ASUS ROG Swift 500Hz Announced!

[masneb]

I tried 60 and it felt like I was going blind, despite I visually matched the pulse width brightness to my normal brightness levels. I've since set it to 100 and turned down brightness normally.

It seemingly has nothing to do with brightness, it has something to do with how long you can see the image for. There are probably two different things at work here, where the idea of brightness isn't the same as recognition through persistence. You probably could research this further into the types of vision people use, where some people (like myself) generally stare dead center and use a lot of peripheral, and some other people constantly look all over the screen.

When strobing, pulse hits pupils at higher amplitude but for shorter periods. Other than that perceived ULMB ON vs OFF brightness should be identical when matched correctly. Nits is nits! One possibility is you didn't match the two correctly.

On some monitors (most ULMB monitors) strobe brightness can be controlled in two ways/through 2-axis:
1) pulse width, time-x-axis
2) pulse amplitude, luminance-y-axis (standard brightness)
Pulse width is more correct way since it reduces MPRT as opposed to amplitude. Combining the two can lead to additionally, unnecessarily reduced brightness. When strobing always max out standard brightness (when available) and use pulse width (when available) for brightness control instead. Just something to keep in mind for those unaware.

They were matched correctly. It has to do with how long the screen is on vs it being off and persistence in memory from what it seems like, nothing to do with a technical equivalent of brightness.

Seems like the take here is from a technical angle of brightness equivalence, therefore any advantage of the screen being off for longer = good. Which I'd normally agree with. I'm pointing out (from my current experience using this) that there might be more going on here then just brightness, IE your brain needs time to recognize and perceive, process, said image before turning it off again.

When we're discussing ever changing technology and understanding of human processes, perhaps 'correct way' might be 'in theory the best way'.

[dhal]

Backround:

My last monitor was the PG259QN. One of the first 360hz monitors, certainly the first rendition from Asus. So that is what i am comparing it to. I bought this monitor mostly for competitive Valorant. I am Immortal 2. I have a high end rig and hit above 540fps pretty much at all times.

So here are my 24 hour impressions:

I tested 540hz with OD on normal. The smoothness is definitly noticeable compared to my last monitor. The Image is clearer and tracking feels more fluid. After my first session i switched to ULMB2 (PW100). The brightness is sufficient and at no times i had the feeling the monitor is too dark. I had no signs of eye strain even after 2-3 hours of playing. The image feels even clearer and stable with almost no ghosting. Certainly the best i have seen on any monitor i came across.

I have no creaking or popping on my OSD joystick. Navigating the menu works fine and every setting i tested works as intended. I had no cut outs, blackscreens, bluescreens or anything like that(gsync disabled). The fan is noticeable if u are in a totally quite room and can annoy sensitive ears. As soon as u have some sound on ur speakers or headphones on u cannot pick it up.

I seem to have slight pressure spots on the very left and right side of the monitor. They are however not as noticeable as what user @lleie did post. I will try the brake-in method and report if anything changes.

I mounted the monitor to an arm with m4x15mm standoff screws. Works just fine and there is plenty of space now for the fan to pull air from.

One week update:

Everything mentioned above still stands. Performance with ULMB2 is excellent. OD with yellow hue is still an issue. However the backlight bleeding (or pressure spots, not sure what it is) has cleared up considerably. I can only really spot it on the very edges where the screen connects to the frame. Overall homogeneity of the screen is good now.

All in all im very happy with my purchase.

[masneb]

This might be a me problem, but after installing the monitor I get weird CPU spikes on DWM every 10-20s. Like clockwork, especially while gaming. It'll usually cause a single core to spike to about 50-80%, then back down over a secondish. Updated windows, installed newest Nvidia drivers, tried 500hz vs 540hz.

It looks like these spikes are present at 240hz, however CPU utilization of these spikes is almost linear with the refresh rate - doubling at 500hz. Which is why I didn't notice them happening prior.

Open resource monitor and watch DWM.exe, sort by averages and look for jumps in it. It seems like it only happens with games open, also with moving content like Twitch.

[gab848]

The monitor just arrived!

On first sight the brightness seems good with ULMB2 activated. Thats a good thing!

Bad thing is that the monitor needs DSC enabled for all resolutions above 360hz. That means no custom res on 500 or 540hz.. At least for me. If someone else has a solution?

More info to follow!

thank you for your feedback, the inability to create a custom resolution at 500/540hz is the information that I feared the most, I noticed a somewhat similar problem on the pg27aqn which accepted custom resolutions at only 240hz instead of 360hz, I have since resold this monitor and it seems that this problem was subsequently corrected, hope that a future firmware corrects the problem because I play in 4:3 1440x1080 which rules out the purchase of this monitor for the moment

EDIT good news for you 1440x 1080 is available on the full 540hz on the latest NVidia drivers. You can just choose it in the NVIDIA list of resolutions. No customization needed.

excellent news, it gives more interest to this monitor

So, I just got this Monitor. It seems black bars is not possible on it? Also the eSports ratio is broken you get black bars but the screen is not aligned properly to the menu of the games. I should've done my research. Custom resolution doesn't work, black bars don't work, eSports ratio doesn't work properly and no sharpness setting in the OSD. Such a shame, otherwise the Monitor would be absolutely amazing. I think I will return it and keep my XL2566K. Can this Monitor do black bars? PG27AQN. When you switch to eSports Mode 25 inch. Does it do black bars on this mode? Can you create custom resolutions at 360Hz ULMB 2.0 On? Thanks to anyone taking the time to answer my questions.

[daviddave1]

So, I just got this Monitor. It seems black bars is not possible on it? Also the eSports ratio is broken you get black bars but the screen is not aligned properly to the menu of the games. I should've done my research. Custom resolution doesn't work, black bars don't work, eSports ratio doesn't work properly and no sharpness setting in the OSD. Such a shame, otherwise the Monitor would be absolutely amazing. I think I will return it and keep my XL2566K. Can this Monitor do black bars? PG27AQN. When you switch to eSports Mode 25 inch. Does it do black bars on this mode? Can you create custom resolutions at 360Hz ULMB 2.0 On? Thanks to anyone taking the time to answer my questions.

EDIT good news for you 1440x 1080 is available on the full 540hz on the latest NVidia drivers. You can just choose it in the NVIDIA list of resolutions. No customization needed.

excellent news, it gives more interest to this monitor

Keep in mind the screen is full so no black bars. Either with the ASUS menu Aspect Control on Full or Aspect Control on Aspect. Not sure if thats helpfull but just for info.

EDIT black bars are available. See my post further on.

I am not sure the PG27AQN needs DSB with the 25" inch mode 360Hz I think it does. So that's prob. no custom resolution with black bars on that setting.
Keep in mind the PG27AQN gets arround 100! nits darker then the XL2566K Dyac with ULMB2 on. It's was a very dark screen in my opinion with ULMB2 on. Unplayable even.
I would keep the XL2566K in any way over the PG27AQN if you like competitive play.

[Discorz]

Keep in mind the PG27AQN get very dark with ULMB2 on. I would keep the XL2566K in any way over the PG27AQN if you like competitive play.

Keep in mind 250-270 nits is not "very dark" for everyone.

[daviddave1]

Keep in mind the PG27AQN get very dark with ULMB2 on. I would keep the XL2566K in any way over the PG27AQN if you like competitive play.

Keep in mind 250-270 nits is not "very dark" for everyone.

Good point. I edited the post.

[Discorz]

Keep in mind the PG27AQN gets arround 100! nits darker then the XL2566K Dyac with ULMB2 on. It's was a very dark screen in my opinion with ULMB2 on. Unplayable even.

100 nits difference would also be misinformation. What settings are u comparing?

[daviddave1]

100 nits difference would also be misinformation. What settings are u comparing?

Calling a obvious opinion that is presented as fact; misinformation is debatable misinformation that can derail this topic. I rather not have that discussion. It's a interesting topic though.
Ontopic:
U said the following:

Keep in mind 250-270 nits is not "very dark" for everyone.

The XL2566K can get to 359 nits calibrated with Dyac enabled. That's 89-109 nits more then the 250-270 nits u just mentioned. (100 nits rounded.)

[kameCS]

First impression; Monitor feels great in PUBG. Quake Live feels good too. I don't think its placebo. If someone has questions let me know!

I'm assuming your not reaching anywhere near 540fps in PUBG, how does it fair at the lower refresh rates? Are you using G sync and how is ULMB2 say in comparison to Dyac+?

I've not long sold my XL2566K, so wondering if this is a viable upgrade or whether I should just replace it with another Benq.

Thanks

It feels great with the lower refresh rate. I get around 240-550 fps in PUBG. In my opinion its a myth that backlight strobing is not working on lower refresh rates. Maybe not 1000% optimum but its there. Had that with my Zowie monitors also and I have a feeling the GSYNC processor plays a role also in keeping frames straight even without GSYNC enabled. ( I heard that in the ASUS America stream on this monitor)

I don't use GSYNC cause I use ULMB2 and it looks great. Brightness is good. Just as good as the XL2566K maybe even a little bit better. Its 10000 times brighter then the PG27AQN with ULMB2.

Visibility is very very good with ULMB2 better then on the XL2566K; it looks very clear in heat of the moment situations. Plus u have that responsiveness that is just topnotch. On the XL2566K it always felt like meh is this the fastest out there? where if u crank up the AMA the screen just goes weird and gives a untrustworthy experience with the overshoot. . Not this monitor. Every time it feels very good cause its insanely fast with very good visibility. The balance of insane good visibility and insane responsiveness stays in place no matter what.
I like the 24,1 inch also better then the 24,5 inch. It tops the XL2566K in every department visibility wise and the responsiveness.. Maybe the only thing the XL2566K has is a sharpening option and some extreme contrast settings. But U can tweak that in the NVDIA ctrl panel also.

regarding the PG248QP have you noticed this yellow overshoot in game which has been reported by some users ?
I would also like to know your feelings regarding another monitor, the aw2524hf 500hz which offers a precise sharpness option, superb colors and minimal overshoot, can its qualities ultimately offer a better experience in a competitive game ?