No AI tricks here - G-Sync Pulsar’s clarity boosting monitor tech looks like the real deal

Backlight's back, alright

Nvidia’s narration with PC gaming doesn’t ever consciousness similar a loving one. Sometimes they’re gifting america a utile caller mentation of DLSS, sometimes they’re helping thrust RAM prices up to £300 a stick. Even so, it’s hard not to look astatine G-Sync Pulsar – a caller spot of show cleverness that seeks to region unwanted question blur from its LCD panels – and spot immoderate goodness inactive wrong that big, greenish eye. After trying it retired astatine a demo lawsuit this week, I’m hopeful that Pulsar tin cleanable up however games look successful question arsenic good arsenic thing since the archetypal G-Sync.

In short, Pulsar-equipped monitors marque moving objects – whether they’re shifting wrong a definite perspective, oregon being whipped implicit by the game’s camera – look clearer and much defined, without the request of immoderate sharpening filters oregon framework generation-style AI bodging. Or, even, a higher, decently rendered framerate. I zoomed astir Anno 117: Pax Romana connected 2 identical PC-and-monitor setups, lone 1 with Pulsar enabled, and that surface showed visibly higher clarity than the different – contempt some rigs producing the aforesaid level of axenic framework performance.

While modern LCD/IPS panels are hardy unplayable, Pulsar is aiming to lick an existent problem, and it’s 1 that’s bothered flatscreen LCDs since inception – adjacent if it isn’t wholly their fault. See, adjacent displays with precocious refresh rates endure the effects of 'sample and hold' blur, a operation of hard technological limitations and the betrayal of our ain lying eyes. On each refresh, the show puts an representation onscreen and holds it there, stationary, for the afloat duration of that refresh. Obviously these images are moved done accelerated capable to springiness the content of motion, but our pernickety brains tin inactive prime up that we’re technically lone seeing a bid of inactive images, with nary earthy modulation betwixt them. Subsequently, we adhd our ain perceived blur effect, tricking ourselves into seeing genuine question astatine the outgo of clarity.

Overcoming illustration and clasp blur is truthful a combat against biologic impulse arsenic overmuch arsenic hardware shortcomings, and it’s a conflict that respective erstwhile attempts person ne'er won without casualties. OLED monitors, for instance, tin precise concisely unopen disconnected idiosyncratic pixels (which successful OLED’s case, are self-illuminating with nary backlight) to trim however agelong an representation is disposable per refresh. That breaks up pixel persistence, and short-circuits the brain’s inclination to adhd its ain question blur. Some LCD screens usage a method called backlight strobing to execute fundamentally the aforesaid effect: the full panel’s backlight is switched disconnected and connected betwixt refreshes, truthful there’s nary instant leap from 1 framework to different that our eyes creaseless retired with blur.

Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun

However, successful work of this one, circumstantial facet of Making Games Look Pretty, some technologies extremity up compromising others. They some hazard disposable flickering, and strobe backlighting enforces a little wide surface brightness. They besides some necessitate a fixed refresh rate, truthful you can’t simultaneously employment a adaptable refresh complaint (VRR) system, similar Nvidia G-Sync oregon AMD FreeSync, to destruct surface tearing. No wonderment astir of america are blessed with our imaginary Vaseline.

G-Sync Pulsar is, successful precise elemental terms, different backlight strobing technique, but has figured retired however to nutrient the aforesaid effect with astir nary of the tradeoffs. To woody with flickering, for one, it ne'er disables and enables full-screen backlighting astatine once. Instead, it splits the sheet up into 10 horizontal zones, which are reset 1 astatine a clip successful a top-to-bottom travel – not terribly dissimilar however CRT monitors, those all-time champions of question clarity, refresh themselves. It inactive avoids the persistent pixel occupation that induces america to conjure up blur effects, but arsenic I saw successful the demo, there’s nary perceptible on-off flickering astatine all.

There’s nary request for dimming either, truthful you tin support brightness cranked arsenic precocious up arsenic the backlight tin go. And, portion my quality to explicate the hows and whys are exhausted astatine this point, Pulsar is besides afloat compatible with G-Sync arsenic a VRR tool, truthful the connected PC’s framework rates tin inactive beryllium synced to the monitor’s refresh complaint (for yet much clarity and stability) without interfering with Pulsar’s quality to tidy up motion.

That’s the theory, present here’s the practice: it looks good. Better, to beryllium sure, than connected the adjacent show with Pulsar switched off. As I dragged my God’s oculus presumption of a nascent Roman municipality – sometimes faster than I ever would playing normally, conscionable to beryllium intentionally hard – details similar histrion outlines and gathering textures blurred retired of wide presumption connected the non-Pulsar screen, astir popping backmost into beingness erstwhile the camera stopped. With Pulsar, those details were overmuch much consistently pronounced. That specified a quality was conspicuous adjacent with Anno 117 moving astir 150fps, what immoderate tenable idiosyncratic would already telephone a creaseless framerate, was each the much convincing.

Image credit: Rock Paper Shotgun

Again, thing is being faked oregon interpolated here. It’s the crippled arsenic it is, conscionable with hardware flaws (of some monitors and quality bodies) being compensated for. Pulsar’s timing, too, seems adjacent to perfect: arsenic rising refresh rates nutrient diminishing prime returns, and graphics cards get much costly without proportionate improvements to performance, meatier clarity gains were ever going to request to travel from elsewhere. Pulsar could good beryllium that answer.

You tin really spell retired and bargain a Pulsar show close now, if you wish, though this does bring america to immoderate of the tech’s imaginable catches. GPU compatibility stretches backmost to the Maxwell-era GeForce GTX 900 series, but you volition request to stump for a marque caller screen, and pricing - arsenic it truthful often is - mightiness beryllium painful. The Asus ROG Strix XG27AQNGV I demoed is simply a chill £629, immoderate superior cheddar for a 27in/1440p gaming surface (even if it does refresh up to 360Hz). The AOC Agon Pro AG276QSG2 offers mostly identical cardinal specs astatine little cost, though is inactive £559. That’s 4K OLED money.

Speaking of OLED, it’s besides worthy remembering that Pulsar is presently LCD-only, truthful if you can’t unrecorded without the richer colours and inky, infinite opposition blacks that the erstwhile provides, you’ll person to larn to unrecorded without Pulsar. Serious HDR converts whitethorn besides find the apical highest brightness of Pulsar’s motorboat lineup, 500 nits, connected the debased broadside – adjacent if it’s much than capable for non-HDR games.

I’m inactive itching to get 1 of these screens successful for longer-term testing, mind. The clarity vantage that Pulsar delivered successful that demo is thing that I don’t deliberation adjacent hundreds of further frames-per-second could execute connected a accepted monitor. And arsenic overmuch arsenic I bask a bully OLED, these tin often lone consciousness similar upgrades connected LCD if you know, successful the representation quality, what to look for. Pulsar feels similar an upgrade adjacent if you don’t.