World’s Fastest Gaming Monitor Hits 500 Hz Refresh Rate

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Are your eyes fast enough, though?

BOE 500 Hz Monitor
BOE 500 Hz Monitor (Image credit: Sina)

According to Chinese news outlet Sina, BOE has made breakthroughs in monitor technology and has built the world's first 500 Hz gaming monitor. The monitor features a 27-inch, Full HD panel equipped with a high-mobility oxide backplane which is how BOE achieved the blisteringly high refresh rate, with a response time of just 1ms.

BOE has ample experience with oxide semiconductor display technology. For example, the company's 500 Hz monitor is significantly faster than the fastest gaming monitors on the market today, from the likes of Asus, Alienware, and Acer, which "only" top out at 360 Hz. Other attributes include accurate 8-bit output and support for an 8-lane eDP signal.

Remember that BOE's monitor is a prototype designed for demonstration purposes only. BOE has not stated if it will be making a 500 Hz gaming panel for the mass market anytime soon, so we could be waiting a long until an official monitor arrives in the hands of gamers.

Even if you could buy this monitor, there remains the question of how practical a monitor like this would be. For gamers, you would need computer hardware that can generate at least 500 FPS in the game you are playing. Unfortunately, it rarely happens and usually requires one of Nvidia's or AMD's best graphics cards while at the same time running lighter games like eSports titles that typically have mediocre graphics.

But if you can take advantage of a monitor of this caliber, you would have a superior advantage in terms of input lag, since the faster a monitor refreshes, the lower the delay is between frames, giving you more information more quickly.

Aaron Klotz
Aaron Klotz
Freelance News Writer

Aaron Klotz is a freelance writer for Tom’s Hardware US, covering news topics related to computer hardware such as CPUs, and graphics cards.

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28 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Geef
    And my lawnmower can do 500 Miles Per Hour, but it's engine only powers it enough to go about 2 Miles Per Hour.
    Reply
  • Alvar "Miles" Udell
    And Plasma televisions really were 600hz...
    Reply
  • jacob249358
    anything beyond 240 is stupid imo. It costs so much and it barely feels different. Once you have hit like 144 or 165 I would rather up the resolution and settings.
    Reply
  • SyCoREAPER
    Id like to know what practical purpose this serves other than bragging rights and emptying gulible consumer pockets.



    jacob249358 said:
    anything beyond 240 is stupid imo. It costs so much and it barely feels different. Once you have hit like 144 or 165 I would rather up the resolution and settings.

    What makes 240 the magic number? Id be more inclined to agree with your 165 assessment. Not many games reach above that or if they do there isnt much visible benefit. I have a 300hz panel but have no idea why. 3070 cant reach 300 except Doom or Duke Nukem.

    Alvar Miles Udell said:
    And Plasma televisions really were 600hz...

    Not the same. Read the top post, it explains it well. Thread
    Reply
  • jacob249358
    sycoreaper said:
    Id like to know what practical purpose this serves other than bragging rights and emptying gulible consumer pockets.





    What makes 240 the magic number? Id be more inclined to agree with your 165 assessment. Not many games reach above that or if they do there isnt much visible benefit. I have a 300hz panel but have no idea why. 3070 cant reach 300 except Doom or Duke Nukem.



    Not the same. Read the top post, it explains it well. Thread
    Well for some people who play fps games competitively 240 is good to have but for average consumers, 165 is all you need.
    Reply
  • SyCoREAPER
    jacob249358 said:
    Well for some people who play fps games competitively 240 is good to have but for average consumers, 165 is all you need.

    Im talking about the monitor in the article, the 500hz one. That statement was independent from your comment, only the part below applied to yours
    Reply
  • btmedic04
    why is this a thing? id much rather see advances made to reduce the cost of MicroLED, reduce the chance for burn in on OLED etc. We dont need faster panels than whats on the market currently, we need better panels to come down in price and become more accessible to more folks
    Reply
  • Neilbob
    If they build it, they will come.

    Also, many people are really good at talking themselves in to believing they can tell a difference in order to justify paying more than is really necessary.
    Reply
  • sizzling
    I’d like to have go of this before passing judgment. Having recently gone 1440p 240Hz I was surprised how much of a benefit it was over my 1440p 144Hz, even in games where the fps are about 160fps. I assume it’s to do with the faster response time of the pixels resulting in less smearing. I never noticed a problem when I used my 144Hz as my main monitor but stepping up to 240Hz showed me what I hadn’t noticed. Now I do expect there are diminishing returns. If you are making a living from esports though any tiny edge is probably worth it.
    Reply
  • Even if your PC can't supply those 600 FPS, having a faster screen means less tearing. At 60 Hz, a torn frame would be visible for16.6 ms, whereas at 600 Hz it would be visible for only 1/10 the duration. This could very well be the difference between "I need to turn V-Sync on" and "V-Sync doesn't do anything besides adding input lag".
    Reply