This Asus 360Hz monitor is the lowest price it's been thanks to this Black Friday gaming monitor deal
I've long been a proponent of high refresh rate monitors. Sure, 4K sounds like a good time, but after spending big on a ROG Swift 165Hz monitor a few years ago, I'm not sure I could go back. Maybe I could go forward, though, as I'm definitely tempted by the ROG Swift PG259QN—the 360Hz younger cousin of my increasingly aging screen. Especially when a Black Friday deal on one of our best gaming monitors makes it available for its lowest ever price, on sale at Amazon for $490.
This is the first time the price has dropped below the $500 mark—at the start of the year it was going for $700, so this is really nice saving on a monitor full of bells and whistles.
It's a 24.5", 1080p IPS panel. Traditionally, IPS has meant better colours at the cost of lower response times, but Asus claims its "Fast IPS" tech means a 1ms response time. The real meat here is the G-Sync functionality, providing 360Hz refresh rates.
Do you need a display that fast? Certainly not if your graphics card isn't up to the task—if you're already struggling to hit a stable 60fps in modern games, then you're not going to see the difference on screen. If you've managed to get hold of one of the newer RTX 30-series cards, though, you may well get the benefit. And if you haven't upgraded your monitor for a while, you'll be amazed at what a difference it can make.
Asus ROG Swift PG259QN | 24.5-inch | 1080p | 360Hz | $599.99 $489.99 at Amazon (save $110)
This 1080p gaming monitor offers a ridiculously fast refresh rate, and so will need one of the newer G-Sync compatible graphics cards to make the most of it. ROG Swift's IPS panels are great, though, offering deep, clear colours while still providing good response times. It's a little on the small size, but if you're short of space, this is worth your consideration.
For me, I'd still be more tempted by the 32", 1440p variant—even though it's 'only' 175Hz, that's still more than fast enough for my mid-30s mental response time, and the extra resolution feels the ideal size for gaming at a desk. Alas, that one doesn't seem to be going cheap in this year's Black Friday deals.
This, then, is a great alternative if you're more limited in space, or simply have the mental bandwidth to actually keep up with a 360Hz screen.