ASUS Announces ROG SWIFT PG278Q Premium Gaming Monitor

A TV even with black frame insertion doesn't vary it's hz "randomly" on the fly to match a game's fps so you aren't really comparing the same thing when talking about g-sync at least, or a monitor capable of both options. The mutual exclusivity of each mode might be the root of the problem for those few experiencing it in fact.

Flashing the backlight at 120hz -144hz is still a little different than black frame insertion on a 60hz input tv too.

Most of us aren't having that issue either. Have you looked up forums about your tv to see if anyone is complaining about any of it's features? :p
 
Godmachine said:
Its weird that even with this very finely aimed enthusiast monitor they still can't get ULMB tech working right. Yet on my Sony 50 inch W800B Black frame insertion mode (called Impulse mode) works fantastically. I don't understand why these manufacturers can't rein in this problem..

If a middle range TV can do it without the weird issues encountered among higher end PC gaming monitors then what excuse is there now that its no longer "experimental" technology for these displays but a front and forward advertised feature?
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It works fine for pretty much everybody. He has a driver issue.
 
I can easily switch between ULMB and g-sync and both work perfectly for me (and no ULMB isn't bad at all on this monitor, I just prefer the smoothness and low lag of g-sync). And I never have to reboot my machine (which I pretty much never do anyway) or the monitor for that matter.
 
When gsync stops working. Is rebooting the only way to get it work again?

Usually when an application closes improperly, or if I turn on my monitors in the wrong order after the computer shuts them off, gsync won't work for any games until I reboot.

Surprisingly more annoying than you would think.
 
Armenius said:
And the screendoor effect is caused by the matte AG coating they used on the panel, not anything wrong with the panel itself. It's most notable to me on white or light backgrounds. It is sometimes annoying reading text on this thing.
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Personally I use 3rd party stuff for all my text based apps set to medium or dark grey with black text whenever possible. I find this a much more pleasant viewing/reading experience even on my glossy cinema display ips but it makes a huge difference on the swift in regard to the ag coating for me.
  • 3rd party file manager (directory opus in my case, highly customizable. Also does dual pane, multiple tabs per pane, and a million other things. (There are cheap or free alternatives)
  • 3rd party text editor (editpad lite or notepad++)
  • Nosquint addon for firefox (changes default background and text colors or imo better option to change per page on the fly, which it remembers on a per page basis).
    nosquint_ff-addon.png

I also set my windows theme and chat app preferences similarly where possible. This allows me to use settings with much more bright "pop" on both of my monitors without blinding myself with white background reading material. Back in the day many crt's had different settings for multimedia mode, text/reading (more dull, low bright/contrast), and gaming. A few lcd's still do, and my tv has 4 sets of settings (though they are used for varying light levels in the room rather than usage modes). With the abilitiy to customize my backgrounds to medium/dark I'm able to keep my "multimedia" settings "popping" without having to tone them down for reading basically. It also helps a ton vs reading through the ag coating as I said.
 
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My ROG Swift that I just bought at MicroCenter has a "November 2014" build date. Is this a good one? I see people saying they got "good ones" and I don't know what they mean.
 
How many of you guys migrated from a 27" IPS to this monitor and how was it?

IPS was order of magnitudes better for me than TN screens so now I'm stuck between snapping a Swift up or waiting for the 1440p IPS panel slated for later this year.
 
mope54 said:
How many of you guys migrated from a 27" IPS to this monitor and how was it?

IPS was order of magnitudes better for me than TN screens so now I'm stuck between snapping a Swift up or waiting for the 1440p IPS panel slated for later this year.
Click to expand...

At this point, just wait for the 144hz IPS reviews. Supposed to be coming out real soon.
 
kalston said:
mope54 said:
How many of you guys migrated from a 27" IPS to this monitor and how was it?

IPS was order of magnitudes better for me than TN screens so now I'm stuck between snapping a Swift up or waiting for the 1440p IPS panel slated for later this year.
Click to expand...
At this point, just wait for the 144hz IPS reviews. Supposed to be coming out real soon.
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IPS response time = really bad smear blur, (toward the 60hz "baseline" smear blur of a 60hz TN or worse)

just spoke about it several posts ago (post # 3907 out of 3942 in this thread)
http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1041342258&postcount=3907


Also quoting some parts of a web page I made regarding the benefits motion definition and blur reduction/elimination of high hz + high fps and backlight strobing options since the blur sections apply to mention of ips 1st/3rd person gaming panels.
web-cyb.org 120hz-fps-compared
Blur amount comparisons

Blur amount using a pursuit camera (which is a very close approximation of what our eyes see with sample-and-hold blur at different hz).
Images borrowed from www.blurbusters.com
Note that in a modern game you would not just be seeing a single simple cell-shaded object bluring, you would be seeing the entire viewport
full of high rez geometry, high rez textures, etc.. the whole game world bluring during your continual/repeated movement keying, mouse-look
flow pathing, and viewport affecting ability usages or other triggered events.

60hz ultra low response time TN (IPS response time results in similar blur amounts or worse even at higher hz).
60Hz-1024x341.jpg


120hz ultra low response time TN(50% less blur than 60hzTN, 50% or more reduction vs IPS response times)
120Hz-1024x341.jpg


144hz ultra low response time TN(no pursuit camera shot available but it's 60% blur reduction)

Lighboost hack mode (colors are more affected with the hack than the modern ulmb mode built into g-sync monitors, but this pursuit camera shot gives a good idea of the blur elimination)
LightBoost50-1024x341.jpg


The images below's blur amounts would look even worse full screen. Shrunken images look more defined.
The game in the example is also not using very high detail textures, but it still provides some insight.
120hz ultra low response time TN without strobing still blurs out all high detail textures(incl. shaders, depth via bumpmapping, etc)
and text, just more within the "shadow mask" of onscreen objects (more of a "fuzzy" blur during motion rather than smearing).
No 144hz ultra low response time TN mode shown but it would be +10% more blur reduction than the 120hz one, which is pretty tight but not full clarity.
The "240hz" example is actually 120hz ultra low response time TN+ backlight strobing.

60hz-120hz-vs-turbo240hz-backlightstrobing-lg.jpg
Click to expand...
 
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mope54 said:
How many of you guys migrated from a 27" IPS to this monitor and how was it?

IPS was order of magnitudes better for me than TN screens so now I'm stuck between snapping a Swift up or waiting for the 1440p IPS panel slated for later this year.
Click to expand...

I did. Yes the swift is not as crisp, but from where I sit when gaming I dont notice. All I see is amazingly smooth graphics with G-Sync. I will never game on a non-gsync screen ever again.
 
mope54 said:
How many of you guys migrated from a 27" IPS to this monitor and how was it?

IPS was order of magnitudes better for me than TN screens so now I'm stuck between snapping a Swift up or waiting for the 1440p IPS panel slated for later this year.
Click to expand...

Migrated from a 30" 2560x1600 IPS display. The ASUS has worse viewing angles, not wide gamut colors but significantly less blur in any mode. You can find more details somewhere earlier in this thread.

Viewing angles is the only real issue on this panel IMO and it's not too bad overall (not noticeable unless you move up and down on your chair a lot).
 
kasakka said:
Migrated from a 30" 2560x1600 IPS display. The ASUS has worse viewing angles, not wide gamut colors but significantly less blur in any mode. You can find more details somewhere earlier in this thread.

Viewing angles is the only real issue on this panel IMO and it's not too bad overall (not noticeable unless you move up and down on your chair a lot).
Click to expand...

This was my experience exactly. Although I did so going from 3x30" Dell 3007WFP-HCs to 3x27" ROG Swift monitors.
 
Sooo noob question.

Just received my swift (big change from my samsung 220) and I've never really looked into checking monitors for defects or calibrating.
Is there a website you can recommend for such things?

Also for some reason my ULMB option is greyed out. I tried disabling G-Sync and setting to 120Hz but no change.
 
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Drakul said:
Sooo noob question.

Just received my swift (big change from my samsung 220) and I've never really looked into checking monitors for defects or calibrating.
Is there a website you can recommend for such things?

Also for some reason my ULMB option is greyed out. I tried disabling G-Sync and setting to 120Hz but no change.
Click to expand...

If it is your desktop you will also need to set the refresh rate to 120hz to get ULMB to work.

should be an option in nVidia CP where you control desktop colors and resolution
 
cybereality said:
If you don't notice any defects from normal use, then just be happy.
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Yeah I agree but I just wanted to make sure there wasn't anything obvious.

mope54 said:
These are the sites I use when I get a new monitor:
http://jasonfarrell.com/misc/deadpixeltest.php
http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/
Click to expand...

Thanks.

chenw said:
If it is your desktop you will also need to set the refresh rate to 120hz to get ULMB to work.

should be an option in nVidia CP where you control desktop colors and resolution
Click to expand...

Thanks for that! That did it.
For some reason I was changing it in 'Adjust Desktop Size and Position' but not in the actual 'Change Resolution'. What's the difference between the 2?

Is brightness supposed to be at 100 in ULMB?
 
yes brightness 100 but you can experiment with the ulmb pulse width (the strobe length duration). I was trying lower values but bumped up to 50 and then to 80 because I didn't like how it was affecting the brightness/contrast and saturation at lower values. (The shorter the pulse width/strobe duration, the darker the display will get and the more dull the colors and contrast/brightness). Still looked really tight though with pulse width at 80 or 100 on very high framerate capable games like L4D2 and dishonored.

In general I just use 144hz + g-sync for most games though.
 
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elvn said:
yes brightness 100 but you can experiment with the ulmb pulse width (the strobe length duration). I was trying lower values but bumped up to 50 and then to 80 because I didn't like how it was affecting the brightness/contrast and saturation at lower values. (The shorter the pulse width/strobe duration, the darker the display will get and the more dull the colors and contrast/brightness). Still looked really tight though with pulse width at 80 or 100 on very high framerate capable games like L4D2 and dishonored.

In general I just use 144hz + g-sync for most games though.
Click to expand...

I have a question regarding that.

I really like ULMB on my desktop but yesterday I launched WoW and noticed vertical lines as soon as the camera moved. So I alt-Tabbed and noticed I was still in ULMB and not in G-Sync so I witch ULMB off and turned G-Sync back on and the lines didn't show anymore.

So my first question is, is it normal for ULMB to show those vertical lines? (It almost looks like you're looking at a vertical interlacing up close.)
And how do you keep ULMB on dekstop but make sure it uses G-Sync in games?


PS: I just realized I play WoW in windowed mode so that might be the culprit.
 
Drakul said:
I have a question regarding that.

I really like ULMB on my desktop but yesterday I launched WoW and noticed vertical lines as soon as the camera moved. So I alt-Tabbed and noticed I was still in ULMB and not in G-Sync so I witch ULMB off and turned G-Sync back on and the lines didn't show anymore.

So my first question is, is it normal for ULMB to show those vertical lines? (It almost looks like you're looking at a vertical interlacing up close.)
And how do you keep ULMB on dekstop but make sure it uses G-Sync in games?


PS: I just realized I play WoW in windowed mode so that might be the culprit.
Click to expand...

Set 120hz in desktop and turn on ULMB, go into nvidia control panel global settings and set preferred refresh rate to highest available.

This will keep 120hz with ULMB when in desktop and switch to 144hz and gsync mode when in a fullscreen directx game and back to 120hz ULMB mode when you exit the game. Also allows your gpu to goto 2d clocks when in desktop.
 
Double checking, is Swift a TN with 6bit colors + dithering or a true 8bit panel?
 
http://www.asus.com/us/Monitors/ROG_SWIFT_PG278Q/specifications/

Display Colors : 16.7M (real 8 bit)
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Display
Panel Size : Wide Screen 27.0"(68.47cm) Auto
True Resolution : 2560x1440 *
Pixel Pitch : 0.233mm
Brightness(Max) : 350 cd/㎡
Contrast Ratio (Max) : 1000:1
Viewing Angle (CR≧10) : 170°(H)/160°(V)
Response Time : 1ms (Gray to Gray)
Display Colors : 16.7M (real 8 bit)
Video Feature
Trace Free Technology
Color Temperature Selection : 4 Modes
3D Technology : Shutter Glasses 3D Technology
GamePlus(modes) : Yes (Crosshair/Timer)
HDCP support
Convenient Hotkey
GamePlus
5-way OSD Navigation Joystick
Turbo key
I/O Ports
Signal Input : DisplayPort 1.2
USB Port(s) : 3.0x2
Signal Frequency
Digital Signal Frequency : 89~222KHz(H)/50~144Hz(V)
Power Consumption
Power On: <90W**
Power Saving/Off: <0.5W
Mechanical Design
Chassis Colors : Black
Tilt : +20°~-5°
Swivel : Yes
Pivot : Yes
Height Adjustment : Yes
VESA Wall Mounting : 100x100mm
Security
Kensington lock
Dimensions
Phys. Dimension with Stand(WxHxD): 619.77x362.96x237.9mm
Box Dimension (WxHxD): 756x456x300mm
Weight
Net Weight (Esti.): 7.0Kg
Gross Weight (Esti.):10.5Kg
Accessories
Power cord
Power adapter
DisplayPort cable
USB 3.0 cable
Quick start guide
Support CD
Warranty Card
Regulation Approval
Energy Star®, BSMI, CB, CCC, CE, CEL level 1, C-Tick, CU, ErP, FCC, J-MOSS, KCC, PSE, RoHS, UL/cUL, VCCI, WEEE, WHQL (Windows 8, Windows 7)
Note
Powered by NVIDIA G-SYNC Technology and NVIDIA Ultra Low Motion Blur Technology.
NVIDIA 3D Vision Ready (3D Vision 1 and 2 kit-compatible)

*WQHD Resulution
2D mode: 2560x1440 (up to 144Hz)
3D mode: 2560x1440 (up to 120Hz)
2D Surround: 7680x1440 (up to 144Hz)
3D Surround: 7680x1440 (up to 120Hz)

**Based on EnergyStar 6.0 testing standard
Click to expand...
 
chenw said:
Double checking, is Swift a TN with 6bit colors + dithering or a true 8bit panel?
Click to expand...

It's definitely 8bit, without software calibration it's pretty obvious as everything is amazingly smooth and without dithering.
 
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Welp, my monitor took a dump :(

Blurry unreadable text and flickering at 144hz. I can only read the text with ulmb mode on.
 
Drakul said:
And how do you keep ULMB on dekstop but make sure it uses G-Sync in games?
Click to expand...

There is no point using ULMB on the desktop (as it's mostly static image anyway) and it might cause eye strain over long periods of time.

As mentioned earlier in this thread, the best way to choose which one you want to use is the following:

  1. On desktop use 144 Hz, set Nvidia control panel's global v-sync setting to G-Sync.
  2. If you want to run a game with ULMB instead, edit the profile for that game in Nvidia Control Panel and set the v-sync mode for the game to anything other than G-Sync (I usually use "off").
  3. Then you can just launch the game, hit the display's turbo button a few times to set the display to 120 Hz and play with ULMB.
  4. When you stop the game you get back to desktop with 144 Hz.
 
Nettwerk said:
Welp, my monitor took a dump :(

Blurry unreadable text and flickering at 144hz. I can only read the text with ulmb mode on.
Click to expand...

What month was yours made and what's the serial number start with? I keep my ROG turned on all day and night basically. It only ever goes to sleep for like 4-5 hours a day. Been gaming heavily on it the last 2-3 weeks I've had it.
 
5150Joker said:
What month was yours made and what's the serial number start with? I keep my ROG turned on all day and night basically. It only ever goes to sleep for like 4-5 hours a day. Been gaming heavily on it the last 2-3 weeks I've had it.
Click to expand...

July 2014, Serial starts with E7LM

The problem just started out of nowhere, I noticed flickering in BF4 and CSGO with 144hz gsync and turned off ULMB in desktop and all the fonts are smudged together and unreadable.
 
kasakka said:
There is no point using ULMB on the desktop (as it's mostly static image anyway) and it might cause eye strain over long periods of time.

As mentioned earlier in this thread, the best way to choose which one you want to use is the following:

  1. On desktop use 144 Hz, set Nvidia control panel's global v-sync setting to G-Sync.
  2. If you want to run a game with ULMB instead, edit the profile for that game in Nvidia Control Panel and set the v-sync mode for the game to anything other than G-Sync (I usually use "off").
  3. Then you can just launch the game, hit the display's turbo button a few times to set the display to 120 Hz and play with ULMB.
  4. When you stop the game you get back to desktop with 144 Hz.
Click to expand...

yeah I really like ULMB in desktop but anytime you watched a video the vertical lines pop up so it's annoying.
 
Both modes have different settings that get saved separately.
 
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So if this new batch of ROG swifts any better I suppose I should check out the ASUS forums for the answer.
 
No complaints on the one I just got so far either.
No dead pixels I could notice, nor any blatant BLB or anything so I'm happy.

Problems seem to pop up after 2-3 months though so i'm crossing fingers.
 
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