360 Hz is the sweet spot for competitive FPS, pro Counter-Strike players confirm

After speaking with professional Counter-Strike 2 players at Logitech's G Play event in Warsaw, PC Gamer's assessment that 360 Hz represents the optimal refresh rate for competitive FPS gaming appears sound.

Oscar Bell, known as 'Azuwu', and Simon Boije, called 'yxngstxr', both play for Luminosity. Regarding the jump from 240 Hz to 360 Hz, Azuwu noted: "When I had 240 at home, I didn't even really notice 360. But now I'm 360 I can't go back down, you know, I feel it a lot. So I think 360, 400, 600 are all pretty similar... I'd say 400 is a nice spot and 600 is extra nice. But anyway, in a lot of PCs, you won't hit 600 frames."

Yxngstxr emphasized the practical limits of ultra-high refresh rates: "I think it's kind of a placebo, personal thing, you know? Because on most PCs you rarely get 600 fps, right?... 600 Hz with like 300 fps, it doesn't even matter." Even on a high-end setup with a Ryzen 7 7800X3D and RX 9070 XT, Counter-Strike 2 typically hovers around 500 fps rather than reaching 600.

Both pros use Zowie monitors, partly because of the brand's DyAc anti-ghosting technology. Yxngstxr observed that this backlight strobing makes "the edge of the players get more noticeable." Azuwu uses it but finds it difficult to detect its effect.

The consensus across the conversation: beyond 360 Hz, diminishing returns become pronounced for competitive FPS play.