High-refresh 1440p gaming comes to laptops - finally

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It’s official. 1440p high-refresh gaming on laptops is a thing. At last. Laptop specialist Eluktronics has announced what it says are the world’s first 1440p QHD 165Hz gaming portables.

Both 15 and 17-inch flavours are available at launch starting at $2,199 (£1,822). 1440p or QHD, of course, is 2,560 by 1,440 pixels. The combination of 1440p and high refresh is already popular on the desktop and arguably makes more sense as an upgrade over 1080p on a portable gaming PC than going all the way to 4K and 3,840 by 2,160 pixels.

4K generates huge GPU loads to the point where mobile GPUs simply can’t kick out the frames fast enough for high refresh gaming. What’s more, the benefit of 4K over 1440p on a small 15 or 17-inch LCD is debatable in terms of visual in-game detail. On the other hand, some gamers find that 1080p on a laptop isn’t quite enough for really sharp visuals. 1080p also limits desktop real estate when you’re back in Windows.

Which is why many gamers have been crying out for high-refresh 1440p panels for laptops. 1440p and 165Hz could very could be the new sweet spot in terms of getting that balance between detail and frame rates just right.

Of course, laptop outfit Eluktronics does not make LCD panels itself. According to Youtuber Dave Lee, the panel is made by BOE, a lesser known but well established maker of LCD panels.

The good news is the BOE panels tend to be aggressively priced. Lee suggests the cost of the panel come at a price premium of around $50 versus an otherwise comparable 1080p display. Specs-wise, Lee pegs the panel at 318cd/m2 for brightness and 100 percent RGB and 87 percent AdobeRGB in terms of colour coverage. Measured pixel response comes in at an impressive 2.95ms.

It’s not clear what the panel type is, but based on those specifications, we’d say this is one of BOE’s IPS-ADS panels. Anywho, it’s likely this screen will make its way laptops from several brands. If there’s sufficient demand, we’d expect the other big players in LCD manufacturing to get in on the action. And not a moment too soon.