Is A High-Refresh Rate Monitor Worth It? Here Are A Few Reasons Why It Is

RJ Pierce, Tech Times 26 November 2021, 06:11 am

High-refresh rate monitor deals are everywhere when it's Black Friday. That's because these displays have been growing in popularity in recent years, specifically for gamers who want to push their gaming systems to the limit.

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A gamer plays the new video game 'Riders Republic' by the French publisher Ubisoft in Annecy, south-eastern France, on October 27, 2021. - French publisher Ubisoft has relied on its Annecy studio and its team of mountain "enthusiasts" to develop "Riders Republic", its latest flagship title of the year.

With excellent deals already out, you might be tempted to buy one. After all, a high-refresh rate monitor can be quite expensive. But do you actually need this kind of hardware in the first place?

To answer this question, you'll need to understand what these displays really are.

High-Refresh Rate Monitor 101

The basic concept of this display type lies in its name: high refresh rates. Digital Trends defines refresh rate (measured by hertz or Hz) as the number of times the display refreshes/updates the image you see on the screen every single second.

So when you look at certain monitors, you're going to see something like 60 Hz, 75 Hz, 144 Hz, or even 240 Hz. What those numbers mean is that the display refreshes the image 60, 75, 144, and 240 times every second.

It's this spec that a lot of gaming display manufacturers focus on in their marketing spiels. They say that the more Hz, the smoother the performance and the faster gamers can react to what's going around them. However, this isn't always the case because of another thing: frame rates.

Refresh Rate Vs. Frame Rate

It is also important to note the difference between refresh rate and frame rate, because some people often mistake these two terms for each other, according to MakeUseOf.

The basic concept is as follows: while refresh rate refers to how many times the display refreshes the image in a second, frame rate (measured as FPS or frames per second) refers to how many individual frames are being rendered and sent to the monitor every second.

In order to truly take advantage of a high-refresh rate monitor, you'll need a device that has enough power to render at least as many frames as the display's refresh rate. For example, a monitor with a 240 Hz refresh rate will be an excellent choice if your gaming PC or console can actually render games at 240 FPS for you to feel the "smoothness" of the image.

Buying A High-Refresh Rate Monitor For Gaming

A lot of gamers (specifically competitive ones such as eSports professionals) will swear by a high-refresh rate gaming display. But does the refresh rate actually matter?

Popular tech YouTuber Linus Sebastian, in collaboration with the Slow Mo Guys, aimed to answer this very question:

According to their tests, there was a noticeable correlation between how accurate a shot is and the refresh rate of the gaming monitor they used. You are more likely to hit your shots if your refresh rate is high, than when it is low.

These results, however, also seem to depend on the skill of the player. If the player is more skilled and has fast-enough reflexes to pull off maneuvers like flick shots (a popular term used in first-person shooter eSports), that's where the high-refresh rate monitor absolutely shines compared to a low-refresh rate one.

TLDR: a high-refresh rate monitor will help you become more competitive in games, but only if you have a high level of skill. For the more average gamers out there, though, it won't matter much.

What About Productivity Tasks?

High refresh rates almost always get talked about in a gaming context. But what about office work?

HowToGeek puts it simply: it doesn't matter at all. You're not going to be "more productive" with a high-refresh rate monitor. But it will make the overall working experience far smoother and more responsive, which is always a good thing.

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Written by RJ Pierce