Eizo FORIS FG2421 Gaming Monitor | VA Panel | 120Hz Native | 240Hz

[GabrielDrake]

From Eizo Official Website
http://www.eizo.com/global/press/releases/htmls/fg2421.html

EIZO Corporation today announced the 23.5-inch FORIS FG2421, the world's first gaming monitor with a 240 Hz refresh rate. The FORIS FG2421 also features a low input lag and gaming preset modes that were developed with professional gamers to make it ideal for first-person shooter, racing, fighting, and other fast-action genres.

The FORIS FG2421 comes with a new feature called Turbo 240 that surpasses the 120 Hz refresh rate of conventional gaming monitors. Turbo 240 converts 120 Hz signals to 240 Hz by controlling the blinking of the LED backlight. This high refresh rate along with a response time of less than 1 ms produces the smoothest image display available on a gaming monitor.

The FORIS FG2421 is the first gaming monitor with a refresh rate of 120 Hz or more to use a VA (vertical alignment) LCD panel. The VA panel provides a wide viewing angle of 176° and a high native contrast ratio of 5000:1 for deep blacks. This high contrast ratio increases visibility in dark scenes making it easier to spot enemies.

EIZO developed its own integrated circuit to minimize the input lag or the time it takes for commands from a keyboard, mouse, or controller to appear on the screen. With a 60 Hz input signal the input lag is less than one frame and with a 120 Hz signal it is less than 1.5 frames.

Two color modes for FPS (first-person shooter) and one for RTS (real-time strategy) games are included. The FPS and RTS modes were co-developed with professional gamers from Fnatic, a leading eSports team, to provide ideal brightness, contrast, and gamma settings. Three fully-customizable modes for users who want to import and export their own settings are also built-in.

EIZO is bundling its new software, ScreenManager Pro for Gaming, with the FORIS FG2421. This software lets users download gaming presets used by professional gamers from gaming.eizo.com or export their own customized color modes to other gamers who also own the FORIS FG2421. ScreenManager Pro for Gaming can also be used to assign hot keys to turn the monitor's power and mute on/off, as well as adjust the color mode and screen size. It is compatible with Windows 8, 7, and Vista.

HDMI, DisplayPort, and DVI-D ports provide connectivity with PCs, consoles, Blu-ray players and cameras. A USB hub with one upstream and two downstream ports lets users connect peripherals such as a mouse and keyboard to the monitor. A line-out jack for connecting to external speakers and a headphone jack provide further functionality.

Fast action games are often played at resolutions less than the monitor's native 1920 x 1080. To allow for using the full 23.5-inch screen, the user can enlarge the image while maintaining the aspect ratio or expand it to fill the entire screen.

The FORIS FG2421 is designed to provide viewing comfort over long hours of gameplay. With the Turbo 240 set to off, the FORIS FG2421 maintains a refresh rate of 120 Hz and uses EIZO's own hybrid technology for providing flicker-free images at any brightness level. A sensor on the front of the monitor detects the ambient brightness and adjusts the screen's brightness to the ideal level which saves energy and prevents eyestrain. The sensor can enabled/disabled by the user.

The FORIS FG2421 debuts a new cabinet design. The back of the monitor features an illuminated EIZO logo on a glossy surface that is surrounded by a vermillion frame. Above this frame is a handle for carrying the monitor to a LAN party or gaming event. For viewing comfort, the stand provides 60 mm of height adjustment, 25° of tilt and 344° of swivel. A cable holder contributes to a clutter-free desktop.

The five-year manufacturer's warranty ensures a long service life and is significantly longer than the three-year warranty of most gaming monitors.

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FlatPanelsHD Review:
http://www.flatpanelshd.com/review.php?subaction=showfull&id=1383107475

How the 240Hz refresh rate work:

Bottom Line / Conclusion
 

Eizo moved into the PC gaming space a while ago, but didn’t seem to think that 120 Hz TN panels were optimal. Instead they decided to sell optimized 60 Hz IPS-based gaming monitors that didn’t sacrifice picture quality for speed, but didn’t match the speed of 120 Hz TN-based monitors either.

 

The next step is obviously to combine the two worlds, and that is exactly what Eizo has done with the 24” FG2421 that boasts a 120 Hz VA panel with great picture quality and extremely low response time. FG2421 is best of two worlds in a simple black cabinet with some neat features and a carrying handle on the back side.

And it delivers. After having examined the monitor for a few weeks we have found that it has excellent gaming performance, while maintaining great picture quality. This is an important step forward for gaming monitors, and we think that it is fair to call it a small revolution in gaming monitors. Picture parameters such as very deep black, good color reproduction, excellent response time, and near-zero input lag makes FG2421 the complete package, unless you’re specifically looking for a monitor to satisfy photographer and graphics needs. If so the FG2421 is not for you, and it never claimed to be, but if you’re a casual photographer and edit graphics from time to time, we think you will find the FG2421 more than adequate. Allround users don’t need to fear. The only real issue we experienced with FG2421 is its poor viewing angles.

But most importantly: You’ll want this monitor if you’re a gamer! Even if you’re not a gamer the Eizo FG2421 offers great picture quality. We can highly recommend the Eizo FG2421.

 

 

FlatPanelsHD Review:
http://www.flatpanelshd.com/review.php?subaction=showfull&id=1383107475

[GabrielDrake]

'Fast action games are often played at resolutions less than the monitor's native 1920 x 1080'

 

 

I wonder if anybody in marketing has actually ever played a video game in his entire life.

Ahah yeah, I wonder that too

Marketing(?) BS

[everything count to life]

Pretty sure this will be very expensive especially that Ezio are making it, Ezio was never good at pricing

[CatCloud]

Around 700 USD if im not wrong.
tbh its a nice monitor but i dont se VESA on it so no deal, also 240 ? preeettyy damn Overkill, 120 should be a standard first before moving up and beyond if you ask me, and that wont be happening anytime soon with the GPU´s we have on the market for Demanding games.

I´d buy it if they added VESA , support for G sync, higher Resolution, 27 inch monitor...hmm and 120 hz is enough really yeah.

[GabrielDrake]

Around 700 USD if im not wrong.

Yep, avg price in europe should be 500€, more or less 700USD

Not that bad...

[SMURG]

Calling it a 240Hz monitor is misleading; the panel is only refreshing at 120Hz, it's just that the backlight refreshes at 120Hz too. This means that yeah, you are getting 240 refreshes per second, but the monitor can't display 240 frames per second. I really don't think this is going to look any different than on a 120Hz panel - although VA is nice I guess. It's like when you see those 600Hz TVs and you know it's bullshit...

[faszinierend]

This sounds like awesome news, after G-Sync was announced faster non-TN panels is exactly what was missing ... but i'm a bit worried about the input lag! 1,5 frames at 120hz should still be 12,5 ms!

I got an NEC 24WMGX³ (from 2009 with AMVA Panel) which was measured by prad.de to average at 5,2ms input lag, of course that is at 60hz VS CRT....

 

If my brain isn't broken that means that in the best case i get the image 7ms earlier... that best case should be followed by a worst cases since 60hz vs 120hz but kinda makes this news less awesome.

[Wulfgar]

So, I'm understanding that this doesn't use interpolation? I await blurbuster's review of this monitor.

[mdrejhon]

There a good, valid scientific rationale:

 

1. First pass refresh is overdriven, done in total darkness (erases previous refresh).
2. Second pass refresh is clean, done in total darkness (erases overdriven refresh).
3. Strobe backlight flashes at end of second pass refresh (clean refresh seen by eyes).
Source: page 15 of EIZO FDF2405W manual, same method as EIZO FG2421.

 

So while the EIZO Foris FG2421 is doing black frame insertion via a LightBoost-style strobe backlight (white paper) strobing 120 times a second, it is creating cleaner and sharper LCD refreshes, for CRT motion clarity without VA overdrive/ghosting artifacts.

[mdrejhon]

I now have the EIZO FG2421.  (I'm going to be posting a detailed review of this monitor later this month)

 

Preliminary impression: Generally great 120Hz VA panel.  I'm getting the benefits of LightBoost, without the color quality degradation.  

5000:1 contrast ratio and the ability to read the map labels in the TestUFO Panning Map Test.  Viewing angles are roughly 80-90% as good as IPS.

[Jammin]

Calling it a 240Hz monitor is misleading; the panel is only refreshing at 120Hz, it's just that the backlight refreshes at 120Hz too. This means that yeah, you are getting 240 refreshes per second, but the monitor can't display 240 frames per second. I really don't think this is going to look any different than on a 120Hz panel - although VA is nice I guess. It's like when you see those 600Hz TVs and you know it's bullshit...

 

Indeed, the 240Hz is backlight technology rather than panel refresh and is aimed at reducing motion blur (much like similar tech you'll find on TVs).

 

Anyway, I personally think the first (officially supported) non-TN 120Hz panel is a pretty big deal and I hope we see the same panel getting used in some other monitors and/or some of the other panel manufacturers following suit.

 

If I was going for a 120Hz display right now, this is probably the one I'd want. Performance seems pretty decent.

[KylSp]

Thumbs up to Eizo's latest for not being another TN junker.

[StareX]

Calling it a 240Hz monitor is misleading; the panel is only refreshing at 120Hz, it's just that the backlight refreshes at 120Hz too. This means that yeah, you are getting 240 refreshes per second, but the monitor can't display 240 frames per second. I really don't think this is going to look any different than on a 120Hz panel - although VA is nice I guess. It's like when you see those 600Hz TVs and you know it's bullshit...

You are right.. It's not possible, yet.. To produce 4.166ms refreshes per millisecond as in 240Hz, 240 pictures/refreshes per second in today's technology. It's inhumane and won't make a difference between 120 to 240.. As it is the same.