The era of 1,000 Hz gaming monitors has arrived, but why?
The era of 1,000 Hz gaming monitors has arrived, but why?
1000Hz 游戏显示器时代已至，但意义何在？
Almost exactly two years ago, we were gawking at prototypes of 1,000 Hz monitors and wondering who really needed a display that could support such ludicrously smooth frame rates. Now that those prototypes are starting to develop into retail products, we’re still wondering how much of a market there is for gaming displays that can update with a new frame every single millisecond.
大约两年前，我们还在惊叹于 1000Hz 显示器的原型机，并质疑究竟谁需要这种极其流畅的帧率。如今，随着这些原型机开始转化为零售产品，我们依然在思考：对于这种每毫秒都能刷新一帧的游戏显示器，市场需求究竟有多大？
The latest entry in the ultra-fast refresh race is LG’s 24.5″ UltraGear 25G590B, which the company announced this week as “the world’s first Full HD gaming monitor with a native 1000Hz refresh rate” ahead of a planned launch in “select markets” in the second half of the year. That “Full HD” promise means LG’s 1,000 Hz display hits the 1080p threshold that is by far the most common resolution reported by gamers in Steam’s regular hardware surveys.
超高刷新率竞赛的最新入局者是 LG 的 24.5 英寸 UltraGear 25G590B。LG 本周宣布，该产品是“全球首款原生支持 1000Hz 刷新率的全高清（Full HD）游戏显示器”，并计划于今年下半年在“部分市场”推出。“全高清”意味着这款 1000Hz 显示器达到了 1080p 分辨率，这也是 Steam 定期硬件调查中玩家使用率最高的分辨率。
That would represent a decent step up from the likes of Acer’s Predator XB273U F6, Samsung’s Odyssey G6, or Phillips’ EVNIA 27M2N5500XD, all of which have to shift down to a relatively blurry 720p resolution to run at a full 1,000 Hz (but which support 1440p resolutions at a still-quite-fast 500 Hz). LG also notes that its high-end monitor can hit its resolution and refresh rate specs natively, without the need for any “dual mode” rebooting shenanigans to get the fastest performance.
相比宏碁 Predator XB273U F6、三星 Odyssey G6 或飞利浦 EVNIA 27M2N5500XD 等机型，这算是一个不错的进步。上述机型在运行 1000Hz 刷新率时，必须将分辨率降至相对模糊的 720p（尽管它们在 500Hz 刷新率下支持 1440p 分辨率）。LG 同时指出，其高端显示器可以原生达到该分辨率和刷新率规格，无需任何“双模式”重启等繁琐操作即可获得最佳性能。
The folks over at Blur Busters have extensively documented research showing that refresh rates of 1,000 Hz (and up) can reduce human perception of motion blur and flickering. And while the site notes that you eventually hit “diminishing returns” from all those extra frames—especially on smaller screens—there’s some evidence that you would need a 40,000 Hz monitor to totally eliminate perceived motion blur on a sufficiently large, high-resolution monitor.
Blur Busters 的研究人员通过大量记录表明，1000Hz（及以上）的刷新率可以减少人类对运动模糊和闪烁的感知。虽然该网站也指出，过高的帧率最终会产生“边际效应递减”——尤其是在小屏幕上——但有证据显示，若要在足够大、高分辨率的显示器上完全消除感知到的运动模糊，可能需要 40,000Hz 的显示器。
Perception research aside, it’s unclear how many gamers are interested in spending extra money on a display that breaks the four-digit refresh rate barrier. While LG hasn’t announced pricing details for the UltraGear 25G590B yet, other 1,000 Hz monitors tend to run hundreds of dollars more than comparable models with lower (but still more than adequate) maximum refresh rates in the 240 to 360 Hz range. At the same time, monitors with Nvidia’s GSync Pulsar and similar technologies use “rolling scan” pulsing backlights to reduce apparent motion blur, even on “slower” 360 Hz monitors.
抛开感知研究不谈，目前尚不清楚有多少玩家愿意花更多的钱去购买一款突破四位数刷新率门槛的显示器。虽然 LG 尚未公布 UltraGear 25G590B 的定价细节，但其他 1000Hz 显示器通常比 240Hz 到 360Hz 范围内的同类产品贵出数百美元，而后者已经足够满足需求。与此同时，配备 Nvidia GSync Pulsar 及类似技术的显示器，通过“滚动扫描”脉冲背光技术，即使在“较慢”的 360Hz 显示器上也能减少明显的运动模糊。
LG says the 25G590B is “engineered specifically for first-person shooters” and mentions an “esports-optimized design” in its marketing materials, suggesting the display is targeting the small subset of gamers who play twitch-based reflex games for a living. For everyone else, we recommend ignoring the “larger number is better” impulse and saving your hardware budget for those increasingly expensive sticks of RAM.
LG 表示，25G590B 是“专为第一人称射击游戏设计”，并在营销材料中提到了“电竞优化设计”，这表明该显示器瞄准的是极少数以竞技类反应游戏为生的职业玩家。对于其他所有人，我们建议忽略“数字越大越好”的冲动，把硬件预算留给那些价格日益昂贵的内存条吧。