On a 144hz monitor, do you actually need to drive 144 FPS to fully benefit?

[Madpacket]

That depends on what kind of input polling the game uses. I doubt you'll notice any real difference in actual input response but the smoother overall feel of the game is perceivable.

Correct it's engine dependent but smoother overall gameplay I'm sure we could all agree is what we should be aiming for.

I don't agree about the coating on the ROG Swift (it's fine IMO) or blur reduction darkening the image. Darkening only happens if you set the pulse width very low but at 90% on my ROG Swift there is no real difference in ULMB mode to normal in brightness. I have my regular brightness setting around 20 which is just fine for using even in daylight. I find ULMB is best for very fast paced games that can also run at 60+ fps so mostly first person shooters.

And here-in lies the problem with ULMB. In order to get the smoothest looking playback you need to set the pulse width to 20 or lower which kills the brightness and is counter productive. This isn't too bad if you play in a very good light controlled room but if you're playing in a room with regular ambient light this can become an issue. True the coating isn't terrible compared to other panels but it is worse than many of the newer (and cheaper) IPS 144hz panels.

Just by virtue of having a high refresh rate display you get less motion blur overall even if you use G-Sync instead of ULMB

This is why I think just enabling 144hz with proper brightness and contrast is superior to lightboost. If your monitor can handle sub 7MS transitions it makes more sense to get better refresh rates, lower input lag (if a game uses polling, which most do) and picture quality. This is something every gamer will need to test out and judge for themselves. I'm not saying ULMB is useless, I just think there are too many compromises for my liking to recommend it.

The ROG Swift is still afaik the absolute fastest panel. It's main drawback is less than stellar vertical viewing angles which are not at all problematic in normal use (sitting in front of the display). I don't notice an annoying color shift when moving around when sitting in front like you had on older TN panels. Colors are also excellent with very good factory calibration. I lucked out and got a near perfect sample but there have been others who have had terrible luck with these. But the same seems to be true for the Acer models as well, just different issues.

This is the biggest issue with the Swift. You may not think the viewing angles are that bad but they're pretty terrible in comparison to the new Asus or Acer 144hz IPS panels. This isn't so bad while playing back bright fast paced games but becomes a huge distraction for games that are slower paced and have a lot of dark scenes. I had to quit playing Alan Wake on a "decent" TN panel a while back because it was so distracting in dark scenes when then the top 1/4 of the screen shifted to a different colour. This loss of detail shouldn't be underestimated. General colour work on the desktop also suffers so if you want an All in One monitor solution the Swift is a poor choice.

Here's the Swift's viewing angles.

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/images/asus_rog_swift_pg278q/viewing_angles.jpg

The Swift doesn't escape this TN viewing angle issue.

Quoted from the TFT Central review on this topic.

"As you move your head from side to side in a horizontal plane, there is a contrast shift and the image becomes darker and introduces a slight green hue. As you move to a wider angle the image can become more washed out as well. Vertically the fields of view are more restrictive still. From above the image becomes pale and washed out, while from below there is a characteristic TN Film darkening of the image. Unfortunately vertically the viewing angles will introduce noticeable shifts in the contrast and colour tone of the image which mean that for any colour critical work it is not really very well suited."

Also this Rog Swift monitor has unnecessary and expensive features like "portrait" mode. Seriously? A TN in portrait mode is like looking at a tall beautiful woman but you can't really make out her face or if sitting higher up from the knees down (although this is a bad analogy as some may prefer that .

Anyways, I don't mean to slam the Rog Swift, it's still an excellent monitor (the absolute best LCD for fast paced gaming) but with the newer IPS 144Hz options available at the same price or much less money I would hesitate recommending it to anyone but the most hardcore of competitive gamers.

 

[njdevilsfan87]

If you like Planetside 2, definitely get a FreeSync and/or G-Sync supported monitor. The frame rates tend to bounce around a lot in that. That's a game where adaptive sync really shines.

But to answer the question : Yes you need to hit 144Hz to fully benefit. But that benefit is marginal over just running something like G-Sync at high frame rates. Because 60fps on a 144Hz monitor still feels a lot better than 60fps on a 60Hz monitor. To me, buying a Swift and enabling G-Sync felt like I upgraded my GPUs for gaming. That's how much better it felt coming from a 60Hz 1440p IPS.

 

[Pantlegz]

For example, on the XL2730Z or whatever the G-Sync equivalent is that has both g-sync and blur reduction, do you need to get close to 144hz (like, over 120) to get significant benefit of the blur reduction and response times these monitors offer? Or if you're in the 70-90 FPS range, is that enough?

You can't run both G-sync and ULMB at the same time, so to the most benefit of the features you have available the closer to 144fps you can get the better. If it's anything like the ROG Swift, I believe it also has the ability to force the refresh rate lower than 144hz for instance if you can hit a steady 120fps you can set the monitor to refresh at 120hz and turn off g-sync and turn on ULMB.

 

[4K_shmoorK]

980ti doesn't have the muscle for 1440p @ high FPS. You need two in SLI or else turn down settings. If you turn down settings you'll be just fine and get high FPS. I think its hilarious that people think this is a 4K card. There is no 4K card.

My single 980 Ti gets a sustained 90 FPS on most BF4 maps maxed out on 1440p, and on a large number sustains 110-125 FPS.

 

[therealnickdanger]

I'm using a non-G-Sync 144Hz monitor with a 970. Most games I play can be played at 1080p Ultra locked at a constant 144fps, but playing anything multiplayer results in a lot more deviation - especially MMOs. I generally leave V-Sync on all the time as I would rather have duplicate frames than tearing.

As amazing as G-Sync and Free-Sync are in person, I can't justify locking into either one at today's prices. I go through about 3-4 computers before upgrading monitors and right now things just seem a bit too tumultuous in regard to variable refresh technology. So for now, just give me the highest refresh rate and I'll take care of the rest myself.

 

[kasakka]

And here-in lies the problem with ULMB. In order to get the smoothest looking playback you need to set the pulse width to 20 or lower which kills the brightness and is counter productive. This isn't too bad if you play in a very good light controlled room but if you're playing in a room with regular ambient light this can become an issue.

I don't think ULMB is bad even at 90-100% pulse width. It does improve clarity. At 20% it's so dark you can't see much.

This is the biggest issue with the Swift. You may not think the viewing angles are that bad but they're pretty terrible in comparison to the new Asus or Acer 144hz IPS panels. This isn't so bad while playing back bright fast paced games but becomes a huge distraction for games that are slower paced and have a lot of dark scenes. I had to quit playing Alan Wake on a "decent" TN panel a while back because it was so distracting in dark scenes when then the top 1/4 of the screen shifted to a different colour.

I was wary of the TN panel myself when I bought it but this is literally the first TN panel where I don't mind the tech. It is also the first truly 8-bit TN panel so colors are fine. I don't notice color shift when sitting in front of it. It also came perfectly calibrated from the factory, just had to turn the brightness way down.

Before this I had a 30" Dell 3008WFP (professional IPS) and when having them side by side the main difference was the color gamut (Swift sRGB vs Adobe RGB on the Dell) and how much brighter the Swift was (as the Dell was pretty old at that point). Then I noticed the huge difference in motion clarity and movement smoothness.

Also this Rog Swift monitor has unnecessary and expensive features like "portrait" mode. Seriously?

Yeah I agree that the portrait mode is downright awful. In fact it seems to be mostly there just so the display can fit in the box nicely in portrait mode. Both the size of the display and the TN panel make it unusable unless you want to strain your neck looking up and down and have to deal with the vertical (horizontal in portrait) viewing angles causing shifts. Like I said I don't notice color shift in landscape orientation unless I stand up from my chair.

Anyways, I don't mean to slam the Rog Swift, it's still an excellent monitor (the absolute best LCD for fast paced gaming) but with the newer IPS 144Hz options available at the same price or much less money I would hesitate recommending it to anyone but the most hardcore of competitive gamers.

I agree with you there. I'd probably be more likely to pick an IPS model if they had been available when I bought mine. In any case I'm really happy with my ROG Swift and hope to keep it until 4k 120 Hz+ becomes possible (in both GPU performance and display tech).

 

[Madpacket]

I'm glad to hear the Rog Swift isn't that bad for vertical viewing angles in landscape mode. I trust your judgement kasakka especially if you're coming from a good IPS display. If ULMB works good at 80 percent on the display that's also a plus although a little suprising.

I came very close to buying a Swift but held off for IPS gaming displays. Now IPS isn't without its own problems. IPS glow can be distracting and although extremely fast it's still slower than the fastest TN.

Either way you have an excellent gaming monitor and I agree hold off until 4K IPS or PVA gaming panels arrive with 120hz before upgrading. Of course we'll need to triple our GPU speeds to drive them but that'll happen sooner rather than later I suspect.

The easiest way for GPU manufacturers to keep selling overpriced GPU's is to push the 4K thing

 

[NotAgOat]

A few problems with your question:

First, what do you mean GSync at 100Hz? By definition, GSync has no set refresh rate.

Second, that monitor can't do 100Hz. It's a 75Hz panel.

Third, there's no way a 980Ti can push 100fps at that resolution.

And of course, the Acer XR341CKA that you're referring to doesn't even have a release date, so you might be jumping the gun a bit!

The G-Sync version is rumored to be factory overclocked to 100hz. Supposedly computex attendees were told this by the Acer rep to their face.

http://www.144hzmonitors.com/monitors/acer-x34-xr341cka-has-a-g-sync-range-of-30-100hz/
http://www.theverge.com/2015/6/4/8726489/acer-asus-curved-monitors-computex-2015

EDIT:
Confirmed by x3sphere:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showpost.php?p=37590530&postcount=36

 

[soccerballtux]

On my QNIX 32" 1440p in my sig I've determined that 75hz overclock is more than sufficient upgrade from 60hz for me to be happy with the purchase.

 

[beginner99]

If BF4 is your main game then you should by 980 or 980TI. AMD just does not fare that well in BF4 IF your goal is high fps. AMD can be recommended for BF4 if you have an older CPU and a GCN 1.1 GPU (eg. 290/290x, or 390/390x) because then you can use Mantle which really helps old CPUs.

For the monitor:

You can only use G/F-Sync or Anti-blur. They can't be used at the same time.

For problems of blur see

http://www.testufo.com/#test=framerates

and all other tests. These show all the issues with LCD displays.

Blur reduction is huge in FPS games like BF4. Combined with 90hz + and according FPS this will be a competitive advantage you should not take lightly.

 

[2is]

To benefit? No
To FULLY benefit? Yes