Asus plans to release a 540Hz display, but do you really need one?
Asus has given more information about the ROG Swift PG248QP, the world’s first 540 Hz display for the most demanding gamers.
It’s the race for Hz among gaming screen manufacturers. Last August, we announced the release of the Alienware 500 Hz Gaming Monitor (AW2524HF), a model that we will soon offer for testing on CssTricks. Asus had also announced a model at the start of the year reaching 540 Hz. The brand has just specified the technical sheet for this model which can now boast of being the fastest in the world. But at what cost ?
The world’s first 540 Hz screen
The Asus ROG Swift PG248QP is a 24.1-inch Full HD definition screen and features a so-called Esports-TN panel with a minimal latency of 0.2 ms gray to gray. This type of panel is considered more efficient in gaming than the widely used IPS, to the detriment of limited contrast and viewing angles. Like the Alienware model, we remain on 1080p: we can bet that future models this fast will offer a 1440p definition in 27 inches, the now reference configuration for competitive gaming screens.
The screen will integrate Nvidia G-Sync variable refresh technology, with the implementation of ULMB 2 (Ultra Low Motion Blur) on the Nvidia side. Concretely, this technology will greatly compensate for the limitations of LCD screens in terms of afterglow with motion clarity expected to match that of our old CRT screens.
Is 540 Hz really useful?
It is on this point that this type of screen wants to differentiate itself: more than on perceived fluidity, we rather rely on the clarity of moving elements and therefore better perception of targets for competitive players. At these levels, as we explained in our article on the first 600 Hz screens on laptops, latency differences of only a few milliseconds are imperceptible.
Finally, on the image side, the theoretical contrast rises to 1000:1 with a maximum brightness of 400 cd/m2 in SDR and HDR. So don’t expect a dazzling HDR experience, but that’s not what we’re asking for.
Now it remains to be seen how much it will cost. With the Alienware AW2524HF being around €700, expect a similar price range, if not more. For a 24-inch 1080p screen in 2023, yes, but at 540 Hz.
