NVIDIA G-SYNC DIY Kit Installation

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For those of you that plan on using NVIDIA's do-it-yourself G-SYNC kit, the company posted a handy how-to video today that walks you through the entire process.
 
I took apart my 1440p Korean monitor to put some epoxy on a few chokes, looks about as difficult as that was too. The amount of tape and crappy connectors, and the geneneral cheap construction of monitors can be offputting, but its not THAT bad.

Although messing around with $500 worth of parts and reusing tape and trying to get anything to align correctly, I could see how this is offputting. SOmeone on techreport who got a kit said install was horrible and recommended people to just wait for monitors to have it installed and avoid the upgrade. I could see this being good advise for many.
 
Bought a kit today and love to mod so I don't mind the work. I'll post my impressions.
 
So I gather from this video several take-home messages:

1. The monitor is held together with silver dryer heat tape and electrical tape.
2. It's easy as long as you don't break any of the plastic tabs on the outside frame.
3. Only works with one ASUS model
4. you have to use a DP connection only.:D
 
So I gather from this video several take-home messages:

1. The monitor is held together with silver dryer heat tape and electrical tape.
2. It's easy as long as you don't break any of the plastic tabs on the outside frame.
3. Only works with one ASUS model
4. you have to use a DP connection only.:D

Honestly I'm excited.

If you buy a DIY expecting easy then your doing it wrong.
 
Honestly I'm excited.

If you buy a DIY expecting easy then your doing it wrong.

It doesn't look difficult at all.
The kit is just very exclusive, one monitor, one output source.

and don't break any little plastic tabs;)
 
I purchased this kit Friday and just got the shipping confirmation about 5 minutes ago. The expected delivery date is this Wednesday, I'll also post impressions.
 
So I gather from this video several take-home messages:

1. The monitor is held together with silver dryer heat tape and electrical tape.
2. It's easy as long as you don't break any of the plastic tabs on the outside frame.
3. Only works with one ASUS model
4. you have to use a DP connection only.:D

Wow, I was literally about to click "complete order" when I read your comment and realized my cards don't have DP on them (phew!). I'll just stick with LightBoost for now and perhaps the DIY will come down in price in the future anyway.
 
Wow, I was literally about to click "complete order" when I read your comment and realized my cards don't have DP on them (phew!). I'll just stick with LightBoost for now and perhaps the DIY will come down in price in the future anyway.

I also believe that G-SYNC only works with the GTX 600 series and higher cards. So your GTX 580 wouldn't even support it anyway.
 
I normally take monitors apart and repair them. This is a piece of cake for anyone with experience taking electronics apart. If you have any bit of doubt in your abilities then I wouldnt touch this this kit.

I personnaly would just wait for the monitors with it built in to be released.
 
Oh weird, well that too I guess! I thought the tech was in the board being added to the monitor, not the GPU...

People make this so confusing. It uses DisplayPort. So it needs a video with DisplayPort. That's it.

A 500 series card does not have DisplayPort, so it does not work.
A 630 does not have DisplayPport, so it does not work.
A 650Ti and higher has DisplayPort, so they work.
 
So you're basically replacing all of the electronics of the monitor with a new PCB. This would be a great if you had this monitor but the board fried or if you just had the panel. Also you lose HDMI and DVI, oh well....

I wonder if Maxwell will lose DVI and just have DP and HDMI 2.0.
 
After watching the video I'm surprised they even made a DIY kit because it's a complete replacement of all of the electronics. I thought it would be a piggy back chip that would have to be wired in some where. It does look like a easy and clean install though.

At $200 for the kit on a $280 monitor doesn't really make financial sense either. Would make more sense just to buy a new G-sync monitor once they come out. Still it's nice to have the option for those who own that model monitor.
 
After watching the video I'm surprised they even made a DIY kit because it's a complete replacement of all of the electronics. I thought it would be a piggy back chip that would have to be wired in some where. It does look like a easy and clean install though.

At $200 for the kit on a $280 monitor doesn't really make financial sense either. Would make more sense just to buy a new G-sync monitor once they come out. Still it's nice to have the option for those who own that model monitor.

I think its great. I think all monitors should be designed with an easy to replace PCB if it fails or if you want to upgrade. Imagine being able to add features to a monitor you love already and not having to spend months participating in the monitor lottery that we are all subject to these days. One of the biggest nightmares these days is finding a monitor that is relatively fault free (no dead pixels , no weird HDCP handshaking issues , no OSD problems , no excessive banding/gamma shift and so on) and the fact that if you want a better monitor you basically have "get lucky" and score a win with the panel lottery is really bothersome. Unless you want to dump at least $1,000 on a purpose built monitor that has lots of Q/C you are basically pissing in the wind and hoping it doesn't get blown back up into your face.

How does the price not make sense? The pre-built G-Sync monitors are going to be $500+ starting out. The better ones will be $800 such as the ASUS ROG 1440p 120hz TN panel. I love having the capability of taking a monitor I already own and adding an awesome feature WITHOUT buying a brand new $500 monitor and having no use for the one I already own. It makes total economic sense to reuse what you already own and it has the side benefit of being "green" since that monitor won't be ending up in a landfill sooner rather than later in its life.

The whole reason Nvidia isn't just dumping G-sync on the market is that they want it stable and well vetted for widespread release. Having a group of gamers who aren't afraid to open up a monitor and install this hardware allows them to not only get impressions on G-sync but also gives them insight into the interest and demand for it. I wouldn't want to start dumping an expensive upgrade into the wild without knowing for sure that the demand was already present. Most gamers honestly won't give a shit about this technology until they physically observe it in person. You can't even really capture the benefits to upload to Youtube , its been stated many times that seeing this technology in person really demo's its benefits.

I don't mind being a lab subject for this. I remember when I saw the first 120hz Samsung monitor at Microcenter and I bought it on a lark. It just impressed me so much and the difference was very immediate to my eyes. At that time getting games to run at 120hz was a nightmare and it was more demanding on them as well so you had to have a good setup to make good use of it.

The thing that appeals to me with G-sync is that it actually favors poor conditions (anything above 30fps) so it begins to really do its job when the frame rate takes a hit to a degree. And everything above that is just icing on the cake. I also couldn't give a shit if I lose HDMI/DVI as this monitor obviously will be strictly used for PC gaming. I already have a nice TV to play console games on and a nice PLS 1440p 120hz Korean panel for general PC use. I'm sure I'm not alone in not giving a shit if I lose some video output ports and audio options.

This product is obviously highly individually marketed to a segment of gamers who are savvy enough to understand how to do a very simple installation. Honestly I expected some soldering being required when I first heard of the DIY upgrade and actually bought a low watt soldering iron and some solder so I would be ready. From what I've seen in that video if you can build your own PC gaming rig you can easily do this upgrade. Bring a magic marker and a basic tool set and you'll be golden. I've done far more difficult mods on my own with greater risk.
 
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Anyone else notice all the scratches on the bezel at 14:28 because the idiot didn't put the thing face down on a towel?
 
Anyone else notice all the scratches on the bezel at 14:28 because the idiot didn't put the thing face down on a towel?

Yea but he doesn't care. That monitor likely has been sitting on a shelf or in some lab for months unused. He probably had someone assemble it to pre upgrade condition then just did it all over again.

He was also trying to get it under 15 minutes. I think when I get mine I'm going to slowly remove the bezel and not scratch up the bezel.

Flat surface + dry large towel + time = win.
 
Putting an expensive mod on a cheap device seems a bit pointless. It's like a big bore exhaust on a ricer. Just put the money towards a better car. So to speak.
 
DIY = destroy it yourself

He broke multiple cable connectors and the last brown latch thing wasn't secure. Did they tell people beforehand that they would lose their hdmi + dvi ports? How are the speakers after changing the power supply are they as powerful?
 
On the same side as the small blue ribbon connector with the floppy lock down mechanism, wasn't there also another connector? You can see the pins inside the new chassis cover, but he didn't connect anything to it. Look at 3:18 where he unplugs the blue ribbon and another white connector (looks like an old CD audio connection), then at 13:16...he only reconnects the blue ribbon.
 
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Yea but he doesn't care...

I mean, yeah, it's a TN monitor, who gives a damn how the bezel looks, your eyes are already bleeding from the panel exposure, or your visual acuity that allows you to own and use a TN monitor in the first place is so low that you couldn't see the damage on the bezel.

Not that I'm biased against that panel tech, I think TN is great for, say, cash registers, where you can laugh at the delicious acronym synergy when you use a POS that's also a POS.
 
Nvidia needs to setup some demo kiosk's in store if they want this thing to sell. I need to be convinced to switch from my $300 1440p 27" Crossover.
 
I wouldn't risk this I bet the monitors they sell are cheaper with it included.... 200.00 is rip off seriously...
You can buy a lot of different monitors for that price alone.....
 
Haha that guy a few posts above wrote an essay about dicking around in the back of his monitor. Did anyone read that?
 
Putting an expensive mod on a cheap device seems a bit pointless. It's like a big bore exhaust on a ricer. Just put the money towards a better car. So to speak.


It's the best selling gaming monitor.


Anyone else notice all the scratches on the bezel at 14:28 because the idiot didn't put the thing face down on a towel?


Her derf. What an idiot indeed. Thanks for the insight. :rolleyes:
 
Haha that guy a few posts above wrote an essay about dicking around in the back of his monitor. Did anyone read that?

Oh man I forgot to keep it 140 characters or less. Wouldn't want you to feel intimidated by actually "reading" when viewing a forum.
 
I wouldn't risk this I bet the monitors they sell are cheaper with it included.... 200.00 is rip off seriously...
You can buy a lot of different monitors for that price alone.....

And absolutely ZERO would include G-Sync at that price range.

If I wanted a $200 G-sync monitor then I would be waiting a VERY long time.

Kind of surprised by the amount of whining going on about this DIY upgrade kit. Its not as if Nvidia is forcing any of you to buy it. In fact if anything you should be interested in the experiences me and others will have trying this out.
Because if it wasn't for early adopters like us you would be clueless as to how the average Joe receives new tech like this.
 
And absolutely ZERO would include G-Sync at that price range.

If I wanted a $200 G-sync monitor then I would be waiting a VERY long time.

Kind of surprised by the amount of whining going on about this DIY upgrade kit. Its not as if Nvidia is forcing any of you to buy it. In fact if anything you should be interested in the experiences me and others will have trying this out.
Because if it wasn't for early adopters like us you would be clueless as to how the average Joe receives new tech like this.
Ionno someone might shove it into those cheap TN, tilt only, 60hz, shit washed out way to bright monitors that companies sell for barely 100 bucks. That might someone fit under 200 dollars.
 
Ionno someone might shove it into those cheap TN, tilt only, 60hz, shit washed out way to bright monitors that companies sell for barely 100 bucks. That might someone fit under 200 dollars.

Umm .. extremely doubtful. Lenovo (I think that's the manufacturer you are talking about..) isn't going to be pushing a gaming centered feature on a business level low quality monitor.

Its already well known that G-sync will start life out on $500 gaming panels.

Again you won't be finding G-sync in the $200 price range anytime soon.
 
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