Refresh rate is how many times per second a display redraws its image, measured in hertz. It caps how much motion detail you can see, but only if your machine is producing enough frames to fill it.
Refresh Rate Explained: Does Hz Really Matter?
Quick answer: Refresh rate is how many times per second your display redraws the image, measured in hertz (Hz). A 60Hz screen redraws 60 times a second; 120Hz and 144Hz are smoother for fast motion. Higher helps gaming and scrolling but matters less for reading.
Check what your screen is actually running at: open the refresh rate test.
What refresh rate means
Each refresh is one full redraw of the screen. More refreshes per second means motion is broken into more steps, so movement looks smoother and feels more responsive. It is measured in Hz, where 60Hz is 60 redraws per second. A 60Hz monitor refreshes 60 times a second and a 144Hz monitor 144 times, which is why scrolling text and fast game action look cleaner on the higher rate. It is separate from resolution and colour.
Refresh rate vs frame rate
Refresh rate (Hz) is how fast the screen can redraw; frame rate (FPS) is how many frames your computer produces. The smoothness you see is capped by whichever is lower — a 144Hz screen fed 60 FPS still only shows 60 new frames a second.
Common refresh rates
- 60 Hz — the long-standing standard, fine for everyday use, office work and video.
- 120 Hz — a clear step up in smoothness, common on phones and TVs.
- 144 Hz — a popular gaming sweet spot, noticeably crisper in fast games.
- 240 Hz and above — for competitive gaming, where every fraction of motion clarity counts.
Most people immediately notice the jump from 60 Hz to 120 or 144 Hz; gains above that are real but more subtle and mainly matter to competitive players.
Why it matters for gaming
In fast games, a higher refresh rate shows you more up-to-date frames, so motion is smoother and your view tracks more precisely as you flick and turn. To benefit, though, your graphics card has to actually produce enough frames per second to feed the display — a 144 Hz monitor only shows 144 distinct frames if the game runs at 144 FPS. That's the difference between refresh rate (what the screen can show) and frame rate (what the GPU produces), which we cover in refresh rate vs FPS. Technologies like G-Sync and FreeSync sync the two so the picture stays smooth even when the frame rate varies.
How to check and change it
On Windows 11, go to Settings → System → Display → Advanced display, and pick the highest rate your monitor supports under "Choose a refresh rate." On macOS, it's System Settings → Displays. If your monitor supports a high rate but only 60 Hz is offered, the cable or graphics settings are usually limiting it — our guide on a monitor stuck at 60 Hz walks through the fix. After changing it, the refresh rate test confirms the display is actually running at the rate you selected.
Refresh rate beyond gaming
High refresh rates aren't only for gamers. On phones and tablets, a 120 Hz screen makes scrolling, swiping and animations feel noticeably slicker, which is why flagship phones adopted it. Many modern devices use adaptive or variable refresh (sometimes branded LTPO), dropping to a low rate for static content and rising for motion, which keeps things smooth while saving battery. There's also a video angle: film is often 24 frames per second, which doesn't divide evenly into 60 Hz, causing slight judder some people notice — displays that can match or cleanly multiply the source rate play it more smoothly. For everyday desktop use, the jump from 60 Hz to 120 or 144 Hz simply makes the whole interface feel more responsive, not just games.
See a full breakdown of how refresh rate and frame rate differ.
Sources: MDN — requestAnimationFrame()
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Frequently asked questions
What is refresh rate?
Refresh rate, measured in hertz, is how many times per second your display redraws the image. 60 Hz refreshes 60 times a second, 144 Hz refreshes 144 times. A higher rate makes motion look smoother, especially scrolling and fast game action.
Is 144Hz noticeably better than 60Hz?
Yes, the jump from 60 Hz to 144 Hz is very noticeable — scrolling, mouse movement and fast games all look much smoother. Gains above 144 Hz are real but subtler, mainly benefiting competitive players.
How do I check my refresh rate?
On Windows 11, go to Settings → System → Display → Advanced display to see and choose the rate. On macOS, use System Settings → Displays. The refresh rate test confirms the actual rate your display is running at.
Do I need a high refresh rate for gaming?
It helps in fast games by showing smoother, more up-to-date motion, but only if your graphics card produces enough frames per second to match. Pair a high-refresh monitor with a GPU that can drive those frame rates to feel the benefit.
Does a higher refresh rate drain battery faster?
On laptops and phones, yes — refreshing more often uses more power. Many devices counter this with adaptive refresh that drops the rate for static content and raises it for motion, balancing smoothness against battery life.
Can your eyes really tell the difference above 60Hz?
Most people clearly notice the step from 60 Hz up to 120 or 144 Hz in scrolling and motion. Beyond 144 Hz the differences are real but progressively subtler, and mainly matter to competitive gamers chasing the smoothest possible motion.
What refresh rate is best for everyday use?
60 Hz is perfectly fine for office work, browsing and video. If your display and device support 120 Hz or 144 Hz, everything from scrolling to window movement feels smoother, so it's a nice upgrade rather than a necessity.
Does refresh rate affect eye strain?
Smoother motion at higher refresh rates can feel easier on the eyes for some people, but flicker-free backlighting and comfortable brightness matter more for eye strain than the refresh rate itself.
How do I know if 144Hz is actually working?
Select it in Settings → System → Display → Advanced display, then run the refresh rate test, which shows the rate your display is genuinely running at. If it still reads 60, the cable or graphics driver is likely limiting it.
Test it yourself: Refresh Rate Test · Ghosting Test
How high refresh rates go in 2026
For scale: the top of the consumer market in 2026 is well past the 240Hz and 360Hz panels most people own. Samsung's 27-inch G60H advertises 600Hz at its native QHD resolution and 1040Hz at 720p, trading resolution for refresh rate the way dual-mode displays do.
The relationship explained above still governs what you actually see. A display refreshing 600 times a second cannot show you more distinct images than your system renders, so a 600Hz panel fed 120fps shows each rendered frame five times. The gain at that point is lower persistence — each frame is displayed for less time, so motion looks clearer — rather than more information.
These rates also depend on link bandwidth. DisplayPort 2.1b carries UHBR20, which is 20Gbps per lane across four lanes for 80Gbps total, and adds the DP80LL low-loss cable specification so that full rate survives longer cable runs. HDMI 2.2 raises its ceiling to 96Gbps and requires the new Ultra96 cable to reach it, supporting 4K at up to 480Hz, 8K at up to 240Hz and 10K at 120Hz.