Is 1ms response time real?

It is a real measurement of one best-case transition, not the average your eyes see. Independent lab averages for fast LCDs run to several milliseconds. Only OLED's near-instant transitions match their marketing in practice.

GtG or MPRT — which matters?

GtG describes the panel itself; MPRT describes blur with backlight strobing switched on, which also dims the picture. Compare GtG with GtG and MPRT with MPRT, never across.

Does response time matter at 60Hz?

Much less. At 60Hz each frame lasts 16.7ms, so even average LCD transitions finish in time. Response becomes critical from 144Hz up, where the frame budget shrinks below typical transition times.

What is inverse ghosting?

Bright trails caused by overdrive overshoot — pixels pushed past their target colour and back. It appears at the highest overdrive settings; the middle preset usually avoids it, which is why lab reviews test more than one setting.

Home › Monitor Response Time Explained

Monitor Response Time Explained: Why "1ms" Is Only Half the Story

By Akbar Khan, Editor · Last updated November 10, 2026

How we check: every monitor spec below was verified against the manufacturer's own page plus an independent review (RTINGS, PCMonitors and similar) or a major US retailer listing in November 2026. Prices are typical US street-price ranges, not one-day deals. This page may earn a commission from retailer links at no cost to you. As an Amazon Associate, BuyBestMonitor earns from qualifying purchases. The ranges shown are our own street-price checks, not Amazon prices — the live price is the one shown on Amazon when you click through. See our disclosure.

Quick answer: the "1ms" on almost every monitor box is a best-case figure — the fastest single colour change the panel managed once, usually at maximum overdrive. Real average response in independent testing is several milliseconds for fast LCDs, slowest exactly where it matters (dark transitions on VA), and near-instant on OLED. That is why every pick on this site labels its response figure marketed or measured — the two numbers are not the same currency.

The two numbers called "response time"

GtG (grey-to-grey) measures how long pixels take to change between shades. A panel makes thousands of different transitions; manufacturers quote the fastest one. MPRT (moving picture response time) measures perceived blur using a strobing backlight — a different test that produces flattering small numbers (ASUS quotes both 1ms GtG and 1ms MPRT on the VG34VQL3A, for two different things). Neither is a lie; neither is an average. When a listing just says "1ms" with no label, assume it is whichever number looked best.

Why the average is what you actually see

Motion clarity is set by the average transition and the slowest ones, not the record. Our research rule of thumb, confirmed across the lab reviews we check: fast IPS panels in our guides' class measure averages of a few milliseconds; VA panels are competitive on bright transitions but much slower on dark-to-dark changes, which is the smearing you see behind dark objects; OLED transitions are effectively instant at any shade, which is why a 240Hz OLED looks clearer than a 240Hz LCD at the same refresh rate. Overdrive settings complicate it further — push voltage to speed pixels up and they overshoot, leaving bright coronas (inverse ghosting). The middle overdrive preset is usually the honest one, and lab reviews test it; marketing does not mention it.

Response time vs refresh rate — the frame budget

Refresh rate	Time per frame	What it means
60Hz	16.7ms	Even a slow panel finishes inside the frame — response rarely the limit
144Hz	6.9ms	Averages above ~7ms start to smear the next frame
180Hz	5.6ms	Fast IPS territory; VA dark transitions fall behind
240Hz	4.2ms	OLED's home ground; LCD best cases only just fit
360Hz+	2.8ms	Esports LCDs live or die by their measured averages

A pixel that takes longer to change than the frame it belongs to is still mid-transition when the next frame arrives — that is ghosting, defined arithmetically. It is why response matters more as refresh climbs, and why our esports guide weighs measured figures over box claims.

Our picks, labelled the way we insist on

Monitor	Box figure	What checking found
MSI MPG 322URX / Samsung G93SC (OLED)	0.03ms GtG	Near-instant in practice, as with other OLEDs — the rare honest headline
Dell G2724D	1ms GtG (Extreme mode)	Measured averages around 6.5ms in independent testing — still a fast monitor, honestly labelled in our guides
MSI G274QPF E2	1ms GtG	Marketed figure; fast-IPS class averages of a few ms are the realistic expectation
ASUS VG34VQL3A (VA)	1ms GtG + 1ms MPRT	Two different measurements sharing a number; expect slower dark transitions, as with all VA
BenQ MOBIUZ EX251	1ms class	220Hz esports panel — chosen for refresh and size; response is fast-IPS class

How to read any monitor listing after this page

Ask three questions. Which measurement — GtG or MPRT? Best case or average — if no average is published by a lab, treat the number as decoration. At what overdrive — and does the review show overshoot at that setting? Our methodology page sets out how we apply the same three questions to every pick before it is published, and our guides print the answer next to each monitor rather than hiding it in a footnote.

Update history

November 10, 2026: Published: GtG vs MPRT, overdrive, and marketed vs measured response figures for our picks.

Akbar Khan Editor, BuyBestMonitor

Akbar has run BuyBestMonitor since its original 2020 launch. Every guide here is checked under the site's two-source rule — manufacturer specs confirmed against an independent lab review — before publication and at every refresh. About the editor · How we check monitors