Acer Predator Z35 Ghosting - Please Help ?!

CRE4MPIE
CRE4MPIE Member Posts: 13 New User
in 2016 Archives

Hello there,

 

I recently got an Acer Predator Z35 G-Sync Monitor. At first I thought I was imagining it , but then noticed very distinct ghosting on certain games , some to such an extent where it actually affects gameplay negatively..

 

I've uploaded a small video of ghosting here on Arma 3's  Desolation Mod . I've also noticed similar ghosting on Battlefield 4.

 

I have tried various different settings and refresh rates , to no avail ... the ghosting remains ?

 

Any advise  would be greatly appreciated ... if there is no fix I will most likely try and return the monitor as in this state It's fairly unacceptable considering the price you pay Smiley Sad

 

CP out

 

 

 

Answers

  • Cory-Acer
    Cory-Acer Administrator Posts: 1,449 Community Administrator

    Hi CRE4MPIE,

     

    I'll start asking some questions internally. In the mean time, can you provide me with your basic computer specs and how you've got the Z35 hooked up? Is it in a multi monitor setup or by itself?

     

    From a troubleshooting standpoint, if you can help answer any of these questions it may help us understand any issues quicker.

    • Does this happen at all refresh rates? If you went to 60hz, 144hz, 200hz is there any difference?
    • Have you made any modifications with the OSD menu? If so, could you reset to default and see if the problem is still there? If it's not, could you try making adjustments one by one until you notice the ghosting?
    • Do you notice any difference with Gsync on vs Gsync off?
    • Are there games where you don't notice this?

    Thanks,
    Cory

  • CRE4MPIE
    CRE4MPIE Member Posts: 13 New User

    Hi Cory,

     

    Here's my machine build ...

     

     sigpic572_12.gif

     

    Currently the Z35 is the only display I have connected via die DP port.

     

     

    • It happens at all refresh rates
    • The only OSD changes i've made is the OC to get to 200Hz
    • I don't notice any difference with or without G-Sync.
    • Arma 3, Battlefield 4 , GRID, H1Z1 , Pretty much most of them ... 

     

    I've been doing some extensive testing , there's a OD feature which is on by default in the OSD. I disabled this and it seems to have completely removed the dark ghosting in Arma 3, however it remains in Battlefield 4 and other games with fairly dark backgrounds...

     

    I'll keep testing and give any feedback  here ..

     

    Thanks,
    Cory

  • CRE4MPIE
    CRE4MPIE Member Posts: 13 New User

    Hi again Cory,

     

    I've tried a bunch of different games this weeked. It's pretty clear that any games with darkish scenes or scenes with alot of red would cause ghosting or smearing of the textures. I would stand at an area where there's dark red blood on the road, moving the mouse slightly from side to side would cause the blood to "float" as it ghosts.

     

    Even on Arma 3,  where disabling the OD fixed the ghosting on that particular area , if you entered a dark building or night came , you would quite easily notice the smearing by wiggling your view from side to side.

     

    So not good at all ...

     

    Have you managed to get any feedback internally on how ACER plans to address the issues with the current Z35 displays ? Are they going to recall all these displays or provide a fix ? 

     

    Kindly advise soonest

    CP out

     

  • beginningatlast
    beginningatlast Member Posts: 4 New User

    I would also like to know what fix Acer has planned for the issue.

     

    I am suffering from the same smearing due to poor pixel response and color transition.

  • CRE4MPIE
    CRE4MPIE Member Posts: 13 New User

    Acer-Cory

     

    Just to update this post - ACER have collected the monitor to do some tests and advise , I hope to hear back from them within the next day or two.

     

    Have you heard anything from your internal sources ?

     

    CP

     

  • CRE4MPIE
    CRE4MPIE Member Posts: 13 New User

    Small Update,

     

    ACER are replacing the panel as they said it was problematic - Let's hope the new panel doesn't suffer from the same ghosting - new panel expected to arrive 25/26 March.

     

    Are you aware of any changes to firmware / panels etc that could have fixed this issue ?

     

    Cheers

    CP

     

  • Cory-Acer
    Cory-Acer Administrator Posts: 1,449 Community Administrator

    Look forward to the update CP.

     

    From my side, we haven't identified any system issue with the Z35 that would create the level of ghosting provided in the video you linked. I installed a few games (h1z1, dayz) and didn't notice the issue, but it's still being looked into.

  • CRE4MPIE
    CRE4MPIE Member Posts: 13 New User

    Holding thumbs !

     

    Could it be that ACER have fixed the issue on later batches of the panels ? 

     

    Chat soon

    CP

     

  • wr75
    wr75 Member Posts: 2 New User

    I'm eager to know the outcome of this as well. Please keep us posted as soon as you get it back!

    Thanks!

  • CRE4MPIE
    CRE4MPIE Member Posts: 13 New User

    After the wait i have finally received my monitor back from ACER ! I was excited to see how they fixed the ghosting issue as they reported the other panel had signs of defect !

     

    I've done a few tests and played a few different games to see if I could reproduce the original issue. As it only occured under certain circumstances and in some games i had to be sure to test the panel thoroughly with the default settings before making any customizations, so i reset the monitor to all defaults.

     

    Test Setup

    It's plugging into my machine via the DP port. It's the only connected display. I have G-Sync Enabled and running the standard 144hz. No other customizations have been made to the monitors OSD. My operating system is Windows 10 Pro x64.

     

    The Division

    The very first thing I played a bit of was the Division. The game ran great and looked the part , however in some areas there was clear smearing from certain textures - especially in the Darkzone - my guess is the darker colour on the lighter background had something to do with it. It did "feel" better - perhaps this was just a plecebo knowing the panel had been replaced and they assured me the issue was fixed.

     

    Arma 3

    I jumped onto the editor in Arma 3 and tried various different areas and times of day to simulat the previous issue I experienced. Again i noticed slight smearing during dusk on the road markings for instance as shown in the video in my OP. It was as bad as it was before , but deffo still present.

     

     

    Battlefield 4

    Moving around the maps on BF4 i rarely noticed anything significant enough to make me want to stop playing. Only a few maps like the nighttime maps the smearing was quite visible as the map is nearly completely black and anything that stood out on that would leave a trail behind it.

     

    Plain Text 

    Lastly i checked out the arma 3 Exile mod forums here http://www.exilemod.com/ and immediately while dragging the bar on the side to scroll you can see the trail following the text as you go - this was probably the most visible and easiest way to reproduce this and see how bad the ghosting can be. The text will leave black smeares as you drag the bar down on the grey background.

     

    I have to say I am extremely disappointed at the QC on these monitors. I'm not really sure whereto from now. I had to sit without a PC for nearly 3 weeks while ACER "replaced" the panel and assured me they had checked and the issue was no longer present. I am not really willing to do that again. Any suggestions welcome ? 

     

    I have also contacted the supplier to see if I can exchange this for something else...

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • tempest2012
    tempest2012 Member Posts: 2 New User

    I have exactly the same issues with my Z35 but mine also suffers from horrendous colour banding when watching video.

     

    Have already contacted Acer about getting it looked at,

  • CRE4MPIE
    CRE4MPIE Member Posts: 13 New User

    Returned the monitor to the supplier for a refund - waiting to hear back. 

  • ngoodravens
    ngoodravens Member Posts: 1 New User

    I was having the same issues, mine actually progressively got worse over time, i ended up getting a benq monitor instead, and it also looks like acer really does not give a ***** about there customers from a lot of places that have explained that the customer tried calling acer and they basically just wasted there time like your self. I also returned my monitor and just used that for my new benq monitor. also i would note that if you own a nvidia card and you can not use the freesync on the monitor the quality also looks like *****. In order to get a monitor that uses g-sync i would have had to spend another 200 dollars for the monitor just because of that, yes no thanks.

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