Nvidia says a new generation of ultra-high refresh displays are coming, and Asus is on hand at CES with the first demo. The G-Sync Esports Displays will support 360Hz refresh, a significant increase over the previous top-of-the-line 240Hz technology. As the name implies, Nvidia is targeting professional and enthusiast Esports gamers with these displays, which will no doubt be very spendy.
Most computer monitors run at 60Hz, meaning they update 60 times per second. Any frames higher than that are wasted, regardless of how powerful your computer may be. Frame rates that don’t match your display refresh can also cause “tearing” due to the mismatched update frequency. Monitor
technologies like AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync solve the problem by synchronizing a higher display refresh to your FPS — usually maxing out at 100, 144, or 240Hz.
The new Asus ROG Swift 360Hz features a 24.5-inch panel, but it’s only 1080p resolution. Having more pixels isn’t the priority here — this monitor and the ones that follow are intended to hit extremely high frame rates, and that’s easier at lower resolutions. Nvidia says it worked closely with Asus to implement its new G-Sync processor in the display. That’s what allows the panel to effectively display 360 frames per second in concert with the GPU’s output. It can update a frame once every 2.8 milliseconds, which is about six times faster than a regular 60Hz monitor.
All games look better at high frame rates, but 360Hz is probably overkill for most titles. In fact, you might not even be able to render that many frames with any current GPU in a game like Red Dead Redemption 2. Competitive games like CS:GO and Overwatch, however, could benefit from extremely high frame rates. Eliminating a few milliseconds of display lag could help a player pull off a shot that they might otherwise miss. Still, you will need a powerful Nvidia GPU to reach 360fps in any game at 1080p.
Nvidia says the first pro gamer 360Hz monitors will hit the market later this year, with Asus being first out of the gate. We don’t know how much the monitor will cost, but existing 240Hz G-Sync panels of this size are around $300-500. This one will no doubt be even more expensive, further widening the gap between G-Sync and AMD FreeSync monitors. If you’re not playing CS:GO at a competitive level, you can probably go with a less expensive setup.
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