[PCM2]

GoldstoneVillas, I’ve merged your thread with this one as it’s a suitable place and there are relevant discussions here.

The long and short of it is that the Samsung Odyssey G7 models are the only ones currently available that ‘don’t smear’. So you’d need to increase your budget, wait to see if something else comes along with similar magic but a lower price tag (don’t hold your breath). Or accept the compromise of either some ‘smeary’ trailing or ‘IPS glow’. I haven’t used the G27F myself, some IPS models out there are probably better when it comes to contrast in comparison. Although none will match that VA performance. You might want to consider what you can do to improve your room lighting as well or set up a light behind the monitor (bias light) to aid perceived contrast. This can help regardless of panel type.

[GoldstoneVillas]

Thanks for a prompt reply. Deep down I knew the G7 was the route for me to go down and I can pay £550 max for a monitor. Last question please if i may. As previously mentioned I use the monitor to play fast FPS games. With my budget what would you buy ? Can be VA or IPS. Thank you

[PCM2]

You really need to pick the monitor that’s right for you and your own preferences and sensitivities. With respect to the Odyssey G7 models this thread may prove useful. And for IPS-type alternatives, they’re covered in a few threads on the forum including this one. Only you can decide whether IPS or VA is right for you – no monitor is perfect and it’s all about deciding which compromises you’re most willing to live with.

[GoldstoneVillas]

UPDATE and thanks for your advice. I found and bought from Amazon warehouse the aorus CV27F in ahem.. ‘very good condition’ for £258. Monitor arrived and sort of fell out the box. I got a US power plug, missing display port lead and there had been no care in wrapping the monitor. No wrapping. Just face down in the polystyrene. Wrong PSU and no DP lead can be overcome. Screen had no damage and got it up and running Great display, curve adds immersion, RGB up against my wall 🙂 and like sidekick I myself had perceived blur on picture quality but none on the other two faster overdrive settings. A touch of overshoot on the highest setting. I find the blacks and contrast easier to spot others in FPS games especially at a distance. I have noticed with VA models that Freesync should be turned off because it does not eliminate motion blur. Turning off and using the manufactures speed/overdrive settings does. In a nutshell I got a bargain and prefer it much more over my friends ASUS TUF 1080p 240hz IPS monitor that has its detail killed by the IPS glow. Again thanks for your help.

[PCM2]

Glad you’re enjoying the CV27F despite the “very good condition” (haha). As covered in the review, FreeSync (or VRR tech in general) is purely designed to reduce tearing and stuttering from frame and refresh rate mismatches. It doesn’t help reduce perceived blur and doesn’t overcome the effects of a lower frame rate in that respect. Unless they’ve changed something with more recent firmware, the CV27F allows you to change the overdrive with FreeSync active. The overshoot was very strong at reduced refresh rates using the ‘Speed’ setting, though. So if you want to use that ‘Speed’ setting at lower frame rates that could be an argument for disabling Adaptive-Sync and keeping the monitor running at a static 165Hz instead. 🙂

[dice3000]

Just want to add my experience with CQ27G2U to this extensive discussion.

After reading and watching a bunch of reviews I decided to take a gamble and buy it. It was to be paired with GTX 1070.
I bought it as a gift, so I didn’t want to go “all out”, but something decently good as upgrade up from 60Hz 24in monitor.

On Windows desktop it worked perfectly fine, was easy to set up, browsing text looked fine too. There were no screen blackouts (I assume this was fixed with a driver update).
However there was brightness flickering in some game menus (Valorant, CSGO). In game it worked just fine. After reading some forums I found out that it may be caused by VA panel refresh rate jumps caused by unstable FPS.

It is very strange that esport level games like Valorant, CSGO, have unstable FPS in game menu – it sometimes drops to 50, but only a single frame once in a while. The rest of the 99.99% time FPS in menu is between 135-144 (varies). In game though the FPS also varies between 135-155, but no singular drops to 50.
The solution was to set these game to borderless windowed, apparently that somehow forces the FPS to stay at 144 (like it does on Windows desktop).

Overall this VA panel brightness-refresh rate jumping issue was quite frustrating. I would not personally but such a VA panel myself unless I knew there was no such issue in a particular model. It is a bit disappointing that it depends on stable FPS, otherwise it’s not working as intended (brightness flickering).

In fast paced FPS games there was some noticeable blur. Not a deal breaker for casual games, but I would like to have less of it. Colors were decent, but having said that I have in my life distinguished displays that have “good colors” vs “bad colors”. Brightness was also fine. Having said all that I assume TN would be a better match for me. I am also looking to upgrade my 2-monitor setup soon.

[PCM2]

Thanks for sharing your experiences with the CQ27G2U, dice3000. I agree that the brightness fluctuations (flickering) with certain refresh rate changes that VA models like this are prone to can be quite annoying. I’m glad you didn’t have any issues with ‘screen blanking’, at least. Depending on your budget you might consider something like the Gigabyte M27Q or one of the alternative responsive IPS models discussed in this thread.

[brownc]

Between the Q27G2U and the AG273QX, there were two aspects that stood out in comparison.

1) The pixel clarity you showed in a review had the AG273QX referencing an older version which had more black space between and pixel clarity not as good as the Q27G2U, correct?
2) The adobe RGB gamut for the AG273QX should be higher than the Q27G2U even though they are same cell? It’s hard to find apples to apples comparisons with someone that has reviewed both in the flat versions.
Seems like not only those two, but also the MAG272QR are no longer available in the US.

[PCM2]

I assume you’re referencing our reviews of the curved counterparts to those models, the CQ27G2(U) and AG273QCX. The AG273QCX uses partial subpixel illumination, I’m not sure if that applies to the AG273QX. The CQ27G2U and CQ27G2 certainly don’t have this issue. I measured 85% Adobe RGB on both curved variants I reviewed yet the CQ27 had greater DCI-P3 coverage (more coverage in the red to blue region). The flat variants use the same backlight as their curved counterparts.

[Red_Negan]

Semi off topic but I see the the AG273QX mentioned, pretty neat little monitor and very underrated. It always interest me when people mention it as it’s not very well known and even pre Covid-19 was a hard monitor to get in certain countries. I found this picture going through my google drive so thought I’d share and add some info which may or may not help some, data is data I guess haha.

[IMAGE DELETED]

it compared pretty favourably compared to competing IPS or TN models(I must stress I originally came from AV before getting into professional work that required monitors so value depth, dynamic range that a strong contrast can provide for video games and movies) the usual weaknesses of VA still apply. I didn’t find the flat panel any worse for viewing angles than typical, I’ve always found that a myth unless one sits closer than average I could see the argument there. Anyhow, it was fairly strong, from memory I believe my unit was just under 3000:1 in standard mode, the sRGB mode was useless as it locked the brightness to close to 300nits which is too much. The standard mode made woody tones appear reddish so no attempt for a tasteful tuning(Just a term I use to describe wide gamut displays with a tamed red point to make skin tones and wooden tones appear, well tamed and closer to natural while still being oversaturated but in a sense it looks poppy and not colour vomit)

I found dark level transitions typical but the display had very little ghosting and was clean for the most part, quick enough for competitive use although not as fast as the GL850 and it’s variants. I really liked the monitor overall I thought it looked cool, had a lot to love but unless one is willing to invest in a colorimeter I wouldn’t bother if you value accuracy out of the box or want a functional sRGB mode. HDR was useless, it accepts a HDR signal, gets bright enough to meet HDR400 but it has no way to dim dark scenes to create as dynamic.

I think if one finds the G7 expensive and wants a VA monitor with solid features and performance, it’s a good buy in my opinion.

[PCM2]

I wouldn’t say that’s semi off-topic, seems pretty on topic for this thread to me. 🙂 Having used the Q27G2U and CQ27G2U side by side at an event, as I mentioned earlier in this thread, I completely agree that the viewing angle benefits of a curve to the screen are overstated. It just so happened that Samsung first introduced their ‘new generation’ of curved high refresh rate SVA models in a curved format. And they were relatively strong in that area anyway. Some of this was falsely attributed to the curve, when it is clear from flat variants using the same panel that this doesn’t really make an appreciable difference.

[brownc]

There aren’t any VA 27″ flat panels here in the US, and I really wish I could get a Q27G2U or AG273QX here in the states. Looks like Amazon is out of them in the UK, although their shipping is a lot as I would expect, and other stores that have stock in the UK won’t ship to the US 🙁 Anyone want to buy one for me and ship it?

If I bought a AG273QX and or Q27G2U and have it shipped to you for review, would you mail it to me after if I covered all the costs?

[PCM2]

It’s a nice thought, but I wouldn’t be willing to do that I’m afraid. I’d be able to get hold of either model for review from AOC quite easily, but the main reason I haven’t reviewed it is due to the lack of availability. Particularly in the US. By far the largest chunk of our user base comes from the US, so having it available there is an important criteria for review selection. I’ve also got quite a backlog of other models to review so wouldn’t really be able to slot either model in.

And on that note I completely share your annoyance with the lack of flat VA models available in the US. And more broadly for that matter. I really dislike the way ever-increasing curvature has been forced upon people like this, whether they like it or not. Sometimes it works and it’s usually less severe than you’d think by viewing photos and videos of curved screens. But just like the way everything has become matte rather than glossy, it leaves a gap in the market really.

[brownc]

The market place seems very gaming dependent. That’s likely due to the profits they get for each monitor. Spend $700 on a gaming monitor and it comes in a cheap simple styrofoam surrounded simple box. Spend $700 on a photo editing monitor and you get a nice apple-ish fold up box. Sure there are the “professional color” monitors, and there are “business monitors” and “value monitors”. The latter two never get proper reviews anywhere and perhaps rightfully so nobody should buy them. While I agree the path of gaming monitors towards deeper curves isn’t what non game people want, it is essentially removing those from our everyday choice of monitors and leaving us flat monitor people with less choices. I am very thankful for HDR requirements and push to offer higher gamut colors, because without that monitor companies would only target refresh rates and resolution. So HDR requirements should contain gamut minimums because that forces panel manufacturers to create better monitors for everyone. Just wish they weren’t all curved.

[Author]

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