Is 540Hz monitor an 'overkill' for esports in 2024?

A 540Hz monitor is quite rare, given the only legitimate offering currently available is the ASUS Swift Pro PG248QP. This monitor sports an E-TN panel that is overclocked to 540Hz, with the purpose of appealing to esports players. That's why it doesn't have a higher QHD resolution or HDR, as these features are not important in a competitive setting.

Most esports players care more about response time and refresh rate than other features. Many play at 240Hz or higher.

Is 540Hz monitor an "overkill" for esports in 2024? Yes, it is for many people. But there is a small percentage of buyers who would like to have one.

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the writer's opinions.

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What do high refresh rate monitors bring to the table?

Asus PG248QP 540Hz OC monitor running Fortnite (Image via Monitors Unboxed/YouTube)

To understand this, you must first grasp what a high refresh rate does. It essentially does three things:

Reduces input latency

A monitor with a 60Hz refresh rate means that the display updates every 16.67ms. That's the input latency. It takes 16.7ms to display a single frame. In other words, there's a gap of 16.7ms between two frames. Increase the refresh rate to 120Hz, and the input latency drops to 8.33ms. Now, the latency between each frame is shorter.

The higher the framerate, the lower the input latency. So, a 540Hz display will have an input latency of just 1.85ms. Now, that's a 4.5x decrease in latency compared to 120Hz. This allows you to spot enemies earlier compared to 120Hz.

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Increases visual smoothness

At 60Hz, the gap between two frames is larger compared to a 120Hz display. This leads to some blurriness. However, at 540Hz, the gap between the two frames will be extremely narrow, leading to a significant increase in visual smoothness. Each motion would look incredibly vivid and smooth.

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Increases visual clarity by reducing ghosting

A higher 540Hz refresh rate has the least amount of ghosting compared to a display with 60Hz or even 120Hz. Less ghosting means a cleaner image. This allows you to easily distinguish various graphical elements in a match, even with high-speed motion.

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Pros and cons of 540Hz monitor

A comparison of ghosting and blur for various monitors ranging from 60 to 540 Hz (Image via Hardware Unboxed/YouTube)

Here are some of the pros and cons of a 540Hz monitor:

Pros

• A significant reduction in input latency
• An increased smoothness during gameplay
• An increase in visual clarity

Cons

• The price is in the higher range
• 540Hz provides diminishing returns
• Reaching a stable 540 FPS will not be easy in modern competitive titles

Also, check out the five best ultrawide gaming monitors in 2024.

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Is 540Hz monitor an 'overkill' for esports in 2024?

The answer is yes, and it has to do with diminishing returns. 540Hz would indeed be better than 360Hz and even 480Hz, but it will be difficult to see any meaningful difference between them with the naked eye. The jump from 60 to 120Hz was the most noticeable, but as you get close to higher refresh rates, you will begin to notice fewer and fewer benefits.

So, a jump from 240 to 360Hz is noticeable, but not that much and a jump from 360 - 480Hz is even less noticeable. The refresh rate diminishes at a constant rate as you start going higher. So, it is indeed an overkill for many users. However, some streamers or competitive players wouldn't mind getting a 540Hz monitor.

However, this is just a small subset of players, so this monitor won't appeal to the masses. To them, it's just an overkill.