In recent years, high refresh rate displays have gained significant attention, especially in the gaming and tech communities. A few years ago, most monitors and laptop screens had a standard refresh rate of 60Hz, but now, many devices boast refresh rates of 120Hz, 144Hz, 240Hz, or even higher. With all this focus on high refresh rates, you might wonder—do they really make a difference? And if so, in what scenarios do they matter most?
To help answer that, here’s a quick comparison table that breaks down the different refresh rates, where they shine the most, and who benefits from them.
| Refresh Rate | Best For | Who Benefits Most | Advantages | Potential Drawbacks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60Hz | General use, casual gaming, media | Everyday users, students, office workers | Smooth enough for web browsing, video watching, and productivity tasks | No significant improvements for gaming or high-frame-rate content |
| 120Hz | Gaming, smartphones, fluid scrolling | Gamers, smartphone users, creatives | Smoother animations, faster input responsiveness | Requires more processing power, reduced battery life on mobile devices |
| 144Hz | Competitive gaming, creative work | Gamers, designers, video editors | Ideal for fast-paced gaming, smoother creative workflows | Higher cost, demands powerful hardware |
| 240Hz+ | Esports, professional gaming | Competitive esports players, serious gamers | Ultra-smooth motion, minimal input lag | Expensive, overkill for most users, very demanding on hardware |
Now that we’ve compared the different refresh rates and their use cases, let’s dive deeper into how high refresh rates make a difference and whether they are worth the investment.
What is a Refresh Rate?
The refresh rate of a display refers to how many times the screen updates or refreshes its image per second, measured in Hertz (Hz). For example, a 60Hz display refreshes the image 60 times per second, while a 144Hz display refreshes 144 times per second.
A higher refresh rate means smoother visuals because the screen is updating more frequently. This can create a noticeable difference, particularly in fast-paced environments, where the display has to keep up with rapid changes in on-screen action.
Standard Refresh Rates:
- 60Hz: The baseline standard for most traditional displays.
- 120Hz: Offers a smoother experience, often used in higher-end smartphones and some laptops.
- 144Hz: Popular in gaming monitors, providing an ideal blend of smoothness and responsiveness.
- 240Hz+: Designed for competitive gamers and high-end professional work, delivering ultra-smooth performance.
How High Refresh Rate Displays Make a Difference
1. Gaming
One of the most significant areas where high refresh rates make a noticeable difference is in gaming. For gamers, particularly in fast-paced genres like first-person shooters (FPS), racing games, and real-time strategy (RTS) games, a high refresh rate can provide a competitive edge. A higher refresh rate allows the screen to display more frames per second (FPS), making fast movements appear smoother and more fluid.
For instance, with a 144Hz monitor, the screen refreshes 144 times per second, meaning that the visuals are smoother compared to a 60Hz display. This results in less motion blur and more clarity during fast action scenes, helping gamers react quicker to sudden changes on the screen.
Do You Need It?
If you’re a casual gamer, a 60Hz or 120Hz display may be sufficient. However, if you’re a competitive gamer, particularly in esports titles like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Valorant, or Call of Duty, a 144Hz or even 240Hz monitor could give you an edge. The increased responsiveness can make fast-paced movements easier to track and improve reaction times.
2. Everyday Use
For everyday tasks like browsing the web, writing documents, and watching videos, the impact of a high refresh rate display is less pronounced. At 60Hz, these activities are already smooth enough for most users, and higher refresh rates won’t provide a noticeable improvement in most cases.
However, in some scenarios—like scrolling through long web pages, navigating through large documents, or swiping between apps—high refresh rates can offer a smoother experience. This is especially true on smartphones and tablets with 120Hz displays, where scrolling feels noticeably more fluid.
Do You Need It?
If your primary use is browsing or working with standard productivity tools, a higher refresh rate display isn’t essential. However, if you enjoy having the latest tech or frequently use devices with fluid animations (like high-end smartphones or tablets), you might appreciate the smoother experience offered by higher refresh rates.
3. Creative Work
For creatives, such as designers, video editors, animators, and illustrators, high refresh rate displays can enhance workflows in several ways. The improved smoothness and responsiveness of high refresh rates can make real-time adjustments in creative software feel more precise. For animators, the ability to preview animations with fluid motion is particularly helpful.
In addition, graphic designers and digital artists benefit from more responsive pen input on higher refresh rate displays. This is especially valuable when using drawing tablets or styluses on 2-in-1 devices, where a 120Hz or higher display can reduce the lag between the pen input and the resulting action on the screen.
Do You Need It?
If you work in animation, video editing, or digital design, a higher refresh rate display can improve your workflow by offering smoother previews and more responsive controls. However, for static design work, such as photo editing, the refresh rate will not have a significant impact on your output.
4. Movies and Streaming
When it comes to movies and streaming video, the benefits of high refresh rates are more limited. Most films and shows are shot at 24 or 30 frames per second (FPS), which doesn’t require a high refresh rate to be displayed smoothly. In fact, many people prefer to watch movies in their traditional frame rates, as it maintains the cinematic quality.
That said, if you’re streaming content at higher frame rates (such as live sports or video games), a higher refresh rate can enhance your viewing experience by making fast movements look smoother and less choppy.
Do You Need It?
For general movie watching or streaming, a 60Hz display is more than sufficient. However, if you watch a lot of high-frame-rate content (e.g., sports, live gaming streams), you might benefit from a higher refresh rate.
The Downsides of High Refresh Rate Displays
1. Cost
High refresh rate displays tend to be more expensive than their standard counterparts. For example, gaming monitors with 144Hz or 240Hz refresh rates often come at a premium price. The higher the refresh rate, the more expensive the monitor is likely to be.
2. Battery Life
Laptops, tablets, and smartphones with high refresh rate displays typically consume more power than those with standard 60Hz displays. This increased power consumption can result in shorter battery life. Some devices mitigate this by offering dynamic refresh rates, which automatically adjust based on the task being performed.
3. Hardware Requirements
To fully benefit from a high refresh rate display, you need a system that can output a high frame rate to match. For instance, if you have a 144Hz monitor but your computer’s GPU can only push out 60 FPS, you won’t see the full benefits of the higher refresh rate. Therefore, having a powerful GPU is essential for gamers looking to get the most out of their high refresh rate monitors.
Conclusion: Is a High Refresh Rate Display Worth It?
So, do high refresh rates really make a difference? The answer is yes, but the extent of the difference depends on how you use your device. If you’re a gamer, a high refresh rate display can provide smoother, more responsive gameplay, which is especially beneficial in competitive settings. Creative professionals working with video, animation, or digital design can also benefit from the fluidity and responsiveness of high refresh rates.
However, for everyday users focused on browsing, watching videos, or working in standard office applications, a high refresh rate may not be necessary. While it can enhance the overall experience by providing smoother animations and transitions, the difference is often subtle and may not justify the extra cost.
In the end, high refresh rate displays do offer a noticeable improvement in certain scenarios, but whether they’re worth the investment depends on your specific needs and how you use your devices.