If the 360 Hz screens that equip some high-end machines today are already not enough for you, Asus will soon have what you need.
If you are one of the few fanatics who still feel limited by the ultra-fast panels on the market today, Asus has excellent news for you. On the occasion of Computex 2022, the brand announced a rather remarkable newcomer which completes the catalog of its Republic of Gamers range: say hello to the very first 24″ 500 Hz G-Sync compatible screen from Asus!
It’s a figure that would almost make you dizzy; for those who are not familiar with this technology, this means that the screen is capable of spitting out a whopping 500 images every second. Even for a specialized instructor, it’s a real tour de force.
Today, the best panels on the market in this segment, which are specifically optimized for high-level competitive gaming, mostly peak at 360 Hz. This is already a huge number, and these screens are still relatively rare. As far as we know, there is currently only one other successful model, namely the very first 500 Hz screen from BOE (see our article).
Consequently, as each time a milestone is reached in terms of refresh ratean old problem is back on the table: is Asus betting on the announcement effect, or is this real progress in the service of hardcore gamers and professionals?
A debate as old as gaming
The question needs to be asked. Recall that years ago, when 120 Hz screens began to flourish on the market, some observers greeted them with a certain disdain. “The human eye can’t even distinguish that many frames per second!”, they scoffed.
Now that faster and faster slabs are constantly coming onto the market, public perception has sharpened. Today, the question no longer arises: the benefit is indisputable. And this is the case both in terms of performance and visual comfort.
The figures therefore continue to swell as the prowess of the engineers who constantly want to push the limits. But is it still really necessary, and above all relevant? After all, several studies including this one carried out in Japan, have already shown that the “evaluation ability of the human eye“tended to”saturate” around 240 frames per second.
In any case, according to Nvidia, which has partnered with Asus on this project, it’s a big yes. And to try to prove it, the green team did not do things by halves; she equipped herself with a Phantom VEO 640S. It’s a camera that costs a fortune (around €60,000), but has the advantage of recording at extreme speed, up to several thousand images per second. The ideal toy to analyze the behavior of this slab.
A not particularly beautiful, but ultra-fast TN panel
And as you might expect, on this slow motion video captured on Valorant, we see an indisputable gain in fluidity and a very clear improvement in terms of ghosting. It’s probably related to the underlying technology; it is obviously not an OLED panel, and not an IPS panel either. Instead, there is a TN panel.
A technology that usually offers slightly worse color rendering, but with very impressive refresh rates and latencies; ideal for those who want to prioritize performance above all else.
And in the case of this screen, it is even a new type of TN panel specially designed for e-sports, called E-TN. It would therefore be 60% responsive than a standard TN panel. It was probably essential to optimize the performance of this ultra-fast panel. Asus also had to make concessions in terms of resolution. Because unless you have a specialized supercomputer in your cellar, it is simply impossible to output 500 images per second in 4k, or even in 1440p. It will therefore be necessary to be satisfied with a 1080p panel.
Will this sacrifice in terms of definition be justified by this bluffing refresh rate? Will the difference only be noticeable in real conditions? This remains to be demonstrated. But in any case, it is not the resolution that will interest future customers of this dazzling panel. It will therefore be quite interesting to see what this screen will be capable of in game. Will it be able to convince the e-sport giants to change hardware? To find out, we will unfortunately have to wait for the release, the date of which remains unknown for the moment.
