Thursday, January 16th 2014

NVIDIA Rolls Out G-Sync Upgrade Kit for ASUS VG248QE

NVIDIA rolled out an upgrade kit that lets you retrofit your ASUS VG248QE monitor with NVIDIA G-Sync technology, letting you take advantage of the display's up to 144 Hz refresh rate for some incredibly smooth visuals (we've seen G-Sync in action ourselves, and it works like it should). The kit is a PCB with a handful of headers. You can either retrofit it into the monitor's body yourself (a DIY video is posted). The G-Sync kit is priced at US $199.
The DIY installation video follows.

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64 Comments on NVIDIA Rolls Out G-Sync Upgrade Kit for ASUS VG248QE

#51
Razorfang
Lots of butthurt going on in the comment section over a product that is clearly not for everyone. If you're not into a product, simply, don't buy it. One commenter even calling potential customers "idiots".

Seriously? Is this how you keep a fair and open mind about technology on a site that is dedicated to tech and tech news for the novice all the way to the enthusiast?

Some of you should be ashamed of yourselves.

On topic: $200 is out of my price range, if it were possible to upgrade my monitor with G-Sync. But, I don't have the monitor so, clearly, this affects me in no way.

Also, considering this is new tech (as with all new tech), the price will be at a premium. When it becomes more common or as time past, I'm sure the price will go down.

I think it's nice that Asus/Nvidia are giving owners of this monitor an option to upgrade their premium monitors without having to shell out $500+ for essentially the same thing in a few months.

Edit: I have a question of my own: How much would a monitor like this cost WITH G-Sync enabled if and when it's released in the market? Keep it mind it would need to have these features including G-Sync.

$465 (Monitor w/ G-Sync Mod) DIY seems like it would still be cheaper then to wait for one of the manufacturers to come out with a comparable monitor.
Posted on Reply
#52
natr0n
This is ridiculous.


I was under the impression you would remove a plastic flap/cover (like on a remote) on back of lcd insert the gync card and be done.


This is a full teardown.
Posted on Reply
#53
Marty 1480
I wonder if ASUS or NVIDIA will honor the warranty once you stuff it all up and have to send a plastic bag of parts of your shiny and wonderful gaming monitor back to them for repair. $200 for that privilage, no thank you.
Posted on Reply
#54
iTile
Marty 1480I wonder if ASUS or NVIDIA will honor the warranty once you stuff it all up and have to send a plastic bag of parts of your shiny and wonderful gaming monitor back to them for repair. $200 for that privilage, no thank you.
people don't realise there is a market outside USA.. compared to US prices it would basically cost USD900-USD1100 for a G-Sync Asus VG248QE here in my country. i know the monitor alone without G-Sync costs 650USD, i have one, So that would put the Module alone at Around 300-400USD.

SO curiously though, ASUS VG248QE should in fact support VBLANK.. since it supports G-sync... TBH i have a feeling ALL G-Sync Compatible monitors support VBLANK.. so Freesync should work on it.

As i understand how G-Sync works, the nVidia GPUs DO NOT Support variable refresh rates internally, thus proprierty modules have to be made in order for the monitor to function in this manner.

AMD's solutions on the other hand... have been doing this... for a while.. from the GPU chip itself. So my question is did nVidia shoot itself in the foot to market this tech so extensively as they did, though there has been a standard for a while.

As I understand the monitor has to be able to communicate directly with the AMD GPU in order for FreeSync to work for example and VBLANK needs to be supported. which i would say all 5 star energy rated LCDs should already have this, no matter if its desktop or laptop, as it can only be achieved with that rating.
The G-Sync Module is needed in order for the monitor to communicate directly with the nVidia GPU as its missing the instruction set completely from the GPU. In actual fact if nVidia wanted to level the field they'd "rework" maxwell to have this included on the PCB.

BUT raping wallets comes first so, this will only be available 3-4 generations later from kepler, without the need for a module as its built onto the PCB of the GPU in 2016-2018.


Book mark my Post, I'll give the first person to say I accurately predicted the market
1 Bitcoin in 4 Years. 17-01-2018
Posted on Reply
#55
Xzibit
KärlekstrolletEnthusiasts would't just buy one, for multi-monitor setups the g-sync alone goes for 600 bucks not to mention the price of the monitors.
Those enthusiast would be out of luck.
Blur BlustersCurrently, G-SYNC only works on the primary monitor at this time, with current NVIDIA drivers.
Oh, well.
Easy Rhinowhy would i not want g-sync? serious question. based on what nvidia says it seems like i should get it???
NVIDIA G-SYNC is groundbreaking new display technology that delivers the smoothest and fastest gaming experience ever. G-SYNC’s revolutionary performance is achieved by synchronizing display refresh rates to the GPU in your GeForce GTX-powered PC, eliminating screen tearing and minimizing display stutter and input lag. The result: scenes appear instantly, objects look sharper, and gameplay is super smooth, giving you a stunning visual experience and a serious competitive edge.
It depends what your playing as well.
Marty 1480I wonder if ASUS or NVIDIA will honor the warranty once you stuff it all up and have to send a plastic bag of parts of your shiny and wonderful gaming monitor back to them for repair. $200 for that privilage, no thank you.
Nvidia won't.
Nvidia G-Sync DIY Kit DisclaimerNote that unless directly caused by NVIDIA’s own negligence, NVIDIA is not responsible for any product damage or warranty issues, including, but not limited to, the voiding of a third party product warranty that may occur by using, integrating or substituting the warrantied product with or into third party product.
Posted on Reply
#56
Relayer
Marty 1480I wonder if ASUS or NVIDIA will honor the warranty once you stuff it all up and have to send a plastic bag of parts of your shiny and wonderful gaming monitor back to them for repair. $200 for that privilage, no thank you.
I can't find it now, but nVidia had a disclaimer on their site where they specifically said they weren't liable if you buggered your monitor installing G-Sync. Obviously, Asus isn't going to cover a product that you've completely replaced the electronics on.

Edit: Xzibit found it.
Posted on Reply
#57
Xzibit
RelayerI can't find it now, but nVidia had a disclaimer on their site where they specifically said they weren't liable if you buggered your monitor installing G-Sync. Obviously, Asus isn't going to cover a product that you've completely replaced the electronics on.
Not only that.

They also have a "Incase you sue us".
Nvidia G-Sync DIY Installation GuideNOTE: THIS AGREEMENT CONTAINS A BINDING INDIVIDUAL ARBITRATION AND CLASS ACTION/JURY TRIAL WAIVER
PROVISION THAT AFFECTS YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THIS AGREEMENT. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO OPT OUT OF THE
BINDING ARBITRATION AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER PROVISIONS AS DESCRIBED HEREIN
You need to write to them saying you want to Opt Out with-in 30 days of purchase. Sneaky!
Posted on Reply
#58
NeoXF
Seriosuly, F**K this crap and F**K these corporate shitbags who think they are our overlords or something.

So I'm paying to lose privileges and support closed standards that do don't really do much to begin with? Cool, they should have just named it "PhySynX" and parade it as a testament of what enough money and PR bullshittery can do to people, aka "the gaming industry".

And ASUS is no better, really, just now release a 120Hz 1440 monitor? How convenient. You just know people will buy it just because of that, and not because of GSync, either because it doesn't attract them and/or are running a GPU of another make (Fermi and older, AMD, Intel, hybrid Virtu stuff and so on...).
Posted on Reply
#59
Kronvict
NeoXFSeriosuly, F**K this crap and F**K these corporate shitbags who think they are our overlords or something.

So I'm paying to lose privileges and support closed standards that do don't really do much to begin with? Cool, they should have just named it "PhySynX" and parade it as a testament of what enough money and PR bullshittery can do to people, aka "the gaming industry".

And ASUS is no better, really, just now release a 120Hz 1440 monitor? How convenient. You just know people will buy it just because of that, and not because of GSync, either because it doesn't attract them and/or are running a GPU of another make (Fermi and older, AMD, Intel, hybrid Virtu stuff and so on...).
While you are right about the 120hz 1440p incentive i consider the fact that G-sync is included as icing on the cake and a bonus especially since ive been wanting G-sync as well. The PG278Q is an all-in-one package for me. Could care less about it being an IPS panel since i already have a 1440p IPS :D
Posted on Reply
#60
slim142
$99.99 could have been an option to consider.

$200? Thanks but no thanks.

UPDATE: Just saw the video. Even $99.99 sounds too much for this hassle. $79.99 to consider this NVIDIA, make it more expensive and you will be giving this away for free with SHIELDS soon.
Posted on Reply
#61
Frick
Fishfaced Nincompoop
NeoXFSeriosuly, F**K this crap and F**K these corporate shitbags who think they are our overlords or something.
But they are our overlords.
Posted on Reply
#62
Prima.Vera
slim142$99.99 could have been an option to consider.

$200? Thanks but no thanks.

UPDATE: Just saw the video. Even $99.99 sounds too much for this hassle. $79.99 to consider this NVIDIA, make it more expensive and you will be giving this away for free with SHIELDS soon.
Agree. This gimmick should sell for ~50$. Seriously. Maybe in real life is different, but from ALL the videos I've seen , no way I can justify paying more than 50$ for this. Seriously!
Posted on Reply
#63
satsol
I'm not sure how any of you can call this a gimmick or garbage without seeing it for yourself. You cannot, under any circumstance, get a sense of what G-SYNC is by watching a video about it online. It's something you have to experience for yourself, and everyone who has reviewed it and/or demoed it (A good friend of mine included, who modded his monitor) all say there is a very clear gaming improvement, and in some cases, a vast improvement. This technology far surpasses v-sync and adaptive v-sync and while it's useless for a casual gamer, a gaming hobbyist will definitely want to take advantage of this technology.

I also agree that the price of this DIY kit is too expensive right now, but what do you expect with brand new tech? If you buy the monitor and a DIY kit you're out $470 US. However, if you wait a couple of week's, you'll be able to buy the new version of the VG248QE with g-sync already built-in for $399 which is a better deal.

And yes, while it's still a TN monitor, TN panels are still far superior to IPS panels in regards to gaming and will be until you see IPS panels that can match response times. It's also worth noting that the DIY kit DOES void your warranty with ASUS, which makes no sense to me. ASUS and Nvidia are partnered and offering this kit to upgrade existing monitors, but yet ASUS isn't allowing people to do it under warranty. Silly, but I guess understandable considering how much damage you can do if you don't know what you're doing.

So bottom-line, if you're not a gamer, then this new tech is completely worthless for you and you shouldn't even be commenting on it. For everyone else, I'm sure the price will drop once the "pre-installed" monitors go on the market and the tech becomes more widespread.
Posted on Reply
#64
Relayer
satsolI'm not sure how any of you can call this a gimmick or garbage without seeing it for yourself. You cannot, under any circumstance, get a sense of what G-SYNC is by watching a video about it online. It's something you have to experience for yourself, and everyone who has reviewed it and/or demoed it (A good friend of mine included, who modded his monitor) all say there is a very clear gaming improvement, and in some cases, a vast improvement. This technology far surpasses v-sync and adaptive v-sync and while it's useless for a casual gamer, a gaming hobbyist will definitely want to take advantage of this technology.

I also agree that the price of this DIY kit is too expensive right now, but what do you expect with brand new tech? If you buy the monitor and a DIY kit you're out $470 US. However, if you wait a couple of week's, you'll be able to buy the new version of the VG248QE with g-sync already built-in for $399 which is a better deal.

And yes, while it's still a TN monitor, TN panels are still far superior to IPS panels in regards to gaming and will be until you see IPS panels that can match response times. It's also worth noting that the DIY kit DOES void your warranty with ASUS, which makes no sense to me. ASUS and Nvidia are partnered and offering this kit to upgrade existing monitors, but yet ASUS isn't allowing people to do it under warranty. Silly, but I guess understandable considering how much damage you can do if you don't know what you're doing.

So bottom-line, if you're not a gamer, then this new tech is completely worthless for you and you shouldn't even be commenting on it. For everyone else, I'm sure the price will drop once the "pre-installed" monitors go on the market and the tech becomes more widespread.
nVidia cuts prices when the market dictates it and not a moment sooner. If we don't see competition from AMD or the monitor companies themselves nVidia will take advantage of their monopoly. I'm afraid that's how they roll. ;)
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