Canadians will soon be able to buy a 1,000Hz gaming monitor from LG.
The company’s UltraGear G5 monitor leads a new lineup of screens, which include other gaming displays, TVs, and a new portable touchscreen.
The UltraGear G5 boasts a 1,000Hz refresh rate, which refers to how many times a screen updates the image each second. A higher refresh rate means more refreshes per second, with benefits like smoother-feeling motion. Typically, high refresh rate monitors are most popular among gamers, though the extra smoothness can feel great for a variety of use cases.
In gaming specifically, the refresh rate ties closely to the framerate of the game. If you can match your framerate to your monitor’s refresh rate (or use software like AMD’s FreeSync or Nvidia’s G-Sync to handle it dynamically), your game will effectively have a new frame to display every time the monitor refreshes. That can eliminate things like screen tearing, where a monitor refresh shows parts of two separate frames, and it can also make games feel really smooth.
However, 1,000Hz is pretty crazy. To put that number in perspective, most monitors offer 60Hz refresh rates. 60Hz is generally fine for most tasks — even gaming if you’re hitting 60 frames per second (fps), which is kind of the ‘gold standard’ for framerates. Many gamers (myself included) opt for higher refresh rates, like 144Hz, for an even smoother feeling.
I find going beyond 144Hz to have diminishing returns (frankly, I just can’t tell the difference at that point). But some gamers, like e-sports professionals, can see a difference and, in some cases, want to push even higher. For example, some Counter-Strike pros like to play at framerates as high as 360fps, and thus need higher refresh rate monitors to actually display all those frames.
That’s where LG’s 1000Hz UltraGear G5 will likely shine. Most people probably won’t see much benefit from that kind of refresh rate, but high-end pro gamers might appreciate it more.
If you’re in the market for it, the UltraGear G5 starts at $1,299.99.
Beyond the G5, LG also unveiled the UltraGear Evo GX9, a 45-inch 5K2K OLED gaming monitor with a 21:9 aspect ratio and a resolution of 5,120×2,160 pixels. Moreover, the monitor can handle up to 165Hz at full resolution, or up to 330Hz at WFHD (2560×1080 pixels).
The LG UltraGear Evo GX9 starts at $2,499.99.
There’s also the new StanbyMe 2 Max, a portable 32-inch 4K screen with a detachable, wheeled docking station. The dock allows users to easily wheel the screen around, or pop it off to use it more like a tablet.
The LG StanbyMe 2 Max starts at $1,999.99.
Finally, there’s LG’s take on the art TV with its new Gallery TV. Available in 55- and 65-inch screen sizes, the 4K Dynamic QNED screen is “gallery-inspired.” It minimizes reflections and adjusts to ambient lighting conditions to help art look its best.
