27"/xx" AMVA+ G-Sync 144-165hz monitors: 7 FACTS AND KEY POINTS ANALYSIS

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Jul 23, 2017
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Hello everybody!

0/ INTRODUCTION

I've been researching about monitors during too much time without success and finally I decided to join this forum in which I found deep knowledge in many users.

I wanted a new 27" AMVA+ G-Sync 144-165hz monitor, for my future PC, but I want to buy already the monitor since I use a 21" 1920x1080 monitor which is too small for reading, gaming and so on and I need to read a lot of documents already in this moment.

So the first products that I took a look into were the ones which were supposed to be the best in the gaming area: Asus PG279Q, AOC AG271QG and Acer XB271HU, all IPS, 2k, G-sync, 144-165hz, but I saw that they are already TOO OLD, TOO PRICEY, and they have TOO MANY PROBLEMS (uniformity issues like a 100 euros monitor). Which turn to be unacceptable for me.

So, my points of analysis are the next ones:

1/ SIZE. I've been watching people looking for 24" monitors. Also people looking for 32" monitors or even 40" televisions (oops, sorry, I mean monitors). The first thing that comes to my mind is: Are we crazy? I mean... Is it even healthy to have a 32" or 40" television size monitor for doing the every-day activities? Reading, writing emails, surfing...? I mean... It looks to me pretty dangerous to have a >32" panel in a so short distance (much shorter than a tv distance), with a lot of light emission coming right through our eyes?? The more big the pannel is, the more light it emits and the more damage our eyes take. Similarly, a 24" monitor seems to mee to small for reading and/or for a decent work/reading/gaming area. So... 1/ WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT SIZES?

2/ RESOLUTION AND READING. The second thing is that I need the monitor not only for gaming, but also for reading. I have extensively read your posts in the "Best Reviewed A-MVA Monitor Thread" thread. The problem is that, many users, like one that I most appreciated his contributions, geok1ng, talk only about FullHD 1920x1080 AMVA+ monitors. My doubt is the next one: Isn't Full HD a too small resolution for a 27" monitor? Currently I'm in a 21" monitor with a FullHD display. Maybe It would be better for the eyes to have a not too big resolution, but, I think I will feel bad if I see the same resolution that I have in my 21" panel in a 27" panel? If it wasn't for this, I would have already chosen a Benq AMVA+ like the Benq2775ZH which is not expensive (money is not an issue, but there are just no more models), even when I still have not my new pc, only for reading. But... I wonder if a low resolution is a problem for reading? If you buy a high resolution monitor (like 2k) you can always change your browser zoom, and your Word and PDF documents zoom, and just still be able to have a better experience being able to use the bigger resolution in analysis/graphics/calculation programs that may take the advantage of it? SO the second problem is 2/ WHICH RESOLUTION SHOULD WE TAKE FOR A 27" MONITOR?

3/ GSYNC vs FREESYNC. Another aspect that I've been observing that people just don't give too much importance, or even ignore, is the GSYNC subject. I've been watching that most of the monitors that you suggest are FREESYNC, when, most people use NVIDIA cards which are the best ones for gaming, according to most of the benchmarks of most of the games. So the question is, why do you guys stick to FREESYNC monitors which won't ever give the best optimal behavior and power with a NVIDIA card than a G-SYNC will? Why do you even consider investing a high amount of money, not having this subject attended? I mean, I find it 100% necessary to take a G-SYNC monitor if we minimally look for a gaming monitor. Any other solution is for me just a big error. So... 3/ WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT GSYNC?

4/ MOMENT TO BUY / NEXT RELEASES. JULY 2017. As I said in the beginning, the Asus PG279Q, AOC AG271QG and Acer XB271HU, all IPS, 2k, G-sync, 144-165hz are all what I would want. But they are too old, they have 100 euros panels BLB & Glow problems, they are so expensive, and they just suck so much. Sorry for being so clear in this area. So the thing is... What other solutions do we have? Is waiting an option? I've read that new HDR monitors are coming, but, will they come with prohibitive prices and same panel uniformity issues than the old ones? If I need a panel already, for this august, to read a lot of documents, not in my shitty 21" monitor... what should I take? Should I buy a cheap full hd 27" AMVA+ monitor just to wait for the gaming monitors to appear in the next month/months? Or fullhd is too low for a 27" as I said previously? Why there are no AMVA+ 2k 27" monitors? And obviously no AMVA+ 2k 27" GSYNC 144hz-165hz monitors WITHOUT CURVED PANELS.

5/ CURVED PANELS. Before you suggest me one of the new Samsung curved VA panels, I have to tell you that I deeply hate curved TVs and monitors. I have a curved TV in a house, and I have always regretted buying it. It always makes me feel OUT OF THE SCENE, because of its curvature, which I find unnatural and strange, my eyes always get distracted with the bezels/borders that stand out of the tv. I will tell you my theory. I think that curved panels are an absolute disaster from the physics and aesthetics point of view. From the first point of view, physics, it's just totally wrong to buy a curved tv or even more a monitor, for gaming or working, because our brain and eyes work best with lineal calculations. Our body performs best with lineal surfaces. It's just a fact that all of our works are based on flat surfaces. No one could imagine an artist drawing in a curved sheet, or a writer writting in a curved book, or an enginyeer working on building drafts over curved sheets and panels. It's just unnefficient and unprofitable, because our brain makes faster and more precise calculations with flat surfaces, it is, the amount of pressure and speed that we must put in our hand over the physic surface, or over the virtual surface. One of the examples is gaming. I can't even imagine how could a gamer buy a curved monitor, since, the simple fact of moving yoru mouse over a curved panel puts in play the problems of the physics in quadratic surfaces. The amount of time and effort to move from a point to another, in a quadratic equation/surface is much different and variable than in a lineal surface. We can't simply calculate correctly how to engage a target in a curved surface the same quick and precise than in a flat surface. It's just a fact in my opinion. The same applies in reading or working in a Excel worksheet in a curved monitor. It just becomes a big problem for our comfort and more importantly for our eyes, to have to look at calculations that move in a quadratic surface. It's just fatal. Even when I have very well taken the decision in this area, I still want to know your opinon. 5/ WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT CURVED PANELS IN EVERYDAY'S AND EVERYTHING USE.

6/ IPS VS AMVA+. It's clear that for better contrast, better protection against backlight, and better blacks and whites (VERY IMPORTANT IN READING) we need to go for an AMVA+. Maybe even for gaming. The only exception for which IPS could be good is for photography professionals. Do we agree? 6/ DO YOU AGREE THAT AMVA+ IS BETTER THAN IPS IN ALMOST ALL?

7/ FREQUENCY. For me, a very important subject, yet very scorned or even ignored by many users which consider just acceptable having a 60hz monitor like we had 15 years ago? Frequency not only plays a key role in games, in which the more FPS we get, the better experience we have, but also (and please correct me if I'm wrong) and HEALTH. The more Hertz that we have in our monitor, the less flickering we get. The more steady, constant and quick emission of frames, even when we work in Excel, or we just read documents, the healthier experience we have, since it's not the same reading a document at 60HZ than at 165hz. Or... is it? If it's the same, maybe for sure it's not the same in gaming? 7 / WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT FREQUENCIES?

FINAL/ What would you buy in this moment, and/or in the very coming future. 27" 2k AMVA+ G-Sync 144-165hz? I accept also partial recommendations, it is, for example a 27" AMVA+ monitor which is not G-sync, and only for reading/working. I can consider the option of having two monitors, although I don't find it comfortable to have more than one monitor in my desk. Thanks in advance for your contributions.
 
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3: Gsync by far.

6: Always liked MVA displays over IPS.

7: 144hz is more than enough.
 
Harmful emissions were limited to pre- lead-coating CRT monitors 30+ years ago.
Flickering and less than ideal blue light frequencies are a point of concern though. Flickering was mainly a problem in early LED backlit monitors, because the method of PWM dimming doesn't mix well with the instantaneous light decay of LEDs. Some monitors, most notably the Asus VG248QE and Acer GN246HL still use PWM because those companies never bothered to update their most popular (now outdated) products. But the vast majority of monitors these days are flicker-free.
LCD monitors don't flicker like CRTs do. Regardless of which refresh rate you're using, the sample-and-hold technique makes pixels stay at one color until updated. However this increases the percieved blur, which is why strobing modes like ULMB exist.
"Blue light mode" is popular in monitors nowadays. They usually boil down to a F.lux like feature (warmer color temperature to help you sleep at night), something you can do with software. Also, AOC specifically has been omitting certain blue light frequencies in their monitors as a step up from this.

You can always use scaling to make text bigger and more readable on a high res display, but you can't do the opposite. Some people are fine with 27" or even 32" 1080p, because of their uses, their distance from the monitor, the depth of their table, etc., but it's not for everyone. Keep in mind that on a large, high resolution monitor you can also just set a smaller custom resolution for a smaller centered window with black area around it - this is especially popular on 40" and 43" 4K monitors, for games.
Also keep in mind that VA panels have slightly less sharp text because of the subpixel layout. Not a big issue, and higher res scaling and ClearType adjustment should fix it easily, but be aware of it.
Personally I have ordered a 32" 2560x1440 AMVA monitor to try out, the Phillips BDM3270QP2. The DPI is the same as on a 24" 1080p monitor, and the larger size means I can use it for games and media from a distance as well. Pretty much the end all monitor srgb image quality -wise (if Tomshardware is to be believed), as well as afforable - but although the response times are good for VA, it's 60hz, doesn't have adaptive sync, and has the usual input/processing lag of pro monitors, so it's not for high skill shooter gameplay.

I don't have a curved monitor or TV, but I doubt I would be as annoyed with the former as with the latter. TVs are meant to be viewed from various angles and distances, so one fixed curve doesn't make much sense. Monitors however are usually viewed straight on from specific distance, so a mild curve makes better sense here. Most people are indifferent or like the curve on their ultrawides or Samsung 144hz monitor for example.

Freesync has pretty much caught up with G-Sync on performance at this point. RX Vega is launching in a weeks time as well, which should compete with the Pascal lineup at performance and price (probably not the 1080ti though). G-Sync is worth it if you're going with a higher end Pascal card though.
You don't need adaptive sync at all if all you're going to play is games like CSGO and Rocket League however, so if that's the case you might as well get a Freesync monitor without "G-Sync tax", even with an Nvidia card, and treat it like a non-adaptive sync model.

Sadly there just isn't a non-curved 27"/32" 1440p VA G-Sync monitor you can buy right now and call it a day. Either you'll have to settle for a curved non-GSync Samsung panel (in which case I would go with the AOC AG322QCX), or you'd have to get one of the 27" 1440p 144hz IPS/AHVA monitors. Regarding the IPS ones, the rampant BLB issues are mostly caused by the panel mounting or bezel squeezing on the panel, so I wouldn't even consider the Asus for example.
 
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Harmful emissions were limited to pre- lead-coating CRT monitors 30+ years ago.
Sadly there just isn't a non-curved 27"/32" 1440p VA G-Sync monitor you can buy right now and call it a day. Either you'll have to settle for a curved non-GSync Samsung panel (in which case I would go with the AOC AG322QCX), or you'd have to get one of the 27" 1440p 144hz IPS/AHVA monitors. Regarding the IPS ones, the rampant BLB issues are mostly caused by the panel mounting or bezel squeezing on the panel, so I wouldn't even consider the Asus for example.
Thanks for your extense answer.
About the flickering thing, I already knew that nowadays LCD monitors do not have the same type of flickering than CRT monitors did have, although, unfortunately, I could see lots of bad flickering monitors just some years ago, not more than 4 years ago. Even so, despite of the difference between a 60hz and a 144hz, aside of speed, performance and success in gaming, but, I have always thought that the HZ are directly related to eyes health, even being not CRT. But, If I have not missunderstood, you're telling me that there is no difference in terms of health, between a nowadays 60hz and a 144/165hz, is it so?

I watched the full suggestions that geok1ng gave in the "Best reviewed AMVA monitor" saying that there is no better monitor for reading than an AMVA, since IPS panels are more transparent and therefore the backlight comes more easily right through them, and right to the yes, causing an unnecessary light emission / eye gasping (or something like that), making the blacks not really blacks and the waits not really whites, and that the text sharpness is mainly due to the transition between the text and the background, and that we normally read white text in black backgrounds or black text in white backgrounds, and if there is not a good color accuracy / contrast which AMVA panels give and IPS don't, there is no possible sharpness, and/or the effort that the eyes must do with an IPS, in order to read, is much worse than the one needed in an AMVA. But correct me if i'm wrong. In that thread there were opposite opinions from a lot of users, there was even one saying that the best panel for reading is a TN panel!!

No, I mean, a Freesync already costs a lot of money, and just for a little bit more we have a Gsync so I see no point in taking a Freesync when the best use we can give to our money, time and satisfaction is a technology wich pairs up correcly with our card.

About the curveds, it's a no-no, since there is no point in reading, working or playing through curved surfaces, aside from the angles, it suposes a clear disadvantage over the opponents in gaming, and an unnecessary extra effort for our eyes, brain and patience for working and reading, over an unnatural surface (try to read a bended paper sheet, and then tell me if it's more comfortable than reading through a flat paper sheet; a youtuber specialized in monitors -pccentric- dared to answer me that curved monitors are more comfortable and natural than flat panels /he was probly payed by the monitor provider of the case/, and had not answer to this).

Finally I don't know which monitor to take. I would take already to have something decent at least to work while I wait for a gaming one, a cheap 27" 1080p (60hz), but I have no idea of how text is displayed in a monitor which is that big. I know I will see everything bigger, and, I supose, as you say, that I won't be able to make it smaller in all cases. So I really have no idea. This is becoming a nightmare. It's amazing that there are no minimally acceptable solutions in the market right now.
 
I have been summoned.:cool:

a Gaming + reading is not that difficult usage scenario to meet. there IPS panels with good contrast and PPI, like the predator X34 and VA panels that game like champs, as the FG70s from Samsung.

there is a very important gaming tech that you are forgetting in your posts: LMB, aka strobing backlight. Basically a LMB monitor at 100Hz has less motion blur than a 200Hz display without it . all 3 have ULMB: Asus PG279Q, AOC AG271QG and Acer XB271HU.
Usually gsync and ULMB can not be enabled at the same time, but there are exceptions .

So, as far as gaming goes, 27" 2560x1440, 144Hz , Gsync and ULMB are the Nirvana of gaming. No wonder they cost so much!

I apologize if my love of Va panels confused you: VAs are second only to OLED when watching movies, and they are great for reading. This does not mean that the above 27" IPS are unsuitable for reading.

The ( much) higher contrast of VAs makes gaming on them a visual experience, just like watching movies. But there are no 2560x1440 VAs with a scanning/strobing backlight. Samsung promised us that, and did not delivered it. If you wanna game on a VA, you will either game at 1080p or give up on ULMB.

And 1080p sucks for reading, it is just too small!

about curves, unless you can not tolerate curves at all, for example, because you are a engineer or architect and can not work over a curved surface, i do not think having a curve or not should become a factor in your buying decisions.

Putting on a price order:

at $360 you get a 27" 1080p gaming VA with ULMB

$500 gives you a 34" 3440x1440 100Hz freesync Va, without ULMB

The gaming Nirvana costs $700-$750, i believe the Asus is the better buy at this segment.

If you want to give up ULMB, there are 2 other price segments:

$800 gives you a curved, quantum dot, 34" 3440x1440 100Hz VA with Freesync

$900 is the starting price of 35" Gsync 3440x1440 100Hz VAs

Vega liked the HP Omen 35 a lot, but at $1200 it is a hard sell, even if i admit that they have less blur than the Agon 35. It is like comparing an Audi A8 to a Lamborghini. The 35" VA have more contrast, no backlight bleed and are bigger. But they do have a lot more blur than the ULMB displays.

I have not listed low cost gsyncs, but they do exist.

I have set my mind on ULMB and more than 2560x1440 resolution. If i spend money today and not get ULMB, i am 200% sure that i will have buyers remorse.

I dont care about backlight bleed, some people are capable of returning dozens of monitors looking for a panel with a bit less BLB. personally i advice: if you can not tolerate BLB, get a VA.

EDIT: it is been almost a month and i am still not sure if the new Samsungs have ULMB, because reviewers are too stupid to realize that they must disable Freesync to enable the response time OSD menu. :mad:

if they do have ULMB, the nirvana starts at $600, and it is quantum dot VA!!!
 
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What does one have to look for to see if the 27" CHG from Samsung have ULMB? From reading both the CFG70 and the CHG70 features, both state that they have the MOTION BLUR REDUCTION feature (1ms MPRT) and both manuals say that this function is not available when using FreeSync.

Only the CFG70 manual though says that when you choose the FAST or FASTEST response time option, the flicker free option is unavailable? Does these mean that when the UMLB feature is on, it produces flicker? And, those these also means that in my Dell UP3017Q OLED monitor, when I turn off the Flicker Free option, I'm using some kind of ULMB in my monitor? The flicker in my monitor is quite noticeable though and I guess it's not the case with other UMLB monitors.

It seems that the 1400p 27" CHG70 monitor from Samsung also has the ULMB feature!
 
I actually do not have a very strong (if the word can be used at all) attachment to ULMB (specifically this version, I haven't seen other strobing implementations).

1. ULMB drastically limits the maximum brightness of the monitor. 120nits is about as far as my PG278Q could get to (maximum brightness, 95 pulse width), which is thankfully my normal desktop brightness. If I were using any higher, ULMB would have drastically altered my perceived image.

2. In fps games, I honestly cannot see the difference between G-Sync and ULMB. I tested this on CS:GO, where the effects of G-Sync should be minimised and ULMB maximised, and I still don't see any difference between the two. Granted, this is switching between modes, and I do not have 2 PG278Q's side by side to compare directly, but my run away feeling is that I don't feel it. The only time I could visibly see it was when I moved my mouse around unrealistically fast could I see reduced double images of a light bulb and concentrating on the said light bulb, but under normal playing circumstances, no difference at all.

3. In 60fps limited games (I used Raiden IV as a test) ULMB was drastically WORSE than G-sync, because rather than a smearish blur on G-Sync, on ULMB it becomes 2 distinctly visible double image, which I find HIGHLY distracting. So ULMB here have been a negative.

Basically, I find ULMB to be quite useless, since I couldn't find the upside, and all I found was the downsides.

It might be something to do with the fact that I process motion blur differently from others. I can see the motion blur difference between 60fps on IPS 60hz and 120fps on TN 120hz monitor, but that's about as far as my head will process. Sure, moving text is definitely more visible under ULMB, but if I am moving, I am almost definitely not paying attention to the background text, so that benefit is moot.
 
What does one have to look for to see if the 27" CHG from Samsung have ULMB?

Please forgive me if i require a full in-depth review before sinking my money on a piece of crap. I really wanna see pursuit camera images before advising a fellow [H] on a Monitor. The FG70s were very easy to recommend after i saw this:

C24FG70-blur.png

We are talking about a panel that has less motion blur than a TN with ULMB !
Do not assume that just because the 1080p panel has such amazing results the same is true of the 1440p panel from Samsung.
Woe to he who buys a VA panel without checking pursuit camera images.

I haven't seen other strobing implementations

https://pcmonitors.info/reviews/samsung-c24fg70/

With the scanning backlight enabled, peak brightness went from 362 nits to 218-270 nits, depending on settings. Around twice as bright as your monitor.
I would not call the 225 nits of the 120Hz + fastest response time optimal blur setting as a dim light source, quite the opposite, because the measured contrast of 2813:1 means that you actually need less brightness to discern image details.

Those new Samsungs promised local dimming and HDR support, so perceived contrast can be even higher.
 
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Wouldn't mind a 32" 1440p version of that monitor TBH after seeing the review.
 
Wouldn't mind a 32" 1440p version of that monitor TBH after seeing the review.

Like this?

This is a problem: all the really good monitor review sites are UK or Germany based, and the HG70s are sold only in Newegg and samsung-Us sites. It will be some time before we see pursuit camera tests of those monitors.
 
Searched that model, on this side of the pacific, one of the better known electronic sellers states a mid-september release date., with pricing just a smidge more than XB271HU ($50 or so)

So US version should be out before or around then.

(now laments the state of Vega even more...)
 
Actually, quick question.

The anti-strobe effect on the VA monitor is independent of FreeSync functionality right? Meaning I can activate it on its own without needing driver input?
 
Actually, quick question.

The anti-strobe effect on the VA monitor is independent of FreeSync functionality right? Meaning I can activate it on its own without needing driver input?


Actually to have scanning or strobing enabled you must DISABLE freesync/gsync. There are a few exceptions that alllow *sync + LMB at same time linked above.
 
That I am fully well aware, but I am asking if the strobing effect is built into the monitor that functions independent of AMD's FreeSync technology?

I ask this because both G-Sync and ULMB are tied to nVidia's drivers, meaning that you lose both if you hooked them up to an AMD GPU, I wonder if it is possible to keep the strobing if I hooked it up to nVidia GPU.
 
Ón the Fg70s faster and fastest response time settings- those that enable the scanning backlight- are available on any GPU.
But it would be a shame to use one of the first Freesync2 displays with a green card.Heaven knows what would happen with HDR content on the HG70s paired with a green card.
Again- these monitors have not received an in-depth review yet.

Please do not confuse:
Vega, the [H]ardcore gamer [H]ere, loves his HP Omen 35 paired with 1080Ti(s).
Vega RX, the long awaited AMD GPU, is meant to paired with the HG70s and the C49HG90.
 
Ón the Fg70s faster and fastest response time settings- those that enable the scanning backlight- are available on any GPU.
But it would be a shame to use one of the first Freesync2 displays with a green card.Heaven knows what would happen with HDR content on the HG70s paired with a green card.
Again- these monitors have not received an in-depth review yet.

Which is why I said that it makes Vega's poor showing all the more disappointing, but at least hooking up a FreeSync monitor of this type to a Green card (you only lose FS related features) than hooking up a G-Sync to a red card (you lose G-Sync AND ULMB).

Please do not confuse:
Vega, the [H]ardcore gamer [H]ere, loves his HP Omen 35 paired with 1080Ti(s).
Vega RX, the long awaited AMD GPU, is meant to paired with the HG70s and the C49HG90.

I admit, I am probably not as knowledgeable as few folks here, but I am not that daft! >.<... I think... :p
 
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Vega's poor showing all the more disappointing

Vega RX just hit a landslide blind test against 1080Ti. There are no bad monitors or GPUs, just products with bad prices against their market competition. On the list i made above, i would not call any of the products bad.
Hell knows how Vega RX will be priced if Ethereum does crash once and for all.
If there was a Gsync quantum dot VA on the market with scanning backlight, i would be just as happy as Vega is with the HP omen.
 
Maybe, that's just the 1 game though, and a very well optimized at that.

I'll still need the final reviews before making that conclusion.

Ironic, that I think about it, with FreeSync being touted as the less ripoff version of A-sync, the 32" 1440p 144hz monitor + vega would cost me MORE than the 27" XB271HU ips and GTX 1080 lol :p
 
I don't want a 1080p, and I don't want a 34" or 35", as I stated, only a 27" maximum, since i consider that a bigger size is not a monitor but a television (same way i consider a 7-10" smartphone a tablet and not a smartphone).
So I want a monitor, not a tv. And... 27" is already too big, but it may be acceptable.

Similarly, I don't want a curved monitor since I think that it plays against performance and efficiency both in gaming and desktop work as I already stated too.

I can't even bear that there is nothing minimally acceptable in the market right now....

We're traveling to mars with androids, fighting in wars with drones... but still having total crap monitors with flaws of all kinds, and a quality and technology evolution graph that is equal to the 90's. Amazing.
 
I can't even bear that there is nothing minimally acceptable in the market right now....

all 3 27" the OP listed are IPS, Gsync, ULMB and had decent color calibration. since no one uses VA for color critical work thanks to horizontal gamma shift, i ask you to pick your poison:

- Do you want some cheese with your whine?
-Or can we just add you to our ignore list?
 
VeganPrince,

It seems like there is only 1 company left making non-curved 27" VA panels and that is AUO. Innolux and Sharp don't seem to have any current in the segment and Samsung have gone full-curve, even for their "business" VAs.

Do note that AHVA is an IPS-type panel, not a VA panel.

Looking over the AUO panels from a panel supplier, I can't find a single VA panel with a resolution above 1080p. That also matches the information on AUO's site, although I've found that incomplete and/or out of date in the past.

In other words, if you are looking for a 1440p or higher FLAT VA panel at 27", it doesn't exist. Sorry.

As geok1ng said, pick your poison. Which one of your stated criteria do you want to abandon?
 
VA is my favorite, no glow and reduced blb.

but the dark transitions times kill them, most are horrible or something wrong. The samsungs have bad text pixel layout and purple ghosting probem.

Monitor quality control and internal design is so bad it's unbelievable in 2017. I bought a 32" VA "gaming" monitor 2 weeks ago and the dark scene transition times looked like this. iso 3200 not perfect setup but good enough to understand. Playing games was like looking at a surrealist painting/melting paint.

http://i.imgur.com/Ki4qWN6.jpg

http://imgur.com/xGxobSc
 
VA is my favorite, no glow and reduced blb.

but the dark transitions times kill them, most are horrible or something wrong. The samsungs have bad text pixel layout and purple ghosting probem.

Monitor quality control and internal design is so bad it's unbelievable in 2017. I bought a 32" VA "gaming" monitor 2 weeks ago and the dark scene transition times looked like this. iso 3200 not perfect setup but good enough to understand. Playing games was like looking at a surrealist painting/melting paint.

http://i.imgur.com/Ki4qWN6.jpg

http://imgur.com/xGxobSc
Yep Daffan. Now I really don't know which monitor to take.
I've already decided that a good movement would be to wait for the AMD VEGA cards (vega 56 which will be released by the end of august) and then buy a Freesync monitor, therefore saving money by buying a better than the nvidia 1070 and cheaper graphics card (vega56) and saving another 200 euros by being able to pick up a Freesync monitor instead of a Gsync.

The problem is that the gaming Nirvana (as my geok1ng friend would say) is held by Gsync monitors which are the only ones that have a decent IPS panel. The freesync versions (cheaper) are TN panels!!! Can't. Believe that. So maybe I will have to buy a Nvidia card and a Gsync monitor only to be able to pick up a 144-165hz ips with real sync (not adaptative sync)???

Or do you guys have an idea about a good Full HD IPS or VA monitor, or even QHD IPS monitor, which is not as expensive as the gsync nirvana monitors?
 
What do you mean there are no Freesync IPS ones?
The new Nixeus EDG 27" is what I would pick up, at least when they finally get the logistics problems out of the way and start selling it in the EU. Nixeus use a custom scaler for the full 30-144hz range (although not super important because of LFC), fully adaptive overdrive which seems to be more the exception than the norm on Freesync monitors, and by design a much smaller chance for bezel pressure related BLB issues like the PG279Q is infamous for.
Very affordable as well
 
What do you mean there are no Freesync IPS ones?
The new Nixeus EDG 27" is what I would pick up, at least when they finally get the logistics problems out of the way and start selling it in the EU. Nixeus use a custom scaler for the full 30-144hz range (although not super important because of LFC), fully adaptive overdrive which seems to be more the exception than the norm on Freesync monitors, and by design a much smaller chance for bezel pressure related BLB issues like the PG279Q is infamous for.
Very affordable as well
There is a 144hz 27" Nixeus in my amazon which is 2560 x 1440p, the model is NX-VUE27P, but it dates from december 2016 so i guess it's not the one you mention.

Regarding the lack of Freesync IPS panels, I meant decent IPS panels. It seems like the asus 27" freesync monitors are much worse than their gsync version. To start with, they're TN. And there is only one IPS 144hz freesync Acer, which is also no decent (much worse criticism and BLB faults versus the gsync version). I had never heard of that Nixeus trademark before. I guess it won't really come to Spain or Europe. In amazon spain there are only yankee comments (they have joined the USA reviews with our local amazon which means that nobody here buys this monitor).

The Msi optix g27C and the samsung C27FG70 are totally discarded because they have a very bad color reproduction, and in the samsung case even with purple artifacts.
Still the FULLHD is an option for me since I recognise that it's not best for a wide desktop space in windows, but for gamers, FULL HD is the way to go since no 1440P will give us a decent 144hz (or near to that).

What do you think?
 
Nixeus is a small US brand, but they did already sell the Vue 24" in Europe at one point, and the 1440p 144hz 27" IPS one should appear here for sale as well at some point (announced officially). The Acer XF270HU was updated to the XF270HUA with new bezels (less chance of BLB perhaps) - some people still complain that overdrive is disabled or very weak with Freesync on with this one, don't really know what's up with that. The MG279Q is probably what I would buy right now, as it performs well and can have the Freesync range adjusted to ~56-144hz with CRU which makes it use LFC. The Eizo FS2735 is also probably the holy grail for the Freesync versions, but just so damn expensive.
The panels used for all these are exactly the same as in every 144-165hz G-Sync IPS model.

The C27FG70 should not have the purple artifacting anymore. I'm trying one out at the moment, and it doesn't have this issue - newer versions shouldn't in general.
I would stay away from the G27C though, as it's a low quality model, basically the same as the budget brand Viotek in the US as they use the same manufacturer, and the MSI version is riddled with problems like the image turning blue.

My old FW900 is starting to show its age, and I'm trying out different monitors while waiting for Philips to release their monitor using the 31.5" 1440p 144hz VA panel (if affordable). This C27FG70 is very impressive motion performance wise (big thumb up for the strobing mode as well). Although VA is not as consistent or vivid as IPS image quality wise, this one seems to have less noticeable VA viewing angle problems than other VAs I have tested, and Samsung are really trying to make the best of the image quality with the qdot 125% saturation, pretty good SRGB emulation, and very nice factory calibration. Coming from a CRT, I'd rather steer clear of the bright IPS glow of the 144hz AHVA panels, so this is a good compromise.
For work I'm not completely sold though - 27" 1080p is low DPI, which isn't too bad by itself, but I can definitely notice the weird subpixel layout Samsung use for these which just isn't pretty for text.
For games, the CFG70, a Vega 56, and using VSR to downscale from 1440p to utilize that performance would not be a bad choice at all
 
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https://pcmonitors.info/reviews/samsung-c24fg70/

" The monitor completely covers sRGB (100%) with a fair bit of extension beyond this. This means that the monitor can output all shades within the sRGB colour space with some extra saturation in places. The colour gamut does not extend as far as wide gamuts such as ‘Adobe RGB’, particularly in the green corner of the diagram. This avoids the excessive oversaturation associated with viewing sRGB content on a wide gamut monitor, but provides extra vibrancy which many users would quite like for general usage and entertainment purposes."

"The monitor also offers an ‘sRGB’ setting, analysed in the calibration section. This is an sRGB emulation mode that significantly cuts down the colour gamut of the monitor so that it closely follows sRGB. It actually provides 99% sRGB coverage and as reported earlier has little effect on contrast, plus allows the user full control over brightness and colour channels. It’s therefore an excellent and praiseworthy sRGB emulation mode."

"The monitor also provided a rich and vibrant palette of colours, with the Nanosys Quantum Dots aiding the colour gamut. This did give a bit of extra saturation compared to what is technically supposed to be displayed within the sRGB colour space, but this was not as extensive as that seen on models with wide colour gamuts such as Adobe RGB. An excellent ‘sRGB emulation’ mode was also present, which cut down on this saturation without loss of contrast, any real sRGB under-coverage or locked image controls. The panel itself also provided pleasing colour consistency for a VA panel, with some slight loss of saturation towards the extreme edges and bottom of the screen but nothing as pronounced as you’d generally see on a VA model of this size."

" At 144Hz and suitably high frame rates the ‘connected feel’ was excellent, aided by the high frame rate and very low input lag. The levels of perceived blur were also very low. There was a noticeable absence of the sort of ‘smeary’ trailing you’d generally see on VA models, even for the often problematic ‘high contrast’ transitions. There were a few transitions that were a bit slower than optimal, but this was similar to what we’ve seen on 144Hz AHVA (IPS-type) panels and beyond what we’ve seen from VA models thus far. "

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Really looking forward to seeing what the premium QD filtered 1000nit 512 zone FALD HDR G-sync panels will able to do. I'm hoping the dense FALD array (combined with the curvature of the ultrawide) will help minimize the uniformity issues normally exacerbated by edge lighting. I am mostly really tired of 860:1 and 960:1 TN and IPS contrast ratios and their .13 - .14 black depth. For media, including lush game worlds, that is unacceptable and will be even more limiting in HDR content's luminance range (and color volume i.e. colors displayed throughout that wide range). When a monitor hits it's limits it will crush or clip to mud or white on the high or low end of content instead of showing shades of colors throughout.

The 384 zone FALD should help the IPS gaming panels but they will already be coming from around a third of the VA contrast and black depth or worse to start with before FALD benefits are added. Perhaps we'll see a 25 - 33% increase in contrast ratio with the FALD array, maybe more if lucky due to the high density of it. Just guessing. Hopefully that could improve it to something like 1450:1 to 1470:1 (950:1 to 980:1 + 33%) for the FALD IPS and 4275:1 (2850:1 + 33%) for the FALD gaming VA. Will have to wait to see some good reviews of course. The black depth numbers should be telling. The HDR premium label standard is (minimum) 1000nit peak, .05 black depth, and P3 color. The higher end monitors designed for HDR color volume could potentially have a higher percent of P3 color than the samsung too.
 
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It's 2019 and I'm looking for an AMVA 27" 2560x1440 with g-sync or freesync. Still nothing available? 32" seems too big, but if there is still nothing available in 27", I might give one a try.
 
Looking at the LG 32GK650F-B at the moment. It's bigger than I would like, but it otherwise fits the bill and budget.
 
I didn't find a 27" in budget that is AMVA, 2560x1440, 100+ hz, and g-sync or free-sync (and PWM-free of course). So I ordered a 32" LG 32GK650F-B. The pixel density should be the same as on my old HP LP2480ZX (24" 1080), where unscaled text is on the big side but ok. I would rather have less pixel density and bigger text than the other way around and have to scale up. My main concern with a 32" is not having enough comfortable viewing distance on my desk. Any way, I will report back after I get to use it.

I think that major eye comfort factors for me are backlight bleed/glow and PWM. The bleed/glow on my old HP LP2480ZX isn't bad, but it has PWM at all brightness levels, which makes it uncomfortable to read from. The bleed/glow on my U2515H is probably typical of W-LED IPS diplays, which to me is horrible and eye aching for any use case and especially for reading. I will know soon enough if AMVA is any better for eye comfort.
 
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