim, and fastest overdrive is not really usable. Fast overdrive combined input lag + response time is not quite on par with the XB253Q GX from the reviews ive seen.

Based on hardwareUnboxed review only 49.1% of transitions are within refresh window at 240hz on 'fast' setting. If 'faster' as you say is unusable then MAG251RX should not be considered at all for 240hz competitive gaming?

It's perfectly fine on "Fastest" overdrive on 240 Hz. I have MSI Optix MAG251RX on my desk right now. I mostly use this monitor with fixed 240 Hz for competitive gaming with overdrive "Fastest", Adaptive-Sync disabled. I'm pretty sure @purplew is describing VRR performance, then yeah, for lower frame rates in Adaptive-Sync mode you need to switch overdrive setting to "Fast", but that's normal behaviour for many monitors (lack of variable overdrive). Hardware Unboxed also mentions this and recommends "Fast" overdrive for Adaptive-Sync, as it delivers the best performance across the refresh rate range on the lower side (144 Hz and less), but "Fastest" overdrive is also the best with Adaptive-Sync for refresh rates closer to 240 Hz.

How do you compare it against your XL2546 ?
(And to the XB273 X?)

I've played shooters all morning today. I think you're right, "Fastest" is usable for me, as long as brightness and contrast are kept near 50. The increased contrast-effect from the overshoot you get on "Fastest" can be slightly disorienting and overwhelm me in tense situations, but decreasing the brightness/contrast works fine actually.
When not playing games, "Fastest" makes the text unreadable (you get corona and blue trails when scrolling in browser), therefore "Fast" is great for a casual browsing experience, "Fastest" is only good for games.

However, I'm finding even better results with simply enabling Anti Motion Blur, and keeping the contrast at 50. Yes, the screen is dim, but once you get used to the dim-ness it's actually FAR superior to either "Fastest"/"Fast" no matter what. The motion clarity is actually really impressive, if it wasn't for the motion blur reduction I think I wouldn't keep this monitor.

Like, I've played with "Fastest" for about 3 hours non-stop, then decided to enable Anti Motion Blur. The difference in motion clarity is gigantic. If it wasn't for me playing 3 hours nonstop I wouldn't have noticed it as much, but it's such a huge difference. It sucks that there's a tiny bit of crosstalk - if anyone knows how to reduce it please let me know. But yeah it's a huge, huge difference.

Also keep the contrast at 50, not any higher than that. The default value of 70 when enabling AMB is bad, it clips a lot of bright objects. 50 makes it even dimmer but honestly if you can get used to it - and I did - it's a gamechanger

[purplew]

Yeah, I have high hopes for the Acers, will get get the 24" when it's in stock locally here and possibly the 27" once it goes on sale again, I like the LG even if it lacks "features" just hoping the Acer is even better.
Kind of tempted to wait and see what the new BenQ has to offer but still not sure if I want to go back to TN panel even if the response time is the best...

So back with another update with the MAG251RX: I played for about 5 hours of COD:MW, with the "Fastest" overdrive for about 3 hours, then using Anti Motion Blur for the next 2 hours. Anti Motion Blur, even tho it makes the screen really dim (even more if you keep contrast at 50 and use no color correction) is completely usable as long as you're willing to get used to it. Mind you I played 3 hours on "fastest", but the moment I enabled AMB it was a gamechanger in terms of motion clarity. It may not have had the same effect if I hadn't spent 3 hours non-stop on "fastest"!

That being said, If you can get your hands on the Acer XB253Q GX, it apparently can strobe at 120hz and has even less crosstalk than the MAG251RX, according to @itwasluck or /u/jtwasluck on reddit: https://www.reddit.com/user/Jtwasluck/. I'd definitely go for it if it was available in Canada, but Amazon only carries the MAG251RX.

[Stevie66]

Yeah, I have high hopes for the Acers, will get get the 24" when it's in stock locally here and possibly the 27" once it goes on sale again, I like the LG even if it lacks "features" just hoping the Acer is even better.
Kind of tempted to wait and see what the new BenQ has to offer but still not sure if I want to go back to TN panel even if the response time is the best...

So back with another update with the MAG251RX: I played for about 5 hours of COD:MW, with the "Fastest" overdrive for about 3 hours, then using Anti Motion Blur for the next 2 hours. Anti Motion Blur, even tho it makes the screen really dim (even more if you keep contrast at 50 and use no color correction) is completely usable as long as you're willing to get used to it. Mind you I played 3 hours on "fastest", but the moment I enabled AMB it was a gamechanger in terms of motion clarity. It may not have had the same effect if I hadn't spent 3 hours non-stop on "fastest"!

That being said, If you can get your hands on the Acer XB253Q GX, it apparently can strobe at 120hz and has even less crosstalk than the MAG251RX, according to @itwasluck or /u/jtwasluck on reddit: https://www.reddit.com/user/Jtwasluck/. I'd definitely go for it if it was available in Canada, but Amazon only carries the MAG251RX.

I was testing the MSI's strobing more too, I don't know, it's still too dark for my liking even if it has impressive clarity, I notice some crosstalk too at 240hz.
Think I'm going to pick up the AW2521HF next to compare with the LG, can get it for $386 right now on Dell.ca
From what I was reading though sounds like there's some variable overdrive with adaptive sync on it, and from photos the 2 fastest OD settings look the same, wonder if with free sync on it's just a default OD setting but they just don't tell you about it. Either way from RTINGS it shows the response time is even faster than the LG so should be good.

[purplew]

Yeah, I have high hopes for the Acers, will get get the 24" when it's in stock locally here and possibly the 27" once it goes on sale again, I like the LG even if it lacks "features" just hoping the Acer is even better.
Kind of tempted to wait and see what the new BenQ has to offer but still not sure if I want to go back to TN panel even if the response time is the best...

So back with another update with the MAG251RX: I played for about 5 hours of COD:MW, with the "Fastest" overdrive for about 3 hours, then using Anti Motion Blur for the next 2 hours. Anti Motion Blur, even tho it makes the screen really dim (even more if you keep contrast at 50 and use no color correction) is completely usable as long as you're willing to get used to it. Mind you I played 3 hours on "fastest", but the moment I enabled AMB it was a gamechanger in terms of motion clarity. It may not have had the same effect if I hadn't spent 3 hours non-stop on "fastest"!

That being said, If you can get your hands on the Acer XB253Q GX, it apparently can strobe at 120hz and has even less crosstalk than the MAG251RX, according to @itwasluck or /u/jtwasluck on reddit: https://www.reddit.com/user/Jtwasluck/. I'd definitely go for it if it was available in Canada, but Amazon only carries the MAG251RX.

I was testing the MSI's strobing more too, I don't know, it's still too dark for my liking even if it has impressive clarity, I notice some crosstalk too at 240hz.
Think I'm going to pick up the AW2521HF next to compare with the LG, can get it for $386 right now on Dell.ca
From what I was reading though sounds like there's some variable overdrive with adaptive sync on it, and from photos the 2 fastest OD settings look the same, wonder if with free sync on it's just a default OD setting but they just don't tell you about it. Either way from RTINGS it shows the response time is even faster than the LG so should be good.

Yes, the motion blur reduction has obvious crosstalk at 240hz (it'd be really nice if anyone knew how to reduce it). But, in fast-paced gaming scenarios, without the reduction, the amount of motion blur is too much; pan over an enemy fast enough you won't even detect them, everything is just too blurry. Even though it's 240hz it's just a bunch of useless blurry mess of extra information that your eyes can't deal with. Whereas with Anti Motion Blur you at least get those momentary "stills" of crystal clear clarity where you're able to perfectly distinguish every object even though you're flicking really fast.

I try to play as competitively as I can, so that clarity is a huge feature for me. The AW2521HF is pretty much the same as the MAG251RX overdrive-wise or so I've read online, and has no strobing at all, but the price is much better. On Dell.ca you can use the 10% coupon (which I believe is how you get the $386 price). Only issue is that it ships in a month.

Also I try to convince myself that I like this monitor, because if I were to return it, I wouldn't know what else to buy. I'd wait for that BenQ, but as I've never tried any TN I fear that I'll hate the colors.

[Stevie66]

Yeah, I have high hopes for the Acers, will get get the 24" when it's in stock locally here and possibly the 27" once it goes on sale again, I like the LG even if it lacks "features" just hoping the Acer is even better.
Kind of tempted to wait and see what the new BenQ has to offer but still not sure if I want to go back to TN panel even if the response time is the best...

So back with another update with the MAG251RX: I played for about 5 hours of COD:MW, with the "Fastest" overdrive for about 3 hours, then using Anti Motion Blur for the next 2 hours. Anti Motion Blur, even tho it makes the screen really dim (even more if you keep contrast at 50 and use no color correction) is completely usable as long as you're willing to get used to it. Mind you I played 3 hours on "fastest", but the moment I enabled AMB it was a gamechanger in terms of motion clarity. It may not have had the same effect if I hadn't spent 3 hours non-stop on "fastest"!

That being said, If you can get your hands on the Acer XB253Q GX, it apparently can strobe at 120hz and has even less crosstalk than the MAG251RX, according to @itwasluck or /u/jtwasluck on reddit: https://www.reddit.com/user/Jtwasluck/. I'd definitely go for it if it was available in Canada, but Amazon only carries the MAG251RX.

I was testing the MSI's strobing more too, I don't know, it's still too dark for my liking even if it has impressive clarity, I notice some crosstalk too at 240hz.
Think I'm going to pick up the AW2521HF next to compare with the LG, can get it for $386 right now on Dell.ca
From what I was reading though sounds like there's some variable overdrive with adaptive sync on it, and from photos the 2 fastest OD settings look the same, wonder if with free sync on it's just a default OD setting but they just don't tell you about it. Either way from RTINGS it shows the response time is even faster than the LG so should be good.

Yes, the motion blur reduction has obvious crosstalk at 240hz (it'd be really nice if anyone knew how to reduce it). But, in fast-paced gaming scenarios, without the reduction, the amount of motion blur is too much; pan over an enemy fast enough you won't even detect them, everything is just too blurry. Even though it's 240hz it's just a bunch of useless blurry mess of extra information that your eyes can't deal with. Whereas with Anti Motion Blur you at least get those momentary "stills" of crystal clear clarity where you're able to perfectly distinguish every object even though you're flicking really fast.

I try to play as competitively as I can, so that clarity is a huge feature for me. The AW2521HF is pretty much the same as the MAG251RX overdrive-wise or so I've read online, and has no strobing at all, but the price is much better. On Dell.ca you can use the 10% coupon (which I believe is how you get the $386 price). Only issue is that it ships in a month.

Also I try to convince myself that I like this monitor, because if I were to return it, I wouldn't know what else to buy. I'd wait for that BenQ, but as I've never tried any TN I fear that I'll hate the colors.

If you're happy with it I'd say keep it, after I try the AW2521 and one of the Acers(maybe both when the 27" goes on sale again) I'll be done with monitors for a few years, maybe stobing will be perfected by then and so good that there's no strobing option and it's just the default setting heh.

[frosti]

So which one 240hz IPS 24-25' monitor u recommend guys? Actually looking on MSI, want to play competitive CS:GO, Rocket League and other normal games like GTA 5 (only multi always). Help me with the right choice :<

[purplew]

If you're really competitive, I don't know if 240hz IPS is even the way to go. I have the MAG251RX and motion clarity is only good if Anti Motion Blur is turned on, and even then there's crosstalk and the screen gets too dim for some people (not for me).

I'd like people to compare these IPS to the best TNs out there (XL2746s?), I don't feel competitive enough with this mag251rx

[speancer]

If you're really competitive, I don't know if 240hz IPS is even the way to go. I have the MAG251RX and motion clarity is only good if Anti Motion Blur is turned on, and even then there's crosstalk and the screen gets too dim for some people (not for me).

I'd like people to compare these IPS to the best TNs out there (XL2746s?), I don't feel competitive enough with this mag251rx

You're just posting the same misleading opinion everywhere around this forum from what I've seen. New generation 240 Hz IPS panels are more than enough for competitive play. They achieve extremely clear motion and TN-like GtG response times. I cannot really tell any difference in motion clarity (non-strobed) between MAG251RX and XL2546. In fact, MSI MAG251RX eats BenQ Zowie XL2546 whole for breakfast in terms of overdrive performance. I have both of these monitors and, in all honesty, XL2546 has way worse overshoot artfiacts (inverse ghosting) in UFO Ghosting Test than any of other monitors I tested (which you can see below). Still, in game it's not THAT visible on XL2546, but not really any better than MAG251RX or even Predator XB273 X. On Zowie XL2546 overshoot looks more like bluish halos, while on the other displays I tested the halos are not that much visible, they're fairly faint. There is just a bit of overshoot on the "Fastest" overdrive for MAG251RX and very similar amount of overshoot on "Normal" overdrive for Predator XB273 X.

And concerning anti-blur technologies you praise so much, it's STRICTLY subjective and some players will NOT NOTICE ANY IMPROVEMENT AT ALL with anti-blur modes enabled. It all depends on your aiming technique. Chief Blur Buster's explanation below.

eSports players usually don't use ULMB/LightBoost/strobing either
eSports players usually also don't generally use strobe backlights either. I even acknowledge that strobing is very useful for some kinds of gameplay but not for other kinds, in the Motion Blur Reduction FAQ. For example, it will help forced-eye-tracking situations like aiming during high-speed low-altitude helicoptor flybys -- but it won't help fixed gaze (stare-only-at-crosshairs) with flick-mouse turns of many Quake/CS:GO players. That said, some players are indeed trained on motion-clarity-dependant gaming tactics.

To back his words up, I personally couldn't care less about any kind of anti-blur, it doesn't help me with anything, because I use fixed gaze aiming technique, I generally only look at my crosshair while playing competitive FPS (I'm former CS 1.6/active CS:GO player), I don't really do eye-tracking outside my fixed crosshair gaze. So, for some anti-blur is great, for many others it's completely redundant. On the other hand, DyAc in BenQ Zowie XL monitors is actually the best anti-blur technology I've seen. It's worth pointing out that it does not dim the display at all, brightness remains basically the same. If you like strobing so much, I actually recommend you try DyAc from BenQ Zowie.

[frosti]

Soooo.. @speancer what would u recommend for me (u can check my thread: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7409).
Already playing on 144hz, wqhd, 27' Acer Predator XB271HUa (TN version) and on 2700 faceit ELO I need upgrade.

MAG251RX will be best pick for me and for competitive gaming?

[speancer]

Soooo.. @speancer what would u recommend for me (u can check my thread: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7409).
Already playing on 144hz, wqhd, 27' Acer Predator XB271HUa (TN version) and on 2700 faceit ELO I need upgrade.

MAG251RX will be best pick for me and for competitive gaming?

I don't think it's that easy to just recommend something to people and claim it's "the best" for them, everyone has different needs and tastes, and all monitors have their pros and cons. I suggest you also search for reviews online, watch tests on YouTube (Hardware Unboxed is a great YT channel, TFT Central and RTINGS are great review sites) read opinions, etc. To be honest, I am not yet certain myself which monitor I'd choose as my personal best. I still need to test ASUS TUF VG259QM, for example, perhaps I'm gonna get HP Omen X 25f as well (I think it's one of the fastest TN panels right now, 2.1 ms average GtG response time and very low input lag, too). Until then, I will remain undecided. I see no other option but to buy these monitors and try them out myself. It's also the matter of what you actually prefer, do you care about backlight strobing, do you care about ergonomics (MAG251RX has no swivel and no pivot), do you care about VRR?