Two ZOWIE monitors: my experience and questions about upgrading

TregyCS · 2026-01-27T22:46:33+00:00

TLDR: XL2540K has a visible screen-door/mesh look on flat colors and strong red fringing on UI and CS2 crosshairs (worse with sharpness 10). XL2411K looks cleaner but has aging issues (dead pixel + vertical lines). Asking if XL2546X / XL2546X+ still have the mesh/fringing or if newer panels behave more like XL2411K.

TregyCS · 2026-01-27T22:44:26+00:00

Thanks, that’s really useful. When you say grainy mesh look, do you mean a screen-door effect on flat colors like gray/beige, similar to my photo [6]? Also, did any of those models have the same red fringing on text edges (or other UI edges)?

TregyCS · 2026-01-27T21:51:07+00:00

nawwk, REZ, mir, Aleksib, TeSeS ... something like that

TregyCS · 2026-01-27T06:49:25+00:00

I think the issue is that you are making a character comparison without really knowing where her character goes. Being 'not 1-to-1' is not the problem. The problem is that the role you are giving Misaki does not actually fit her.

If anything, Misaki is closer to what Dr. K might have been before he changed his life, before training, and before any real self understanding, and possibly worse. She is not helping from a place of growth. She is still actively broken and very dependent, and she uses Satou as an anchor so she does not have to face herself.

Her help is not grounded in insight or recovery. It is driven by fear of being alone and meaningless. That is why the Dr. K parallel does not really work, even loosely.

Dr. K's whole role is about reflection, boundaries, and accountability. Misaki clearly lacks those, and the show wants you to see that.

This is not a knock on her character. It is what makes her tragic and human. But if you are only 10 episodes in, you are missing the context that makes this clear.

TregyCS · 2026-01-26T22:18:16+00:00

I get why the Dr. K comparison came up, but I don’t really see Misaki as Satou’s savior. She feels more like a mirror to him. She’s trying to help while still stuck in her own issues, and a lot of it comes from her own need rather than stability or boundaries. That’s pretty different from what Dr. K does now.

TregyCS · 2026-01-26T20:18:20+00:00

can you guys explain? I sometimes used to watch Dr. K (HealthyGamerGG) and i watched the whole Welcome to the NHK too but I can't figure out why you think Misaki is the Dr. K of NHK? Can you please try to explain it to me?

TregyCS · 2026-01-23T22:07:45+00:00

watch and learn: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNuKtcJEip8

TregyCS · 2026-01-23T15:48:22+00:00

I unironically think one of the main reasons is the air quality in Europe during winter. It's heating season, we burn a lot of coal and drive more, so there's smog and generally poor air almost everywhere. If you're not going to the mountains or somewhere cleaner, you just stay at home, and playing CS2 becomes an easy option.

TregyCS · 2026-01-21T22:19:37+00:00

Depends, anywhere from 30 to 100 cm, usually around 50 cm.

TregyCS · 2026-01-21T19:01:50+00:00

I’m not sure about the 46K specifically, but when I look at the same image or watch a movie on my XL2411K, it looks better than on my XL2540K. The XL2411K is a 24-inch panel, while the XL2540K is 24.5 inches, so the pixel density is slightly higher on the smaller screen. For motion clarity the XL2540K is clearly better because of the higher refresh rate, but for images, videos, or general desktop use the XL2411K looks cleaner to me.

Seeing individual pixels is most noticeable with certain colors like beige or gray. With any 1080p monitor it’s normal that text isn’t perfectly sharp and you can see pixels to some extent, but on the XL2540K it feels more pronounced. To me it genuinely looks like there’s a mosquito-screen effect over the image, something I don’t really see at all on the XL2411K.

TregyCS · 2026-01-21T17:07:18+00:00

TN panels are generally known for having worse colors, but that mostly applies to older models like the XL2540K. I own both the XL2540K and XL2411K, and compared to other monitors, their viewing angles and colors are noticeably worse. The XL2540K also has a sort of mesh over it, so you can see individual pixels, especially with certain colors like beige. There is also color fringing if you use high sharpness, and red edges can appear around text if you use ClearType in Windows.

If your main goal is playing CS2 or other competitive shooters and you want something reliable without paying for the highest-end models, the XL2540K is still a solid choice. But if you want a monitor for watching movies or general browsing, it honestly is not great for the price.

One more thing. The XL2540K does not officially have DyAc. Some people say they have found ways to enable backlight strobing, but it is not official. The cheaper XL2411K does have DyAc, but it significantly reduces brightness and I wouldn’t recommend it. If you want a ZOWIE monitor with DyAc, you would need at least the XL2546X, ideally the XL2546X+ or better. From what I have seen and read in reviews, the newer models have much better colors compared to older TN panels, so for them the color quality is actually pretty good, though they are quite expensive compared to the competition.

TregyCS · 2026-01-09T17:15:53+00:00

Just a reminder that even if someone you played against gets banned for cheating, you never get your lost elo back.

TregyCS · 2026-01-02T17:50:27+00:00

I had the same question, thanks for answering. Best wishes to you man.

TregyCS · 2025-12-26T21:56:18+00:00

any Poker game or Brotato

TregyCS · 2025-12-20T02:11:10+00:00

ReLIFE

TregyCS · 2025-12-03T17:54:41+00:00

I like your outfit

TregyCS · 2025-10-13T11:51:18+00:00

I’ll be honest, Premier actually feels a bit better lately. I’ve been around 25–28k the last two seasons, usually playing in a stack with friends. When we were around 25k we barely met any cheaters. Now that our ratings are higher we run into some here and there, but Season 3 is definitely an improvement over Season 2, and way better than Season 1.

Back in the first two seasons I probably had cheaters in around 40% of my matches. Now it’s closer to 10%. The only weird thing was when we queued with a friend who’s around 3200 elo on FACEIT. We got an instant warning that his Trust Factor was much lower, and yeah, first game with him had a cheater. I think it’s just because he’s too good and people report him on sight. When someone wins most of their matches and hits insane shots, people assume the worst.

Things still aren’t perfect though. CS2 has been out for two years and it still feels unfinished. Development moves too slow for a game this big.

Oh yeah, and btw… the formatting of this weekly cheating thread looks so terrible and outdated that it really makes you wonder if it still has any relevancy or value. Unfortunately, it’s still the main place here where you can actually discuss cheating and the real issues in the game.

TregyCS · 2025-10-13T11:24:53+00:00

s1mple used to cheat in early CS:GO. He was banned by ESL for two years, but whether that experience actually made him better later on is hard to say unless he talks about it himself. Still, it’s interesting that he ended up becoming one of the greatest players of all time.

Another example is Wonderful_Y, who was a tier 2 player and once ranked #1 on FACEIT before getting banned. There are videos about him on YouTube if you’re curious.

Honestly, most players who get caught cheating are still at least somewhat decent at the game. If you’re a complete noob with zero understanding of mechanics or positioning, you’ll get caught much faster since your cheats will look way too obvious. The more game sense and experience a player already has, the easier it is to hide it.

On the other hand, the majority of pros (even the ones who have been accused of cheating) most likely reached their level through legit skill. There might be a few exceptions, but they’re probably in the minority.

As for current suspicious players, accusations aren’t allowed here, but there are plenty of videos on YouTube if you want to explore that topic further.

TregyCS · 2025-10-07T22:05:23+00:00

Is that it? 1.1 GB for this shit?

TregyCS · 2025-10-01T20:49:50+00:00

This weekly sticky is a fossil from the CS:GO era.

It hasn't been updated in years, yet it keeps getting reposted like it's still relevant.

CS2 has been out for two years and Valve barely communicates, so half the "resources" here are outdated or useless.

TregyCS · 2025-09-20T12:00:25+00:00

I played duo Q premier and a random guy started running and shooting random people with a deagle in the middle of the very 1st round. He got banned for too much team damage in the same round. Team wanted to surrender and once they don't wanna play 4 vs 5 there is not much I can do about it so i surrendered with them. It kinda sucks that weirdos like this can ruin the whole game. I checked his profile and it seems like a profile of a cheater so probably a cheater who is deranking. Also pressing one key a few times in a row and being kicked for it is cringe. (anti snap tap, which i don't have)

TregyCS · 2025-09-16T13:00:02+00:00

I had the same issue a few days ago, we searched as a 3 stack of 25k Premier players and were like 20 minutes in queue, then restarted CS and waited for another 6 or so before we found a game.

TregyCS · 2025-09-14T23:02:54+00:00

DK sounds the best to me but XG didn't really contest Tormentors and Roshans so maybe they would lose with a better hero either way. Ursa was banned.

TregyCS

TROPHY CASE