Monitor Refresh Rate Guide: 60Hz vs 144Hz vs 240Hz vs 360Hz
Everything you need to know about refresh rates, frame times, adaptive sync, and which Hz is right for your use case.
Everything you need to know about refresh rates, frame times, adaptive sync, and which Hz is right for your use case.
Last updated: February 2026
Refresh rate, measured in Hertz (Hz), is the number of times per second your monitor redraws the image on screen. A 60Hz monitor refreshes 60 times per second. A 144Hz monitor refreshes 144 times per second. A 360Hz monitor refreshes 360 times per second. Each refresh is an opportunity to display a new frame, so a higher refresh rate allows for smoother motion, provided your computer can generate frames fast enough to match.
It is critical to understand that refresh rate is a property of the monitor, while frame rate (measured in frames per second, or fps) is a property of the content your computer is generating. If your GPU renders a game at 200 fps but your monitor only refreshes at 60Hz, you will only see 60 unique frames per second, and the remaining 140 frames are wasted. Conversely, if your monitor runs at 144Hz but your GPU can only produce 80 fps, the monitor will display some frames more than once, which looks smoother than 60Hz but does not fully exploit the panel's capability.
The ideal scenario is one where your frame rate matches or exceeds your refresh rate. This is when the monitor's full potential is realized, and the difference between refresh rate tiers becomes visually apparent. You can test your display's actual refresh rate right now with our Refresh Rate test tool.
While refresh rate gets all the marketing attention, frame time is the underlying metric that determines how smooth the experience actually feels. Frame time is the duration each frame is displayed, measured in milliseconds. It is the inverse of refresh rate:
| Refresh Rate | Frame Time |
|---|---|
| 30 Hz | 33.3 ms |
| 60 Hz | 16.7 ms |
| 75 Hz | 13.3 ms |
| 120 Hz | 8.3 ms |
| 144 Hz | 6.9 ms |
| 165 Hz | 6.1 ms |
| 240 Hz | 4.2 ms |
| 360 Hz | 2.8 ms |
| 500 Hz | 2.0 ms |
Notice the pattern: the jump from 60Hz to 144Hz reduces frame time by 9.8 ms (from 16.7 to 6.9). The jump from 144Hz to 240Hz reduces it by only 2.7 ms (from 6.9 to 4.2). And from 240Hz to 360Hz, the reduction is just 1.4 ms. This is why the perceived improvement from 60Hz to 144Hz is dramatic, while the improvement from 240Hz to 360Hz is subtle. The absolute reduction in frame time diminishes at each step, even though the Hz number looks impressive.
Frame time also explains why frame rate consistency matters as much as average frame rate. If a game averages 144 fps but frequently spikes to 200 fps and dips to 80 fps, the wildly varying frame times (5 ms to 12.5 ms) create a stuttery feel despite the high average. A steady 120 fps with consistent 8.3 ms frame times will look and feel smoother than an erratic 144 fps average.
60Hz has been the standard refresh rate for computer monitors and televisions for decades. It originates from the AC power frequency in North America (60 cycles per second), which early CRT televisions synchronized to. Today, 60Hz remains the default for most non-gaming monitors, laptops, office displays, and televisions.
For general productivity, web browsing, and video playback, 60Hz is perfectly adequate. Movies are filmed at 24 fps, most streaming video is 30 or 60 fps, and office applications do not generate rapid motion that would benefit from a higher refresh rate. If you do not play games and do not do any work involving fast on-screen motion, a high-quality 60Hz monitor with excellent color accuracy and contrast will serve you better than a mediocre high-refresh-rate panel.
For gaming, however, 60Hz has become the minimum acceptable standard rather than the ideal. Once you have experienced 144Hz gaming, returning to 60Hz feels noticeably sluggish. Mouse movement appears to lag slightly, fast camera pans produce more motion blur, and the gap between your input and the on-screen response feels wider. This is not placebo; the 10 ms difference in frame time between 60Hz and 144Hz is perceptible to most people.
The jump from 60Hz to 144Hz is widely considered the single most impactful display upgrade a gamer can make. It cuts frame time from 16.7 ms to 6.9 ms, delivering 2.4 times as many frames per second. The result is dramatically smoother motion, a more responsive feel to mouse and controller input, and a reduction in perceived motion blur that makes fast-paced games significantly more enjoyable.
In competitive titles like Valorant, Counter-Strike 2, and Apex Legends, 144Hz provides a genuine performance advantage. The more frequently the screen updates, the more up-to-date the image is when you make a decision. At 60Hz, the image you see could be up to 16.7 ms old. At 144Hz, it is at most 6.9 ms old. That 10 ms difference affects reaction time, target tracking, and flick accuracy in measurable ways. Multiple studies, including those conducted by NVIDIA and Blur Busters, have documented improved player performance metrics at higher refresh rates.
144Hz (and its close relatives 120Hz and 165Hz, which are functionally similar) has become the mainstream gaming standard in 2026. Excellent 1440p 144Hz IPS monitors are available for under 300 USD, and even budget 1080p 144Hz panels can be found for around 130 USD. If you are upgrading from 60Hz and play any games at all, 144Hz should be your minimum target. It pairs well with the resolution guidance in our Best Resolution for Gaming article.
240Hz cuts frame time to 4.2 ms, a worthwhile improvement over 144Hz for players who are sensitive to motion smoothness or who compete at a high level. The difference between 144Hz and 240Hz is less dramatic than the 60-to-144 jump, but it is perceptible, especially in fast-paced shooters where you track targets moving quickly across the screen.
The audience for 240Hz is primarily competitive gamers who want every possible advantage. In games with clean, high-frame-rate engines (CS2, Valorant, Overwatch 2), a capable GPU can consistently produce 240+ fps at 1080p or 1440p, allowing you to fully exploit the panel's refresh rate. In heavier AAA titles, consistently hitting 240 fps requires a high-end GPU and often reduced settings.
240Hz monitors have matured considerably. Early 240Hz panels were exclusively 1080p TN technology with mediocre colors and viewing angles. Today, you can buy 240Hz panels at 1440p resolution with IPS or OLED technology, excellent color accuracy, and wide viewing angles. The 27-inch 1440p 240Hz OLED category has become one of the most popular high-end gaming monitor segments, offering the trifecta of high resolution, high refresh rate, and superb image quality.
360Hz monitors reduce frame time to 2.8 ms, and newer 500Hz panels push it to 2.0 ms. At these speeds, the improvements become marginal for all but the most elite competitive players. The difference between a 240Hz and 360Hz frame is 1.4 ms, which is below the threshold of conscious perception for most people, though it may register subconsciously as slightly smoother motion.
Professional esports players on teams with sponsorship budgets are the primary buyers of 360Hz and 500Hz monitors. In tournament environments where every fraction of a second matters and players have trained their reflexes to near-superhuman levels, the marginal gains from ultra-high refresh rates may translate into a statistically meaningful advantage. For everyone else, the price premium and the GPU requirements to consistently hit 360+ fps make these panels hard to justify over a 240Hz alternative.
It is also worth noting that current 360Hz and 500Hz panels are exclusively 1080p, with 1440p 360Hz panels only beginning to emerge. If you value both resolution and refresh rate, 240Hz at 1440p currently offers a better overall experience than 360Hz at 1080p for most use cases.
In a perfect world, your GPU would always produce exactly as many frames as your monitor can display, and every frame would arrive precisely when the monitor needs it. In reality, frame rates fluctuate depending on scene complexity, and without synchronization, the GPU and monitor fall out of step. This produces two visible artifacts: screen tearing (where parts of two different frames are visible simultaneously) and stutter (where frames are displayed for inconsistent durations).
Traditional V-Sync solves tearing by forcing the GPU to wait for the monitor's refresh cycle before displaying a new frame, but it introduces input lag (the GPU idles while waiting) and causes stutter when the frame rate drops below the refresh rate. The stutter is particularly jarring: at 60Hz with V-Sync, if the GPU cannot finish a frame in 16.7 ms, the display holds the old frame for an entire additional cycle (33.3 ms), creating a sudden and visible hitch.
Adaptive sync eliminates both problems. NVIDIA G-Sync and AMD FreeSync (both built on the VESA Adaptive-Sync standard in their modern forms) allow the monitor to dynamically adjust its refresh rate to match the GPU's frame output. When the GPU produces a frame at 87 fps, the monitor refreshes at 87Hz. When the next frame arrives at 92 fps, the monitor adjusts to 92Hz. Tearing is eliminated without the input lag penalty of V-Sync, and frame rate drops cause smooth slowdowns rather than jarring stutters.
In 2026, adaptive sync is essentially universal. All AMD GPUs support FreeSync natively, and NVIDIA GPUs support both native G-Sync (on certified modules) and G-Sync Compatible mode (on FreeSync monitors). Almost every gaming monitor supports at least FreeSync. If you are buying a new display, adaptive sync support should be treated as a baseline requirement, not a premium feature.
Response time and refresh rate are related but distinct specifications, and conflating them is a common source of confusion. Refresh rate is how often the monitor redraws the screen. Response time is how quickly an individual pixel can transition from one color to another.
Response time is typically measured in milliseconds and quoted as gray-to-gray (GtG), which measures the time for a pixel to change from one shade of gray to another. The reason this matters is that if the pixel transition takes longer than the frame time at your refresh rate, the old color will still be partially visible when the new frame is drawn, creating a ghosting effect: a translucent trail behind moving objects.
For a 144Hz monitor (6.9 ms per frame), you need pixel transitions to complete in roughly 7 ms or less to avoid visible ghosting. For 240Hz (4.2 ms per frame), you need 4 ms or faster transitions. This is why panel technology matters: older TN panels were fast but had poor colors and viewing angles. Modern fast-IPS panels achieve 1 ms GtG response times, and OLED panels have near-instantaneous response times (typically under 0.1 ms GtG), making them the gold standard for motion clarity at any refresh rate.
Be cautious of manufacturer-quoted response times. Many use the MPRT (Moving Picture Response Time) measurement, which includes the effect of backlight strobing techniques that are not the same as pixel transition speed. A monitor advertised as "1 ms MPRT" may have a GtG response time of 4 to 5 ms. Look for independent reviews that measure actual GtG transitions at each overdrive setting.
Ghosting appears as a faint shadow or trail behind moving objects, most visible against high-contrast edges (like white text scrolling on a black background). It is caused by slow pixel transitions that fail to complete within a single refresh cycle. The faster your refresh rate, the shorter the window each pixel has to transition, and the more likely ghosting is to become visible if the panel is slow.
Monitor manufacturers address this with overdrive (sometimes called response time boost or OD). Overdrive applies a voltage overshoot to pixel transitions, essentially pushing the pixel harder to reach its target color faster. Most monitors offer multiple overdrive settings: off, low, medium, high, and sometimes extreme.
The correct overdrive setting depends on the specific panel and refresh rate. Too little overdrive and ghosting is visible. Too much and the overshoot creates an inverse artifact called "corona" or "reverse ghosting," where a bright halo appears ahead of the moving object. Finding the sweet spot usually requires testing each overdrive level at your actual gaming refresh rate. Review sites like RTINGS and Hardware Unboxed test overdrive levels systematically and provide recommendations for each monitor.
On OLED panels, overdrive is essentially unnecessary. OLED pixels change state almost instantaneously (sub-millisecond), so there is no ghosting to correct, and no risk of overshoot artifacts. This is one of the major reasons OLED gaming monitors have become so popular: they deliver perfect motion clarity without any overdrive compromise.
If the refresh rate you expect is not available, check your cable. HDMI 2.0 is limited to 4K at 60Hz, while DisplayPort 1.4 supports 4K at 120Hz with DSC (Display Stream Compression). For 1440p at 240Hz, you need at least DisplayPort 1.4 or HDMI 2.1.
Note that macOS external display support for high refresh rates depends on the Mac's GPU and the connection. Apple Silicon Macs support up to 6K at 60Hz or lower resolutions at 120Hz+ via Thunderbolt/USB-C. Check Apple's support pages for your specific Mac model's display output capabilities.
xrandr to list available modes and set the refresh rate. For example: xrandr --output DP-1 --mode 2560x1440 --rate 144On Wayland compositors, refresh rate configuration is handled through the desktop environment's settings rather than xrandr. Both GNOME and KDE Plasma on Wayland support high refresh rates, including variable refresh rate (VRR) in recent versions.
After changing your refresh rate, verify it is working correctly using our Refresh Rate test tool, which measures the actual frame timing in your browser to confirm the displayed refresh rate.
Your monitor's maximum refresh rate is only achievable if your cable and port support the required bandwidth. Here is a quick reference:
| Connection | Max Bandwidth |
|---|---|
| HDMI 1.4 | 1080p 120Hz, 4K 30Hz |
| HDMI 2.0 | 1080p 240Hz, 1440p 144Hz, 4K 60Hz |
| HDMI 2.1 | 1440p 240Hz, 4K 144Hz, 8K 60Hz |
| DisplayPort 1.2 | 1080p 240Hz, 1440p 165Hz, 4K 75Hz |
| DisplayPort 1.4 | 1080p 360Hz, 1440p 240Hz, 4K 120Hz (DSC) |
| DisplayPort 2.1 | 4K 240Hz, 8K 85Hz |
| USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 | Equivalent to DisplayPort 1.4 (varies) |
If your desired refresh rate is not available in your OS settings, the cable or port is the most common culprit. Swapping from HDMI to DisplayPort (or upgrading to a higher-spec HDMI cable) often resolves the issue. Also ensure you are plugging into the correct port on your GPU, as some older graphics cards have a mix of port versions.
Yes. The jump from 60Hz to 144Hz is one of the most noticeable upgrades in the display world. Mouse cursor movement becomes visibly smoother, scrolling text is easier to read, and gaming feels dramatically more responsive. Most people notice the difference immediately, even without a side-by-side comparison.
For the average gamer, the difference between 240Hz and 360Hz is subtle and difficult to perceive. The improvement is primarily beneficial in competitive esports scenarios where every millisecond matters. If you are a professional or high-ranked competitive player, the marginal gain may be worthwhile. For everyone else, 240Hz offers excellent smoothness with diminishing returns beyond that point.
Refresh rate (measured in Hz) is how many times per second the monitor updates the image. Response time (measured in milliseconds) is how quickly a pixel can change from one color to another. A monitor can have a high refresh rate but slow response time, which causes ghosting. Ideally, the response time should be fast enough that pixels fully transition within one refresh cycle.
Adaptive sync (G-Sync or FreeSync) is highly recommended for any gaming setup. It synchronizes the monitor's refresh rate to your GPU's frame output, eliminating screen tearing and reducing stutter without the input lag penalty of V-Sync. In 2026, most monitors support FreeSync, and many are also G-Sync Compatible, so you benefit regardless of your GPU brand.
You can verify your refresh rate using the DisplayPixels Refresh Rate test tool, which uses frame timing to detect and display the actual refresh rate your browser is rendering at. On Windows, you can also check in Settings > Display > Advanced display settings. On macOS, go to System Settings > Displays and check the refresh rate dropdown.