60Hz vs 120Hz vs 144Hz vs 240Hz vs 360Hz Refresh Rate: Which Monitor Should I Choose?

Distinguish 60Hz vs 120Hz vs 144Hz vs 240Hz vs 360Hz refresh rates by reading this article below. We also give you some advice if you want to choose a monitor for any purpose.

Refresh rate is one of the most important factors that you should consider when purchasing a monitor. Besides other specifications like color gamuts, panel types, response time and size, refresh rate can deeply affect your monitor performance.

The most common refresh rate now is 60Hz and the newest one is 360 Hz. If you’re getting confused about which level should you choose, this article can help you. 

We will go detailedly on each refresh rate and compare them so that you can determine yourself which one suits your needs.

What is refresh rate?

Refresh rate is the number of times that the monitor displays a new image per second. 

Don’t get confused it with frame rate. Frame rate refers to the number of images that are stored and generated every second by the devices controlling the displays. 

The refresh rate is measured by Hz. A 60Hz monitor represents 60 frames per second (FPS). The higher hertz the monitor is, the more images it gets per second. 

How does refresh rate affect your gaming experience?

There are some arguments about how many refresh rates that human’ eyes can recognize. However, there is one absolute thing, that people who get used to 144Hz monitors will see the images move faster than them on  60Hz ones. 

While 60Hz is enough for normal needs like movies and videos, high refresh rates are really significant when it comes to playing demanding games, especially those that need high speed like FPS game titles. 

Although refresh rate is not the only factor impacting your gaming performance, it is still worth to be mentioned. At the end of the day, no gamers want to get crazy since the images move too slowly compared to their expectation.

Refresh rate comparison

60Hz vs 144Hz

They are the most popular refresh rates up to now. If you go for high-quality images, 60Hz is an ideal choice. However, if you want to watch videos with higher fps, go for 144Hz. 

The main reason why people choose 60Hz displays is its cheapest price compared to other higher refresh rate screens. As the standard, 60Hz can meet all basic demands on normal watching experience. 

144Hz, on the other hand, offers faster movement and less blur frame. As a result, you can get extremely sharp and clear images even when the videos are running at high speed.

120Hz vs 144Hz

Basically, these two refresh rates are not quite different as they are close together. However, if you notice carefully, you can see some discrepancies. 144Hz screens are smoother and faster, the images are less blur than 120Hz ones. 

The 120Hz monitors are rare today, and most of them can still be overclocked to support playing games at 144Hz.

It's no coincidence that 144Hz has become the most popular refresh rate these days. When answering the question “Is it worth buying 144Hz monitors?”, it’d be probably yes. 

144Hz vs 240 Hz

Both these refresh rates can offer high-resolution up to 8K. You may not recognize the big difference as it is between 60Hz and 144Hz. That’s the reason why 240Hz has not replaced 144Hz monitors. 

It doesn’t mean that 144Hz and 240Hz are the same. Professional gamers and those who are sharp-eyed still can feel the difference in frame rates. The quality of images on 240Hz monitors is, of course, better than 144Hz’s. 

At such high refresh rates, you should consider carefully because the monitor has compatibility with your graphics card. In order to deal with demanding and competitive games, both graphics cards (from at least RTX 2060) and monitors must be strong enough. 


360Hz is the highest refresh rate up to now. When comparing it with 60Hz or 144Hz, 360Hz is really magic. 

Unfortunately, not everyone is able to use a 360Hz monitor since you need to have a really strong PC and components (especially graphics card). According to NVIDIA, RTX 3000 series are recommended for this level of refresh rate. 

Although it sounds amazing if you own a 360Hz display to upgrade your gaming performance, the price is still a big problem. It is hoped that the market will stabilize the price shortly so that every gamer can own their dream monitor. 

A final word

If you have high requirements for monitors, you should be willing to pay a huge amount of money for them. Otherwise, 60Hz is enough for basic needs, and from 120Hz is enough for gaming or professional use. 

Remember that besides refresh rate, you have to consider dozens of factors like the size (like compact or ultrawide) and the types (like LED or LCD). And you also spend money on other items such as a gaming desk and a gaming chair.

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Paul Syverson
Paul Syverson