Looking for the best 480Hz monitor for competitive gaming?
Whether you’re a professional player or an aspiring one, you’ll find the best 480Hz+ displays in this buyer’s guide, as well as all the information you need to make an informed decision.
Monitor | Size | Panel | Resolution | Refresh Rate | MBR | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
24” | TN | 1920x1080 | 540Hz | ULMB2 | ||
24.5” | TN | 1920x1080 | 540Hz | DyAc 2 | ||
26.5” | W-OLED | 2560x1440 | 480Hz | ELMB | ||
31.5” | W-OLED | 4K 240Hz | 1080p 480Hz | ELMB |
A 480Hz refresh rate provides you with incredibly smooth and responsive gameplay as there are only 2.08ms between frames – as opposed to 2.78ms at 360z, 4.17ms at 240Hz, 8.33ms at 120Hz or 16.67ms at 60Hz.
Some gamers may think that refresh rates over 144Hz or 240Hz aren’t that noticeable or worth the upgrade, but if you can output 480FPS and have a 480Hz gaming monitor with quick enough response time, the difference is definitely there!
In fact, the difference in motion clarity between a 120Hz monitor and a 480Hz OLED display or an LED-backlit monitor with backlight strobing is greater than the jump from 60Hz to 120Hz!
Apart from the refresh rate, gamers should also ensure that they pick the right resolution, panel type and features that they prefer.
In the review summaries below, we’ll go into detail about what makes each of these displays unique, so that you can pick one that’s most suited for you!
ASUS PG248QP
Best eSports Gaming Monitor
Size: 24.1″
Panel: TN
Resolution: 1920×1080
Refresh Rate: 540Hz
The Pros:
- Wide color gamut
- Plenty of features, including VRR and MBR up to 540Hz
- Quick response time, low input lag
- Ergonomic stand, USB hub
The Cons:
- Narrow viewing angles
- ULMB2 doesn’t work below 360Hz
About The Monitor
The ASUS ROG Swift Pro PG248QP is the most affordable 480Hz+ gaming display, yet it offers everything you need for serious or professional competitive fast-paced gameplay.
Image Quality
The monitor is based on a 24.1″ TN panel with a rapid pixel response time speed that’s fast enough to keep up with such a high refresh rate.
With the 1920×1080 Full HD screen resolution, you get a pixel density of 91 PPI (pixels per inch), so details won’t be quite as sharp as that of higher resolution displays. However, 1080p resolution allows you to achieve the highest frame rates as it’s not demanding on the GPU, which in turn results in the lowest input latency.
Next, the monitor has a peak brightness of 400-nits, so it can get more than bright enough even in well-lit rooms.
The static contrast ratio amounts to 1,000:1, so blacks won’t be as deep as that of VA or OLED panels. For competitive gaming, most users prefer to raise black levels anyway in order to make enemies easier to spot in shadows and dark scenes.
The ASUS PG248QP has a wide 95% DCI-P3 gamut coverage for more vibrant colors. This is also helpful in competitive games as more saturated colors can make your enemies stand out more in certain environments.
There’s even an sRGB emulation mode in case you prefer more neutral and accurate SDR colors.
Features
VRR is supported up to 540Hz for fear-free gameplay and there’s a dedicated NVIDIA G-SYNC module that ensures flawless performance without overshoot thanks to variable overdrive.
On AMD GPUs, VRR works without issues, but you’re limited to 500Hz. With VRR disabled, you can still use 540Hz.
Given that screen tearing is basically unnoticeable at such high refresh rates and most competitive gamers play with uncapped frame rates, VRR performance is not that important.
To go from 500Hz to 540Hz, you’ll also need Windows 11 and an RTX 20-series GPU or newer. The native refresh rate of the monitor is 480Hz, once you enable the ‘Overclocking’ option in the OSD menu, you can set it to 500Hz or 540Hz.
The monitor also boasts NVIDIA’s ULMB2 (Ultra Low Motion Blur) technology, which uses backlight strobing to reduce perceived motion blur at the cost of image brightness. It works at fixed refresh rates of 360Hz, 480Hz, 500Hz and 540Hz.
ULMB2 is well-optimized as the brightness can still remain high at up to 300-nits, and there’s no strobe crosstalk (image duplications).
Gaming features include Dark Boost (improves visibility in dark scenes), crosshair overlays, on-screen timers and a refresh rate tracker.
Check out our full ASUS PG248QP review for more information.
Design & Connectivity
The stand of the monitor offers height adjustment up to 110mm, -5°/20° tilt, +/- 30° swivel and 100x100mm VESA mount compatibility. The legs of the stand’s base are also adjustable in case you like to keep your keyboard and mouse closer to the screen.
Connectivity options include DisplayPort 1.4 with DSC, two HDMI 2.0 ports, a headphone jack and a dual-USB 3.0 hub.
Alternatives
- Acer XV242F – based on the same panel without the G-SYNC module. It’s available in China for ~$540, but it’s unclear when or if it will come to the US. Its backlight strobing also remains to be tested to see how it compares to ULMB2
- Acer XV240 F6, MSI MPG 242R X60N, BenQ XL2586X+ – upcoming 600Hz models announced for 2025
- Koorui G7 – a 25″ 1080p 750Hz TN model teased at CES 2025
BenQ XL2586X
Premium eSports Gaming Monitor
Size: 24.5″
Panel: TN
Resolution: 1920×1080
Refresh Rate: 540Hz
The Pros:
- Wide color gamut
- Plenty of features, including VRR and MBR up to 540Hz
- Quick response time, low input lag
- Ergonomic stand
The Cons:
- Narrow viewing angles
About The Monitor
The BenQ Zowie XL2586X is also based on a 1080p 540Hz TN panel with a rapid pixel response time speed but it has a slightly larger 24.5″ screen, no G-SYNC module and the DyAc 2 backlight strobing technology instead of ULMB2.
Image Quality
BenQ’s DyAc 2 implementation is also very good as there’s a small brightness hit (can maintain around 330-nits) and no strobe crosstalk. One advantage it has over ULMB2 is that it even works at lower refresh rates, from 540Hz down to 120Hz.
The BenQ XL2586X also has a wide color gamut for vibrant colors but there’s no sRGB emulation mode.
VRR performance is not as smooth since there’s no variable overdrive on the XL2586X, but as we mentioned earlier, VRR is not really necessary at such high refresh rates anyway.
Gaming features include Black eQualizer (improves visibility in dark scenes), Color Vibrance (color saturation adjustments) and XL Setting to Share (allows you to import picture settings from other players).
There are no crosshair overlays since Zowie monitors are often used for tournaments, and having a crosshair overlay would be considered cheating.
The XL2586X goes for $950, while the ASUS PG248QP can be found for $800 – $900. We find that ASUS’ model offers better value for the money, especially if you can find it on sale, but if you prefer Zowie’s features, it’s also worth considering.
Design & Connectivity
The stand offers height adjustment up to 155mm, -5°/35° tilt, +/- 45° swivel and 100x100mm VESA mount compatibility.
It also comes with the shading flaps to minimize distractions.
Connectivity options include DisplayPort 1.4, three HDMI 2.1 ports and a headphone jack.
Alternatives
While there are 25″ 1080p 500Hz monitors with IPS panels, such as the Dell AW2524H, we don’t recommend them since their pixel response time speed is not fast enough to keep up with the refresh rate, resulting in noticeable ghosting behind fast-moving objects.
The Pros:
- Wide color gamut
- Plenty of features, including VRR up to 480Hz, MBR up to 240Hz
- Quick response time, low input lag
- Ergonomic stand, USB hub
- Infinite contrast ratio, high peak brightness
The Cons:
- Risk of permanent image burn-in and temporary image retention
About The Monitor
If you want a 480Hz display with a larger screen and better image quality, the ASUS PG27AQDP is for you!
Image Quality
Thanks to its OLED panel with an infinite contrast ratio, 98% DCI-P3 wide color gamut, 178° wide viewing angles and true 10-bit color depth, the ASUS PG27AQDP offers an incomparably better image quality than the previous two TN monitors.
It’s also factory-calibrated at Delta E < 2 and has an sRGB emulation mode.
The SDR brightness is not as high since it maxes out at around 275-nits at 100% APL (Average Picture Level, white window test size), but it should still be enough for most gamers under normal lighting conditions.
In HDR, brightness gets a boost up to 750-nits for 10% APL and up to 1300-nits for 1% APL, resulting in punchy highlights.
Further, the screen has a 2560×1440 Quad HD resolution, which results in a pixel density of 110 PPI with sharp details and text. While most FPS players prefer smaller 24″ displays, the 27″ screen of the PG27AQDP is still not too big and the higher resolution can also be helpful in competitive games thanks to increased sharpness.
Features
OLED panels have instantaneous pixel response time speed, so there’s no ghosting behind fast-moving objects regardless of the refresh rate. You get smooth VRR performance up to 480Hz with only minor VRR brightness flickering in some scenes.
The ASUS PG27AQDP also supports BFI (Black Frame Insertion), but it only works at 120Hz and 240Hz, while the brightness is further reduced to around 200-nits. It can still be very useful in games where you cannot output over 240FPS for instance since BFI at 240FPS provides the same motion clarity as native 480Hz but without as low latency.
Gaming features include crosshair overlays, Shadow Boost (improves visibility in dark scenes), sniper (zooms in the area around your crosshair), on-screen timers, a refresh rate tracker and MOBA Map Helper (flashes the mini-map area when an enemy player appears).
The main downside of OLED panels is the risk of burn-in, but there are plenty of features to prevent it and ASUS offers a 3-year warranty that covers burn-in. As long as you play varied content and use the monitor sensibly, it shouldn’t be an issue.
Check out our full ASUS PG27AQDP review for more details.
Design & Connectivity
The stand of the monitor is sturdy and offers height adjustment up to 110mm, +/- 30° swivel, -5°/20° tilt, +/- 90° pivot and 100x100mm VESA mount compatibility.
The screen has a matte anti-glare coating that diffuses reflections but adds a bit of graininess to the image (only slightly noticeable on solid colors).
Connectivity options include DP 1.4 with DSC, two HDMI 2.1 ports with DSC, a dual-USB 3.0 hub and a headphone jack.
Alternatives
- LG 27GX790A – based on the same panel and usually goes for the same price yet it doesn’t have ELMB and has a shorter 2-year warranty. It supports hardware calibration. It also has a DP 2.1 port but with UHBR13.5 transmission mode, meaning that you still have to use DSC, just like with the PG27AQDP.
27″ 1440p 500Hz QD-OLED gaming monitors will be available in Q2 2025 with a bit higher brightness.
The Pros:
- Wide color gamut
- Plenty of features, including VRR up to 480Hz, MBR up to 240Hz
- Quick response time, low input lag
- Ergonomic stand, USB hub
- Infinite contrast ratio, high peak brightness
The Cons:
- Risk of permanent image burn-in and temporary image retention
About The Monitor
In case you want a larger 32″ display, we recommend the ASUS PG32UCDP. It’s a 4K 240Hz display, but it supports a 1080p 480Hz Dual Mode.
Image Quality
The 4K UHD resolution provides you with 140 PPI (pixels per inch) on the ASUS PG32UCDP, resulting in incredibly sharp details and text. With a click of a button, you can activate the Dual Mode feature and switch to the 1080p 480Hz mode.
Of course, since the monitor is not displaying its native resolution in the 1080p 480Hz mode, the image will be notably less sharp. However, in video games and at a normal viewing distance, the loss of details isn’t that noticeable.
The rest of the features are the same as that of the PG27AQDP model, including Delta E < 2 factory calibration, an sRGB emulation mode, gaming features, 1300-nits peak brightness for small highlights and a 3-year burn-in warranty.
Check out our full ASUS PG32UCDP review for more information.
Design & Connectivity
The stand of the monitor offers height adjustment up to 110mm, +/- 15° swivel, -5°/20° tilt and 100x100mm VESA mount compatibility. The screen has a matte anti-glare coating that adds a bit of graininess to the image (mainly noticeable on solid colors), but efficiently prevents reflections.
Connectivity options include DP 1.4 with DSC, two HDMI 2.1 ports with full 48 Gbps bandwidth, USB-C with DP Alt Mode and 90W PD, three downstream USB-A 3.0 ports, a headphone jack and SPDIF.
Alternatives
- LG 32GS95UE, LG 32GS95UV-W – LG’s models based on the same panel that go for the same price yet they don’t have USB-C, KVM or ELMB. They support hardware calibration but have a shorter 2-year warranty.
Conclusion
That’s it! Hopefully, you’ve found the best 480Hz monitor for you – or which one of the upcoming alternatives you should keep your eye on.
If you want the lowest input latency and smoothest motion clarity, we recommend one of the two 1080p 540Hz TN models, depending on your preference.
In case you also want incredible image quality, the OLED displays will suit you better – we recommend the ASUS PG27AQDP as it can display 480Hz at its native resolution.