LG reveals 'world's first native 1000Hz gaming monitor', but good luck trying to find a GPU to handle it without breaking the bank

LG has revealed a new 24.5-inch monitor in the UltraGear 25G590B
It has a 1000Hz refresh rate and motion blur reduction technology.
LG notes that it’s designed for shooters “where precision aiming and near-instant visual confirmation are key to victory.”

LG has revealed a new display that it bills as the “world’s first native 1000Hz gaming monitor.”

VideoCardz spotted the press release LG issued announcing the UltraGear 25G590B, which is a 24.5-inch monitor with Full HD (1080p) resolution and the first panel to hit the magical 1000Hz refresh rate.

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

Analysis: too refreshing?

A row of esports players at a tournament.

(Image credit: Secretlab)

Is this a monitor you would like to buy? Well, not really, unless you’re an aspiring esports pro who plays shooters, which is the target audience, as noted. Or unless you have a lot of money to spend…

That refresh rate should certainly provide a very smooth and fluid gaming experience, of course, and as LG points out, it’s a ‘native’ 1000Hz monitor that runs at that refresh rate in Full HD, unlike dual-mode gaming monitors that can drop down to 720p resolution to achieve faster refresh rates. (And you really don’t want to be a gaming pro with the loss of clarity that that particular error entails.)

More generally though, how fast should refresh rates be? While 1,000 Hz native is certainly a technical achievement, as noted, what does it mean in practice? The truth is that the vast majority of gamers won’t be able to meaningfully distinguish between 1000Hz and, say, 360Hz.

The other point to keep in mind with a 1000Hz monitor is that to get the full benefit of 1000 frames per second, you need a GPU that can run the game in question at that level, which is no easy feat, even at 1080p resolution. Remember, this means being consequently at (and effectively more than) 1000 frames per second as well, which is quite different from being able to hit that frame rate occasionally.

In short, you’ll need a monster graphics card, and prices for those beefy GPUs are through the roof right now (thanks to the RAM crisis). Additionally, for some games, it may not even be possible to achieve a constant 1,000 fps with a fully equipped high-end rig (although it is true that competitive shooters are designed for high frame rates).

All that said, even if there are arguments about exactly how much smoothness the human eye can detect (even for gaming pros with sharper vision), 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 gamers track quick lateral movements with less effort.” [and] identify targets more clearly.” This could be useful or a gimmick – time will tell. (And speaking of gimmicks, I highly doubt gaming pros want AI to ‘intelligently’ adjust their image settings.)

The LG UltraGear 25G590B will be an expensive gaming peripheral, but it will certainly be interesting to see how it is received by reviewers when the panel appears later this year.