LG unveils ‘world’s first native 1,000Hz’ gaming monitor – but good luck finding a GPU to run it without breaking the bank

LG has unveiled a new 24.5-inch screen in the UltraGear 25G590B
It has a 1,000 Hz refresh rate and motion blur reduction technology
LG notes that it’s designed for shooters “where accurate aiming and near-instant visual confirmation are key to victory”

LG has unveiled a new monitor it’s billing as the ‘world’s first native 1,000Hz’ gaming monitor.

VideoCardz spotted the press release that LG issued announcing the UltraGear 25G590B, which is a 24.5-inch display with a Full HD (1080p) resolution and the first panel to reach the magical 1,000Hz refresh rate.

But is hitting that threshold really “magical”? Well, that’s a technically impressive feat, but I’ll discuss the reality of what that means in a moment.

Analysis: too refreshing?

A number of esports players at a tournament

(Image credit: Secretlab)

Is it a screen you would like to buy? Well, not really – unless you’re an aspiring esports professional who plays shooters, which is the target audience, as mentioned. Or unless you have a lot of cash to throw around…

That refresh rate should, of course, provide a very smooth and fluid gameplay experience, and as LG notes, it’s a ‘native’ 1,000Hz display that runs at that refresh rate in Full HD – unlike dual-mode gaming monitors that can drop to 720p resolution to achieve faster refresh rates. (And you don’t really want to be pro-gaming with the loss of clarity involved in that particular fudge).

But more generally, how fast should refresh rates be? While 1,000Hz native is certainly a technical achievement, what does it mean in practice? The truth is that the vast majority of players will not be able to meaningfully tell the difference between 1,000 Hz and, say, 360 Hz.

The other point to keep in mind with a 1,000Hz display is that to get the full benefit of 1,000 frames per second, you need a GPU that can run the game in question at that level – which is no small feat, even at 1080p resolution. Remember, it means to be consistent at (and indeed over) 1,000 frames per second, which is quite different from being able to hit that frame rate occasionally.

In short, you need a monster graphics card, and the prices of the powerful GPUs are through the roof right now (thanks to the RAM crisis). Also, for some games, a consistent 1,000 fps might not even be possible with a fully decked out top-end rig (although it’s true that competitive shooters are designed for high frame rates).

All that said, while there are arguments about exactly how much smoothness the human eye can detect – even for the sharp-sighted gaming professionals out there – there are people who claim that a massively high refresh rate can still be ‘felt’ in the gaming experience. And LG claims that its motion blur reduction technology “helps players follow fast side movements with less effort [and] identify targets more clearly”. This could be useful, or a gimmick – time will tell. (And speaking of gimmickry, I highly doubt professional games will have AI ‘intelligent’ to adjust their image settings).

The LG UltraGear 25G590B will be a pricey gaming peripheral, but it will certainly be interesting to see how it’s received by critics when the panel appears later this year.