After the successful 360Hz 1080P panels ASUS launched a few years ago they are now pushing the boundaries even further with a newly announced ROG Swift 500hz monitor.
As far as I know this is the first monitor that is using a 500Hz panel although there have been announcements of AU Optronics panels hitting 480Hz in production for the end of the year. This could be one of those and I am waiting on word from ASUS on this.
This could be an actual big deal for the eSports community but probably won’t make a huge deal for the average gamer. Even if it would help, I can’t imagine it justifying the $500+ price tag it will command from all but the most hard-core competitive gamer.
Here’s a rundown on the ROG Swift 500hz monitor:
Back in 2012, ASUS released the world’s first ever 144Hz monitor, and we’ve been chasing high refresh rates ever since. From the first 240Hz NVIDIA® G-SYNC display we released in 2017 to the first 360Hz display in 2020, ROG is committed to pushing competitive gaming to new heights at every opportunity. Now, we’re ecstatic to announce that we’ve done it again: introducing the ROG Swift 500Hz, a groundbreaking new gaming monitor that refreshes 500 times per second, for the most fluid, fast-paced motion you’ll find in modern Esports.
In competitive, intense firefights, every single millisecond counts. The ROG Swift 500Hz draws frames more than eight times faster than typical 60Hz displays in a single second, which means you have that much more time to get a leg up on your opponent in esports titles like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Valorant, Overwatch, and Rainbow Six Siege. With super low response times and unprecedented improvements in input lag, the ROG Swift 500Hz is the new benchmark in Esports, offering the same competitive advantage that made its 360Hz predecessorthe official display at last year’s DOTA 2 The International championship.
The ROG Swift 500Hz features a 24.1-inch Full HD (1920×1080) panel, allowing your GPU to push as many frames as possible. ROG was able to push refresh rates to the limit by using new Esports TN (E-TN) technology, which offers 60% better response times than standard TN panels, allowing us to reach a new milestone in speed and clarity.
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.
Finally, we’ve also included an enhanced Vibrance mode, specifically tuned for esports, built into the monitor’s firmware. This mode allows more light to travel through the LCD crystals, giving colors new levels of vibrancy and allowing you to pick out details and highlights that might give away an enemy’s position.
While some of the features here might be window dressing the E-TN tech is rather interesting since TN panels are designed with fast response and refresh times in mind.
Pricing and Availability
Unfortunately, we don’t have a release date or pricing for this monitor, but you can expect it to be over the $500 mark as the 360Hz swift model is retailing for around $499 today.
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