What is best response time for gaming?
The best resspone time for gaming monitor today is 1ms you can usually only get that on a TN panel. If you go with a IPS panel, it will usually get you down to 4ms but remember that you are getting better visual quality as well. Some gamers claim that they do not notice any ghosting below 8ms and there are those that sweat that 1ms response time displays are better than all the others.
Lower is going to be better for gaming especially if you are playing competitive titles. For non-competitive games you can have a display that has a bit higher response time.
When buying a gaming monitor people often take into consideration the resolution, size and refresh rate and the response time can be overlooked.
The response time is as important as the other factors.
If you want to learn about response time and why it is important then you have come to the right place as here, we are going to look into what response time is and why it is important for gaming.
We are also going to talk about whether or not you can see the difference and how you can check out if this is something for you. By the end of this article, you will know everything you need to about response time and whether or not you should get a low response time monitor for yourself.
What is Response Time in a Gaming Monitor?
Response time is often overlooked when buying a gaming monitor and this is something that monitor and TV manufacturers to do not market.
It can play a major difference when you are gaming and fast action is taking place.
This is not input lag if you are wondering.
The different shades of Grey represent how intense a color will appear on your monitor through a filter. The general rule of thumb is, the darker the Grey, the less light will pass through. This is why you will not hear people talk about Red to Blue response times or anything like that. Response times are measured in milliseconds.
Is response time important for gaming?
Longer response times often result in Ghosting. This means that you can see trails of a moving object on the screen because the pixels took too long to switch from one shade of Grey to another.
This might not be a massive deal if you are watching content or working but this can break immersion when gaming, which is not something that you want. It can also be distracting if you are watching a fast-paced action movie.
Higher response times also lead to motion blur. In fast moving scenes, the pixels might not have enough time to change color and objects can look blurry.
This can also cause motion sickness in some cases. This is not ideal for gaming and that is why people prefer to have monitors with lower response times.
What Should the Max Response Time Be for Gaming?
There are different opinions regarding the matter. Some gamers claim that they do not notice any ghosting below 8ms there are those that sweat that 1ms response time displays are better than all the others.
Lower is going to be better for gaming especially if you are playing competitive titles. For non-competitive games you can have a display that has a bit higher response time. This is especially true for games that are not as fast and are story driven.
TN Vs IPS Displays
TN panels can be engineered to be quicker than IPS displays when it comes to response times so you will notice high-end TN displays marketed for gaming but you should remember that TN panels are worse when it comes to color accuracy and viewing angles.
The lowest response time is 1ms and you can usually only get that on a TN panel.
An IPS panel will usually get you down to 4ms but remember that you are getting better visual quality as well. This is a trade-off that you will have to make if you are interested in getting response times lower than 4ms.
Don’t Believe The Marketing Material
You should also take the marketed response time with a grain of salt as different manufacturers have different ways of measuring it and they might not be the same across the board even though the specifications might make it seem so.
You might buy a low response time monitor after reading the specifications sheet and be disappointing at the end result one you hook it up. This is an issue that can be solved by doing some research.
There are publications and site that have tested these displays and these studies offer a better comparison of what you will get as compared to what the manufacturer claims to be true.
Remember that the manufacturer wants to sell its products so some specifications can be a bit misleading. You should also check reviews from trusted sources in order to get a better idea of what you are getting yourself.
It is possible that a monitor claims to have really low refresh rates but the people that have tried and tested the display complain about ghosting. That is something that you will need to keep an eye open for when looking to buy a new gaming monitor.
Can you see a difference in response times less than 5ms? (Probably not)
The debate is pretty much like the difference between 30 FPS and 60 FPS. Some people can hardly tell the difference and are fine gaming at 30 FPS but there are others that need to hit that 60 FPS mark. The same is the case for refresh rates. You will have to check it out on your own to see whether or not getting a lower refresh rate monitor is something that will benefit you.
As is the case with FPS, if you have been playing games at 60 FPS then you will find 30 FPS unplayable. The same is the case with refresh rates. If you have been using a 4ms monitor then you will not have the same experience when playing games using a higher refresh rate screen.
How can you see the difference?
Many stores will have different displays on show. You can check out the difference in response time there. If you want to check out the difference in response time at home, then you can do that as well. If you have a TV then you can compare the gaming experience between you monitor and the TV.
TVs usually have much higher response times as compared to gaming monitors. This is not a feature that manufacturers mention but the refresh rate on a TV can be anywhere between 8-14ms if not higher. Whatever the case is, you TVs response time will be higher than your monitor and that is how you can tell the difference. You can see whether there is a noticeable difference and whether or not you feel it. Then you can decide whether or not you should get a monitor with lower refresh rates.
Conclusion
Lower response time is better and if you want the lowest possible response time then you will have to opt for a TN panel. TN panels are not as color accurate as IPS displays and have narrow viewing angles and that is why we can only recommend these if you are a competitive gamer that plays intense and fast-paced games like a first-person shooter.
Remember that anything between 5-8ms should be good enough if you are not a competitive player. If you can get a cheaper alternative that offers these response times then you will be fine. If money is no object and you want to buy the best gaming monitor on the market then you can go ahead and pay extra for the lower response time.
