Does response time REALLY matter?

[APrettyCoolWalrus]

So I might be getting an IPS 1440p monitor which can be oc'd to ~120hz and its only downfall is that it has an 8ms response time while another 1440p oc'd monitor has 6ms respone time. If I went with the 6ms response time, would I notice the difference between my 1ms monitor or would the time not matter because of the speed of my CPU's ability to send commands?

[WoodenMarker]

Yes, it matters. 

Is the response time spec on the product page trustworthy?--probably not. 

[Tacitus]

1ms = 0.001 seconds

8ms = 0.008 seconds

I doubt you'll notice.

[ForsakenLive]

Yes it does, on higher response times, you will experience motion blur. However as long as you are under 10 you are fine, even for gaming.

Also, check if the response time is measured in GTG (gray to gray) or BTW (black to white). The second one is slower, so It's a better way to measure it.

[CatCloud]

See if there are any reviews on the monitors. Don't blindly trust the spec sheet.

[Guest Generallee]

Well, it "technically" can produce motion blur if too high

 

imo response time, resolution, IPS, TN, ima go back to mah CRT 

 

1024x768 Voodoo 2 SLI, keepin it oldschool

[Gauzl]

1ms = 0.001 seconds

8ms = 0.008 seconds

I doubt you'll notice.

I can clearly see the difference between 2ms and 5ms.

[Silent_Xaxal]

It does matter. How much of it mattering will depend on the rest of your setup and how good your eyes are.

[Siberian-ginger]

I Can See The Difference Between 1 ms and 2 ms

[rcarlos243]

Yes, it matters. 

Is the response time spec on the product page trustworthy?--probably not. 

 

This is true, don't trust the spec as alot of times those were skewered or not even close to rated spec.

 

Yes it does, on higher response times, you will experience motion blur. However as long as you are under 10 you are fine, even for gaming.

Also, check if the response time is measured in GTG (gray to gray) or BTW (black to white). The second one is slower, so It's a better way to measure it.

 

Well, it "technically" can produce motion blur if too high

 

imo response time, resolution, IPS, TN, ima go back to mah CRT 

 

1024x768 Voodoo 2 SLI, keepin it oldschool

 

response time actually doesn't have anything to do with motion blur at all.

 

even with 0ms reponse time there would still be motion blur

 

 

Even instant pixel response (0 ms) can have lots of motion blur due to sample-and-hold... Your eyes are always moving when you track moving objects on a screen. Sample-and-hold means frames are statically displayed until the next refresh. Your eyes are in a different position at the beginning of a refresh than at the end of a refresh; this causes the frame to be blurred across your retinas.

 

The flicker of impulse-driven displays (CRT) shortens the frame samples, and eliminates eye-tracking based motion blur. This is why CRT displays have less motion blur than LCD’s, even though LCD pixel response times (1ms-2ms) are recently finally matching phosphor decay times of a CRT (with medium-persistence phosphor). Sample-and-hold displays continuously display frames for the whole refresh. Persistence (sample-and-hold) is a different measurement from pixel transitions (GtG). As a result, a 60Hz refresh (even on “2ms GtG” LCDs) is displayed for a whole 1/60th of a second (16.7ms persistence).

 

The only way to reduce motion blur caused by sample-and-hold, is to shorten the amount of time a frame is displayed for. This is accomplished by using extra refreshes (higher Hz) or via black periods between refreshes (flicker).

 

SOURCE: http://www.blurbusters.com/faq/oled-motion-blur/

 

To the OP:

I woudn't worry too much about pixel response time but I suggest you look at different aspect of the monitor like:

-what panel it is using (6bit + HiFRIC, 8bit, 10bit)

-IPS Glow

-Is it LED PWM Dimming or is Flicker Free?

-what kind of coating does it use?

-out of box calibration (look if it has problems with color tint like being yellowish, blueish, greenish, etc...)

-does the gamma rise at 60Hz+ (colors look dull and brightness seem to drop)

etc...

[ForsakenLive]

-snip-

Thanks for the link, very useful!

[SimpleG]

I've been using some old LG monitor for I dunno 5 years. It hasn't made me in trouble gaming and it has a 8ms response time. So you'll probably get used to it.

[flibberdipper]

I could notice when I moved from my Dell E176FP (12ms) to my AOC 2236Vw (5ms). There is less motion blur, and that's just using general Windows stuff (like moving windows and my mouse around) and simple gaming (GTA: Vice City). But I tend to notice smaller things a lot more.

[Hyp0xia]

It's an obscenely overrated spec, but it does matter to an extent, especially for those into competitive gaming. Like others have said, don't trust the spec sheet, consult professional reviews instead.

[GoodBytes]

I could notice when I moved from my Dell E176FP (12ms) to my AOC 2236Vw (5ms). There is less motion blur, and that's just using general Windows stuff (like moving windows and my mouse around) and simple gaming (GTA: Vice City). But I tend to notice smaller things a lot more.

Probably that 12ms was more 25ms, and that AOC probably 7-6ms for the reality of things.

'cause remember it's speed from gray to another gray/ But each manufacture uses different grays, and uses different equipment to measure, where the precision can be off by a few milliseconds.

[GoodBytes]

It's an obscenely overrated spec, but it does matter to an extent, especially for those into competitive gaming. Like others have said, don't trust the spec sheet, consult professional reviews instead.

Agreed. Today, you won't get a awful slow monitor, (if we ignore the ultra budget monitors) regardless of what you get.

However, if you do competitive gaming and it maters, then you can find in depth monitor review sites, and they'll show the reality of the speed of the monitor, and shows you comparison with other monitors.

[flibberdipper]

Probably that 12ms was more 25ms, and that AOC probably 7-6ms for the reality of things.

'cause remember it's speed from gray to another gray/ But each manufacture uses different grays, and uses different equipment to measure, where the precision can be off by a few milliseconds.

I actually did that reaction time thing that Linus did (my cousin has a lot of cool stuff) and it was 12-15ms, I think.

[ItsPulse]

1ms = 0.001 seconds

8ms = 0.008 seconds

I doubt you'll notice.

It's actually .01 second for 1ms, and I can tell the difference between my two monitors, one is 1ms and the other is 4ms.

[Tacitus]

It's actually .01 second for 1ms, and I can tell the difference between my two monitors, one is 1ms and the other is 4ms.

There's 1000 milliseconds in a second, not 100.

[SolarNova]

The higher the response time the worse the 'ghosting' effect becomes.

 

I've had a 8ms screen before and I could not stand the ghosting. Its most noticeable in dark scenes in games. What I done to test it was start up Crysis 1, 1st level on the beach after u drop from the plane. Look up into the sky and move the view around, ull see the clouds blur/ghost as u move the image. Also ull notice it on any image that has a cartoon like boarders, like leaves with black lines around them like in WoW. when u move the image the blacks lines will ghost over the inner green color of the leaves making the whole tree look like it dims from its bright green look whilst the image is stationary, to a darker green as u move the image.

 

It will all depend on how sensitive you are to visual changes, much like refresh rate, stuttering, and screen tearing, it all depends on the person. But I would never look at a screen with 5ms or more. And even lower than that I would have to test the screen myself before purchase. That's one of the reasons I ended up buying a Plasma screen over LCD, Plasma has effectively instant response. And 1 of a few reasons im honestly trying to hold of on replacing my Plasma with a 4k monitor until OLED become more available.

[GoodBytes]

The higher the response time the worse the 'ghosting' effect becomes.

 

I've had a 8ms screen before and I could not stand the ghosting. Its most noticeable in dark scenes in games. What I done to test it was start up Crysis 1, 1st level on the beach after u drop from the plane. Look up into the sky and move the view around, ull see the clouds blur/ghost as u move the image. Also ull notice it on any image that has a cartoon like boarders, like leaves with black lines around them like in WoW. when u move the image the blacks lines will ghost over the inner green color of the leaves making the whole tree look like it dims from its bright green look whilst the image is stationary, to a darker green as u move the image.

 

It will all depend on how sensitive you are to visual changes, much like refresh rate, stuttering, and screen tearing, it all depends on the person. But I would never look at a screen with 5ms or more. And even lower than that I would have to test the screen myself before purchase. That's one of the reasons I ended up buying a Plasma screen over LCD, Plasma has effectively instant response. And 1 of a few reasons im honestly trying to hold of on replacing my Plasma with a 4k monitor until OLED become more available.

You have to read in depth review to know the real response time.

Manufactures don't reveal the real response time, as explained more properly previously.