ViewSonic XG2402 Review

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FreeSync – the technology and activating it

AMD FreeSync is a variable refresh rate technology, an AMD-specific alterative to Nvidia G-SYNC. With this technology, the monitor adjusts its refresh rate dynamically, where possible, to match the frame rate being outputted by the GPU. Both the responsiveness article and the G-SYNC article linked to previously explore the importance of these two elements being synchronised. Essentially, a mismatch between the frame rate and refresh rate can cause stuttering (VSync on) or tearing and juddering (VSync off). An additional benefit of FreeSync is reduced latency compared to running with VSync on, within the variable frame rate environment in which it operates.

FreeSync requires a compatible AMD GPU such as the Club3D Radeon R9 290 royalAce used in our test system. There is a list of GPUs which support the technology here, with the expectation that future AMD GPUs will also support the feature. The monitor must support ‘VESA Adaptive-Sync’ for at least one of its display connectors, as this is the protocol that FreeSync uses. The XG2402 supports FreeSync via DP 1.2a (‘DP 1.2a+’) as well as HDMI on compatible GPUs. AMD’s recent drivers include Radeon Settings, which makes activation of the technology very simple. It should be automatically enabled once the monitor is connected and ‘AMD FreeSync’ is set to ‘On’ on the ‘Gaming Settings’ section of the OSD. You can check its status by opening ‘AMD Radeon Settings’ and clicking on ‘Display’. You should then ensure that the first slider, ‘AMD FreeSync’, is set to ‘On’. If you hover over this, it will also report the variable refresh rate display supported by the display. Note that the image below is for a different monitor and is just used as an example here. The ViewSonic supports a variable refresh rate range of 48 – 144Hz. That means that if the game is running between 48fps and 144fps, the monitor will adjust its refresh rate to match. When the frame rate rises above 144fps, the monitor will stay at 144Hz and the GPU will respect your selection of ‘VSync on’ or ‘VSync off’ in the graphics driver. With ‘VSync on’ the frame rate will not be allowed to rise above 144fps, at which point VSync activates and imposes the usual associated latency penalty. With ‘VSync off’ the frame rate is free to climb as high as the GPU will output (potentially >144fps). AMD LFC (Low Framerate Compensation) is also supported by this model, which means that the refresh rate will stick to multiples of the frame rate where it falls below the 48Hz (48fps) floor of operation for FreeSync. If a game ran at 36fps, for example, the refresh rate would be 72Hz to help keep tearing and stuttering at bay. This feature is used regardless of VSync setting, so it’s only above the ceiling of operation where the VSync setting makes a difference.

VSync is configured in the ‘Gaming’ section of ‘Radeon Settings’, where it is referred to as ‘Wait for Vertical Refresh’. You can either configure this globally under ‘Global Settings’ or for each game individually. The default is ‘Off, unless application specifies’ which means that VSync will only be active if you enable it within the game itself, if there is such an option. Such an option does usually exist – it may be called ‘sync every frame’ or something along those lines rather than simply ‘VSync’. Most users will probably wish to enable VSync when using FreeSync to ensure that they don’t get any tearing. You’d therefore select either the third or fourth option in the list, shown in the image below. The fifth and final option, ‘Enhanced Sync’, is an alternative to VSync which allows the frame rate to rise above the refresh rate (no VSync latency penalty) whilst potentially keeping the experience free from tearing or juddering. This requires that the frame rate comfortably exceeds the refresh rate (e.g 200fps +) rather than just peaking slightly above it. Note that this monitor does not provide any obvious ‘at a glance’ indication that FreeSync is active, such as a change of power LED colour. However; if you go to ‘Setup Menu’ – ‘Information’ in the OSD you can see if FreeSync is working correctly. If you see the ‘V. Frequency’ change alongside the frame rate, then it’s working properly. If it just stays at the static refresh rate that you set, then it’s because the technology isn’t active. This could be because you haven’t configured it properly in the driver or that the frame rate is simply beyond the ceiling for FreeSync operation (i.e. 144fps+). Finally, it’s worth remembering FreeSync only removes stuttering or juddering related to mismatches between frame rate and refresh rate. It can’t compensate for other interruptions to smooth game play, for example network latency or insufficient system memory.

FreeSync – the experience

We ran various titles to test the FreeSync capabilities of this monitor, but found that it worked in much the same way on all of them. If any issues did happen to occur on one title but not another, it’s going to be an issue with the GPU or GPU driver (or perhaps the game itself) rather than the monitor. We will therefore be focusing on Battlefield 1 (BF1) for this section, which offers plenty of flexibility with its graphics options and therefore allows a broad spectrum of frame rates (and refresh rates) to be tested. Using decent but not extreme graphics settings allowed our Radeon R9 290 to pump out decent frame rates. There was a bit of fluctuation, particularly where the action intensified or for whatever reason the scene became graphically more complex. There were plenty of drops below 144fps, even if just slightly. Even these slight drops below 144fps caused stuttering (VSync on) or tearing and juddering (VSync off). Sensitivity to this varies and not everybody would find this as jarring as we did, particularly at what are still relatively high frame rates.

If we ramped up the graphics settings, the frame rate took a hit. With the ‘Ultra’ preset, for example, it would sit only a little above 100fps at times, but others would dip below this. We again found FreeSync beneficial in terms of removing tearing and stuttering from what would otherwise be frame rate and refresh rate mismatches. However; even with FreeSync active, we still ‘noticed’ these dips in frame rate due to a decrease in ‘connected feel’ and an increase in ‘perceived blur’. This became more extreme at even higher graphics settings, for example when the ‘Resolution Scale’ slider was increased, as the frame rate dropped further. As 100fps became a distant memory and the frame rate dipped as low as half of that, the ‘connected feel’ and perceived blur became noticeably worse. Without FreeSync, stuttering and tearing is (in our view) quite obvious at such low frame rates. So the technology was still nice to have, even if higher frame rates would have been preferred. At times the frame rate dropped below 48fps, which is below the 48fps (48Hz) floor of FreeSync operation on this model. LFC (Low Framerate Compensation) took over here, keeping the monitor at a refresh rate that’s a multiple of the frame rate. This kept stuttering and tearing from mismatches between the two at bay; although ‘connected feel’ was very poor and perceived blur rather high. There was also a juddering quality at particularly low frame rate, a symptom of the low frame rates themselves and nothing FreeSync can rectify.

On many FreeSync models we observe that overshoot (inverse ghosting) becomes more pronounced as frame rate reduces. This is only the case with the technology active and relates to a drop in refresh rate on the display rather than just frame rate of the content. G-SYNC models tend to have their pixel overdrive suitably tightened or slackened off to suit different refresh rates. Fortunately, we didn’t notice any troubling overshoot on the XG2402 even at these reduced refresh rates. We also tested FreeSync whilst watching some video content, with some benefits offered there as well. If viewing full screen using video software or certain web browsers, the monitor will set its refresh rate to either match or conform to a multiple of the frame rate of the content. This helps smooth out the juddering (stuttering) that results from the two not aligning in this way. You don’t need to keep manually adjusting your refresh rate depending on whether the content was 24fps, 30fps, 50fps or 60fps etc. to minimise juddering. We can confirm that this worked with Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome, but not on Mozilla Firefox. This could be dependent on the version of the web browsers used, however.

Video review

The video below summarises some of the key points raised in this written review and shows the monitor in action. The video review is designed to complement the written piece and is not nearly as comprehensive.

Conclusion

We’ve tested many 144Hz monitors, including several which use the now ubiquitous AUO TN panel found in the ViewSonic XG2402. We therefore had a fair idea of what to expect, although there’s more to a monitor than just the panel used. Before even turning the monitor on, we were greeted by a new but somehow familiar design. There were some gentle ‘gaming’ elements (red colouration) but nothing too ‘in your face’. There was that moderately thick single-stage bezel that as good as completely covers the panel border. And there was the robust ergonomically flexible stand that users have come to expect from these sorts of models. The OSD (On Screen Display) controls were particularly tactile on this model, with different buttons shapes corresponding to different functions. We generally prefer joysticks for intuitive navigation through the depths of a monitor OSD, but we found this system worked OK. Of greater importance, of course, was the OSD itself – which is very extensive on this model and offers great flexibility when it comes to tweaking the monitor.

That flexibility came in useful when setting up the monitor. Out of the box colours looked noticeably washed out, with an obnoxiously bright and flooded look. On some models, lowering brightness is about all you can do. On this model, though, the flexibility it gives you in the OSD to tweak gamma helps considerably. You don’t need to resort to properly calibrating the monitor and applying ICC profiles to rectify the ‘out of the box’ gamma handling issues. This flexibility is particularly important to have given the panel used, which has demonstrated awful inter-unit variation in terms of average gamma. The slightly grainy screen surface, ~sRGB colour space and usual TN gamma handling caveats didn’t allow this monitor to pump out overly vibrant or consistent shades. But it was certainly better than what we’ve seen on some models that use the same panel, with a fairly rich look overall.

When it came to contrast, though, there were some pronounced weaknesses which we weren’t expecting from our previous experiences with the panel. The static contrast sat at 550:1 following the corrections made under our ‘Test Settings’. This was not something that any amount of tweaking in the OSD or calibration could rectify, and indeed the contrast never rose satisfyingly above this. Nor did it come close to the specified 1000:1, which we know this panel is capable of. User feedback, including multiple confirmed contrast ratio readings of ~1000:1 (using an X-Rite i1DisplayPro), suggest this was an issue with our particular unit rather than a universal problem. Regardless of this, the monitor was prone to the same contrast weaknesses that affect all TN models. Specifically, that the perceived gamma is lower further down the screen which makes dark shades lighter than intended – making things look a bit flooded and revealing extra detail. And is higher further up the screen, darkening the image and hiding detail too much towards the top of the screen. There was no ‘IPS glow’ to contend with, at least, at that’s something that some users really appreciate.

With all of this said, this monitor was never designed for stellar image quality. It was always about the responsiveness. In in that area, it truly excelled. There was very little 144Hz input lag to speak of, whilst the monitor made excellent use of its high refresh rate. Pixel responses were very snappy indeed and the pixel overdrive both highly flexible and well-tuned. The monitor’s ability to keep the experience free from noticeable conventional trailing or bothersome overshoot was admirable. This is really as good as we’ve seen from this panel in terms of responsiveness and as good as we’ve seen on any 144Hz model really. Another bonus came in the form of AMD FreeSync, which worked as intended on our AMD GPU to rid the experience of tearing or stuttering from frame and refresh rate mismatches. We’re also happy to report that we didn’t notice troublesome inverse ghosting at lower frame rates (and hence refresh rates) with FreeSync active, and that’s something that’s far from guaranteed.

Overall, we found the monitor lived up to our expectations. The build quality and overall design was quite agreeable and there was nothing particularly annoying about the monitor externally. Except perhaps the flimsy cable-tidy loop, but once that’s in position and out of the way it doesn’t really cause much hassle. The flexibility afforded to users in the OSD was also commendable, and quite useful given some of the shortfalls in ‘out of the box’ setup. Following appropriate tweaking things were largely as good as we’d expect in terms of colour reproduction. But the screen we tested did fall short of out expectations in terms of contrast. It seems from extensive user feedback, including from several users who have provided accurate contrast measurements with colorimeters, that this was an isolated issue with our early/pre-production sample and not something that affects retail units. The monitor also gained a lot of brownie points when it came to its responsiveness, as there was really very little to complain about and plenty to praise in that area.

The bottom line; a monitor with excellent OSD flexibility and praiseworthy responsiveness, but some contrast issues on our unit that weren’t expected.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases made using the below link. Where possible, you’ll be redirected to your nearest store. Further information on supporting our work. Buy from Amazon