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I pixel-peeped the world's fastest gaming monitor — after testing 610Hz, real-life feels laggy

I pixel-peeped the world's fastest gaming monitor — after testing 610Hz, real-life feels laggy

Tom's Guide19-05-2025

A few months ago, I saw Zowie's 600Hz gaming monitor — the original world's fastest esports screen. Now at Computex 2025, Asus has narrowly beaten that record, and I'm not sure I can go back to the refresh rate of real life.
The Asus ROG Strix Ace XG248QSG may not be the most colorful, sharpest or brightest monitor out there, but that's because it has placed a focus specifically on going so OTT on the Hz.
To put just how fast that refresh rate is, it's 100 times quicker than the average human blink. You could quickly close your eyes and miss 164 frames of gameplay!
Another monitor, another ridiculous name because…reasons, I guess. Anyway, as you can see from the specs, this is everything a pro gamer needs in one package.
Screen Size
24.1 inches
Resolution
1920 x 1080 pixels
Refresh rate
Up to 610Hz
DCI-P3 color gamut
90%
Input lag
0.8ms
Response time
0.1ms
To see the refresh rate in action, we saw the classic UFO screen test — watching small spaceship icons fly from left to right to see how solid the edges look. And, well, it legitimately looked like somebody was moving a piece of paper from left to right.
The 610Hz has a lot to do with it, but there's more magic Asus is applying to this. First, Extreme Low Motion Blur 2 technology is able to keep things razor sharp while also offering 65% better brightness compared to competitors.
And second, 0.1ms response time and 0.8ms input latency guarantees near-immediate reactions to any movements you make. When you get into frame rates like this, you don't feel like you're using a screen anymore — you feel like you're using an extension of your own eyeballs.
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Opening the slot at the back, you'll find a couple of HDMI ports and a DisplayPort for your connectivity needs. The screen itself is on a highly adjustable stand, of which the base doesn't take up much space at all.
In fact, if you care more about frame rate than your own eyesight, you can lower the height and angle it upwards for the classic esports gaming perspective of getting up close and personal with the screen!
Just like any monitor I test like this, it's worth noting that this is only for a particular niche group of gamers that will really reap the benefits of this.
For all the DCI-P3 talk, the colors seem a little washed out, and the brightness is kind of low. But that's intentional, as Asus has specifically targeted taking that refresh rate up to ludicrous levels. If you want something that makes your games pretty, go with something OLED-loaded with a higher resolution like Alienware's AW2752Q.
The one question, though, is price. And much like a lot of tech we're seeing at Computex, there's a big tariff-related shrug. We'll just have to see what the price is when it launches in July, but my bet is something in the vicinity of $1,200.
That doesn't stop it from being one of the coolest monitors I've ever seen, which has now left me viewing the real world in 30 FPS.

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