1ms vs 3ms Response Time: Differences (What’s Better?)

Whenever you look for choosing a good quality gaming monitor, response time is one of the factors we consider. The lesser the response time, the better the monitor is for FPS gaming.

But, how much do 1ms vs 3ms response time monitors compare to each other? To know this, I will do a head-to-head comparison of these response time monitors in this post.

Let’s get started!

1ms vs 3ms Response Time Differences

Technically the 1ms response time responds to a pixel change 3 times faster than a 3ms Monitor. However, the difference is very small and you won’t notice that much unless you play competitive gaming.

For competitive gaming, a minor difference is noticeable when doing faster movements in the game, especially during aiming.

What is the Response time in Monitors?

Response time is the measure of how fast your display’s individual pixels can respond to a change from one color to another.

When you are playing a game or doing any work, the pixels continuously adjust and change according to the color required and provide a great viewing experience. It is measured in units of milliseconds.

For e.g, the response time of the Monitor can be 0.5ms, 1ms, 2ms, 3ms, and more.

Related: Does Monitor Response Time Matter?

About 1ms Response Time Monitors

1ms monitors are especially known for their fast response time and they are generally used for competitive gaming.

In the case of a 1ms response time monitor, your monitor reacts to a pixel change every 1ms.

In Hz, the 1ms Response time is 1000 Hz.

About 3ms Response Time Monitors

In the case of 3ms Response time Monitors, your Monitor takes 3ms to react to a change in pixel.

In Hz, the 3ms Response time is 333.33 Hz.

Pros and Cons of 1ms Response Time Monitor

Here are the pros and cons of the 1ms Monitors:

Pros

1. Excellent for competitive gaming
2. Frames appear clear without any Ghosting in FPS games

Cons

1. They are a bit expensive as you get the best hardware here.

Pros and Cons of 3ms Response Time Monitor

Here are the pros and cons of the 3ms monitors:

Pros

1. Good for general-purpose usage,
2. Good for casual gaming
3. Good for FPS gaming too.
4. Budget-friendly as compared to the 1ms ones.

Cons

1. Not much is recommended for competitions as there you will find opponents using the best display hardware.

Which is better between 1ms and 3ms Response Time Monitor?

Criteria 1: General Usage

If you compare head-to-head in terms of performance in the case of general usage, you will find the 1ms and the 3ms perform almost equally without much of a difference.

You would rarely notice anything different here and also there won’t be any input lags or any delays in both case.

Winner: Tie, But considering Budget friendliness Winner is 3ms Monitor.

Criteria 2: Casual Gaming

In the case of casual gaming scenarios where you don’t play much of a competitive game, you won’t find any issue using a 3ms response time monitor over a 1ms monitor.

This can be any FPS game or any other type of Game like GTA, FIFA, or any action game also.

Winner: Tie, But considering Budget friendliness Winner is 3ms Monitor.

Criteria 3: Competitive Gaming

If you are a competitive gamer, participating in competitions playing FPS games, then you need the best hardware in your monitor. The 1ms Response time monitor would be performing the best here.

In these competitions, the importance of every frame is important as you need to aim your opponent in the game fast.

Winner: 1ms Monitor

1ms vs 3ms FAQs

You May Also Like to Read:

• 1ms vs 4ms Response time
• 1ms vs 5ms Response time
• 4ms vs 5ms Response time

Conclusion

Let’s conclude the post!

So, as we discussed if you are not a competitive gamer, then you can choose from any of the 1ms and 3ms. Up to 8ms response time, the monitor would do great in your case.

But, if you want the best of the hardware and you play competitive gaming, then obviously the 1ms or choosing even the 0.5ms for your gaming would be great.

I hope you liked reading the post and found it useful.