BOE (Beijing Oriental Electronics Group) has launched the industry’s quickest display panel with a refresh rate of 600Hz.
BOE exhibited next-generation display panels at the World Display Industry Conference 2022. Although the hardware is not disclosed, this panel was installed in a working notebook PC equipped with AMD Ryzen and NVIDIA GeForce RTX logos. This display is aimed at hardcore gamers who demand top performance. It’s designed for laptops.
Technically, the BOE 600Hz refresh rate display panel is a real marvel. The laptop itself has a 16-inch form factor with what appears to be a 16:10 aspect ratio. Currently, Dell’s Alienware x17 R2 laptop has the highest refresh rate for a laptop display, at 480Hz. Like previous high refresh rate panels, BOE’s 600Hz display also seems to target 1920×1080p FHD resolution.
So, what kind of effect can professional gamers get from using a monitor that supports a refresh rate of 600Hz? A typical competition 240Hz monitor has a frame time of 4.16ms, but the more professional 360Hz LCD has a frame time of 2.7ms, which is 50% shorter. At a refresh rate of 600Hz, the frame time drops by 1.66ms.
Various studies have indicated that most individuals can see between 30 and 60 frames per second. However, there is no universally accepted definite limit to the number of FPS the eye can see. If a professional athlete can see 60 frames per second, the frame time is 16.66ms.
It’s unlikely that pro gamers can see more frames per second than other sportsmen, but at really high FPS and refresh rates, they tend to perceive the game environment better than their lower FPS counterparts.
Since the focus is on eSports professionals and competitive gamers, games like CrossFire, Fortnite, and PUBG can hit hundreds of frames per second without the best GPUs and CPUs. So, such extreme display panels might make sense for these games and pro gamers. Perhaps not because the 600Hz panel cuts the frame time from 4.16ms to 1.66ms, but because it offers a more immersive competitive experience for them, which could lead to better results. A refresh rate of 600 Hz is something that the top graphics cards may require to exhibit their maximum potential in games.
