Microsoft has released a new build for Windows Insiders that includes support for gaming monitors with refresh rates over 1,000Hz, VideoCardz reports.
As monitor makers try to court semi-pro and professional gamers with supercharged refresh rates, Microsoft must ensure it’s ready to support them on Windows. That could include monitors up to 5,000Hz, though I don’t know how you’d get frame rates at even a fraction of that.
High-refresh-rate monitors are a staple for gamers who take their gaming seriously and those who like buttery-smooth visuals. Moving from a traditional 60Hz monitor to one with a 120Hz, or even 240Hz refresh rate, can reduce input lag by tens of milliseconds and massively improve motion clarity. Although the returns above that diminish dramatically, they are still there. Moving from a 500Hz to a 1,000Hz gaming monitor, for example, would cut just one millisecond.
That will deliver improved motion clarity over a slower monitor, but you may get better results from switching to an OLED monitor instead, as its much faster response time can reduce ghosting in ways that LCD monitors cannot, no matter how fast their refresh rate.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado/PCMag)
According to Blur Busters, site founder Mark Rejhon, “had a hand in convincing Microsoft [to] dramatically [raise] refresh rates to 5000 Hz.” After Rejhon emailed the company about it, a spokesperson responded in February to say, “I just put a change in that will raise the limit to 5000 Hz on retail Windows 24H2 and later 😁. It should be available in Windows Insider Dev channel soon and will rollout to retail.”
Blur Busters notes that at around 1,000Hz, motion blur should be all but eliminated on smaller screens. Although increasing to 5,000Hz seems unnecessary and is hard to imagine by most standards, Blur Busters argues that there’s a benefit all the way up to 10,000Hz, when motion blur becomes impossible to detect. That could be particularly useful in VR headsets, though getting a refresh rate over 120Hz there would perhaps be a more achievable goal.
However, Blur Busters also highlights how refresh rate upgrades can be hampered by slow response times, and suggests a 480Hz OLED monitor could look better than a 1,000Hz IPS display, for example.
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Indeed, to take advantage of ultra-high refresh rates, you need at least a comparable frame rate. You’ll also want a gaming mouse with a very high polling rate, or you won’t be able to react fast enough to the new information for it to make much difference.
Windows builds 26100.8106 and 26200.8106 are now available to Insiders on the Release Preview Channel, and will see a wider rollout to other Insiders in the weeks to come.
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Jon Martindale
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Jon Martindale is a tech journalist from the UK, with 20 years of experience covering all manner of PC components and associated gadgets. He’s written for a range of publications, including ExtremeTech, Digital Trends, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, and Lifewire, among others. When not writing, he’s a big board gamer and reader, with a particular habit of speed-reading through long manga sagas.
Jon covers the latest PC components, as well as how-to guides on everything from how to take a screenshot to how to set up your cryptocurrency wallet. He particularly enjoys the battles between the top tech giants in CPUs and GPUs, and tries his best not to take sides.
Jon’s gaming PC is built around the iconic 7950X3D CPU, with a 7900XTX backing it up. That’s all the power he needs to play lightweight indie and casual games, as well as more demanding sim titles like Kerbal Space Program. He uses a pair of Jabra Active 8 earbuds and a SteelSeries Arctis Pro wireless headset, and types all day on a Logitech G915 mechanical keyboard.
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