Vindicated: after speaking to some pro Counter-Strike players I'm sure I was right when I said 360 Hz is the sweet spot for competitive FPS
The two CS2 players I spoke to seem to agree.
In recent discussions with two professional Counter-Strike 2 players, it appears I was correct in my belief that a 360 Hz refresh rate is the optimal choice for competitive FPS gaming. At Logitech's G Play event in Warsaw, I spoke to Azuwu, known as Azuwu, and yxngstxr, known as yxngstxr, who currently play for the team Luminosity.
Azuwu shared his experience, stating that while he didn't notice a significant difference between 240 Hz and 360 Hz, once he switched to 360 Hz, he couldn't go back down. He mentioned that refresh rates of 400, 600, and 600 Hz are quite similar, but 400 Hz is a good spot and 600 Hz is even better. However, he acknowledged that many PCs might not reach 600 frames per second (fps), making the higher rates less practical.
yxngstxr agreed with Azuwu, suggesting that the difference between 600 Hz and a lower frame rate might not be noticeable. Yxngstxr runs CS2 on a high-end system, including a Ryzen 7 7800X3D and RX 9070 XT, and usually struggles to maintain 600 fps, even at lower resolutions. He noted that Zowie's DyAc anti-ghosting technology, used by many professional players, does make a difference in terms of noticeable edge.
One piece of technology that both players mentioned made a noticeable difference was Zowie's DyAc anti-ghosting tech. The players all use Zowie monitors, and Yxngstxr believed that pro gamers would particularly benefit from the motion clarity improvement provided by the DyAc technology. However, Azuwu mentioned that he found it hard to tell if the DyAc tech was making a difference.
In summary, the two professional players agreed that while ultra-fast refresh rates like 600 Hz offer advantages, the returns start to diminish at these levels. However, they both agreed that 360 Hz is the optimal choice for competitive FPS gaming, striking a balance between frame rates achievable on most PCs and noticeable improvement in gameplay.
Written by urgent.news from PC Gamer's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
