5ms vs 1ms Response Time – Which is Better?
Your choice of the computer parts is mainly governed by the type of work you do. Monitors are the parts where you get the most important output of the whole system, i.e., display. Displays matter a lot for the people whose work entirely depends upon the display quality of the monitor or for those who are interested in serious gaming.
While you search for a perfect monitor for your build, the things you will be looking for are some technical specs like the screen size and resolution. But another critical factor that is often not taken into consideration is the response rate. You must be careful about the response rate of your display.
In this article, we will have a brief overview of what response time is, and then we will have an insight into the 5ms and 1ms monitors to see what suits your system.
Think of Response Rate
Response rate is defined as the time the display of your monitor takes for the pixels to draw on a frame, or simply stated, it is the time your display takes to switch from one color to another. Response rate is measured in milliseconds. Monitors with response times lower than 16ms are considered responsive. LCDs have a response rate of 10 milliseconds on average. There also exist some lower response rates, such as 5 milliseconds and 1 millisecond.
Response Rate Matters: know why
Response time determines how clearly and accurately a moving object is displayed. The lower the response rate of a monitor, the better the monitor’s display. A monitor with a higher response rate will have more trouble in displaying fast-moving objects on the screen. It is because monitors with higher response rates take longer to shift pixel colors and thus give rise to issues such as blurring and ghosting during the fast camera movements.
Response time is a factor that most people do not know about, and they do not even care about it because it does not concern them as their work does not require a lower response time, so they are good with whatever is the response rate of their monitor. These people are using their computers only to browse the internet, use Microsoft Office, or edit their pictures. Doing such tasks does not let you sense the delay in the color shifting of the pixels. But if there were some video playing, there might be some delay the viewer may feel, but as the technology advances, the monitors that come these days are the ones that have response rates small enough that they do not let the viewer notice the delay.
The application in today’s world that concerns the response rate the most is gaming. For gamers, a response rate of ms and 5ms is required.
5ms vs 1ms Monitor Comparison With Respect to Usage:
5ms monitors take 5 milliseconds to draw the pixels, while the 1ms monitors take only 1 millisecond for this task. Seemingly smaller response rates are better, but it is not always the case. The work you are doing on your PC determines whether you need a 1ms or 5ms monitor. To compare these 2 we will discuss which one of these will be better for your needs, such as gaming, video editing, watching movies, or streaming.
For Gaming
In gaming, the response time refers to how quickly the monitor responds to a command. For gaming that involves fast movements, your monitor’s most vital display specification is its response time. The lower response time is always better for such games, and the most down response time at the moment is 1 millisecond. The player who can perform more actions in each second has the advantage of earning a higher score.
So, if you are a competitive gamer, you should go with a monitor with a response time of 1ms instead of a response time of 5ms. But if you are playing a game that does not include any swift movements of characters or objects, or if you are playing a single-player game or where the competitor is the computer only, a 5ms monitor will do good. If you are playing online and your internet connection is not fast, a high response time will not disturb your game, but a low response time is very important for a fast internet connection.
Office Work
If you are working on the PC, you obviously are not dealing with fast-moving objects on the screen, and you are working with files, text, or images. As we discussed previously, people working with Microsoft Office, emailing, or surfing the internet, do not need high-speed shifting of pixels and will not notice the delay at all. And for such applications, there is not much difference in 5ms and 1ms, as there is no fast movement of the objects involved. So, a 5ms monitor is good for work, and thus you do not need to worry much about the response time.
Video Editing
Video editing demands carefully chosen display specifications. Along with having the right GPU, a good display is also necessary. Both 1ms and 5ms monitors will do good for video editing as there is not much difference between the two for this application.
Watching Movies or Streaming
For live streaming or watching movies, if you want an excellent experience, 1ms monitors are better if and only if your internet connection is fast. If the internet connection is not fast, 1ms and 5ms monitors will not perform. Differently, you will not notice any difference at all.
FAQS:
Is 5ms better than 1ms?
It is very subjective, and it depends upon the type of work the user is performing on the PC. If the user is dealing with fast-moving graphics such as playing competitive games with a fast internet connection 1ms is better. If the user is working with applications that do not involve fast-moving objects, 5ms is better.
Are 1ms monitors worth it?
Yes, 1ms monitors are worth it. For the best gaming experience and along with the highest refresh rate, you do need the lowest response time.
Is there a big difference between 1ms and 5ms?
There is not a big difference between 1ms and 5ms, at least for a viewer to differentiate. There is just a difference of 4 milliseconds, but it matters in high-level gaming.
Is 5ms good enough for gaming?
5ms is suitable for that type of gaming where you have a single-player or the only competitor in the computer or when your internet connection is slow.
Conclusion:
You should choose the monitor based on your requirements. Only for gaming that involves multiple players, and (if online) you are playing with a fast internet connection, do you need a 1ms monitor. You can use any one of these for all other applications such as video editing, live streaming, or watching videos, and both will be fine. But for office work, you do not need a low response time at all, and you can work comfortably with a response time greater than 10 ms.
