Throughout your quest to buy a new monitor, you would probably have been hearing about the “refresh rate” quite a lot. If you are a casual user, a hardcore gamer, or a professional creative, understanding what refresh rate is and how it will affect you is definitely worth your time. Portable Monitors are offered with 60Hz, 144Hz, and even 240Hz capabilities, but what do these numbers mean to you? And which ones do you require?

Here in this Uperfect article, we will demystify what refresh rate is, how it impacts your monitor’s performance, and assist you in deciding between 60Hz, 144Hz, or 240Hz.

What Is Refresh Rate?

Refresh rate refers to the number of times your display renders the image on the screen in a single second, that is, in Hertz (Hz).

• 60Hz means that the entire screen image gets refreshed every 60 seconds.
• A 144Hz monitor updates 144 times per second
• A 240Hz monitor does 240 per second

Suppose you are the one holding the flipbook: the more update pages per second, the smoother an animation appears.

Why Refresh Rate Matters

Higher refresh rate is more responsive, more fluid—most especially in fast-moving materials, such as:

• Gaming (first-person shooter, car racing, and eSports)
• Video editing or motion graphics design
• View high-frame-rate videos

Smooth Motion

As for 240Hz monitors, they are much smoother than their 60Hz counterparts. You may hardly notice any difference while just about the internet or working in an office. But in fast-paced gaming, a higher refresh rate will tend to help in reducing motion blur and smooth gaming.

Power Input Lag

Input lag is how long it takes from a button press to being perceived on-screen. Monitors with high refresh rates reduce the input lag enough to be the difference between winning and losing in a tight game.

Enhanced Visual Experience

Even outside of game use, navigation within the operating system or web page scrolling feels more immersive on higher refresh rate screens. Therefore, the smoother the motion, the less hard it gets on the eyes, and that allows them to be used longer.

Understanding Numbers: 60Hz compared to 144Hz compared to 240Hz

Moving further to understand the basics of the refresh rates.

60Hz: The Standard

Suitable for:

• White-collar labor
• Internet browsing
• Video streaming
• Casual gaming

60Hz was the norm for years. It’s fine for everyone except the most critical users with ultra-smooth motion needs. Movie viewing, report typing, or web surfing are all acceptable at 60Hz.

But for gaming, especially fast-paced or competitive games, 60Hz can comparatively appear jerky or sluggish at times versus higher refresh rates.

144Hz: The Sweet Spot

Good for:

• Gamers (especially competitive and FPS games)
• Visionary minds
• Everyone is moving up from 60Hz

144Hz is the best price-performance ratio. It is an improvement over 60Hz with noticeably smoother motion and responsiveness. It’s a first pick for hardcore gamers and for those who require a more immersive experience.

Among the mobile monitors of Uperfect are some that utilize 144Hz panels, a seamless combination of high performance and portability for gamers and mobile content creators.

240Hz: A Cutting Edge

Recommended for:

• Competitive or professional gamers
• eSports
• High-FPS gaming players like CS: GO, Valorant, Fortnite

If 144Hz is clearly superior to 60Hz, 240Hz is the next step. It’s utilized mostly by hard-gamering guys who need each millisecond of advantage. There, it is not so noticeable, but hard-gamering guys can sense it and make use of it.

Don’t forget: to actually benefit from a 240Hz monitor, your graphics card (GPU) must be capable of outputting frame rates of nearly 240 FPS. Otherwise, the added refresh rate isn’t utilized.

Refresh Rate vs Frame Rate: Are They the Same?

• Everyone mixes up refresh rate (Hz) with frame rate (FPS – frames per second), but they’re not.
• Refresh rate (Hz) is how fast the monitor can refresh the image.
• Frame rate (FPS) is a measure of how many frames your GPU is currently outputting to the screen.

So, in order to get the best, you must have your FPS at least or more than the monitor refresh rate. You are playing games on a 144Hz monitor and a 144 FPS GPU, and you will get extremely smooth action. But if your game only caps at 60 FPS, you cannot take advantage of a 144Hz or 240Hz monitor.

Do You Need a High Refresh Rate Monitor?

Let’s dissect it by user category:

Non-Regular Users

If you spend most of your time at the office, watching videos, or surfing the web, 60Hz will do. You won’t even perceive a difference to such activities at higher refresh rates.

Gamers

That is where refresh rate comes into play. For an RPG or single-player game, 60Hz or 75Hz will do. But for competitive multiplayer games:

• 144Hz is definitely better than 60Hz
• 240Hz can provide high-end gamers with the edge

Creators & Experts

When it comes to editors, animators, and UI/UX designers, it means they can edit more fluidly. Especially while editing motion graphics, what really fits is 144Hz or higher.

Other Things to Consider

Panel Type

Various panel technologies (VA, TN, IPS) influence the contribution of the refresh rate to image quality.

• IPS panels provide superior color and viewing angles, but perhaps slightly inferior response times.
• TN panels are faster but have more color and angle-compromised.
• VA panels are somewhere in between; their contrast is usually larger.

We in Uperfect use the highest quality IPS panels in most of our monitors to provide the utmost color accuracy and silky smooth performance.

GPU Capability

Your screen is only as good as your graphics card. If your GPU cannot provide you with a high enough frame rate, then you are not going to see a difference with high refresh rates.

Make sure your setup can continuously output 144 FPS or 240 FPS before you go and buy one that can.

Adaptive Sync Technology

Synchronization technology: NVIDIA G-SYNC and AMD FreeSync make it possible for a monitor to synchronize its refresh with the frame output by the GPU, minimizing screen tearing and stuttering. Uperfect Monitors usually come with Adaptive Sync support to ensure tear-free performance with silky smooth moving images, particularly gaming.

Uperfect’s Take: Which Refresh Rate Should You Choose?

We at Uperfect.com stock the whole line of laptop screens and desktop screens to satisfy all specifications—beginner screens to the cream of the crop, lightning-fast screens. This is how we recommend that you make your decision:

Final Thoughts

Refresh rate matters while selecting the suitable monitor for your application since it makes for a smooth experience and better response capabilities in fast-paced activities such as gaming and video editing.

• 60Hz is sufficient for everyday consumers.
• 144Hz is suitable for the majority of content creators and gamers.
• 240Hz is suitable for extreme gamers who require the best performance.