Smogsy: HZ vs Resolution Thread

[smogsy]

4K 60Hz vs 1440p 144hz vs 1440p Ultrawide 100hz User Experience

Test Setup
5930K at 4.0
16GB DDR4
GTX1080 Founders

Monitors
ASUS PG278Q 1440p 144Hz TN
ASUS PG27AQ 4K 60Hz IPS
ACER X34A 100Hz IPS
All calibrated with ColorMunki Xrite

Games Tested:
Overwatch
Witcher 3
Rocket League
WWE 2K16
Mafia II
American Truck Simulator
Euro Truck Simulator

My Reaction Time: 0.125 seconds [tested in a control environment by DVLA disability assessment centre] reason i bring this up is for the Genji test.

reason for this thread
this thread in not reviewing the Monitors Quality/Price. this is simply giving Real world user experience with side by side testing. of the various types of panels
During this testing Gsync & Fastsync will be used.

Other Notes
This Thread is my personal experiences with having all 3 monitors side by side & switching between them as daily drivers. You have the right
to not Agree with me, These are my personal experiences.

I Am bit like kaapstad in that fact that i keep & love testing Monitors, in the last 2 years ive used 10 different monitors using my own Money.

Other notes: Im a IQ Lover. This was the reason i bought these chasing the IQ race.

General Usage

Asus PG278Q [144Hz]
Their really nothing to say here As a general daily driver this monitor is Great, with no Cons except for not being IPS. Comparing TN vs IPS is night and day with black levels.
its not noticeable when solely using the TN but having IPS right next to it displaying the same content.

Asus PG27AQ 4K [60hz]
As A daily driver I dis like it. Why? 27" 4K general web browsing experience, is terrible on chrome default settings. Its readable but not nice. I have to run 150% or change font to Very Large.
I have 20/20 vision too! Widows experiences can be troublesome too DPI scaling is very hit & miss. Some applications are nice to use some look terribly blurred. Don't get me wrong you can live with or get used to it but it can be very off putting at first.
My Recommendation is to use 30" or higher screen to notice the real detail of 4K & no DPI scaling issues

Acer X34A [1440p Ultrawide]
Their really nothing to say here As a general daily driver this monitor is Great, with no Cons except being so large, 34" CAN require you to move your head side to side when browsing. evem my old
Dell 2913WM can require small move of the head. you will find that when using 29"+ displays you will use chrome/firefox not in full screen mode. The other thing to note is the stand on most ultrawides are large and intrusive
so much so using the standard on a 700mm deep desk requires head movement. this is easily fixed with a monitor arm, giving an extra 3cm in some cases, just something to note for people who do not want to head shift.

Gaming

Asus PG278Q [144Hz]
This Monitor for Gaming is Pretty Epic, The Difference from 60Hz is slaps you in the face. once you go 60hz+ you you wont want to go back, TRUST me i've Tried!.
Ive had this monitor since release & Love it. The only issue i have with this Monitor is now ive seen IPS its hard not to go i wish this was IPS.



Overwatch
with This game Fps Locked at 143FPS, its such a smooth experience. Going from 60Hz to 144Hz is pretty mind boggling.
This Monitor also allows me to pass what i call
The Genji Test.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndyaZfj58qA
in real world
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTyqNhlqWCY

As shown in the video Genji Rushes forward slicing through your body. why does this matter?
This monitor due to the 144hz allows me to dodge this ability as junkrat, using mine to jump him or trap him.
i have a 90% success rate dodging this ability in a real world environment. if you are competitive gamer then this of course matters to you. those few milliseconds count.




General Gaming [other games]
No issues to be concerned about, of course you need a good GPU to push Decent frames to the monitor to take the best advtanage of 144Hz

Asus PG27AQ 4K [60hz]
This Monitor For Visuals are Draw dropping. Imagine a TV with sharpness cranked to Max, but its real detail thats 4K @ 27"
Going from 144hz to 60Hz is instantly noticeable, however after an hour or two you get used to the difference.
what you will find is you most likely need to modify
Mouse sensitivity/DPI

Overwatch
Running this game at 60FPS on 60Hz is TERRIBLE after using 100hz+. the input lag is so noticeable i couldn't play overwatch with it. The visuals are WOO.
However, You crank up the frames to 120FPS & the input lag from the mouse just disappears. you of course wont see all the frames, but the feeling is sooo much better so much so its no problem to use.

The Genji Test
This Monitor fails what i call the the Genji Test.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndyaZfj58qA
in real world
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTyqNhlqWCY

As shown in the video Genji Rushes forward slicing through your body. why does this matter?
This monitor due to the 60hz does not allow me to dodge this ability as junkrat, using mine to jump him or trap him.
i have a 10% success rate dodging this ability in a real world environment. if you are competitive gamer then this of course matters to you. those few milliseconds you dont have count.

Witcher 3
not much to note here, but 4K Max settings, is not going to happen unless you want 40FPS or running Titan/1080Ti Sli to get 60fps and above.
using a gamepad at 50FPS the input lag is not even noticeable. dont worry their.

Rocket League
another controller game, i dont feel the input lag using a Xbox one controller but still 100fps feels better than 60fps.

WWE 2K16
no issues

Mafia II
No issues

American Truck Simulator
even this game struggles at max presets at 4K on a 1080.
Euro Truck Simulator
even this game struggles at max presets at 4K on a 1080.

Acer X34A [1440p Ultrawide]
This Monitor for Gaming is Pretty Epic, The Difference from 60Hz is slaps you in the face. once you go 60hz+ you you wont want to go back, TRUST me i've Tried!. However going from 144Hz to 100Hz is noticeable.
Not a big issue but you definitely notice, after a few hours it becomes normal though.
To me 21:9 is Like running Linux, When it works its Amazing!, but when it doesn't its just a pain in the ... you need to fiddle just to play a game half decently. its so bad their are programs & websites made to help you fix games
Their are also modfied exe's by modders, which can be a huge secruity concern. In my eyes i don't want to fiddle & will not fiddle just to play a game.

Some developers are better than others, but expect a decent amount of games to have issues. Even from AAA developers. especially if you play a lot of older games.
these include no Support to HUD/UI issues or cut scene issues.

Overwatch
What a terrible experience overwatch is on 21:9. you ACTUALLY lose FOV. see here > http://www.pcgamer.com/overwatchs-new-219-support-actually-reduces-field-of-view/
the real problem is you cannot fix it either.
Run 21:9 zoomed in which makes me feel dizzy
OR
You run in 16:9 mode in border less window mode having huge black bars that are size your hands
OR
You run in full widowed mode.
OR
if you run 16:9 full screen mode it stretches the image
OR
you set GPU scaling to no in Nvidia Panel
this allow you to run Full screen 16:9 with black bars + input lag

both of which increases Input Lag see below
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc28SH2ESA4

The Genji Test using 21:9 3440x1440
This Monitor fails what i call the the Genji Test.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndyaZfj58qA
in real world
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTyqNhlqWCY

As shown in the video Genji Rushes forward slicing through your body. why does this matter?
This monitor due to the 100hz does allow me to dodge this ability as junkrat, using mine to jump him or trap him.
i have a 50% success rate dodging this ability in a real world environment. if you are competitive gamer then this of course matters to you. those few milliseconds you dont have count.

Overwatch is so bad on 21:9 ive moved to 16:9 monitors


Witcher 3
THis Game is Amazing & beautiful in 21:9 3440x1440 running at 100hz is very smooth experience. HOWEVER Cut scenes are broken and run in 16:9 Mode. Which can break immersion,
Their is a Modified Exe to Fix this by Modders, However im not running Modified Exe's on my PC the security risk it implicates is to large.


Rocket League
A great experience

WWE 2K16
doesnt work 16:9 only even though it says the resolution is 3440x1440

Mafia II
Works

American Truck Simulator
Works, this is epic on 21:9 you can see SOO much more you can see out of each side window!
Euro Truck Simulator
Works, this is epic on 21:9 you can see SOO much more you can see out of each side window!

conclusion
im going to sum up my thoughts on using these as daily drivers;
their all good in their own right & nothing is wrong. However if i did this all again.
I would not buy 4K 27" again & at this time i would not buy 3440x1440 again.

21:9 is in its infancy, some may i argue its ready. Its not. its much better than a few years ago when i was rocking a 2913WM. However its not their yet.
Its as i say its like Linux, It great for most of your tasks but it doesn't just work. in a few years time when engines have native support for 21:9 then it will be the must have. but right now, the constant fiddling and hoping for 21:9 support is just not what i want to do.
the other issue is if you play a lot of older games this annoyance will come up time & time Again. (Eg Watchdogs V1) this will be reduced in time as your old games become ancient rather than old.

A few questions to help you in your choice:
Are you ultra competitive gamer?, your only choice to me is 144hz 1080/1440 Monitor
Do you not want to fiddle to get your monitor to work correctly? Don't pick 21:9


4K 60hz (27"):
I love it & i hate it
For gaming its epic, but be ready to constantly upgrade your GPU for max settings, im talking every 8 months or more!
Be aware on some games higher than 60fps may be required for you not experience input lag
be aware head shots will be harder
Be aware that at 27" Font is tiny. i would say close to usable without DPI scaling or bigger fonts in browsers.
I would say its great for casual games, no way very competitive games
WoW,ETS2,Rocket League,Casual Over watch Sure!. CS:S No...


Would i buy it again?
No, knowing what i know now even though im a IQ junkie i would wait for 4K 100Hz or more/HDR


Acer X34A
I love it & Hate it.
Gaming its amazing browsing its amazing, But the constant fiddling to get some games to run nicely (mainly older games) is just annoying.
However when it works its An EPIC experience.
be aware that you need a deep desk or monitor stand to sit far enough back
be aware your might need to move your head when gaming (bad for FPS) if your to close
I would say its great for casual games & competitive, but your mileage may vary as a few competitive games restrict 21:9.
Its the perfect Gamepad Monitor, & K+M, but more Game pad, further to sit back etc.


Would buy it again
No, & yes... knowing what i know now even though its a tough decision but i would say No. due to the fiddling required to play games & hoping for 21:9 support.
In 2-3 years i can see this being the staple Gaming monitor choice, but right now its a Lovely change


Acer PG278Q
I love it I love.
Gaming its amazing browsing its amazing, theirs no downside, except i would not but it again.
i would buy its bigger brother https://www.overclockers.co.uk/asus...descreen-led-monitor-black-red-mo-088-as.html
due to IPS support
perfect for all types of games.


Would i buy it again?
Yes, but most likely https://www.overclockers.co.uk/asus...descreen-led-monitor-black-red-mo-088-as.html

my monitor setup is as follows:
Main
1440p 144hz
Secondary
21:9

 

[smogsy]

^ Mines calibrated with a hardware calibrator, but put it next to an IPS calibrated theirs 0 match. IPS kicks its ass.

 

[smogsy]

when calibrating you set the gamma you wish. it then adjusts the profile depending on the gamma you wish

 

[smogsy]

no you set it in the hardware calibrator software you choose your gamma profile

 

[smogsy]

Decent write up, couple of things though:

- not all 21.9 monitors stands are bad for the room they take up, acers are by far the worst though (one reason why I avoided picking up the acer), they take up a huge chunk of the depth of a desk but other ones like dell + LG + samsung etc. are very good/minimal

- I haven't got overwatch now but when I played it on the free weekend trial, it worked perfectly fine in fullscreen mode with black bars, check your monitor settings to make sure 1:1 pixel mapping is enabled and then disable this in nvidia control panel and set in game res. to 2560x1440

adjusting those settings for over-watch = faffing about. i don't want black bars that's the point. Their worse than using 16:9. anything thats does not work out of box does not go on my computer or adjusted for. can i do it? yes, but i don't want to.
fair point about the monitor stands but i did mention this monitor not any 21:9



Also, reducing gamma is ok but generally most people that mess with this are removing detail in the dark areas just to get a more vibrant/saturated display, a bit like most of the sweetfx configs out there, they completely ruin games as people blow out the details.

Yeah, that was kinda my point and why I asked if he'd tried adjusting the gamma. "It's calibrated" isnt really an answer, so it sounds like the answer he meant was "no I didnt".

I've seen many many IPS screens and they all have "glow" from the corners in a dark room even TV's, its inherent in IPS. If its really bad then its a fault but i have never seen an IPs screen with 0 bleed at all.

+ hardware calibration, you set the monitor to default & the hardware calibrator adjusts the gamma/White balance Automatically based on your choice i can set gamma 2.2/6500K if i want to. (standard) it adjusts what needs to in software/or hardware depending on the monitor you dont need to touch nvidia control panel. it does it for you.

so yes the Gamma is set

 

[smogsy]

looks like a man holding a cigar to me in the right hand

 

[smogsy]

Enjoyed reading through this thread @smogsy, very informative as my old 1440p 60hz monitor died last year and currently gaming on my 1080p 60hz TV, looking at getting a new monitor but not sure which to go for. I haven't experienced a monitor with a refresh rate over 60hz, is it really that much better? 60hz just feels feels normal to me

for this review, i went back to 4K 60hz again to retest my thoughts & decision & yes High refresh is huge difference even more so for you as TV response times are Even higher! so you will notice more.

if your going for a new monitor dont forget to check out freesync/gsync if your budget allows and of course depending on your GPU vendor

DONO, you got two options
1) don't experience one and be happy using 60Hz save money possibly but don't let anyone shows you 60hz+ firsthand you will most likely want one.
2) you experience first hand & will crave for one after going back to 60hz.

i'm going to try a 60hz challenge and use my 4K monitor on Overwatch for a week, ill possibly get used to it but if i even look at 100hz+ it be hard not to switch back!

if my 1440p 144hz was IPS my 4K would not even be in my cupboard of monitors anymore it be on gumtree or the like.

 

[smogsy]

hang on, so you did a screenshot and saved it as a PNG?

if thats true facepalm time

 

[smogsy]

I haven't got overwatch now but when I played it on the free weekend trial, it worked perfectly fine in fullscreen mode with black bars, check your monitor settings to make sure 1:1 pixel mapping is enabled and then disable this in nvidia control panel and set in game res. to 2560x1440

1) i dont want black bars i hate them
2) i not playing around with settings for one game, specially to get blackbars
3) ive gone back to 16:9

my current setup is
$K as main monitor And 21:9 is my secondary monitor to the right

So:
4K K+M games (first person)
1440p UW - for things i want to experience the world with gamepad

 

[smogsy]

You aren't playing around with settings for just one game. It will apply to everything and not mess up the aspect ratio for anything else, from the sounds of it, you haven't correctly got the ratio and scaling etc. settings applied on either your x34 monitor OSD settings or/and via nvidia control panel (which will be adding to your input lag if not correctly set up), essentially you should be able to play the game in exclusive fullscreen mode with black bars at the sides and any additional input lag.

Since I no longer have overwatch, I can't fire it up to check those windowed settings and if they are what I am thinking of or not (a lot of games don't correctly use those terms)

you dont understand
overwatch has:
Full screen
border less
Windowed

& has 21:9/16:9 mode
Fullscreen 21:9 @ 2560x1440 stretches the image
Fullscreen 21:9 @ 3440x1440 is zoomed in
Fullscreen 16:9 @ 2560x1440 stretches the image

Borderless = Same + input lag
Windowed = NO black bars. + extra input lag


= no optionsd for me = 16:9 monitor is the only option.
i don't want black bars so the other options are moot. No point playing around with Nvidia Control panel because exclusive 1:1 will STILL have black bars. so theirs 0 point.

 

[smogsy]

Thank you, you have presented this far better now, your OP reads completely wrong and/or is confusing...



And then proceed on to say that it fails your input lag test:



If you played using this:



Then the monitor should not have failed your Genji test... Unless you have GPU scaling enabled via your nvidia control panel, which could be adding additional input lag:

http://www.overclock.net/t/1622182/you-might-have-input-lag-without-even-knowing-it

Or are you basing this on a mode where there is no input lag added? If so, you need to make this more clear in your OP, in fact, you need to make that entire section clearer as to what you mean and specifically what mode you are referring to when carrying out your input lag test.

Your 16.9 monitor is not your only option, you do what other 21.9 gamers do for overwatch and play it in fullscreen 16.9 2560x1440 without any negative effects on input lag.... It will be no different to your 16.9 4k and 144HZ screen (outside of the panel differences)

fixed the testing was done in 21:9 mode running 3440x1440

Your 16.9 monitor is not your only option, you do what other 21.9 gamers do for overwatch and play it in fullscreen 16.9 2560x1440 without any negative effects on input lag.... It will be no different to your 16.9 4k and 144HZ screen (outside of the panel differences)

you can not do this without black bars

 

[smogsy]

I think we are getting confused on that last point so...

You said this in your OP:



Yet in a later post you say this:



To me that is "full screen 16.9"... As the play/screen area in the above mode is the same as a proper 16.9 27" screen. So you can in fact run "full screen 16.9" on a 21.9 monitor.


Also, testing "input lag" with the "fullscreen 21:9 3440x1440 mode" isn't exactly a fair test (if you're wanting to compare the 100HZ to 60/144HZ purely for input lag/aim/responsiveness) as it messes up your aim (since the image is zoomed in), this is the main reason I switched from "fullscreen 21.9 2560x1080" to "fullscreen 16.9 1920x1080"

i missed the last OR

Fullscreen 16:9 2560x1440 in overwatch stretches the image to full screen it does not do 1:1

the genji test does not need aim. you just drop a mine in front of you.

 

[smogsy]

Eh?

So it was essentially the equivalent to a 23" 16.9 1920x1080 screen.

To Clarify i retested.
16:9 2560x1440 Full screen display = aspect = full screen image (stretched)
16:9 2560x1440 Fullscreen Display set 1:1 = Full screen image (stretched)
16:9 2560x1440 Fullscreen GPU & Display Set = Blackbars + Input Lag

so no you cannot run Full screen 16:9 without input lag, the only way to run full screen 16:9 as shown above is use GPU scaling creating more inputlag

what should happen is overwatch should do the scaling, which it does not. because 21:9 was an afterthought & broken.


"Fullscreen 16:9 @ 2560x1440 creates black bars"
after retesting this was incorrect. i was writing all this from memory over multiple days of testing

 

[smogsy]

it hurts your head try testing it theirs many more combinations theirs 81 combinations in total!

 

[smogsy]

Reading that hurt my head. lol

might help you a little

To Clarify i retested.
16:9 2560x1440 Full screen | display in aspect mode | = full screen image (stretched)
16:9 2560x1440 Full screen | Display set to 1:1 mode | = Full screen image (stretched)
16:9 2560x1440 Full screen | GPU & Display Set to no scaling | = Blackbars + Input Lag

so no you cannot run Full screen 16:9 without input lag, the only way to run full screen 16:9 as shown above is use GPU scaling creating more inputlag

what should happen is overwatch should do the scaling, which it does not. because 21:9 was an afterthought & broken.


"Fullscreen 16:9 @ 2560x1440 creates black bars"
after retesting this was incorrect. i was writing all this from memory over multiple days of testing

 

[smogsy]

i cant use DPI scaling far to many applications i use don't support it & it makes it look horrid.
i wish they went the way apple did every app on OSX, even odd software just works with scaling..