Smoother animations, less screen tearing, less ghosting, and a bit of a competitive edge are all reasons to upgrade.A window will open that is separated into two sections down the middle. Overall, it is worth the extra cost to buy a gaming monitor with a 144Hz refresh rate rather than 60Hz. A monitor with a 4K resolution will still hurt the wallet a bit by hitting in the upper $200 range or higher. Most 144Hz monitors range between $170 and $2p resolution, roughly the same price for 60Hz versions. Luckily, 144Hz has quickly become the standard for gaming monitors, with prices dropping each year due to even higher refresh rates becoming available. Similarly, 144Hz can help reduce the appearance of screen tearing due to lower latency between the computer and the monitor. A monitor displaying a game at 144Hz is less likely to stutter when it drops below 60 frames. Non-competitive gamers can still appreciate the increased refresh rate. Most 144Hz monitors inherently have lower input lag due to better technologies prohibiting a drop below seven milliseconds. Ghosting is when an object on screen has a double image, or ghost, behind it due to motion blur. Low latency is a significant reason why most gamers prefer 144Hz over 60Hz for competitive games like Counter-Strike or League of Legends.Īnother feature competitive gamers will enjoy is less input lag and ghosting. This example shows a considerable jump in speed, with the soldier appearing faster in the 144Hz test than in the 60Hz example. The following example shows a comparison of system latency between the refresh rates. The animation is smoother in the 144Hz example, but the frames look like they’re skipping in the 60Hz shot. Seeing the differences between 60Hz and 144Hz is pretty easy when directly compared. Why 144Hz is better than 60Hz GIF via Nvidia With that in mind, the below GIF is how 60Hz looks compared to 144Hz and 240Hz. But the images on the screen will look sharper at higher speeds.
A 720p resolution is still going to look like 720p, even if the screen is refreshing faster. Just because the image is refreshing faster does not mean the game will look any better graphically. The same philosophy applies to refresh rates as frame rate the higher the number, the smoother the video. If a screen refreshes at the same rate as the frame rate, the video will be smooth unless the frames drop. Hertz (Hz) is the term for refresh rates and refers to the number of times something cycles in a period. Refresh rates are the number of times the display itself refreshes in a second. A higher number of frames means smoother video, with fewer frames making the video seem sluggish.
If a game runs at 60 frames, 60 frames render on-screen in one second. A frame rate measures the number of frames that appear on-screen within a given second and is not solely dictated by a monitor. Frame rate and refresh rates are not the same, but they do work together. Understanding what makes 144Hz appealing requires an understanding of how refresh rates work.
The type of PC you have will impact the performance of your monitor and its refresh rate. Would changing from a 60Hz monitor to 144Hz look that much better? The short answer is yes, but with an asterisk beside it.
Another of these features is the refresh rate.Ī 60 frames per second (fps) refresh rate used to be the best feature out there, yet games can run well over 100 frames with the proper rig setup. Ultrawide displays, 4K resolutions, and HDR are among the most popular features to make games look their absolute best. Choosing the right gaming monitor is as important as choosing the right CPU or graphics card.