Nvidia Unveils G-Sync Displays with 360Hz for Esports

by Jason Parker in General | Jan, 6th 2020

This kind of monitor probably isn’t for us regular folks, but it couldn’t hurt! Personally, this writer is always a fan of new, fascinating technology. Nvidia’s latest display fits into that category with the Nvidia 360Hz G-Sync displays.

These are the fastest monitors ever made. For esports, nothing could be more important. You need to be able to make the fastest reactions possible for games like CS:GO, so having a monitor with incredible refresh rates like this would, without a doubt, be a boon for anyone who owns one.

60 Hz. Nvidia: 360, No Big Deal

Your average TV operates at 60Hz, but these monitors? 360Hz is a new thing. These Nvidia 360Hz G-Sync displays will be on display at CES 2020, which is a gigantic trade show that takes place in Las Vegas. ASUS will be showing off its G-Sync 360Hz ROG Swift 360 display, which is a titan.

It refreshes 360 times a second (or once per 2.8 milliseconds). This display will go live later this year. Nvidia studied how much better esports players could do with faster displays, with 60hz displays with 100-millisecond refresh rates as a baseline.

They found that in CS:GO, flick shot performance improved 28% with 120Hz displays at 64.78 milliseconds and 33% with 240Hz displays with 34.5-millisecond refresh rates. They found that with 360Hz operating at 20 milliseconds, the performance improved by 37%. Jordan “n0thing” Gilbert (five-time CS:GO) Champion could tell how much better it was. Nvidia’s Vice President of GeForce Platform Marketing Jason Paul pointed it out.

Esports Isn’t a Fad

More than 60% of GeForce gamers worldwide play competitive games every month. Also, more than $211 million was awarded in esports prize money in 2019, up 29% from 2018. Anyone who says “Esports is a niche” or “Esports isn’t popular” don’t know what they’re talking about. Viewership for esports is up, with more than 450 million people tuning in around the world to watch competitive tournaments.

G-Sync came to life first with Nvidia back in 2013 and known for the Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) technology. This eliminates tearing by synchronizing the refresh rate of the display with the GPU’s frame rate.

With 360Hz, the days of esports pros having to accept frame tearing on their displays simply are a thing of the past. With these, frames refresh in less than 3 milliseconds, so they get both tear-free frames and low-latency that they crave. The Asus ROG Swift 360 was made in conjunction with Nvidia and will feature a 24.5-inch form factor, to keep every pixel of the action clearly in view. Though I won’t be at CES 2020, I’m certainly curious to see how this monitor works.

Can we see non-esports players picking these up? Of course! Plenty of people play FPS, MOBAs and other esports-adjacent games on their PCs. Fighting Games, RTS, all sorts of genres could benefit from this. It may not be the most important for us card-game players. I also play fighting games. Having the fastest refresh rate possible could help in practical combo practicing and more. I’d love to see that for myself if it’s helpful.

This monitor should be out later this year. We’re personally looking forward to seeing how this affects tournaments and professional play. We’re also curious to see how frequently it’s purchased by hardcore and casual gamers alike. It won’t make you better, again, but it could help gamers practice more efficiently if they can see their visuals refreshing faster.