Comparing FreeSync 1440p 144Hz 27" displays

[N.tony]

Hey fellas,

for the last little while I was thinking of retiring my decade old 1920x1200 BenQ and getting something exciting, which boiled down to either getting the VR headset, or a similarly priced gaming monitor. But after trying an Oculus Rift I realized that I'd rather go with the latter.

 

So, after frantic googling I've narrowed the specs down to the following list:

• FreeSync, since I'm consistently at camp red
• 27"+, as it would just feel weird trading my 24" 1920x1200 for 24" 1920x1080
• 1440p, same as above
• 144Hz, because you gottagofast

After that the list of suspects shrunk right down to the following models, all costing about the same (~500€ in Germany):

• Asus MG278Q - TN panel, praised for it's "almost IPS quality", simple yet aggressive aesthetics and overall brand recognition. On the downside, I think it's by now being edged out of the market, though there are still plenty of places to buy

• Acer XF270 - the only IPS panel I found that matches the criteria, and that's about all of its advantages

• AOC Agon AG271QX - again a TV panel, and the distinction compared to the other two is a slightly wider FreeSync range: 30Hz - 144Hz (vs. 40Hz - 144Hz).

And this is where you guys come in - I haven't seen detailed reviews comparing the three, and all I see are praises to each of them separately  But I just can't find the info if either of them is better than the others in image quality/color bleed/other things not visible from the specs? And if they are all pretty similar, does it make sense to prioritize IPS, lower FreeSync range or the ASUS branding?

[FirstArmada]

There is also this

 

Acer XG270HU

 

Instead of IPS and 4ms GTG it's 1ms with a TN panel.

 

And for a bit higher

 

LG 34UC79G-B

2560x1080 curved 34" which is 33% less pixels which equates to a PPI of 81

 

For reference a a 27" 2560x1440 panel has a PPI of 108 

[Froody129]

I have an MG278Q and can attest to it's excellent colours for a TN

[N.tony]

54 minutes ago, FirstArmada said:

Acer XG270HU

 

Instead of IPS and 4ms GTG it's 1ms with a TN panel.

 

I thought about this one, but in the end, I couldn't see whether it has any advantages over the other three, and the naming is confusing - half the time they claim it's only 60Hz for whatever reason... Is the 1ms TN really worth it?

55 minutes ago, FirstArmada said:

LG 34UC79G-B

2560x1080 curved 34" which is 33% less pixels which equates to a PPI of 81

Yeah, I thought of going ultrawide too, but honestly, it's basically worse pixel size than my 24" 1920x1200, and I'm not sure 21:9 is as universally accepted as 16:9 at this point... Add to that the constraints with the desk size too - there'd be no space left for my speakers  So, I decided against it... 

[FirstArmada]

On 4/13/2017 at 7:30 AM, N.tony said:

 

I thought about this one, but in the end, I couldn't see whether it has any advantages over the other three, and the naming is confusing - half the time they claim it's only 60Hz for whatever reason... Is the 1ms TN really worth it?

Yeah, I thought of going ultrawide too, but honestly, it's basically worse pixel size than my 24" 1920x1200, and I'm not sure 21:9 is as universally accepted as 16:9 at this point... Add to that the constraints with the desk size too - there'd be no space left for my speakers  So, I decided against it... 

Acer's official product page lists it at 144Hz 

 

Unless you play CS:GO for a living you shouldn't be able to notice a difference i have a 8ms display and while playing on 1ms I couldn't see the difference so you should be good, usually it is sold considerably cheaper than the IPS version though.

[N.tony]

3 hours ago, FirstArmada said:

Acer's official product page lists it at 144Hz 

 

Unless you play CS:GO for a living you shouldn't be able to notice a difference i have a 8ms display and while playing on 1ms I couldn't see the difference so you should be good, usually it is sold considerably cheaper than the IPS version though.

Yeah, probably the previous one was discontinued - the model UM.HG0EE.A01 is sold way cheaper (~329€ vs 499€), but listed as 60Hz. The 144Hz version is UM.HG0EE.001 and has the weird suffix "omidpx", which some sellers for whatever reason put on the other one too...

 

I found a "Retourware" Asus for 385€, and took a chance - will see how lucky I am with the b-ware Russian roulette

[FirstArmada]

1 hour ago, N.tony said:

Yeah, probably the previous one was discontinued - the model UM.HG0EE.A01 is sold way cheaper (~329€ vs 499€), but listed as 60Hz. The 144Hz version is UM.HG0EE.001 and has the weird suffix "omidpx", which some sellers for whatever reason put on the other one too...

 

I found a "Retourware" Asus for 385€, and took a chance - will see how lucky I am with the b-ware Russian roulette

Have only heard good things about the MG278Q, hopefully the quality of the b-stock version you found is satisfactory!

[N.tony]

On 4/15/2017 at 2:46 AM, FirstArmada said:

Have only heard good things about the MG278Q, hopefully the quality of the b-stock version you found is satisfactory!

Thanks, man! It already arrived, and thus far haven't found any problems with the display itself - no unevenly lit spots, no dead pixels... There's only a small scrub on the side of the base, which I can only see if I put my head on my keyboard

 

On 4/13/2017 at 0:04 PM, Froody129 said:

I have an MG278Q and can attest to it's excellent colours for a TN

If you don't mind me asking, which mode do you use? I spent like half a day going back and forth, and ended up running a calibration profile from PCPer, but with the Racing mode instead of FPS mode they suggest. I also went with Brightness 25, Contrast 50 and Trace Free value of 60 (as PCPer suggested - worked quite well with the response time test) - in the end, the display ended up still much brighter than my previous one, though I don't feel any eye strain yet.

[SwervinPersian]

On 4/13/2017 at 10:54 AM, N.tony said:

Hey fellas,

for the last little while I was thinking of retiring my decade old 1920x1200 BenQ and getting something exciting, which boiled down to either getting the VR headset, or a similarly priced gaming monitor. But after trying an Oculus Rift I realized that I'd rather go with the latter.

 

So, after frantic googling I've narrowed the specs down to the following list:

• FreeSync, since I'm consistently at camp red
• 27"+, as it would just feel weird trading my 24" 1920x1200 for 24" 1920x1080
• 1440p, same as above
• 144Hz, because you gottagofast

After that the list of suspects shrunk right down to the following models, all costing about the same (~500€ in Germany):

• Asus MG278Q - TN panel, praised for it's "almost IPS quality", simple yet aggressive aesthetics and overall brand recognition. On the downside, I think it's by now being edged out of the market, though there are still plenty of places to buy

• Acer XF270 - the only IPS panel I found that matches the criteria, and that's about all of its advantages

• AOC Agon AG271QX - again a TV panel, and the distinction compared to the other two is a slightly wider FreeSync range: 30Hz - 144Hz (vs. 40Hz - 144Hz).

And this is where you guys come in - I haven't seen detailed reviews comparing the three, and all I see are praises to each of them separately  But I just can't find the info if either of them is better than the others in image quality/color bleed/other things not visible from the specs? And if they are all pretty similar, does it make sense to prioritize IPS, lower FreeSync range or the ASUS branding?

MG279Q, same as the 278 but its IPS. Amazing monitor!!

[N.tony]

1 hour ago, SwervinPersian said:

MG279Q, same as the 278 but its IPS. Amazing monitor!!

Sure! For extra 130€ (+100€ I managed to shave off by going b-ware) - that's +60% to the price, all with a FreeSync range reduced to 35-90Hz... I don't think IPS display is worth all that, at least my priorities were way different...

[Froody129]

14 hours ago, N.tony said:

 

If you don't mind me asking, which mode do you use? I spent like half a day going back and forth, and ended up running a calibration profile from PCPer, but with the Racing mode instead of FPS mode they suggest. I also went with Brightness 25, Contrast 50 and Trace Free value of 60 (as PCPer suggested - worked quite well with the response time test) - in the end, the display ended up still much brighter than my previous one, though I don't feel any eye strain yet.

I started with the Race Mode, which is pretty good stock, but I just tuned to my liking, setting contrast to 80-85, saturation pretty high and the brightness I change regularly. I can't remember specifics and I'm away for the next while so I can't check. Just play with settings and online review profiles. I use flux and basically always have an orange screen since I seem to be more sensitive to blue light