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G-Sync is the god-level gaming upgrade.

Paragon

Member
I've been messing around with ULMB and I'm confused with all the advice around it. Does anyone know if its worth using if I get drops to 80fps and what if the framerate is limited to 125, instead of the required 120hz.
I've been back and forwards with gsync and ulmb and I cant really be sure I can tell the difference, in warframe at least.
You must be using V-Sync with ULMB, and the framerate needs to be equal to the refresh rate.
If it is not, the game will stutter badly or you will see double-images when things move across the screen.
That's largely why I don't find ULMB useful with its current restrictions on refresh rate.
 

Calabi

Member
You must be using V-Sync with ULMB, and the framerate needs to be equal to the refresh rate.
If it is not, the game will stutter badly or you will see double-images when things move across the screen.
That's largely why I don't find ULMB useful with its current restrictions on refresh rate.

Yeah I just realized, I did a test with slowly moving around in the cockpit and I could notice a stutter at 125fps. With vsync I get a ghost double image, its only really noticeable with text though. Also frame rate drops are really noticeable. I guess its not really worth it.
 
Any opinions on buying refurbished monitors?

The Acer Predator xb271hu is on Amazon for $545 refurbished. Not sure if it's worth the risk,I've never bought a refurb before.
 
I decided against the refurb predator. Read too many horror stories.

For what it's worth, I was in best buy yesterday and they had the two Dell Gsync monitors, both the S2417dg and the s2716dg, on display in the Alienware section (lol).

I checked both out thoroughly, and I was pretty damn impressed. Those have to be the best TN panels I've ever seen. Maybe TN has improved since my last TN monitor (Asus vs248h-p in 2011), but I sort of couldn't believe they were TN panels. The viewing angles were actually quite decent, I probably looked like a fool contorting my body all over while checking out the screens.

The color looked excellent for a TN panel as well. Obviously it's hard to really tell in a brightly lit store like that, but the blacks looked pretty deep and the color consistency looked really good. I also liked the finish on the screens and the build quality. They looked really nicely made.

I left the store thinking I might consider buying one if I come across a good deal. I had sworn off TN entirely after getting my Dell u2414h IPS a few years ago. I read so many reviews saying these Dell units had really good TN panels and dismissed it, but now I think they might be right.
 

laxu

Member
For what it's worth, I was in best buy yesterday and they had the two Dell Gsync monitors, both the S2417dg and the s2716dg, on display in the Alienware section (lol).

I checked both out thoroughly, and I was pretty damn impressed. Those have to be the best TN panels I've ever seen. Maybe TN has improved since my last TN monitor (Asus vs248h-p in 2011), but I sort of couldn't believe they were TN panels. The viewing angles were actually quite decent, I probably looked like a fool contorting my body all over while checking out the screens.

The color looked excellent for a TN panel as well. Obviously it's hard to really tell in a brightly lit store like that, but the blacks looked pretty deep and the color consistency looked really good. I also liked the finish on the screens and the build quality. They looked really nicely made.

I left the store thinking I might consider buying one if I come across a good deal. I had sworn off TN entirely after getting my Dell u2414h IPS a few years ago. I read so many reviews saying these Dell units had really good TN panels and dismissed it, but now I think they might be right.

It's the new 8-bit TN panels. So much better than the cheap 6-bit crap you find on cheap laptops and bargain desktop monitors. And no, vertically the only time you will notice the color shift is when you stand up or sit on the floor, basically use the panel in a position you would normally never use. When sitting in front of it you can only notice that the very top is slightly dimmer. Shifting your sitting position will cause no noticeable changes in the display like it did on the cheap panels. Looking at it from the side doesn't invert the colors either.

I tried my ASUS PG278Q next to a Dell 3008WFP (2560x1600, 30", IPS) I had previously and the most noticeable difference was the higher gamut on the Dell, which is really of no consequence as majority of content on the web is sRGB and all games use that color space.
 

Wozzer

Member
Recently picked up a Acer XB270HU. Got lucky on the panel lottery and its fantastic all around. Hugely impressed by Gsync, and the upgrade to 1440p/144hz too.

That said I'm very tempted by the UlraWide and to a lesser extent curved monitors. I'm currently running 3 monitors for screen space, and it's a desk burden and the inconsistent style/quality between the three an annoyance.

I'm looking to do a full new build Q3/Q4 so I'm hoping there's more options by then. Gsync HDR would be lovely, but I'd settle for a good XB270HU spec equivalent at the larger ratio/resolution.
 

volt01

Neo Member
Any opinions on buying refurbished monitors?

The Acer Predator xb271hu is on Amazon for $545 refurbished. Not sure if it's worth the risk,I've never bought a refurb before.

If you have a membership, Costco has the XB271hu for $500. It's been on sale for a while, so you might not be able to find it in more populated areas.
 

inner-G

Banned
I decided against the refurb predator. Read too many horror stories.

For what it's worth, I was in best buy yesterday and they had the two Dell Gsync monitors, both the S2417dg and the s2716dg, on display in the Alienware section (lol).

I checked both out thoroughly, and I was pretty damn impressed. Those have to be the best TN panels I've ever seen. Maybe TN has improved since my last TN monitor (Asus vs248h-p in 2011), but I sort of couldn't believe they were TN panels. The viewing angles were actually quite decent, I probably looked like a fool contorting my body all over while checking out the screens.

The color looked excellent for a TN panel as well. Obviously it's hard to really tell in a brightly lit store like that, but the blacks looked pretty deep and the color consistency looked really good. I also liked the finish on the screens and the build quality. They looked really nicely made.

I left the store thinking I might consider buying one if I come across a good deal. I had sworn off TN entirely after getting my Dell u2414h IPS a few years ago. I read so many reviews saying these Dell units had really good TN panels and dismissed it, but now I think they might be right.
I've been IPS-only for a while, but I switched back over and got the S2716DG a few months ago. It really is way better than older TNs I'd used. From the sides, you can tell it's not an IPS, but when you're using it, it leaves nothing to be desired.

Plus, I figure when you're considering these super fast refresh rate displays, that difference of 1ms response on the TNs vs. 5ms on IPS is really going to be more noticeable.
 
I've been IPS-only for a while, but I switched back over and got the S2716DG a few months ago. It really is way better than older TNs I'd used. From the sides, you can tell it's not an IPS, but when you're using it, it leaves nothing to be desired.

Plus, I figure when you're considering these super fast refresh rate displays, that difference of 1ms response on the TNs vs. 5ms on IPS is really going to be more noticeable.

The response is an interesting thing to consider. I can notice a difference between my 2ms Asus TN and my 8ms Dell IPS for sure. I wonder if the difference between the 1ms TN panels now and the 5ms or so IPS panels are that noticeable at higher refresh rates?

Just feels like Gsync IPS panels are prohibitively expensive right now. I want to experience Gsync and higher refresh rates, I've only ever games at 60hz, but the cost is nuts.
 

volt01

Neo Member
I just wanted to add on to this conversation.

I bought a ACER Predator XB271HU and a GTX 1080 ... and after playing DOOM at 144 FPS I can't imagine ever going back.
 

theclaw135

Banned
It's the new 8-bit TN panels. So much better than the cheap 6-bit crap you find on cheap laptops and bargain desktop monitors. And no, vertically the only time you will notice the color shift is when you stand up or sit on the floor, basically use the panel in a position you would normally never use. When sitting in front of it you can only notice that the very top is slightly dimmer. Shifting your sitting position will cause no noticeable changes in the display like it did on the cheap panels. Looking at it from the side doesn't invert the colors either.

I tried my ASUS PG278Q next to a Dell 3008WFP (2560x1600, 30", IPS) I had previously and the most noticeable difference was the higher gamut on the Dell, which is really of no consequence as majority of content on the web is sRGB and all games use that color space.

I've been using monitors on a fixed desk for years. Viewing angle is about the last spec that could possibly be an attraction, heh.
 

DirtyLarry

Member
Just out of curiosity, does anyone else at times hook up a non G-Sync device to the 2nd port of their monitor and does that cause the G-Sync to stop working for their other primary device?

I have a Gaming PC hooked up to the Display Port and it has G-Sync, works no issues.
Sometimes I hook up a Macbook Pro to the HDMI port so I have a 2nd monitor for when I work from home, and when I do so, G-Sync stops working on the PC (Display Port) and even if I unhook my Macbook Pro, it does not kick back in until I restart my PC.

Nvidia CP says G-Sync is enabled the entire time.

I get it if this is indeed how it works, once I hook up the non G-Sync compliant device (my Macbook), it just cancels it out completely, but I am wondering should it start working again once I unplug the Macbook or does restarting the PC completely sound about right?

It is a Dell S2716DG by the way. I know, I know, it is not the best G-Sync monitor out there, but I got a great deal on it and it does work, so I have no beef with it myself.
 

tricho

Member
There is a deal for the ASUS ROG Swift PG248Q 24" right now at ebay.de. Its €349 for a refurbished model with 3 years Asus Service (and a digital Code for Warhammer).

Anybody got some experience with that thing? Very tempted to buy tho i have never seen a G-Sync monitor in action.
 

Ivan

Member
I have a quick question (I'm gonna read the thread, I know):

I want 24", G-sync, 1080p cheap but good monitor. Is there anything like that? (I mean is there an obvious answer) Thanx.
 

Paragon

Member
There is a deal for the ASUS ROG Swift PG248Q 24" right now at ebay.de. Its €349 for a refurbished model with 3 years Asus Service (and a digital Code for Warhammer).
Anybody got some experience with that thing? Very tempted to buy tho i have never seen a G-Sync monitor in action.

I don't have experience with that model, but all of ASUS' G-Sync monitors seem to be of the same high quality standard.
The only potential issue I see is that it's a TN panel, but many people seem to think that the newer TN panels are okay as long as you're sat directly in front of them.
After having a G-Sync monitor for a while now, I couldn't go back to a fixed refresh rate display.
 

tricho

Member
I don't have experience with that model, but all of ASUS' G-Sync monitors seem to be of the same high quality standard.
The only potential issue I see is that it's a TN panel, but many people seem to think that the newer TN panels are okay as long as you're sat directly in front of them.
After having a G-Sync monitor for a while now, I couldn't go back to a fixed refresh rate display.

Yeah. I dont think there is a montor with a "better" panel available for the same price!? Thanks for the info.
 
Wanted to post in this thread as well. My Acer XB271HU refurb came in today.


Gsync. Holy shit.


This really feels like an upgrade akin to getting an SSD. One of those point of no return upgrades. Played a round of BF1 and it felt phenomenal.

My refurb has zero dead pixels, and normal IPS glow but no backlight bleed (or very little). Absolutely amazing monitor.
 
Any opinions on buying refurbished monitors?

The Acer Predator xb271hu is on Amazon for $545 refurbished. Not sure if it's worth the risk,I've never bought a refurb before.

Friend just did this, and I went over, it's flawless.

edit: Ha, see the update. Glad to hear it worked out.
 

Justinh

Member
This really feels like an upgrade akin to getting an SSD. One of those point of no return upgrades. Played a round of BF1 and it felt phenomenal.
I think I can agree with this. I've wanted to get a 4k monitor, but I just won't if it doesn't have GSYNC. I only have a 1080p screen now, (Acer XB270H) so I've been down sampling a lot of stuff.
 

TheExodu5

Banned
You must be using V-Sync with ULMB, and the framerate needs to be equal to the refresh rate.
If it is not, the game will stutter badly or you will see double-images when things move across the screen.
That's largely why I don't find ULMB useful with its current restrictions on refresh rate.

No no.

The reason to use ULMB is for greatly increased motion clarity. This is nost useful in shooters where motion clarity is crucial. By turning on v-synx, you're adding significant input lag which kind of defeats the point and the competitive advantage that ULMB offers.

I only really ever use ULMB for ganes like Overwatch and CS:GO with vsync off. Come to think if it though, I haven't tried with fast sync yet...could be the best of both worlds if you can maintain >120fps.

How well does fast sync actually work? Does it effectively avoid any input lag due to buffering?
 

Tahnit

Banned
No no.

The reason to use ULMB is for greatly increased motion clarity. This is nost useful in shooters where motion clarity is crucial. By turning on v-synx, you're adding significant input lag which kind of defeats the point and the competitive advantage that ULMB offers.

I only really ever use ULMB for ganes like Overwatch and CS:GO with vsync off. Come to think if it though, I haven't tried with fast sync yet...could be the best of both worlds if you can maintain >120fps.

How well does fast sync actually work? Does it effectively avoid any input lag due to buffering?

I would rather use gsync in overwatch than ULMB....
 

Paragon

Member
No no.
The reason to use ULMB is for greatly increased motion clarity. This is nost useful in shooters where motion clarity is crucial. By turning on v-synx, you're adding significant input lag which kind of defeats the point and the competitive advantage that ULMB offers.
I only really ever use ULMB for ganes like Overwatch and CS:GO with vsync off. Come to think if it though, I haven't tried with fast sync yet...could be the best of both worlds if you can maintain >120fps.
How well does fast sync actually work? Does it effectively avoid any input lag due to buffering?

Unless the frames are synchronized with the strobes you get awful crosstalk, double-images, and stuttering.
Using ULMB with a framerate that is not in sync with the strobes is worse than not using it at all.

It sounds like NVIDIA is working on a way to combine G-Sync with ULMB which would solve those problems.
Apparently it will double-strobe when the framerate drops below half the maximum refresh rate to minimize flicker though, which is bad for motion handling. (double-images/judder)
 

riflen

Member
Recently Nvidia added a new frame limiter (v2) to their driver. This is meant to be synchronous in nature.
With this you can disable Vsync, use this new frame limiter at say 120 fps and the tear is kept at the very top or bottom of the image, making it very hard to notice during gameplay.
I use this with ULMB mode at 120 Hz and the results are excellent. Good input latency and image stability. Use Nvidia Inspector to enable the frame limiter.
 

Paragon

Member
Recently Nvidia added a new frame limiter (v2) to their driver. This is meant to be synchronous in nature.
With this you can disable Vsync, use this new frame limiter at say 120 fps and the tear is kept at the very top or bottom of the image, making it very hard to notice during gameplay.
I use this with ULMB mode at 120 Hz and the results are excellent. Good input latency and image stability. Use Nvidia Inspector to enable the frame limiter.
Unfortunately NVIDIA's framerate limiter currently has as much latency as V-Sync.
Hopefully they can improve this, because it is by far the best framerate limiter out there in terms of consistency.
 

Heysoos

Member
Kinda got caught up with the hype and bought the Asus ROG PG279Q, and I don't know. Played a good amount of Overwatch today and I'm not seeing a big upgrade over my 60hz Dell U2515H. In fact, the colors look so much better on my Dell than on the Asus... I enabled gsync, turned off vsync in game, didn't limit FPS. Not noticing a huge difference honestly. Am I doing something wrong?
 

Tobe

Member
ok guys so i come from a fighting game background where 60 fps is king, and for a year now i play csgo. god smiled upon me and will get 2k usd for a knife i unboxed, im planning to buy the best video card+ monitor combo what can i get if i want to play csgo and fighting game on this monitor.
 

Justinh

Member
Kinda got caught up with the hype and bought the Asus ROG PG279Q, and I don't know. Played a good amount of Overwatch today and I'm not seeing a big upgrade over my 60hz Dell U2515H. In fact, the colors look so much better on my Dell than on the Asus... I enabled gsync, turned off vsync in game, didn't limit FPS. Not noticing a huge difference honestly. Am I doing something wrong?

I've always thought it was best for like... games where you just couldn't get that consistent 60 or where you can turn up the effects so you wouldn't really have to worry about framerate. Like I can downsample from 4K GTA V and the framerate stays in the high 40s up and it still feels totally fine to me. I would've thought you'd have definitely noticed a big difference going from 60 Hz to a highframerate monitor though. Especially for what I understood was a fast-paced game like Overwatch.
 

Calabi

Member
Kinda got caught up with the hype and bought the Asus ROG PG279Q, and I don't know. Played a good amount of Overwatch today and I'm not seeing a big upgrade over my 60hz Dell U2515H. In fact, the colors look so much better on my Dell than on the Asus... I enabled gsync, turned off vsync in game, didn't limit FPS. Not noticing a huge difference honestly. Am I doing something wrong?

Make sure there's a red light in the corner. Play with the frame rate at 120+ for a while then, go back to 60. You will notice it. I was the same to start with, didn't think it was that great, I think it just takes a while for your brain to adjust.

Now I'm playing warframe at 140 and its perfect.
 

Izuna

Banned
Recently Nvidia added a new frame limiter (v2) to their driver. This is meant to be synchronous in nature.
With this you can disable Vsync, use this new frame limiter at say 120 fps and the tear is kept at the very top or bottom of the image, making it very hard to notice during gameplay.
I use this with ULMB mode at 120 Hz and the results are excellent. Good input latency and image stability. Use Nvidia Inspector to enable the frame limiter.

Limit it to 119

I put it to 143 on my 144hz monitor and I get no tearing
 

Heysoos

Member
Make sure there's a red light in the corner. Play with the frame rate at 120+ for a while then, go back to 60. You will notice it. I was the same to start with, didn't think it was that great, I think it just takes a while for your brain to adjust.

Now I'm playing warframe at 140 and its perfect.

What red light should I be looking for?

edit: Oh the power light? Yeah it's been red. (turned off gsync to see which red light you may have been talking about)
 
Kinda got caught up with the hype and bought the Asus ROG PG279Q, and I don't know. Played a good amount of Overwatch today and I'm not seeing a big upgrade over my 60hz Dell U2515H. In fact, the colors look so much better on my Dell than on the Asus... I enabled gsync, turned off vsync in game, didn't limit FPS. Not noticing a huge difference honestly. Am I doing something wrong?

The difference between 60Hz and 144+Hz in Overwatch is dramatic; if everything is set up correctly you should notice a difference instantly. You should even notice a difference in how the mouse moves on your desktop, which leads me to this question:

Have you changed your monitor's settings to run at the desired high refresh rate?

When I got my 144Hz monitor Windows defaulted it to 60Hz and I had to change the resolution settings in the Nvidia control panel before I could enjoy that high refresh goodness.
 
Kinda got caught up with the hype and bought the Asus ROG PG279Q, and I don't know. Played a good amount of Overwatch today and I'm not seeing a big upgrade over my 60hz Dell U2515H. In fact, the colors look so much better on my Dell than on the Asus... I enabled gsync, turned off vsync in game, didn't limit FPS. Not noticing a huge difference honestly. Am I doing something wrong?

You did set your refresh rate to 144/165 in Windows right?

The difference between 60hz and 144/165hz is dramatic and should be instantly noticeable.

^lol ok we pretty much said the same thing :p
 

Finaika

Member
Recently Nvidia added a new frame limiter (v2) to their driver. This is meant to be synchronous in nature.
With this you can disable Vsync, use this new frame limiter at say 120 fps and the tear is kept at the very top or bottom of the image, making it very hard to notice during gameplay.
I use this with ULMB mode at 120 Hz and the results are excellent. Good input latency and image stability. Use Nvidia Inspector to enable the frame limiter.

How do you access the frame limiter?
 

Paragon

Member
Kinda got caught up with the hype and bought the Asus ROG PG279Q, and I don't know. Played a good amount of Overwatch today and I'm not seeing a big upgrade over my 60hz Dell U2515H. In fact, the colors look so much better on my Dell than on the Asus... I enabled gsync, turned off vsync in game, didn't limit FPS. Not noticing a huge difference honestly. Am I doing something wrong?
You generally don't have to disable V-Sync in-game for G-Sync to work now - and in games where you get high framerates at or near the maximum refresh rate, it can allow the screen to tear since the setting controls what happens when you go outside of the G-Sync range.
Generally the best way to confirm that G-Sync is working is to enable the monitor's FPS counter. If it doesn't change at all, it's probably not active.
Since you have an ASUS monitor, you can also try hitting the turbo button to confirm that the refresh rate is set to its maximum and not 60Hz.
 

hoserx

Member
If anyone lives near Strongsville, OH and is a Costco member, they have one remaining acer predator xb271hu 27" gysnc IPS 165hz panel for sale.... but it's the floor model.....

That being said.. its only $350! I suggest anyone interested to head on down.
 

robinsxe

Member
Just got myself an ACER PREDATOR 27" 144hz 1440p G-Sync monitor and having real issues with G-Sync enabled in games. It freaks out on me, throws me out of games or hard-locks my computer. With it off everything runs flawless. Im on a 1080 founders edition card so it should be np from a performance perspective. Anyone experienced simillar issues?
 
Just got myself an ACER PREDATOR 27" 144hz 1440p G-Sync monitor and having real issues with G-Sync enabled in games. It freaks out on me, throws me out of games or hard-locks my computer. With it off everything runs flawless. Im on a 1080 founders edition card so it should be np from a performance perspective. Anyone experienced simillar issues?

My Acer Predator and 980Ti gave me issues until I changed the DisplayPort I was using on the card - I may have a port issue on the card, but I won't worry about it right now since it's working perfectly. Try changing the DisplayPort and USB ports you're using on the computer just to see if that helps.
 
You must be using V-Sync with ULMB, and the framerate needs to be equal to the refresh rate.
If it is not, the game will stutter badly or you will see double-images when things move across the screen.
That's largely why I don't find ULMB useful with its current restrictions on refresh rate.

So if I have a 144hz monitor and I cap framerate to say 100 (cause I cant push more frames), I shouldnt use ULMB in this scenario?
 

kingbean

Member
I must be stupidly sensitive or something is working right.

Is gsync supposed to make frame drops from like 140 to 90 less noticeable? Because it feels like crap in certain games. Mainly prey and dishonored 2.
 

Izuna

Banned
I must be stupidly sensitive or something is working right.

Is gsync supposed to make frame drops from like 140 to 90 less noticeable? Because it feels like crap in certain games. Mainly prey and dishonored 2.

Yeah ofc. You only stop screen tearing
 

Paragon

Member
Sändersson;238072344 said:
So if I have a 144hz monitor and I cap framerate to say 100 (cause I cant push more frames), I shouldnt use ULMB in this scenario?
If you're using 100Hz ULMB, the framerate needs to be locked to 100 FPS.
Not capped at it, locked to 100 FPS and not dropping frames.
Any time you drop frames with ULMB you get stutter that is significantly worse than on a non-ULMB, non-GSync display.

Use G-Sync for games with variable framerates, and ULMB for older games that you can lock to a high framerate.
Or use ULMB if you only care about eliminating motion blur and don't care about things like stutter or double-images.

I must be stupidly sensitive or something is working right.
Is gsync supposed to make frame drops from like 140 to 90 less noticeable? Because it feels like crap in certain games. Mainly prey and dishonored 2.
140 to 90 is a pretty big drop.
Where I find that G-Sync helps is if a game is maybe running at 85 FPS on average, in a 75-90 FPS range. Small fluctuations like that are no longer noticeable like they would be on a fixed refresh display.
Instantly dropping from 140 to 90 would be very noticeable, as would the game engine stuttering, or frame-pacing issues - like Dishonored 2 has. That game isn't smooth on anything.
 

Jag

Member
Stupid question, but I have an Acer Predator. Will games run in G-Sync in windowed mode or does it have to be full screen?
 
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