What just happened? Gaming monitor refresh rates have become higher over the last few years, reaching a blistering 540Hz. But one monitor has now been pushed all the way to 700Hz. What’s even more surprising is that it’s a CRT beast from more than two decades ago.
If you want the highest refresh rate gaming monitor on the market right now, then the e-sports-focused Asus ROG Swift Pro PG248QP with its 540Hz TN (or Esports TN) panel is one choice. The other is the Zowie XL2586X, also capable of 540Hz.
YouTube channel RetroGamingBase has shown that there is another monitor that can exceed that refresh rate, able to reach an incredible 700Hz: a used IIyama Vision Master Pro 512 CRT.
Using the custom resolution feature in the Nvidia Control Panel, the retro channel had already got the Vision Master Pro all the way to 500Hz in another video (below). The caveat was that the only way it could achieve this was by dropping the resolution down to 300 x 200, resulting in a letterbox window that actually cuts the “Hz” part off the text.
Pushing the IIyama further, the monitor was able to reach 600Hz, though it was at a 320 x 160 resolution. The final test was at 700Hz. This required reducing the resolution to a tiny 320 x 120 to prevent the monitor from exceeding its kilohertz specification and causing an unstable refresh rate. They didn’t push it any higher in case the monitor was damaged.
RetroGamingBase said the Vision Master Pro the channel uses is in like-new condition, so the tests are quick and only carried out to confirm the refresh rate settings work. They hope to find an older, worn-out model for some longer, potentially damaging tests and to see if gaming is possible.
The Vision Master Pro has a 22-inch screen, a maximum resolution of 2048 x 1536, and a four-port USB hub. It also weighs 65 pounds, which is one of the areas where today’s monitors have CRTs beat.
For some modern monitors, check out our updated The Best PC Monitors feature.