Most users believe that good motion clarity on a gaming monitor automatically comes with a high refresh rate. The logic seems simple: the higher the number of hertz, the sharper and easier to follow the image. In practice, however, two monitors with the same 144 Hz can look drastically different in fast-paced gaming scenes. The reason lies in other technical characteristics that directly affect how clear each frame is as the action unfolds on the screen.
Experience with different panels shows that response time, panel type, and technologies such as backlight strobing often have a greater impact on motion clarity than refresh rate itself.
What really affects the clarity of movement on the monitor?
Response time
A shorter response time is better, but claims of 1ms should be taken with a grain of salt. In LCD monitors, this value usually indicates the ideal scenario of a gray-to-gray transition, while in real conditions pixels do not behave equally in all transitions. If certain transitions are slower, there is blurring and “tails” behind moving objects, regardless of the impressive figures in the specifications.
What is more important than the lowest value is the consistency of the response in different shades, especially in darker scenes. That is why detailed tests and slow-motion recordings are often a more reliable indicator than the manufacturer’s declaration itself.
Tip pan
OLED panels practically eliminate the problem of response time. Since each pixel emits its own light and can be instantly turned on or off, transitions are almost instantaneous and require no overdrive adjustments. This is why OLED gaming monitors often state extremely low response values, on the order of 0.03 ms.
With LCD panels, achieving fast response often requires aggressive overdrive, which can lead to overshoot and reverse ghosting. In practice, this means visible trails and “ghosts” behind moving objects, which can be just as irritating as classic blur. OLED panels do not have that compromise and offer a clean image without additional adjustments.
Backlight strobing and black frame insertion
Techniques like strobing or inserting black frames can significantly reduce the feeling of blur in gaming animation. In this case, the monitor briefly turns off the backlight or inserts a black frame between refreshes, which shortens the time during which the frame is visible on the screen.
The result is a sharper display in fast actions and movement of 3D objects, even at lower refresh rates. However, this technology often reduces brightness, can cause flickering, and is generally not compatible with adaptive sync. However, a well-implemented strobing on a 240 Hz monitor can match the clarity of significantly faster panels without this function.
A high refresh rate by itself does not guarantee a perfect gaming monitor
A higher refresh rate certainly brings smoother 3D animation and a better feel in games, but it’s not the only factor that determines how clean the image really is in fast-paced scenes. Panel type, response time behavior and additional blur reduction technologies play an equally important role.
Therefore, when choosing a good gaming monitor, you should not focus exclusively on the number of hertz. Without understanding how the panel handles motion, it’s easy to pay more for a spec that won’t help you track opponents more accurately in fast-paced games, XDA advises.