Everyone knows that a higher refresh rate makes you a better gamer. That's why ASUS and NVIDIA teamed up to build the ROG Swift 500Hz gaming monitor, something that will "benefit every game and every gamer."
Yeah, it's overkill. NVIDIA says that the monitor is primarily intended for eSports, where a super-fast G-Sync display can crush latency and level the playing field between professional gamers. Notably, the 500Hz monitor features a new E-TN (Esports TN) panel that maximizes motion clarity---something that's very important on a screen that refreshes 500 times per second.
Unfortunately, TN screens come with some drawbacks (that's why we usually use IPS and VA panels). Traditional TN displays sacrifice visual quality for speed, and the E-TN panel in this 500Hz monitor is only 1080p. I'm sure we'll hear about some other shortcomings in the future.
But you'll probably never use the first-gen ASUS ROG Swift 500Hz monitor. Unless you happen to own a PC that can push games at 500 FPS, buying this thing is basically a waste of money. For the time being, it's just for esports competitions and hardware enthusiasts.
ASUS and NVIDIA haven't revealed pricing for the 500Hz monitor. But for what it's worth, you can currently buy the ASUS RG Swift 360Hz for $478 at Amazon.
Source: NVIDIA via Ars Technica