ASUS VG236H 23-inch 3D Display Review: 120Hz is the Future
by Brian Klug on August 7, 2010 2:48 AM ESTConclusions
This was the first 120Hz desktop LCD I’ve gotten time with, and even before I opened the box I had heard from all around that it’s held in very high regard. Regardless of how you feel about 3D, the VG236H is an awesome choice even from the perspective of its 120Hz refresh rate. Side by side with a traditional 60Hz LCD, the difference is striking. Further, instead of getting tearing above 60 FPS like you would with vsync off on a traditional 60Hz LCD, you get smoother gameplay that just looks more fluid. I definitely can tell the difference, and now I don’t want to go back.
With the 120Hz display, you’re really getting every frame at or below 120 FPS drawn to the screen. At that high of a response time, you definitively can’t see flicker. The result is a similar kind of ‘once you’ve experienced it, you can’t go back’ to a solid state drive.
But if you’re going to get the VG236, it’s worth it to go for the H model which bundles the 3D vision kit over the HE which excludes it, if nothing else so you can see 3D for yourself and decide if it’s worth it. It’s a shame that NVIDIA doesn’t bundle or subsidize copies of Metro 2033 or other 3D Vision Ready titles that really offer a level of gameplay and 3D polish that even ‘excellent’ and ‘good’ titles clearly lack.
Right now, the VG236H’s primary competition is the Acer GD235Hz, which, bundled with the 3D Vision kit, runs $545 on newegg. At $499 with the bundled 3D Vision kit, the VG236H looks like an undeniably better deal with the same specs on paper. The other primary contender is the Alienware OptX. Hopefully we’ll get our hands on these and compare.
As for the future, the real draw will be to larger screens and higher resolutions. In the immediate future, we’ll see a move to LED backlighting on these 120Hz panels. Once you try a 120Hz display, it’s hard to go back.
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ganeshts - Saturday, August 7, 2010 - link
Is there any monitor that supports HDMI 1.4a (and thus, 3D over HDMI)?With the upcoming HDMI 1.4 GPUs, I just wish we had a monitor capable of acting as a sink for those signals instead of having to hunt down a 3D TV to test it out!
softdrinkviking - Saturday, August 7, 2010 - link
two other 120hz computer monitors i can find online...http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/products/Displa...
i can't, for the life of me, figure out what revision of the HDMI standard it uses. alienware does not report those details, and dell offers no manual for this monitor in their support page. someone would have to call them and ask, but i live outside the US.
and an acer model...
http://us.acer.com/acer/product.do?link=oln85e.red...
this product sheet has a maximum reported 75hz over HDMI, so I am going to say "NO," not 1.4a, but it doesn't actually say that.
therealnickdanger - Sunday, August 8, 2010 - link
If 3-D game technology works the same as 3-D Blu-Ray, then it's really only 60Hz x2 (alternating per eye). It may be capable of 120Hz natively, it may display 120Hz from 2-D, but for 3-D I'm pretty sure you're still only getting 60Hz per eye.What strikes me most about this whole 120Hz topic is that I had a Sony CRT that could handle 1280x1024 @ 240Hz about 10 years ago. And yes, VSYNC @ 240Hz is why the LCD boom disappointed me so much. LCDs, while thin and light, were a horrible step backward for gaming - at least for those of us who were used to high framerates and refresh rates.
LCDs still have such catching up to do...
softdrinkviking - Tuesday, August 10, 2010 - link
you'll get no argument from me about lcds vs crts.but that's the way the industry has gone, oh well.
in any case, the acer monitor specs the HDMI 70Hz, and a different refresh rate of 120Hz for using DVI.
I believe that HDMI 1.4a is capable of delivering more than 70Hz, so I was attempting to answer that question, not to determine whether or not it is capable of playing 3D over HDMI. However, ganesh seems to think so, and I was giving him the benefit of the doubt there.
As to the second question, is there a someone who can say with authority that 3D can (or cannot) play over HDMI with a limit of a 70Hz refresh rate?
softdrinkviking - Wednesday, August 11, 2010 - link
http://www.nvidia.com/object/3d-vision-requirement...this nvidia 3d vision compatibility chart is interesting.
looks like 120Hz refresh is definitely a necessity for 3D.
Sabresiberian - Friday, August 13, 2010 - link
It clearly states in the article that the 3D effect is 60Hz each eye. Brian's comments lead me to believe it is a true 120Hz display in 2D, but I can't say that's a fact.I have to agree about the refresh rate - and it's one reason why I run a Sony FW900 CRT. I run it @ 85Hz, 1920x1200. 60 Hz is a poor standard to settle for, in my opinion. I know we all live with 60Hz flashes in our modern lives and think nothing of it, we are conditioned to our lighting doing that, but it makes a difference. 100 Hz should be the standard we build to, not 60.
I was excited about this monitor at first, but .265 dot pitch and 1920x1080 aren't what I want. .265 is better than the LCD I have, but not much, and I prefer the 16:10 over 16:9 ratio.
;)
xef6 - Wednesday, October 19, 2011 - link
I know this is an old comment, but I can confirm that it is indeed a 120hz 2D display. I haven't used it for 3D stuff yet. I just use it as a 120hz display and enjoy a much smoother interface. ATI config reports its maximum refresh rate as 120.Luke212 - Sunday, August 22, 2010 - link
hate to tell you but the highest ever Sony at that 1024 would have been 126HzCushgod - Wednesday, December 8, 2010 - link
I 240% agree with you!! :P LCD's do have catching up to do ... its sad we are coming back to the Hz I used to enjoy. I am currently on an asus-vg236h, and I am thrilled to play all my games with better framerate, and clear and smotth scrolling left and right turning, awesome BF BC2, Warhammer, and Global Agenda look beautiful. Its night and day to me. Night and Day.Fleeb - Saturday, August 7, 2010 - link
Why HDMI for monitors when DisplayPort can do the job?