The battle to create the first 360 Hz monitor is on and it looks like ASUS and Alienware are set to go head to head.
What Has Alienware Been Planning?
Alienware is preparing to build a gaming monitor with a 360 Hz refresh rate. This will be an upgraded version of the Alienware 25 and will feature a 25.5 inch IPS screen.
It will also support Nvidia’s G-Sync technology to prevent screen tearing. This should come in handy for anyone eyeing up Nvidia’s Ampere architecture graphics cards.
Alienware seems pretty confident of their plans and has already said: “PC games will run buttery-smooth with virtually no screen tearing or blurring, with consistent colors from every angle.”
What Are ASUS Planning?
ASUS already announced they’re working on a 360 Hz refresh rate monitor back in January. So, this seems to be Alienware’s direct competition.
ASUS has called their monitor the ROG Swift 360 and claims that it will be the “world’s fastest esports gaming monitor”.
This monitor will also support Nvidia G-Sync to reduce screen-tearing, but besides this, we don’t know a whole lot about either monitor.
There’s a good chance that Alienware will be using the same panel designed by AU Optronics which ASUS is using. If this is true, it looks like the Alienware monitor will have a 1920 x 1080 resolution. Although this is most likely to be the case wherever they get their panel from.
Who Are These Monitors For?
For the majority of people, 360 Hz might seem like overkill and that’s probably true. However, these monitors are clearly designed for the esports industry and are more suited to ultra-competitive gaming than casual gaming.
Earlier this year, Nvidia said in a blog post: “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Rainbow Six: Siege, Overwatch, and Fortnite are just a few of the competitive games that can achieve 360fps on GeForce RTX hardware, enabling gamers to take full advantage of the new 360Hz displays, and to benefit from the improvements our research found.”
So, this type of monitor will largely be for very specific gamers and professionals as most people simply won’t need a refresh rate that high.
If you think you’d rather look elsewhere for a G-Sync monitor, we have a guide on the best monitors available.
When Will These Monitors Be Available?
If, on the other hand, you are interested in getting your hands on one, you’ll have to wait. Neither ASUS or Alienware have announced a release date or even a price yet. We can’t imagine either of them are going to come cheap! However, when we hear more, we will let you know the details as soon as we can.