The input lag and its myths
I’m pretty short on this topic, as there is now its own kind of input lag on every influencer YouTube channel that features monitors. Just recently there was a video about various monitors. I am deliberately not mentioning any names now. Anyway, it was claimed there that the Samsung F24T350FHR (1080p 75 Hz IPS) should have an input lag of 0.9 ms. I had to spit out my coffee in complete bewilderment. Well, you’d better not believe that. And why you shouldn’t, I can explain that to you in the further course.
The input lag of a monitor is based on three determining factors. First, the processing lag of the monitor. This is the time the display needs to process an image from the GPU. It doesn’t really take that long these days. Most monitors are under 1 ms. If you have installed real HDR hardware (and enabled Edge Lit Dimming or FALD), you will quickly reach 8-10 ms in processing (HDR gaming). Yes, the algorithms make it possible. An OLED panel doesn’t need that. Second, the refresh lag. The time the monitor needs to bring the next image of the GPU into the refresh pipeline after processing. First and second, I call this display lag and I can measure it.
And third, the average pixel response time. Then and only really then do we have the input lag of a monitor. However, this is only a part of the latency and basically says nothing about the overall system latency. Therefore, I think that measuring the total end-to-end latency under the same test conditions will tell us even more. I will measure and publish the display lag in ms (processing + refresh lag) in my articles about monitors. To this I then add the average and, above all, playable response time. Then we have the input lag of the respective monitor.
Nevertheless, I also measure the system latency (E2E) to give you a more real picture (see picture above). Because my test configuration is comprehensible for everyone and does not deviate far from what you have at home. Important: The GPU does not play the decisive role in monitor testing. As you could see, nothing elaborate is rendered. I will present my test setup and the process in more detail in an extra article. Today is first about the general understanding – the basics for everything that is to come.
Since we are talking so animatedly about latencies. If it becomes more graphically complex and we reach the GPU limit (the GPU is used > 98%). Then the latency increases because the render pipeline is full. But even there you can still do something. No, you do not always need an even stronger GPU. For example, there is anti-lag for AMD GPUs and for NVIDIA owners? They can enjoy Reflex and Boost. What exactly all this is now, you can find out here:
You can find more articles on this topic on the homepage (click here). Especially NVIDIA Reflex has convinced me the most so far. So if you have an NVIDIA GPU, you should use it in any supported game! I think that’s enough for today as well. Let me summarize today’s topics.
Summary and interim conclusion
The refresh rate in Hz gives us (the higher it is) a smoother gaming experience. In combination with a very fast pixel response time, this results in the best possible motion clarity. If the overshoot is not too heavy and the monitor has a good implementation of variable overdrive, most current LCD panels can keep up with a 240 Hz refresh rate in terms of response time. The days of snoring slow IPS or VA monitors are basically over. But the 1 ms is pure marketing so far, because I don’t know any LCD panel that has an average response time of 1 ms. Overshoot currently gets a completely new meaning!
The issue of tearing can be avoided latency-free with G-Sync or FreeSync. And if the 240 FPS doesn’t work right away, then maybe DLSS or FSR will help. Upscaling is the new overclocking. This is also becoming more and more lossless graphically. That leaves the topic of latencies, and here, too, I could hopefully send some myths into the land of fables. Yes, the response time is also part of the monitor input lag. And this still accounts for at least half of the latency in LCD panels.
Now we have almost made it. On the last page, I try to summarize in a few words – all parts of our journey in terms of monitor basics.
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