XG27AQDMG insane banding/posterization

[Lax567]

Hi All,

Just got a XG27AQDMG, and after some testing in games, I think something is seriously wrong.

I've got very noticeable posterization in dask-ish colors. For example here are two pictures from Genshin and Honkai Star rail :

The white circular shape is not supposed to be visible (it's a smooth gradient to the edges)The light cast is very unsmooth, I mean look at this

I'm running SDR with :

• user mode
• brightness 30
• uniform brightness ON
• shadow boost OFF
• gamma 2.2
• latest firmware MCM103

Tried :

• both DisplayPort and HDMI,
• going down to 60Hz
• made sure I'm running full RGB 10 bit
• increasing brightness, enabling shadow boost helps but it only makes the "white circle" bigger

That can't be normal, is my monitor faulty ?

Thank you

[Lax567]

Ok, so I did some more testing, and It seems that it is a combination of :

• GSYNC being enabled
• Games running at a capped framerate (in my case, 60 or 120)
• It also happens in HDR (I saw the issue with FF7 Remake capped at 120)

If I disable GSYNC, the issue almost completely disappears.

Furthermore, setting OLED anti flicker to high also alleviates the issue.

Is that a known issue ? Maybe worth escalating to the team @Aureliannn_ROG (sorry for the tag...) ?

[Lax567]

I think my unit is defective, there's no way this is normal

SDR, 60Hz, 35 brightness (uniform brightness on)

I've created a codepen to replicate the issue. Can someone try it out and see if you have the same thing ?

Thanks

[Aureliannn_ROG]

Hi @Lax567 ,

according to your issue, we have sent you the messege via PM box, kindly check and confirm.

Thank you.

[Lax567 · Accepted solution]

Sadly this did not resolve the issue.

For the record, here are my findings :

• it seems that running at a lower than maximum refresh rate causes gamma issues
• which, while bad in and of itself, also exacerbates the gradient issues (which I'm not sure are due to a defective unit or just poor near black gradient handling)

So basically you're left with 3 options :

• disable VRR to keep the monitor at 240Hz, but you then have stuttering in games
• set OLED anti-flicker to strong, which pretty much does the same thing, except for games that can run at a high enough framerate
• set "shadow boost" to "dynamic adjustment", which will kinda solve the gradient issue but NOT the gamma issue. It also takes a bit of time to adjust, which is jarring during scene transitions or basic alt-tabbing.

I've initiated a return procedure with the seller, since it's a dealbreaker for me. I wonder if it's a W-OLED only issue though ?

I find also quite baffling that no one is talking about this problem (except this post I found), which basically makes VRR unusable. I guess people were already diabling VRR due to the flickering ?

[deusXex]

VRR or refresh rate have zero impact on this banding/gradient issue. You are probably mixing this issue with VRR flicker, which can make it worse, but it is a separate thing.

Also it's not just your unit. All of these monitors have this kind of terrible banding. I had two and both had this issue:
https://rog-forum.asus.com/t5/gaming-monitors/xg27aqdmg-banding-broken-gradients/td-p/1061280

[Lax567]

You're right in a sense, the issue is present at all framerates. But lower framerates make it even worse for some reason. When I still had the monitor, just disabling GSYNC made the issue far less noticeable in games running at 60 or 120 fps. And no I'm not talking about VRR flicker at all, that's a completely different issue.

In any case, I'm glad the issue is finally being talked about, it's kinda insane that no reviewer talks about it to be honest. Also for anyone wondering, in the end I went for a 32" G8 OLED. While it has its own issues (purple tint and lower overall brightness), it has far better gradient handling and I'm happy with it so far... I upvoted your post, good luck 😅

[deusXex]

Yes you're right. Monitor RefreshRate does influence this issue. I've missed that completely. I don't know how is that even possible tbh. ASUS' electronics in this monitor has to be a complete trash. People really should stay away.

[VincentDM]

I set my monitor to the exact same settings that you mentionned, desptite Gamme set to 2.0 instead of 2.2 (cause some reviewers tend to say that it's a bit better).
I received that monitor yesterday, and already on the verge of returning it because of small but annoying issues.
I will try 60 fps locked games once I return home, to check if I experience similar results.
Not sure if it is a global OLED issue or an isolated case.

[Lax567]

If you could test it that would be great.

You can use this test pattern I made : codepen

You can try at different refresh rates and see if there is a difference (change the refresh rate in the Windows display settings).