Retro gamer pushes CRT gaming to new heights with 700Hz overclock

The world’s fastest gaming monitor is now an ancient IIyama CRT

As great as modern monitors are, classic CRT screens have their advantages. Yes, they are heavy, power-hungry, and have small screen sizes (by today’s standards), but this classic tech has perks that modern screens lack. There’s a reason why many enthusiasts respect and revere these decades-old screens. Now, a retro gamers has pushed a CRT monitor to 700Hz, past any currently available LCD screen on the market.

RetroGamingBase has managed to overclock his IIyama Vision Master Pro 512 CRT to 700Hz. Yes, this was only possible at a glorious resolution of 120p, but it was possible. Is this usable for gaming? Not really, but it is an excellent showcase of what can be achieved with retro tech.

This achievement makes us wonder what the world of gaming would look like if CRT technology wasn’t supplanted by LCD. What would a 2024 CRT look like if its technology was developed further? Even today, CRT screens can be more responsive than today’s LCDs. They can also offer deeper black levels and lack the motion clarity issues that LCD screens can suffer from. If 700Hz can be achieved with this relic from the past, what could a alternative universe “modern” CRT achieve?

While flat panel screen technology has improved a lot since its debut, there are areas where today’s screen remain behind CRT technology. No, I am not advocating for a move back to these heavy, power-hungry displays. However, it is clear that modern screens still have a lot of room for improvement.

Yes, this 700Hz CRT overclock is practically useless given its low screen resolution, but it is nonetheless funny to see modern tech getting beaten by its decades old counterparts.

You can join the discussion on retro screens getting pushed to 700Hz on the OC3D Forums.