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It Might Be Overkill, But TCL Is Showing Off an 8K 1,000Hz Monitor

The prototype from TCL CSOT also offers an extremely wide 7,680 by 2,160 resolution.

 & Michael Kan Principal Reporter

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(Credit: PCMag/Michael Kan)

If you thought 500Hz was extreme, think again: Chinese display maker TCL CSOT is pushing limits with a massive 57-inch PC monitor boasting a 1,000Hz refresh rate.

The company is showing off the monitor at the Display Week 2025 show in San Jose, California. In addition to the insane refresh rate, it also offers a wide 7,680-by-2,160-pixel resolution, similar to Samsung's Odyssey Neo G9 ultrawide. As a result, the monitor has an 8K resolution in the horizontal dimension, but not along the vertical axis.

TCL says it can pull off the 1,000Hz refresh rate by using its "6G2P point-to-point driver" and proprietary CSPI 5.1 protocol, which is designed to achieve "higher transmission frequency and transmission rate" over other technologies.

(Credit: PCMag/Michael Kan)

The company built the monitor using TCL's HVA technology, a type of LCD panel. Thanks to the monitor’s unusually long screen width, the concept product creates an immersive PC gaming experience that stands out from other displays. But good luck finding content that can fully take advantage of the monitor’s features. 

To demo the monitor, TCL played a video showing two Roman soldiers battling each other. But a company representative told us the demo clip wasn’t hitting the 1,000fps rate. Even if it did, we’re doubtful we’d notice any difference. The other issue is that the latest HDMI 2.1b and DisplayPort 2.1b spec only supports 8K up to 60Hz and 240Hz, respectively. 

The 8K resolution on the left, the 4K quality on the right.
(Credit: PCMag/Michael Kan)

As a result, the 1,000Hz boast feels like a marketing gimmick. TCL's monitor is a prototype, making it unclear if it’ll arrive on the market. The company debuted a similar concept at last year’s Display Week with a more traditional 4K monitor that had a 1,000Hz refresh rate. The vendor has since expanded the concept to encompass a 57-inch widescreen.

(Credit: PCMag/Michael Kan)

About Our Expert

Michael Kan

Michael Kan

Principal Reporter

My Experience

I've been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I'm currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country's technology sector.

Since 2020, I've covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I've combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink's cellular service.

I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.

I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I'm now following how the AI-driven memory shortage is impacting the entire consumer electronics market. I'm always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.

The Best Tech I've Had:

  • My first video game console: a Nintendo Famicom
  • I loved my Sega Saturn despite PlayStation's popularity.
  • The iPod Video I received as a gift in college
  • Xbox 360 FTW
  • The Galaxy Nexus was the first smartphone I was proud to own.
  • The PC desktop I built in 2013, which still works to this day.

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