Response time, frame rate, and refresh rate. What do they all mean? It can be difficult to know what to look for in a monitor. Response time is just one of the many features you should consider when looking into when shopping for a new monitor.
In this article, we’ll break down what response time really means and why it matters, especially if you’re a gamer or work with fast-moving visuals. Check out our full monitor feature cheat sheet or explore the latest ViewSonic gaming monitors built for speed and clarity.
Response time can be one of the more complicated features to look for in a monitor. This is because it’s one of the most overlooked features, as it does not provide much for the everyday user. Response time relates to the colors you see on your monitor and how long it takes them to shift between one another.
But if you are in the market for a gaming monitor or are in fields that rely heavily on video or other motion-dependent things, response time is highly important for you and can make a huge difference.
What Is Response Time for Monitors?
Response time for monitors is the time it takes to shift from one color to another. This is usually measured in the time it takes to go from black to white and back again to black expressed in milliseconds (ms). However, there is also gray-to-gray (GtG) and sometimes even just black-to-white.
Usually, 10ms is the average for black to white to black. But to give you another reference point, LCD screens have response times under 10ms. But the faster the response time, the better the image and motion production. Certain panel types are more responsive than others. TN panels traditionally have been much more responsive than IPS panels. But that is all changing, especially with Fast IPS.
Black to White to Black
Black to white to black is a way to determine response time. Black to white to black measures that by determining the time it takes pixels to go from fully active (white) to inactive (black) and back to active again. With this time measurement, you can determine how long it takes a pixel to change colors.
Black to white to black response times are usually higher, meaning they are slower to shift. These types of response times are better catered for everyday computer users who are more interested in monitor ergonomics rather than high speed gaming performance and the finest image quality.
Gray-to-Gray (GtG)
Gray-to-gray (GtG) functions on what is called a middle gradation, meaning these pixels do not become fully inactive. LCD GtGs have roughly 256 gradations of gray. Gray-to-gray response times are much faster and great for those interested in better gaming experiences and videography.
It is also important to note how they are measured. While black to white to black is round-trip total time, gray-to-gray is measured by taking several selected time sequences and then getting the average. This is the total time in milliseconds it takes for a pixel to change gray tones.
How Color is Made
With all this talk about black, white, and gray, you are probably wondering how in the world color is made. LCDs usually have three subpixels per pixel. And monitors can have millions of pixels on a single display (a 4K screen contains about 8.3 million). Each of these three subpixels found within a single pixel has color filters of red, green, and blue light within them. By changing the active and inactive parts of these three subpixels, you can produce different colors.
So, response time is measuring how long it takes for these pixels to “turn off,” or more scientifically, block out light. Gray-to-gray functions are based on a color scheme and the switching between each shade of gray. But the color variations are produced in a similar way using the middle gradations.
Moving Picture Response Time (MPRT)
The most popular method of measuring response time has been MPRT since the early 2020s. MPRT measures how long a pixel remains active when the screen depicts movement, or a moving picture. MPRT is most relevant for gaming, where movement is typically constant.
The shorter the time a given pixel stays active, the better. Low MPRT times (also in milliseconds) indicate that motion blur and ghosting should not occur. High MPRT times should be a no-no for gamers, as they mean sluggish animation and object rendering, plus indeed lots of ghosting and blur.
How Color is Made
With all this talk about black, white, and gray, you are probably wondering how color is made. LCDs usually have three subpixels per pixel. And monitors can have millions of pixels on a single display (a 4K screen contains about 8.3 million). Each of these three subpixels found within a single pixel has color filters for red, green, and blue light within them. By changing the active and inactive parts of these three subpixels, you can produce different colors.
So, response time is measuring how long it takes for these pixels to “turn off,” or more scientifically, block out light. Gray-to-gray functions are based on a color scheme and the switch between each shade of gray. But the color variations are produced in a similar way using the middle gradations.
What is Latency?
Latency is a term you may see pop up when researching response time. Some places may confuse the two terms since they both involve timing and use milliseconds, but there is a difference. Latency refers to data awaiting a response, not color shift time. Response time can also be confused with terms like input lag.
Latency simply refers to the time it takes a request to be sent and how long it waits for a response. Once it is processed and received, you will have the summary of round-trip latency and service time. Lower latency can improve your response time significantly.
How is Response Time Different from Refresh Rate or Frame Rate?
Some other terms you may have seen are refresh rate and frame rate. It is important to note that these are quite different but easily confused.
Refresh rate is the number of times your monitor updates with a new image every second. This is measured in hertz (Hz). The higher the hertz, the smoother a picture is. The refresh rate is related directly to the monitor or display hardware.
However, making sure you have both a good refresh rate and frame rate allows for optimal performance.
Frame rate is the speed at which those images are shown. This is measured in frames per second (fps). Each image shown represents a frame and how quickly the movement between them is, thus creating what you see on the screen. So, if you see 30fps, that means there are 30 distinct still images that your display is switching between.
Frame rate is not dependent on your monitor, but rather the combination of software, graphics card, and central processing unit (CPU).
Why Is Response Time Important?
If you are a casual user, meaning you browse, shop, and read online, and regularly use your PC for things like watching movies or videos, response time may not be a big deal for you.
However, if you are a videographer, or even more so, a gamer, response time matters quite a lot. Having a response rate under 5ms makes all the difference. It allows for more distinct motion and less of the aforementioned ghosting.
But keep in mind, if you are someone who suffers from eye strain and headaches, lower response times could mean that the monitor excludes complex image processing, such as boosted brightness or blue light filters that protect your eyes. A highly responsive monitor might not be for you. The more image processing, the higher the response time.
Final Thoughts
If you are a gamer or videographer, absolutely yes! If you are in competitive esports, for example, then having better response time is necessary to make sure you stay on top. But if you focus on things like professional creativity, business, or internet browsing, response time may not be the number one factor you should consider.
If you are looking for a great monitor with excellent response time, look no further than the ViewSonic range of gaming monitors.
Frequently Asked Questions for Monitor Response Time
1. What is monitor response time? Response time refers to how quickly a pixel on your monitor can change from one color to another, typically measured in milliseconds (ms). It most commonly represents the grey-to-grey (GtG) transition time.
2. Why is response time important? A lower response time reduces motion blur and ghosting, especially in fast-paced content like gaming or sports videos. This results in a smoother and clearer picture during motion.
3. What is a good response time for different uses? – 1ms – 3ms: Excellent for competitive gaming.
– 4ms – 5ms: Great for casual gaming and general use.
– 6ms – 10ms+: Fine for basic tasks like web browsing or office work.
4. How is response time different from refresh rate? Response time is how quickly a pixel changes color. Refresh rate (Hz) is how often the screen updates per second. Think of refresh rate as the number of images shown per second, and response time as how fast each pixel changes to keep up with those images.
5. What is ghosting, and how does it relate to response time? Ghosting happens when a pixel can’t change colors fast enough, leaving a blur trail behind fast-moving objects. It’s usually caused by high response times or poor overdrive settings.
6. Can response time be improved? There are a few things you can do that may help. Enable overdrive on your monitor, use the monitor’s highest refresh rate, or lower resolution and visual settings to ease GPU and CPU load.