Is Freesync/GSync Best Option in Monitor

[Salt-City_Slasher]

I had a R9 380 and MG279Q for a weekend to test, and I would have kept them for keeps, but it had terrible screen bleed. I do love the 27" 1440 144Hz with Freesync, I just don't know how much of its greatness was the IPS or the Freesync? Most places said MG27 was better cause it had IPS, and even more said "people don't want to spend +500$ without IPS". I think I'd prefer Freesync at 144Hz over IPS with 90Hz Freesync.

When widening my options after the MG27 didn't pan out, I was looking at Gsync with a Nvidia card instead, I pretty much made a list of every monitor in Tom's Best Monitor list, and found that many great monitors have neither G or Free Sync, so I am wondering if I just go after best card possible, and either get a less-than freesync screen or one without G/free-sync?


I'm going from two Acer 23" 1080/60hz, to 1 bigger screen. It will be used like a gaming monitor. I can get any combination of monitor and video card, from Best Buy that aren't marketplace items, that is under 1k.

Combos I am considering:
FreeSync Combos:
390X with BenQ XL2730Z. (balanced combo, insert any freesync monitor)

G-Sync Combos:
GTX 980 with AOC G2460PG (Card Heavy, insert less than screens)
GTX 970 with PG278Q (Monitor Heavy, little room for card)

Non Sync Monitors I was considering: (with either brand's card)
BenQ BL3200PT
BenQ BL2711U
AOC G2460PQU

Bottom line what would be your best recommendation for a video card and monitor combo for around 1k? My original 380 and Mg27 combo I thought was best combo possible, but fell short of my liking. Which is why minimally I'm looking at 390X/GTX 970, with any screen.

 

[Suzuki@1473780084@1473780163]

Hello, the screen bleed you're referring to was probably IPS glow, was it yellow->orange? Three common defects with IPS monitors, and displays in general: glow, bleed, clouding.

I recommend you use this website: http://www.prisjakt.nu/kategori.php?k=393

Translate it to English in Google Chrome, or whatever browser you're using, that's what I do. Then use the filters, below the basic filter, there's an advanced section which has got an option for G-Sync and FreeSync.

As far as GPU is concerned, really what you should get is the best price to performance, unless you need Shadowplay, in which case the 970 is the winner.



All the best!

 

[Salt-City_Slasher]

Hello, the screen bleed you're referring to was probably IPS glow, was it yellow->orange? Three common defects with IPS monitors, and displays in general: glow, bleed, clouding.

I recommend you use this website: http://www.prisjakt.nu/kategori.php?k=393

Translate it to English in Google Chrome, or whatever browser you're using, that's what I do. Then use the filters, below the basic filter, there's an advanced section which has got an option for G-Sync and FreeSync.

As far as GPU is concerned, really what you should get is the best price to performance, unless you need Shadowplay, in which case the 970 is the winner.



All the best!

The GTX 970 does have a great price at $350. Off all the benchmarks I looked up, 390X and 970 took blow for blow, to be fairly equals, then some others showed that a 390X (boosted) could match a baseline 980 in some benchmarks. The big jump was going to GTX 980. Which doesn't seem to be an option, since most screens I like are around $500.

With a 970 it would be cheapest card from my choices. I could pretty much pick any screen, including the freesync screens, I just wouldn't get to use that option. But I am heavily favoring BenQ screens if I get an AMD card. But if I go with a GTX and a G-Sync Monitor, I don't see any real option at this time, outside the PG278Q, so the GTX 970 would definitely be the choice in that scenario.

I'll continue watching the prices, cause I can price match them from other web stores. Cause I just price matched around the ROG Swift, and I can get GTX 970 and the PG278Q just above my budget. The kicker, the GTX 970 would come with Rainbow Six Siege/Assassins Creed a solid 60$ value.

 

[Suzuki@1473780084@1473780163]

The 390X is a better card than a 970. Don't trust any source that says otherwise. If the 970 is cheaper, then that's a higher price to performance. The 970 and 390 however, are about equal, and the 390 is likely cheaper. While BenQ make their own screens, keep in mind that literally all the big brands use eachothers panels constantly, or lower end ones, this is called outsourcing. You rarely know what you're getting, only consistent brand is LG, because they own IPS, that's why AHVA and PLS exists, as they're based on IPS, though neither beats IPS. AHVA is what's being used in gaming panels, because they sacrifice color for speed (response time, not input lag). If you can live with bleed, glow, clouding, then IPS is what you want. There's always VA monitors as well, to consider if you're into games with lots of dark scenes, or high quality movies, Netflix counts I guess, but hardly high quality. VA is primarly to get deeper blacks and get rid of the black bars due to them being included in the source. I highly recommend one, if you'll spend a lot of time watching movies.

What's your budget exactly?
Panel type?
Refresh rate?
G-Sync/FreeSync?
Resolution?


That will pinpoint the perfect monitor for you.




All the best!

 

[Salt-City_Slasher]

The plan was to be at about 1,000 USD or less. I've had single 20" and a dual 23" for what seems like 10+ years. I really like Freesync, I have AMD desktop, so seems befitting.

I really haven't seen newer TN in real life, but I would say I am definitely a visual snob and I thought the IPS on Asus MG279Q was awesome but that blob thing was too much. If TN were obviously inferior, I could live with an IPS if the glowing wasn't so bad.

I prefer clarity over all else. My old/current monitors have the same bleeding around the whole edge, and I've never noticed in all this time, but when it sticks out in roundish blobs like I saw in the MG279Q, it is like looking at a phone screen with sun hitting it, feels blinding. I've read into Asus, and I see the ROG Swift has also had problems since it was released. I am ruling out getting an Asus, prone to problems.


The LG IPS thing interests me cause it was one of the first screens I considered with freesync because I saw that 29" for like 299 which is probably chepaest free sync option. If it has better IPS then I would definitely consider the 34UM67. I've looked into it, but was thrown off by the 21:9, 2560 x 1080, and 60Hz. I thought it would stretch everything I looked at.


Main Plan:
-Bigger Screen
-Better Gaming
-Decent Budget
-Freesync

 

[Suzuki@1473780084@1473780163]

Hello,

There's very little content that supports 21:9 ratio, games, movies, you name it. The support is not there. There are no VA monitors with FreeSync yet, which is exactly what you need. No glow, no bleed, no clouding. You wouldn't be able to tell if it was on, if you viewed it in the dark. If you can live without FreeSync, then I don't know if there's anything for you. The FreeSync panels are all using IPS or TN panels, unfortunately. It's either you can live with the obvious defects of IPS, or compromise and skip FreeSync and go with a VA panel, there are plenty of good options I can list, depending on what size you want.

75 Hz, 2560x1440, 32", 100% sRGB, VA, height, tilt, pivot
http://www.amazon.com/PB328Q-2560x1440-DisplayPort-Ergonomic-Back-lit/dp/B00XI4PAD2

60 Hz, rest the same: http://www.amazon.com/BenQ-BL3200PT-32-inch-Monitor-Creative/dp/B00ITORMNM/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1450517225&sr=1-1&keywords=BL3200PT

Interestingly enough, despite most peoples bias towards IPS, these two beats any IPS at the same price, across the board, everything but horizontal viewing angles that is.


If you can, then try out my first suggestion, return it unless it's a pain to do that, and tell me what you think. It's the only way you'll find out whether or not it's worth it for you. What someone likes in a display, is very subjective.


All the best!

 

[Salt-City_Slasher]

Hello,

There's very little content that supports 21:9 ratio, games, movies, you name it. The support is not there. There are no VA monitors with FreeSync yet, which is exactly what you need. No glow, no bleed, no clouding. You wouldn't be able to tell if it was on, if you viewed it in the dark. If you can live without FreeSync, then I don't know if there's anything for you. The FreeSync panels are all using IPS or TN panels, unfortunately. It's either you can live with the obvious defects of IPS, or compromise and skip FreeSync and go with a VA panel, there are plenty of good options I can list, depending on what size you want.

75 Hz, 2560x1440, 32", 100% sRGB, VA, height, tilt, pivot
http://www.amazon.com/PB328Q-2560x1440-DisplayPort-Ergonomic-Back-lit/dp/B00XI4PAD2

60 Hz, rest the same: http://www.amazon.com/BenQ-BL3200PT-32-inch-Monitor-Creative/dp/B00ITORMNM/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1450517225&sr=1-1&keywords=BL3200PT

Interestingly enough, despite most peoples bias towards IPS, these two beats any IPS at the same price, across the board, everything but horizontal viewing angles that is.


If you can, then try out my first suggestion, return it unless it's a pain to do that, and tell me what you think. It's the only way you'll find out whether or not it's worth it for you. What someone likes in a display, is very subjective.


All the best!

I ordered a 390x today cause I had to grab my Dad's Christmas present while on such a great sale, and I needed to do the price matching at same time.

The BenQ BL3200PT was on my list, but I'm highly leaning on the XL2730Z, I've read its build is highly better than average TN. I also think the 34" LG would be best if not watching movies.


No freesync won't be that bad if I'm getting virtually exact same thing, just minus Freesync for VA panel, because that is what the BL3200 is to the XL2730Z, minus the 144Hz for what I'm guessing is 60Hz, and I think I read 12ms, instead of the 1ms on the TN, that seems rather slow to me.

It still has same type of stand so angles won't matter, same OSD controller, has the USB 3.0, and speakers. But I upgrade from what I think is 8bit TN to the 10 bit panel, and if I can reach deeper black levels, and wider color gamut, I'm wondering if games will look better.



I guess I will probably order which ever comes in stock first, or if I can find one to go look before ordering. I almost want to order both side by side and return the one I don't want.

 

[Suzuki@1473780084@1473780163]

Contrast is king, can tell you that much. When playing a game, say Tomb Raider for instance. Would you rather play on a display that have 1-5% more accurate colors than a VA, with obvious glow, possible bleed, and definitely clouding somewhere on the screen. What's going to happen is, not only due to the low contrast of IPS, is the shadows going to appear grey, and not black, infact nothing will appear black, because IPS can't achieve that anyways. But IPS glow is very noticeable, in extreme cases even during daytime.

Or would you play on a display where black is black, and because of the higher contrast, you have more shades available, meaning darker shades of grey to black, will actually be visible, where as on IPS; it's all crushed. That would be my explanation, not to mention movies, it's not even something anyone can argue...

Response times should always be ignored, I won't even talk about them, they're as fake as they can possibly get. The thing about 8 bit vs 10 bit however, is that in order to take advantage of 10 bit, not only do you need a professional work station graphics card (as far as I'm concerned), and you also need applications that support 10 bit, so the obvious ones are Adobe, Sony, etc. Games won't look better on a 10 bit.

 

[Salt-City_Slasher]

I went and picked up my Graphics Card, but I chose the big store uptown cause it was in stock, rather than waiting 2 weeks to get shipped to the local store. I didn't realize how much bigger that store was, and they had way more monitors on display, that I thought were only on web store.

Well I grabbed the BenQ XL2790Z. My original choice was MG279Q, and since Asus QA is terrible on monitors, and the one I used had to be returned, this XL27 is the close'est monitor to matching it.

Knowing what the IPS looks like on almost identical monitor, I'll be able to tell if the color on this isn't good enough. If that happens, I'll end up ordering the BL3200PT. But honestly, I like the idea of saving 32" for my next (down the line purchase) when I get 4K. Cause 27" 1440 is huge upgrade for me. I'd like that in future also.



I did side by side comparison between it (XL2790Z) and the BenQ BL3200PT. Tom has all the tests, how it went down:

Max White:
BL 248
BL 351 Winner by 103
(XL Intensity 1 is 227, and Intensity 10 is 145, BL winner against Blur Reduction)

Max Black:
BL 0.1046 Double Winner by 2546 and 0.2099
XL 0.3592 (at BR Intensity 10 = 0.1493)

Max Contrast:
BL 2,379.9 Double Winner by 1,402.2 and 1,372.9
XL 977.7 (BR Intensity 1 = 1007)

Min White:
BL N/A
XL 59.5077 Draw

Min Black:
BL 0.0225 Winner by 0.0394
XL 0.0619

Min Contract Ratio:
BL 2252.4 Winner by 1291.2
XL 961.2

Calibrated:
Black Luminance (lower better)
BL 0.0955 Winner by 0.1165
XL 0.2120

Contrast Ratio to 200
BL 2099.4 Winner by 1144
XL 955.4

ANSI Contrast:
Bl 2,121.3 Winner by 1184.7
XL 936.6

BL Edge, including White if Blur Reduction is on.

----------

Grayscale Error:
BL 2.43 Winner
XL 2.65

Greyscale Error: (Calibrated)
BL 0.72
XL 0.72 Draw

Gamma Value Range: (Calibrated)
BL 0.15 Winner
XL 0.28

Average Gamma (Deviation from 2.2):
BL 6.36
XL 2.27 Winner


BL Edge, Winner of 2 1/2 to 1 1/2

-----------------

Color Gamut Error
BL 2.02
XL 1.44 Winner by 0.58

Color Gamut Volume
BL Adobe RGB 73.37 Winner by 2.34
XL Adobe RGB 71.03

BL sRGB 100.12
XL sRGB 103.59 Winner by 3.47

XL with Edge, winner 2 out 3.
------------------

Screen Uniformity Luminance: Deviation from Center:
BL 6.46
XL 5.63 Winner by 0.83

Screen Uniformity 100% White Field:
BL 6.90 Winner by 2
XL 8.90

Screen Uniformity Color:
BL 1.74 Winner by 0.47
XL 2.21

XL Edge, Winner 2 of 3
-----

Response Time:
BL 17 ms
XL 7 ms Winner by 10 ms

Absolute Input Lag
BL 76 ms
XL 26 ms Winner by 50 ms

XL Edge, 100%
-------------------------------

BL:
Won by large margin in Contrast and Max/Min Black and White
Took edge in Greyscale and Gamma

XL:
Won by large margin in the Response Time
Took edge on Color Gamut and Screen Uniformity

^-The side by side didn't help in my choice, unless I come to find that Contract and Max/Min black and white become very important to me over response time/freesync for gaming. But convenience played big factor, since Bl3200 is out of stock, and XL27 is under my tree.

 

[Suzuki@1473780084@1473780163]

Right, but displays are very personal and definitely subjective to say the least when it comes to the different panel types. However, LCD's are always on, which is why higher refresh rate displays ghost less, than lower refresh rates. Instead of updating every 16 ms, it's now updating every 7 ms. The static response doesn't change, but the colors obviously always do. Because of this, it doesn't matter what the response time on a 60 Hz monitor is, because it'll always be limited to 16 ms anyways, higher is worse, but lower won't help, whatsoever, that's a huge myth floating around. What they do is use overdrive, or even lightboost, as high refresh rates ghost too, which again, is how LCD's work, due to the fact that the light is always on.

I want to comment on PPI and screen size. Viewing distance is the obvious key spec here, but talking strictly PPI and size, a bigger screen at 2560x1440 is going to show you more detail, than a smaller screen. This is why a 1080p projected image on a 100+" screen, looks better than a smaller computer monitor, despite both being able to receive, and display the same amount of information.

The difference is that the detail is so small, that you don't notice it, where as on a bigger screen, you see it all. Based on a visual acuity of 20/20 or 6/6, you see all available detail on a 1080p 24" (technically 23.5-6-8") screen, as close as 2.3 feet, as 24 / 0.84 = 28 inches. That's 1080p, now take a bigger resolution, such as the popular 27" 3840x2160, leaving 2560x1440 out of this, as it would make it more complicated to understand, because 1440p is not twice 1080p, where as 1080p is four times 2160p. Simply put:

Based on THX

27 / 0.84 = 32
32 / 4 = 8

That's 8 inches away from the screen, or 0.6 feet away from the monitor, to see all available detail on a 27" 4k monitor. Do you see the problem here? Yes, the display is way sharper looking, provided the specs aren't based on a TN vs IPS, in which case an IPS would still win, despite being 4x lower resolution in pixels.

Also, regarding the specs you listed as a comparison, I will only use one example here, and it's

Screen Uniformity Color:
BL 1.74 Winner by 0.47
XL 2.21

Below a Delta E of 3, or Delta E 1, everything looks the same to us, depending on spec, contrast, color, etc. This means you can't tell the difference between these two when it comes to certain specs. And the list goes on and on. Do you see the problem here? On spec sheets, it all looks a lot better, but is it really in reality? No. This is the way TV's are marketed for instance, by listing all the things that doesn't matter. Just an example of course.

There's so much to this, that simply comparing spec sheets isn't really going to tell you which is better. If the price is higher on 1, isn't the other one bad value? Really not trying to make this too complicated, but the reality is, look at a display in real life, and judge based on that, not specs.






All the best!