Is G-Sync really necessary now?

[Rhezuss]

I'm looking to replace my very old LG 23" 1080p monitor. It served me well for a basic monitor.

Since I got my new GTX 970 I now can safely get out of the 1080p and up to 1440p like single-GPU adults do. Since my new card is a NVIDIA it has G-Sync. should I be aiming to get a G-Sync compatible monitor?

I'm asking because I tend to keep my monitors for quite some time or until they die on me. I'd give my current 23" to my girlfriend.

What i'm looking for:
- 27"
- 1440p
- Primarily for gaming
- Budget: 300-600 CAD

IPS? TN? TV screen instead of a monitor? Brand?

I've been looking a bit and those models seem to be cool:

BenQ BL2710PT
ASUS PB278Q
Or wait for the ASUS Rog Swift?

Thanks for you tips!

 

[bystander36]

Is it needed or required? No, but from those who have them, G-sync certainly appears to be pretty awesome.

There is no need to wait for the ASUS Rog Swift. It is out most places at least, if you can find it in stock.

 

[Jumpem]

I would be very hesitant to purchase a monitor without it now.

 

[blastingcap]

Define "necessary."

 

[Rhezuss]

Well you're right...might not be necessary but since monitors with G-Sync is out and someone would be looking for a new monitor for his new NVIDIA card, would you recommend buying a good monitor with G-Sync?

 

[Freddy1765]

If it's just for gaming and you don't mind spending the extra money, then yes it's worth it.
I haven't experienced the tech myself, but by all accounts it's very impressive for gaming; that especially goes for single-gpu configs since you can turn up the graphics settings and get less than 60 fps without realizing it.

 

[BrightCandle]

The only gsync 1440p I know of is the ROG Swift, its not cheap. Its downright awesome as far as gaming monitors go but its also ludicrously expensive. If you are in the market for a monitor you really should be looking into gsync, it just fixes a huge image quality issue that has plagued computer games for 20 years. Its hard to describe the impact of a nice solid image without tearing and the removal of stutter, but it makes games a lot more seamless and frame rate suddenly matters a lot less as you notice its change so much more gradually.

I wouldn't buy another none async/gsync monitor and since you already got an Nvidia card its going to have to be gsync, and since you want 1440p you have to buy a ROG swift.

 

[Rhezuss]

The ROG Swift is looking sweet but it's BO on Newegg.ca and NCIX.com...

I'll have to wait for it to come back in stock...but it' no biggie since my new EVGA 970 SSC as some major coil whine Under load...pretty annoying, first time I have to RMA something...

 

[positivedoppler]

Your problem is there is a good enough chance the G-sync will be made obsolete due to Free Sync. If you get a G-Sync monitor now you pretty much lock yourself in to just Nvidia cards in the future that has G-Sync support. You won't be able to use an AMD card as they appear poise to release a 20nm card early next year. If free-sync wins out, there's also a chance Nvidia will adapt and abandon G-Sync support in the future.

I say wait a little bit longer to see how this all plays out and avoid possibly paying for a very expensive obsolete hardware. Free Sync monitors will hopefully be available for review soon so it'll give you a little bit better idea which technology will win out.

This is kinda reminding me of HDVD vs Blu-Ray and Beta vs Cassette. Lotsa people setting on expensive and worthless technology afterwards. The better technology doesn't always win out.

 

[bystander36]

Your problem is there is a good enough chance the G-sync will be made obsolete due to Free Sync. If you get a G-Sync monitor now you pretty much lock yourself in to just Nvidia cards in the future that has G-Sync support. You won't be able to use an AMD card as they appear poise to release a 20nm card early next year. If free-sync wins out, there's also a chance Nvidia will adapt and abandon G-Sync support in the future.

I say wait a little bit longer to see how this all plays out and avoid possibly paying for a very expensive obsolete hardware. Free Sync monitors will hopefully be available for review soon so it'll give you a little bit better idea which technology will win out.

This is kinda reminding me of HDVD vs Blu-Ray and Beta vs Cassette. Lotsa people setting on expensive and worthless technology afterwards. The better technology doesn't always win out.

G-sync won't become obsolete. A-sync may win out, but that won't make G-sync monitors any less good. It's not like support will stop if A-sync is more popular.

 

[positivedoppler]

G-sync won't become obsolete. A-sync may win out, but that won't make G-sync monitors any less good. It's not like support will stop if A-sync is more popular.

But if freesync wins out, his next video card upgrade might not be able to utilize the G_sync feature in his Gsync monitor

 

[Deders]

If you play things like fast multiplayer first person shooters then Gsync is desirable for keeping the image solid (no tearing) whilst minimising the latency. Otherwise Vsync and triple buffering will probably be enough, you might need to use D3DOverrider for some games.

 

[Grooveriding]

Someone linked a video to an nvidia marketer recently and part of the video was spent on gsync. He mentioned that gsync currently is an early implementation and will see further updates and then answered a question as to if there would be firmware updates with likely not. So there is an intention to release gsync 2.0, gsync 3.0 etc. requiring a new monitor purchase each time out ?!

I'm sure the monitor makers would love this as monitors are easily the least frequently replaced item, but that seems ridiculous to me. I think for that reason alone you will see a-sync trump out gsync if it is rolled in as part of the DP standard. If that is their intention, to release new versions of the module needing new monitors, that would be a big part of why monitor makers are on board. It's tough to sell monitors as an upgrade to someone who already has one, but this would be a way to manage to do that if only to a small niche of people who buy in to that upgrade cycle.

I still think nvidia is not doing nearly enough to push gsync, particularly as it's primarily geared to PC enthusiasts. They need to do a hell of a lot more to expedite it being in more monitors with more resolution variety and most importantly panel type variety. Right now you have a 1440p, 4K and 1080p available, one of each and all are TN. Very poor showing.

 

[bystander36]

But if freesync wins out, his next video card upgrade might not be able to utilize the G_sync feature in his Gsync monitor

That does not make it obsolete. It makes it vendor locked.

 

[positivedoppler]

That does not make it obsolete. It makes it vendor locked.

No it doesn't make it just vendor locked if there's a chance no future video card supports it. If G-Sync loses out and Nvidia stops making new video cards for it he'll have a very expensive monitor with no new video card capable taking advantage of it's feature.

Seems like if he's going to stick with the same monitor for a very long time, it would be wise to wait a bit longer and see how the sync war plays out.

 

[RussianSensation]

The ROG Swift is looking sweet but it's BO on Newegg.ca and NCIX.com...

I'll have to wait for it to come back in stock...but it' no biggie since my new EVGA 970 SSC as some major coil whine Under load...pretty annoying, first time I have to RMA something...

$879 CDN before taxes for a great, but still TN panel, and only 27" does not sit well with me:
http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=1104&item_id=075295

That means almost $1k CDN after taxes and shipping.

I am personally going to try and wait as long as possible for A-Sync vs. Free-Sync to mature, for 4K monitors to drop in price and for GPUs to get more powerful before upgrading the monitor. Ideally I want a 4K 32-37" IPS with some Sync tech, preferably non-proprietary. I will pay $1,500 for that.

Otherwise, if money isn't a problem, go for the Swift.

Sorry to hear about your EVGA coil wining. Many reviews have shown these cards to use cheap power circuitry and poor contact cooler. I wish people would stop supporting EVGA so that they start spending money on improved components like MSI, Asus, Gigabyte and even Zotac are all doing. Other than the reference or Classified cards, to me EVGA makes the lowest quality GPUs for NV.

 

[3DVagabond]

The Swift is out of your budget. If you decide to stretch it to get it be aware that you will only be able to use it along with an nVidia card. That could eliminate a lot of choice for you in the future.

Edit: I would also recommend reading some professional monitor reviews. TFT central are the best IMO. TV's and even a lot of monitors suffer from terrible input lag (the Swift does not. It's excellent on that front).

 

[Rhezuss]

Well budget is not a problem really but I saw some nice 27" monitors for 600 and that is why I put that price range. But yeah 1k CAD is freaking high for just a monitor...

I'm sure there is some great monitors out there for 600 and under, 1440p that would do an awesome job. My current LG is annoyingly ugly lol

@RussianSensation: Well I asked for RMA to EVGA but before I do I want to test the card further. I want to try the frame limiter in EVGA Precision X software and some V-Sync options in NVCP. I heard some of these reduces coil whine considerably. But EVGA was awesome enough to offer my a complimentary Advanced RMA which consist of them shipping me a new card before I ship mine to them. Great service so far!

 

[Grooveriding]

EVGA is pretty good that way. Also, if you ask them, they can provide you with a properly filled out commercial invoice to ship the card to them back across the border. Saves the hassle of figuring out the harmonized codes and values etc.

Make sure to include three copies with the shipment.

 

[Rhezuss]

Thanks for the tip Groove!

On topic: The ROG Swift is nowhere to be found unfortunately...

 

[Rhezuss]

And as far as monitors go in 2014, 1440p is the new norm if you don't want to go 4K?

I saw the BenQ XL2720Z but it's 1080p...look sweet though.

 

[bystander36]

No it doesn't make it just vendor locked if there's a chance no future video card supports it. If G-Sync loses out and Nvidia stops making new video cards for it he'll have a very expensive monitor with no new video card capable taking advantage of it's feature.

Seems like if he's going to stick with the same monitor for a very long time, it would be wise to wait a bit longer and see how the sync war plays out.

Any Nvidia video card with a DP connection works with it. There is nothing more needed. It'll be supported for many years. If you want it, you get it now, if you don't want to pay the price, you can wait.

A-sync won't even work with Nvidia when it comes out, which makes that vendor locked as well. That could change, but the future is uncertain.

 

[Grooveriding]

I would have a good read of this thread before considering the rog swift: http://www.overclock.net/t/1509599/official-asus-rog-swift-pg278q-owners-club/1360

The monitor is riddled with bugs and poor quality control issues going on that thread. Reading it you find more users have issues with it than don't and the funny thing is the stock levels are so low on the monitor that most people are finding what is in stock most of the time are newegg open box units because so many are returning them. :sneaky:

- Many units with dead pixels, bright pixels and even clusters of one or the other collected in a single area side by side.
- Pixel inversion issues resulting in dark vertical lines appearing when the image on the screen is not static.
- Some units run excessively hot.
- Units with noticeable backlight bleeding.

Not an issue, but because the panel is TN and given its size, I see user accounts that they do see vertical colour shift in normal use sitting in front of it.

I think this monitor is a lemon/rushed to market. I don't ever see $800 as justified for any TN monitor, but an $800 monitor with quality control like that manifesting in those sorts of issues is ridiculous. More so considering its Asus and their warranty/RMA support is some of the worst in the industry. Good luck RMAing one of these back to them.

Nvidia needs to get experienced quality monitor manufacturers like Dell, Eizo and NEC on board producing gysnc panels. The swift seems to be just another TN for Asus they slapped together and put a gsync module in. Crappy quality. :thumbsdown:

 

[mindbomb]

a refresh rate of 144hz and gsync (or the amd equivalent) are pretty important for a gaming monitor.

 

[imaheadcase]

No it does not matter. The benefit is questionable to lots of users, and you would be better off spending money on a better quality monitor.