144Hz 1440p upgrade (gsync) - need input

agnes · 23 Apr 2018 at 22:13

Evening all,

I'm going to be buying the Asus ROG Swift PG279Qr which is a 27" IPS 144hz 1440p monitor, I value picture quality over response time hence the IPS version. It comes with gsync and I have a question, how much of an upgrade will it be over my BenQ GW2765, which is 60Hz 1440p 27". I know, same size and resolution but the wife wants a 1440p monitor so I figured I'd upgrade to the 144Hz group.

Question, will I notice much of a difference, the majority of games I play sit around the 100fps mark, some 60 and others much higher. Is gsync even worth enabling with fluctuating frames in games like Assassins Creed Origins where it's 45fps in towns and 80+ in the country side? I have a 980 ti which I'm holding onto until the next lot come out from nvidia.

I'm just wondering if my $750 is best spent elsewhere (I live in CA hence the $ price).

Thanks

james_2k · 23 Apr 2018 at 22:16

yes, and yes, thats when you want gsync, when you have fluctuating frame rates.

agnes · 23 Apr 2018 at 22:32

james_2k said:
yes, and yes, thats when you want gsync, when you have fluctuating frame rates.

Do you notice a sluggish response and choppy feedback as you would with a normal monitor and vsync enabled? Such as when it dips below 60fps it gets horribly choppy and nasty.

james_2k · 23 Apr 2018 at 22:37

the way it works for me is.

i put vsync on in the nvidia cp, off in the game. then when the fps is at the refresh cap of your monitor you are using vsync, when it drops you are using gsync. gsync isnt doing anything at or above your monitors max refresh. likewise vsync isnt doing anything when below it.

some have said they notice some lag with vsync, some games are more prone to it (source engine) i dont. And there is 0 lag when gsync is active.

if you are worried you could use fast sync (vsync Fast) so you wont ever get lag at the cap. but it uses more power and creates more heat so i dont bother.

james_2k · 23 Apr 2018 at 22:39

agnes said:
Such as when it dips below 60fps it gets horribly choppy and nasty.

thats what gsync is for. i used to be very sensitive to drops below 60 fps, but with gsync it can drop to 40ish without me really noticing

agnes · 23 Apr 2018 at 23:30

james_2k said:
the way it works for me is.

i put vsync on in the nvidia cp, off in the game. then when the fps is at the refresh cap of your monitor you are using vsync, when it drops you are using gsync. gsync isnt doing anything at or above your monitors max refresh. likewise vsync isnt doing anything when below it.

some have said they notice some lag with vsync, some games are more prone to it (source engine) i dont. And there is 0 lag when gsync is active.

if you are worried you could use fast sync (vsync Fast) so you wont ever get lag at the cap. but it uses more power and creates more heat so i dont bother.

I only use vsync on games that I don't use my mouse for. When using a mouse, the input lag with vsync is too much for me and I can't use the mouse properly. But thanks for clearing up how it works

james_2k said:
thats what gsync is for. i used to be very sensitive to drops below 60 fps, but with gsync it can drop to 40ish without me really noticing

Awesome, so stuff that gets a bit choppy will get smooooooth.

Milkybk said:
I own the Asus PG279Q, phenomenal monitor. I upgraded from a BenQ ZOWIE XL2430, the difference is night and day.

How do you find it's input lag if any? I'm seeing 4ms is the standard. My current monitor is supposedly 4ms but according to tftcentral, it's more like 10ms on average lol

james_2k · 23 Apr 2018 at 23:34

agnes said:
I only use vsync on games that I don't use my mouse for. When using a mouse, the input lag with vsync is too much for me and I can't use the mouse properly. But thanks for clearing up how it works

then just enable vsync (fast) in the nvidia control panel and make sure its off in game. no lag at all and gsync will turn on when fps drops below the fps cap!

Drollic · 23 Apr 2018 at 23:43

james_2k said:
then just enable vsync (fast) in the nvidia control panel and make sure its off in game. no lag at all and gsync will turn on when fps drops below the fps cap!

Or, if you want absolutely zero and not even fast sync (the delay is tiny, a lot less than vsync) then cap the framerate at say 120fps.

The best thing about it isn't removing stutter below 60fps as it doesn't really do that like some think, it's that at all framerates you get no tear.

james_2k · 24 Apr 2018 at 00:02

Drollic said:
The best thing about it isn't removing stutter below 60fps as it doesn't really do that like some think,

frame rate limiters are decidedly sketchy at times and can introduce lag AND stuttering, i researched all the options when i got my display and chose the one that suited me. of course there are a few ways of skinning this particular cat.

it wont remove stutter caused by say, cpu bottlenecks or similar, but it WILL be smoother than non gsync as the frame rate drops, it just is. As i said, it makes it a lot harder to discern when fps drops.

agnes · 24 Apr 2018 at 00:29

Cool, excited! How about the 144Hz from 60Hz? Noticeable difference there in games? Things like Overwatch, BF4 and CSGO are prime examples where I don't use vsync so having the refresh rate increased should give a smoother playback right?

Drollic · 24 Apr 2018 at 00:41

Massive difference between 60hz and 100hz+ yes. My ps4 sits unused as playing at 30fps coming from 60fps+ is bad enough but with gsync as well, it becomes unplayable it feels so stutter like

Karathez · 24 Apr 2018 at 01:29

agnes said:
Cool, excited! How about the 144Hz from 60Hz? Noticeable difference there in games? Things like Overwatch, BF4 and CSGO are prime examples where I don't use vsync so having the refresh rate increased should give a smoother playback right?

Thing is you probably wont notice the upgrade so much, when you will notice it will be going back to a lower Hz monitor. I'm on 120Hz monitor atm & could never go back to 60, fixing others pcs or such is horrible on the eyes when your used to the higher Hz, as your just moving from one 1440p monitor to another there shouldnt really be much if any difference in framerates, but obviously you will notice higher fps on games that your hardware can do it on, I dont play the ones you mentioned but doubt they will be too demanding for a 980, so you should see much higher framerates with vsync on as long as you check in the game it isnt capped at 60 by default from your old monitor.

Amnesia · 24 Apr 2018 at 02:28

personally i dont rate gsync that highly but ips and high hertz is wonderful, while its nice at low fps i dont struggle with fps so has been a bit of a wasted feature for me.
btw the spec you described is of the PG279Q where as what you are ordering (PG278QR) is the TN version of it, you can get the MG279Q for about £100 less as its on sale and has all the above features you described minus the gsync. The PG279Q is a little more expensive but absolutely beautiful if you find one with minimal ips glow.

scotsdragon · 24 Apr 2018 at 09:34

ive also been thinking about upgrading my monitor to 1440p 144hz or over but have no idea what all the terminology means

G-Sync, 180Hz(OC)

UHD, G-Sync

UHD, G-Sync, IPS

UHD, ZeroFrame, G-Sync, IPS

WQHD, ZeroFrame, G-Sync, 165Hz(OC)

WQHD, ZeroFrame, G-Sync, 165Hz(OC), IPS

ZeroFrame, G-Sync, 144Hz

how can one monitor have so many different specs/options

Sp00n · 24 Apr 2018 at 10:24

G-sync = proprietary Nvidia tech to match panel rate to gpu frame rate producing a smoother image

180hz(oc) = max refresh rate is 180hz overclocked

IPS = type of panel (in-plane switching)

zeroframe = thin bezel

UHD = 3840x2160 (4k)

WQHD = 2560x1440 (1440p)

~>Dg<~ · 24 Apr 2018 at 11:42

i wont play below 144hz.that simple.once you play at higher hz.you wont ever go back.actually feels broken.wrong.

remember thats a big jump so hope you got a pc decent enough . choosing a ips is a great choice.most 24 upwards on different panels will have bad washed out colours.so a ips if you can afford it is ideal.

Rasseru · 24 Apr 2018 at 12:19

The 278QR is a TN panel btw not an IPS (you mean the 9QR not the 8QR?), i've just bought one, an upgrade from a benq rl2455hm. I'm not sure if any related panel type to the benQ you owned but this TN is very good quality and laughs at it from a very high height.

Its a really good monitor, i'm very happy with it, much better picture quality than my Dell U3011, and much better than my OLED for gaming, but I suffer from motion blur the most, hence why I went with the TN even if it was marginally better.

I've seen some youtube videos with the TN & IPS side by side and apart from viewing angles there really wasnt much in it, according to the reviewers. I think it was a relatively big channel like Linus Tech tips. the colours arent totally accurate with some very faint glow so make sure you buy from somewhere that are good about sending back if unsatisfied. It wasnt enough to annoy me that much though.

The motion & picture quality on them is amazing, you will be really happy.

Solz · 24 Apr 2018 at 17:59

I use a 1440p 165hz gsync, and tested a lot of different configurations, and found personally that the sweet spot is 85hz to 144hz between that range you don't notice the drops much, but when you have 60 to 85hz I notice frame rate don't look as silky smooth,
and do not ejoy the experience as it everything looks a lot smoother above 85hz, but lately I have been using, ULMB 60hz Hack, without V sync, I just use the MSI afterburner and lock the Fps at 60fps with riva tuna statistical server, which looks smoother than 144z, just like the CRT's from back in the day so good!

Drollic · 24 Apr 2018 at 18:27

There's quite a bit of difference between bad tn and good tn, but they never have the richness of IPS. 8 bit top end tn is pretty decent. Trade off is response time and has been numerous qc issues over the past few years on IPS.