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From Retro to Revolutionary: How a Classic CRT Monitor Managed Extreme 70 Groove Refresh Rate at the Expense of Resolution

Ultra-high refresh rate LCD and OLED displays are all the rage today, with theBest Monitors reaching refresh rates of 240Hz all the way to 540Hz. ButRetroGamingBase on YouTube managed to beat the highest refresh rate displays currently on the market, using an ancient Vision MasterPro512 CRT, achieving a blisteringly quick 700Hz refresh rate.

RetroGamingBase has already had success achieving triple-digit refresh rates on this specific CRT, previously hitting 255Hz, 300Hz, and even 380Hz while still maintainging a clean enough image to play games on. But the retro gaming enthusiast channel wanted to do something special with the Vision MasterPro512, by trying to break the industry record 540Hz refresh rate found on monitors such as theAsus ROG Swift Pro PG248QP andZowie XL2586X , as well as break the 600Hz barrier found in prototype/pre-released display panels today.

Can we Reach 700Hz by Overclocking this Old CRT Monitor? - YouTube

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Shockingly, they were able to break not only the 540Hz barrier and 600Hz barrier, but were able to go well beyond, achieving a blisteringly quick 700Hz refresh rate. To reach this absurdly fast refresh rate, RetroGamingBase used the custom resolution utility integrated into the Nvidia Control Panel to tweak the monitor’s operating parameters. Those parameters included a custom resolution of 320 x 120, a refresh rate of 700, progressive scan type, and GTF standard timings.

Unfortunately, the awfully low 320 x 120 resolution was necessary to prevent the monitor from running outside its kilohertz specification, which would have made the refresh rate unstable.

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Regardless of the extremely low resolution, seeing 700Hz on a CRT from decades ago is quite amazing and shows some of the intrinsic advantages CRTs have. CRT’s don’t share the same limitations as LCDs. As long as you are willing to forego modern resolutions, CRTs have significantly higher refresh rate headroom than a typical LCD and don’t suffer from the same motion clarity issues, giving you the full advantages of a high refresh rate experience with best-in-class motion clarity.

Granted, you aren’t going to see a CRT on our list of thebest gaming monitors , and most people in 2024 aren’t going to actually enjoy the experience of gaming at a resolution below80s-era CGA . But it’s interesting to see enthusiasts pushing older, “outdated” tech beyond the limits of the best cutting-edge consumer gaming monitors you can buy today. There’s one area where CRTs will never be able to compete with modern LCDs, though, and that’s desk space.

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