Is 500Hz Enough, or Do You Need 1000Hz? (2026 Verdict)

500Hz is enough. For effectively every player asking this question, refresh rate is no longer the thing holding back their aim, and the jump to 1000Hz buys a one millisecond frame window that almost nobody can feed.

The 1000Hz tier is also gated. LG's 25G590B needs DisplayPort 2.1 UHBR20, Windows 11, and an RTX 50-series or recent Radeon card, so a large share of the people weighing it cannot drive the panel they are considering. Here is the math, the hardware gate, and what to buy instead.

At a glance

Where each tier wins

The frame time math

Refresh rate is a frame window. At 240Hz a new frame lands every 4.16 ms. At 500Hz it lands every 2 ms. At 1000Hz it lands every 1 ms. The ladder is linear in Hertz and it is not linear in what you feel.

Climbing from 360Hz to 500Hz shaved 0.78 ms off the window. Climbing from 500Hz to 1000Hz shaves 1.00 ms. That reads like the bigger win until you notice it takes a doubling of refresh rate to get there, and that every rung below it was cheaper per millisecond. Reviewers testing the 25G590B measured a real latency reduction at very high frame rates while reporting that the visible motion clarity gain past 500Hz was marginal on this IPS panel.

If you want the cheapest honest entry to this conversation, the 240Hz tier still covers most of the distance.

Can your PC feed 1000fps?

A 1000Hz panel only matters if your PC hands it a thousand frames a second. In live competitive matches on a top tier X3D processor at 1080p low, CS2 sustains somewhere around 850 fps and Valorant runs higher. The four figure CS2 numbers that circulate came from liquid nitrogen overclocking runs on built in benchmarks, not from ranked games.

Drop to a mainstream 2026 esports build and the picture shifts again. The same class of processor paired with a mid tier card lands nearer 450 fps in CS2 and 550 fps in Valorant. Those are fine numbers. They are also roughly half of what the panel wants, which means the monitor spends most of its time repeating frames. The GPU side of the equation is the part buyers skip, and our GPU and display pairing guide walks the rest of it.

Then there is the connector. The 25G590B runs its full refresh over DisplayPort 2.1 UHBR20 and nothing else. DisplayPort 2.1 on a spec sheet is not a single capability: the standard carries UHBR10 at 40 Gbps, UHBR13.5 at 54 Gbps, and UHBR20 at 80 Gbps, and only the top tier has the headroom to carry 1080p at 1000Hz without compression. LG lists RTX 50-series and selected Radeon RX 7000 and RX 9000 cards, plus Windows 11. If your card predates that list, the panel is not a stretch goal. It is unreachable.

How we picked

Three questions, in order. What does the extra refresh buy in milliseconds? Can the reader's hardware feed it? And does the panel technology make that difference visible once it arrives?

The first question is arithmetic, and the arithmetic favours the lower rung every time you climb. The second is where this tier falls apart, because sustaining four figure frame rates is a processor problem and the connector requirement is a second gate stacked on top. The third is why a 500Hz QD-OLED reads as the bigger upgrade than a 1000Hz IPS: pixel response and contrast do more for perceived motion clarity than the last millisecond of frame pacing.

We have walked this ladder twice already, at 144Hz to 240Hz and at 240Hz to 500Hz. The pattern holds each time.

Enough for almost everyone: Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 (G60SF)

The pick for the reader who asked the question and wants to stop thinking about it.

Samsung 27” Odyssey OLED G6 (G60SF) QHD QD-OLED Gaming Monitor

$809.99$999.99

Buy the Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 (G60SF) on Amazon

Specs

What it does well

Reviewers put its motion handling at the top of the 1440p class, and the reason is pixel response rather than refresh alone. A 0.03 ms gray to gray transition means the panel is never the component smearing the image. At 500Hz the frame window is 2 ms, and QD-OLED is quick enough that the window is what you see rather than a number on a box.

It runs over a standard DisplayPort connection on any modern card, so there is no connector homework and no support list to cross check. At 1440p it stays useful the moment you close the shooter, which no 1080p esports panel manages. DisplayHDR TrueBlack 500 and a three year warranty round it out.

What you give up

It sits at the top of the 1440p class on price, and 1440p at 500Hz is a far harder frame feed target than 1080p. A mid tier card spends most of its time well under the ceiling, which is the same criticism that lands on the 1000Hz panel, one rung lower.

QD-OLED still asks for care with static HUD elements over long sessions. Buyers have flagged the naming as its own hazard: Samsung ships a G60SD at 360Hz and a G61SH on a different panel, and only the G60SF is the 500Hz SKU.

Who it's for

The player who wants one monitor for ranked play and everything else, on a machine that can push several hundred frames at 1440p. Our gaming monitor buyer's guide covers the rest of the shortlist.

The 1080p competitive alternate: ASUS ROG Strix XG248QSG Ace

If the argument is that you need more than 500Hz, this panel makes it without the hardware gate.

ASUS ROG XG248QSG 24 Inch 1080p 610Hz Esports Gaming Monitor

$799.00

Buy the ASUS ROG Strix XG248QSG Ace on Amazon

Specs

What it does well

610Hz over a standard DisplayPort connection clears the 500Hz tier on hardware competitive players already own. The frame window lands at 1.64 ms, and ASUS quotes 0.8 ms of input lag through its GameFast path, the lowest figure in the esports class.

1080p is also the resolution where a strong processor genuinely sustains four figure frame rates in Source 2 and Valorant, so the panel and the PC are aimed at the same target. Colour coverage around 92 percent of DCI-P3 is better than the super fast TN class usually manages. It sits alongside the panels Valorant pros run.

What you give up

Super TN viewing angles and contrast are a visible step down from OLED, and nothing about a 24.1 inch 1080p display is versatile. You are buying competitive equipment rather than a screen.

It also costs what a far more capable 1440p panel costs. And the 610Hz figure is an overclocked mode rather than the native panel rate, so reports suggest the headline number needs a toggle in the on screen menu before you get it.

Who it's for

The ranked CS2 or Valorant player who sits close, plays at low settings, and treats the monitor as part of the kit rather than as furniture.

The step up: LG UltraGear 25G590B

The first native 1000Hz panel, and the only pick here that arrives with a hardware checklist attached.

LG 25G590B-B 25-inch Ultragear 1080p Full HD IPS 1000Hz 1ms Gaming Monitor

$999.99

Buy the LG UltraGear 25G590B on Amazon

Specs

What it does well

UHBR20 carries an uncompressed 1080p signal at 1000Hz, with roughly 77 Gbps of effective payload against the 80 Gbps raw figure. That matters. The 1 ms frame window is real rather than a compressed approximation of one. Reviewers do measure a latency reduction at these frame rates, and an 1100Hz overclock mode exists for players who want the floor under the floor.

For a player who already owns the right card and already sustains four figure frame rates, this is the only panel that delivers the tier. Nothing else ships native 1000Hz yet.

What you give up

The requirements rule out a large share of buyers before price enters the conversation. DisplayPort 2.1 UHBR20, Windows 11, and an RTX 50-series or recent Radeon card is a narrow window, and a graphics card box that says DisplayPort 2.1 does not confirm UHBR20.

Reviewers found the visible motion clarity gain past 500Hz marginal on this IPS panel while the latency reduction was perceptible, which is a narrower win than the spec sheet implies. IPS contrast against a QD-OLED is not a contest. And you are paying flagship money for a 1080p display. The dual mode panels that promise 1440p at 500Hz and 1080p at 1000Hz are previewed rather than shipping, so they are not an alternative yet.

Who it's for

The competitive player who already owns an RTX 50-series or RX 7000 or RX 9000 card with UHBR20 output, runs Windows 11, and sustains four figure frame rates in the game they play.

Bottom line

If you are asking whether 500Hz is enough, it is. Buy the Samsung Odyssey OLED G6 (G60SF) and you get the fastest motion clarity in the 1440p class plus a monitor that still works when you are not in a ranked queue. If you play 1080p competitively and want past 500Hz without a hardware audit, the ASUS ROG Strix XG248QSG Ace reaches 610Hz on the card you already own. If you run an RTX 50-series rig, sustain four figure frame rates, and want the 1 ms window, the LG UltraGear 25G590B is the only panel that ships it. Everyone else is paying for a frame window their PC cannot fill.

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