New 360Hz Asus Monitor Lands Just in Time to Tax New GPUs

By Michelle Ehrhardt
last updated

A new frame every 2.8 milliseconds.

Asus ROG Swift PG259QN 360Hz
(Image credit: Asus)

Today, Asus officially announced via press release the ROG Swift PG259QN 360Hz, the fastest consumer gaming monitor from any company yet. Supporting frame rates up to 360 fps, this beast is set to hit in September, and will have a 24.5 inch "Fast IPS" FHD screen with a 1ms response time, G-Sync compatibility and HDR 10 support. Though Acer and Alienware are both looking to hit the 360Hz milestone soon as well, this makes Asus the first company to cross this particular finish line.

We’re pretty sure we got our first hints of this monitor at this January’s CES, where Asus and Nvidia invited our editor Scharon Harding to look at what was then called the ROG Swift 360. An Nvidia spokesperson told her that the display is intended for competitive esports players, who could expect a 4% improvement in flick shot aiming tests according to Nvidia’s research. They then showed her a demonstration of a Dota map scrolling at 240Hz vs 360Hz, where Harding said she could notice a slight improvement in text legibility thanks to the screen being able to update colors more quickly. Breaking this frame rate down, the Nvidia spokesperson also told her the monitor could show a new frame once every 2.8ms.

Asus ROG Swift PG259QN 360Hz

(Image credit: Asus)

Most of the best gaming monitors right now land between 144Hz and 240Hz, though there are some 300Hz options if you’re willing to dole out the cash for them. 360Hz would make this display the fastest one yet, regardless of manufacturer, though that speed does limit it to FHD and a smaller 24.5 inch screen size. And though Asus has yet to announce an official price, it will most certainly cost you more than similar 280Hz monitors like the $450 Asus TUF Gaming VG279QM. Not to mention that you'll need a powerful video card like the upcoming RTX 3090 to actually hit performance high enough to take advantage of 360Hz.

At frame rates this high, it’s arguable whether the average person will be able to see the difference between this and a cheaper option. But if you play a lot of twitchy action games like Fortnite, or just love smooth experiences, then the ROG Swift PG259QN 360Hz will soon be the Rolls-Royce of high frame rate displays. And like any good luxury device, it’ll have plenty of convenience too, like three USB 3.0 ports, HDMI 2.0 and DisplayPort compatibility and built-in software for adding crosshairs, timers and other overlays to your video feed.

Michelle Ehrhardt
Michelle Ehrhardt

Michelle Ehrhardt is an editor at Tom's Hardware. She's been following tech since her family got a Gateway running Windows 95, and is now on her third custom-built system. Her work has been published in publications like Paste, The Atlantic, and Kill Screen, just to name a few. She also holds a master's degree in game design from NYU.

21 Comments Comment from the forums
  • EridanusSV
    Literally just for CSGO.
    Reply
  • pocketdrummer
    "Not to mention that you'll need a powerful video card like the upcoming RTX 3090 to actually hit performance high enough to take advantage of 360Hz"

    I don't think you'll need an RTX 3090 as much as you'll need a CPU that can drive that many frames. Right now, a 2080 Ti is largely bottle-necked by the CPU, especially at 1080p.
    Reply
  • Endymio
    "They then showed her a demonstration of a Dota map scrolling at 240Hz vs 360Hz, where Harding said she could notice a slight improvement "
    Can anyone say placebo effect?
    Reply
  • EridanusSV
    Funny how some kid will buy this and will still be in the bottom of the leaderboard. Get buyer's remorse. Lose interest in gaming. And dad malds after spending all that money.
    Reply
  • drivinfast247
    ALL THE FRAMES!
    Reply
  • EridanusSV
    Endymio said:
    "They then showed her a demonstration of a Dota map scrolling at 240Hz vs 360Hz, where Harding said she could notice a slight improvement "
    Can anyone say placebo effect?
    Dota pros play games at less than 144hz too. Most of them play at Ultra settings 1080p and they can get max 120 to 130 with all the effects and elements in the game. Some of them even plays with vsync on.

    I really don't know who they market these things for. If it's a project.. then good job. 360hz. But why?!
    Reply
  • Ferimer
    Well according to science anything more than 10-20 for some people is just considered motion. and reality states that we can't see more than 60 FPS anyway, but that is just science, its never right
    Reply
  • drivinfast247
    Ferimer said:
    Well according to science anything more than 10-20 for some people is just considered motion. and reality states that we can't see more than 60 FPS anyway, but that is just science, its never right
    I can easily see, tell, feel the difference between 30, 60 and 100fps.
    Reply
  • Endymio
    drivinfast247 said:
    I can easily see, tell, feel the difference between 30, 60 and 100fps.
    Not being argumentative-- but have you ever seen attempted to detect the difference between those framerates in a blind-study manner, i.e. in which you didn't know beforehand which is the highest rate?

    This peer-reviewed research paper found that performance in a FPS videogame saturates at about 30 fps, and no benefit beyond 60 fps:

    Mark Claypool, Kajal Claypool, & Feissal Damaab (2006). The Effects of Frame Rate and Resolution on Users Playing First Person Shooter Games. Proceedings of SPIE.
    Reply
  • drivinfast247
    Endymio said:
    Not being argumentative-- but have you ever seen attempted to detect the difference between those framerates in a blind-study manner, i.e. in which you didn't know beforehand which is the highest rate?

    This peer-reviewed research paper found that performance in a FPS videogame saturates at about 30 fps, and no benefit beyond 60 fps:

    Mark Claypool, Kajal Claypool, & Feissal Damaab (2006). The Effects of Frame Rate and Resolution on Users Playing First Person Shooter Games. Proceedings of SPIE.
    I cannot play a game at 30fps. It makes my eyes hurt and I feel off. 60 and up is really no problem.

    I'm talking all types of games.
    Reply