Do you really need a Low response time in gaming monitor?

If you are purchasing a Gaming Monitor or building a Gaming PC you will need a monitor. And one thing that really matters in a gaming pc is the response time of the monitor. But do you really need a monitor with the lowest response time? After all, the lower the response time higher the monitor costs.

That’s why it might make you think that does the cost justify the feature or is it a gimmick. Since you might not the most expensive gaming monitor out there just to enjoy your favorite games. That’s why in this article we will see how important is the low response time of the monitor? And do you really need it?

But let’s first start with, what is the response time?

What does response time mean in monitors(or any screen)?

Response time is how fast can a pixel turn from fully active (White) to fully inactive (black) then again back to fully active (white). In short, its the time required by the pixel to turn off and then turn back on.

Now suppose if you have a monitor with 5ms response time then it can go from white to black and again back to white in 5ms or 200th of a second. Ok enough of technical stuff but what difference does it make in real life?

What is the Importance of lower response time?

The lower the response time, the lower is the ghosting effect on the screen. If you don’t know what is ghosting then ghosting is the trails of pixels or “ghosts” behind moving objects or characters. This is especially noticeable in games with fast-moving characters or objects like First person shooters games or battel royal games.

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Ghosting causes moving characters or objects to look blurry. You might have noticed it in FPS games when your opponent is moving fast. And you see the moment in a little blurry and not very sharp. That’s because as the opponent(character) is moving fast, pixels on the monitor are unable to change at that fast speeds.

Now if you are seriously into these kinds of games then you might want the sharpest screen possible. To have an edge over your opponents and to win obviously. But not everyone needs such a sharp or fast response monitor, so let’s see who needs it?

Who needs a lower response time screen?

If you want to fully enjoy fast pace games like First-person shooter without blurry images then the lower response time can help you. But most importantly it’s needed in battle royale games where you need the extra-fast response time to get the edge over your opponents.

In those games, it’s where you need to see and take action as fast you can, in such games you need the lowest possible response time to get an edge. As the screen has low response time you don’t experience much ghosting which results in sharp images. This can help you detect your enemy faster that grants you an edge and also an overall better gaming experience.

If you are not a very serious gamer then even a regular monitor can be sufficient for you. But if you want to have a great experience then you can get a 5ms monitor. Nowadays 5ms monitors have become standard for gaming monitors, that’s why they are also available without spending much. Here is a great budget gaming monitor with a 5ms response time.

But if you are very serious about gaming and want to get whatever possible edge then you can get monitors with response time as low as 1ms. And in recent times prices of gaming monitors have also come down. So you can get a good gaming monitor without putting a big hole in your pocket. Although it will surely cost a little higher than any regular monitor or even a 5ms monitor.

Conclusion:

So yes low response time does matter, it makes moving images look sharper. It can even grant you a certain edge in games like battle royal games. With lower response time you get a sharper image and better gaming experience. And I think a 5ms is sufficient for most of us, so any overall great monitor with 5ms response time should be great.