Ode to DoubleSight DS-263N, stopgap until 4K/144/FALD/HDR >27"

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W Gruffydd

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DoubleSight DS-263N: March 2008 -- August, 2017. With nearly 9.5 years of service, it's the single best piece of hardware I've ever owned.

25.5", S-IPS, 1920 x 1200. At $700, 'twas one of the first, large IPS panels significantly below the $1K threshold (also $200 less than the Planar with an identical panel and $500 less than the NEC with the polarizer). It had relatively good display lag outside of a TN. Mine arrived pixel perfect and with minimal backlight bleed.

Salute! And thanks to ToastyX, whose testing solidified this purchase, back in the day when there were no speeding UFOs to look at.

---

Which brings me to now. I'm looking for another good all-arounder, until they release a 32"+ version of 4K / 144Hz / FALD / HDR. The 27" version got pushed back into 2018, and who knows if/when they'll release a model with reasonable PPI (4K on 27", seriously?).

I game (modern, retro-on-modern, retro-on-retro), create photo/video content non-professionally and for non-print use, and watch video. I've got two ideas:

ViewSonic VP2768
  • 27" 2560x1440 IPS
  • slightly more accurate colors than most gaming IPS panels (perhaps), although it stops short of 10-bit and wide-gamut
  • surprisingly decent lag for an 60Hz IPS panel, but it's still a 60Hz panel
  • $459 shipped, recently reviewed
Asus MG279Q
  • 27" 2560x1440 IPS
  • Decent colors, although nothing special
  • 144Hz, awesome display lag, Freesync (although I can't use Freesync now)
  • $534 shipped, although it's 2-year-old tech
Notably absent:
  1. G-Sync monitors, despite me owning a 970. Shockingly, G-Sync does not support 1:1 pixel mapping through a monitor's OSD. So long as I use a single monitor solution, I may need it for retro-on-retro gaming across a variety of older OSes and non-nvidia graphics cards. I would consider a G-Sync monitor if 1:1 could be enabled outside of software while ULMB blur reduction is used and G-Sync is disabled. Is this possible?
  2. VA panels. They're better for movies, but my gaming and content creation time combined is more than my video watching. IPS glow is also not a deal breaker for me.
  3. 4K 32"+. I've love the real estate, but the cost--including the card to drive them--is more than I want to spend. This is especially true because I'm likely to ditch it for 4K / 144Hz / FALD / HDR.
  4. Curved monitors. I'm not entirely convinced this is something I need. I'm open to suggestions to the contrary.
Thoughts?
 
Last edited:
W Gruffydd said:
Shockingly, G-Sync does not support 1:1 pixel mapping. So long as I use a single monitor solution, I will need it for retro gaming.
Click to expand...

Not sure where you read this, 1:1 mapping is just a matter of going into Nvidia control panel, "Adjust desktop size and position" and setting it to "No scaling." If I bump my XB270HU's resolution down to 1920x1080, it works fine, and it's a g-sync monitor. All other g-sync monitors should work just the same. You can also run ULMB if you want in this mode, or g-sync itself, up to you.
 
Point #4, Aspect Ratio Control. The problem is that--in addition to Windows 10 gaming on my nvidia card--I'll be hooking up machines running DOS/95/98SE on a medley of graphics cards from 1997 to 2000. Now, if there are software-level options in those OSes and during those years from Matrox, 3DFX, and Nvidia, I'll be fine. However, my research is not complete, and I'm erring on the side of caution.

Your point is well taken, though. I should have stated that G-Sync doesn't support 1:1 through the OSD. I've edited my OP accordingly.
 
I 've been using the Viewsonic VP2768 for a couple weeks now. Overall, I'm pleased.

I can see detail in images that I never noticed before. I got lucky with my factory color calibration, as it is far superior to what tftcetnral recieved in their review.

With "Response Time" set to Advanced and "Low Input Lag" set to Ultrafast, it feels snappier and less ghosted during FPS gaming, although this may be the placebo effect.

9.5 years between monitors also affords superior physicality and power consumption. It's only half the depth of the Doublesight and sports a virtually frameless presentation, with only 8mm of border and no frontal logo/indicator/buttons. It runs on about 100 watts less power.



IPS glow is about what you'd expect.
 
Go G-Sync, and get into the CRT game. Retro on LCD is kind of disappointing - either everything is smeared or the colors are garbage (in Lightboost inspired ULMB/blur reducing modes).
 
No, sir, I did not. But I wasn't looking specifically for wide gamut, so that doesn't mean they're not out there. The TFN review said that wide gamut costs more, though, so the kind of monitor you're looking for will likely need to cut costs elsewhere.
 
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