For as long as there have been high-refresh rate displays there have been debates about whether the human eye can even distinguish between 30Hz and 60Hz.
The debate has largely been settled as, all it takes to realise that there is a difference between refresh rates, is to experience the difference for yourself.
Now, however, this has taken a turn for the bizarre with ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) showcasing a 500Hz monitor simply called the ASUS ROG Swift 500Hz.
The panel here uses something ASUS calls Esports TN and it claims this technology offers 60 percent better response times compared to a regular TN panel. The monitor also only goes up to a 1920 x 1080 resolution so that your GPU has more room to push out 500 frames every second. The monitor is rather small at 24.1 inches, but the performance is the draw card here after all.
“The other half of the secret sauce comes from Nvidia: with Nvidia’s Reflex Analyzer and G-SYNC built-in, gamers can tune their settings for the lowest possible input lag, without stuttering or tearing. You’ll see every moment as it happens, without waiting for the screen to refresh—allowing you to make your move before your enemy even sees you coming. Plus, with overdrive values perfectly tuned for every portion of the variable refresh rate range, motion blur is kept at a minimum no matter what framerate you’re getting,” writes ASUS.
What is Nvidia Reflex Analyzer? To put it plainly, this piece of software (which is compatible with GeForce cards as old as the 900 series) analyses your gameplay, the frames you’re getting and system lag. This allows you to more easily optimise your game settings so that you experience fewer frame drops, screen tearing or other oddities that can ruin a game.
Unfortunately, Nvidia Reflex Analyzer requires additional hardware which in this case is a Gaming mouse that plugs into the monitor allowing the software to analyse when a button is clicked and when the screen refreshes. Nvidia points to the Cooler Master MM310, and the Cooler Master MM730 as compatible peripherals to make use of Reflex Analyzer with more to come in future.
As regards pricing of the ASUS ROG Swift 500Hz, ASUS is rather coy on that point much like it is as regards availability.
We’ll be keeping an eye out for more news about this monitor especially if it arrives locally. With that having been said, unless you’re a dedicated esports player or a PC gamer with a monstrous rig, this monitor is likely something not every gamer needs in their setup.
