Gaming and Lag Times – BenQ vs Epson Projectors
March 1st, 2012 Art FeiermanGreetings gamers, etc.
OK, I’m not the guy to write about gaming. I’ve got two hard core gamers doing that – Pete and Scott. But, Pete’s just blogged on the Epson Home Cinema 5010 as a gaming projector and I just shipped him the W7000 (click for review) so that’s next on his list.
After speaking with Pete, I did some Lag tests. As you gamers know, but many of my other readers may not, gamers need their displays to be fast, whether you are a console player – PS3, Xbox 360, Wii, etc., or a PC gamer.
As you can all imagine, if a game does something, and your screen doesn’t show it for a a half second, you will be very dead, or some other bad thing, in most action games.
Many folks discuss how fast a display should be. Zero lag time is ideal, and some projectors do measure that fast. (Measuring is done by running a timer program on a computer (I use a MacBook Pro), and projecting it. I photograph the projected image and the laptop screen at the same time. The difference in time, is the lag. Obviously you want to use a clock that goes down to thousandths of a second.
BenQ W7000 Lag Times - Gaming Projector
Per my two hard core gamers, figure this lag times below 20 ms (milliseconds) is ideal Once one gets in the 30 -50 range, most serious gamers I gather, are still pretty satisfied. Generally hey’d like faster but the game plays well enough for serious competition. Pushing much above 50, though, loses the serious gamers on first person shooters, and most other action games. (Hey, if you are playing computer versions of Chess, or Monopoly, lag time isn’t an issue!) Well, it’s Pete and Scott who throw out numbers, better you read their opinions.
OK, here’s the story on the BenQ W7000 and the Epson 5010 (which also means the 5010e and 6010).
The BenQ’s a pretty good gamer. With my setup, as described, the W7000 measured 34-35 ms.
The Epson’s too slow for hard core gamers – or so my guys would tell me. The Home Cinema 5010 measured 83 ms. Now mind you, that’s still less than 1/10th of a second, so that may be fine for the average gamer, even on some action games.
Check out Pete’s blogs for the real word on how each of these projectors figure as gaming projectors – from one of the “hard core!” Pete just loves his “consoles” and he’s been a projector owner for years, and he uses it for much of his gaming. Fastest way to his blog is click!
March 13th, 2012 at 8:34 am
Was ready to order a 3010 Epson until I saw the lag problems. For a 10 foot screen, (replacing a Raven (xbox tie-in) projector), with a cost comparable to a 3010 to 5010 Epson, and of course 3D, what are some options with low lag times. I play shooters and lag kills.
March 16th, 2012 at 9:48 pm
Hi Peter,
The Panasonic pt-ar100 lacks 3d, so consider the Acer H9500BD, one of my favorites, DLP’s are almost always very fast. There’s a full review on the site. I think one of my two “projector gamers wrote about it for gaming (but i don’t remember for sure.) A blog from one of them, would be after my review.
March 22nd, 2012 at 6:33 am
Well you wrote about it here
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August 8th, 2012 at 8:33 pm
Hi Nate, Yes, the 3010 is apparently not a great gamer. Budget allowing, I’d suggest the Acer H9500BD. (it does have 3D). For less, perhaps the Mitsubishi HC4000, a bit old but highly regarded (but now that I think of it, you’ll want brighter., another DLP like the Acer. The Acer’s a little rough around the edges compared to an Epson, but it really would be my overall next choice. I believe it’s lag times are much better.
Wait, the other option if you pass on 3D (I am a fan), is the Panasonic PT-AR100U. It’s effectively just as bright as the Epson, and I clocked it at 18 ms lag time using my MacBook. Sorry for the delay in answering you. -art