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Monitors with refresh rates ranging from 144Hz, 240Hz, 300Hz, and above are primarily aimed at competitive multiplayer gamers playing fast-paced titles. These monitors may not be worth the money if you value image quality over raw frame rate.
If you’re looking for a new monitor, you might be tempted to buy something with the highest refresh rate you can afford. But there are a few things to consider before using 240Hz, 360Hz, and beyond.
What is a refresh rate?
The refresh rate is the number of times your monitor refreshes in one second, measured in hertz (Hz). A standard 60Hz monitor designed for office desktop use refreshes 60 times per second, which is fast enough for most simple computing tasks. Most TVs also run at 60Hz, although the new standard is twice as fast at 120Hz.
A monitor that refreshes at 120Hz displays twice as many images per second as one that refreshes at 60Hz. The term “high refresh rate” is open to interpretation, but generally speaking anything above 144Hz qualifies. It’s common to find gaming monitors with refresh rates of 165Hz, 175Hz, 240Hz and higher.
Why buy a 144Hz, 240Hz or 300Hz monitor?
The more frames displayed per second, the smoother motion will appear on the screen. You’ll get more feedback on what’s happening in games, and the monitor will respond to your input faster than models with lower refresh rates. This improvement in refresh rate will also be visible on desktop and when browsing the web.
Monitors that have high refresh rates and high resolutions (like Gigabyte’s 4K M32U) command a premium price, starting around $500 and going much higher from there. By contrast, you can pick up a 1080p or 1440p monitor with a 240Hz refresh rate for much less than a 4K or ultrawide monitor that packs more pixels—think $200.
The best ultrawide monitors of 2022 
Best overall ultrawide monitor
LG 38GN950-B
The Best Cheap Ultrawide Monitors
COA CU34G2X
Amazon
$374.99 
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The best ultra-wide curved monitor
Samsung Odyssey Neo G9
The best ultrawide gaming monitors
LG 34GP950G-B
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$846.99 $1299.99 save 35%
The best ultrawide monitor for productivity
Dell UltraSharp U4021QW
The best 4K ultrawide monitors
LG 34WK95U-W
You may not always tell the difference.
When it comes to boosting your refresh rate, you’re much more likely to notice a difference between 60Hz and 120Hz than between 240Hz and 360Hz. The same is true for frame rates overall when comparing a 30’s legacy experience. frames per second with a 60 frames per second remaster. The benefits are much clearer at the lower end of the spectrum.
Some even claim that they can’t tell the difference between 60Hz and 120Hz, which reinforces the idea that a target of 60 frames per second is “good enough” for reference for most gamers. Many prefer superior image quality using techniques such as ray-traced shadows and global illumination in modern titles.
ASUS released the PG259QN in 2020, the world’s first 360Hz gaming monitor. Since then there has been a flurry of high refresh rate displays like the ViewSonic Elite XG250 (280Hz), MSI Oculux NX253R (360Hz) and Acer Nitro XV272U (300Hz), all marketed to the eSports crowd.
At that time, technology channel Linus Tech Tips decided to test which staff could tell the difference between the ASUS 360Hz monitor and various 240Hz monitors. Despite the small sample size, most couldn’t tell the difference. difference between the two, and even those who got it right described the difference as “subtle” and barely noticeable.
Higher refresh rates can make you a better gamer and give you an edge by providing smoother movement and more up-to-date feedback on what’s happening on the screen. But there is arguably a limit to which most of those who are not on the eSports circuit will notice a difference. Chasing ever higher refresh rates is a game of diminishing returns.
What about 500 Hz monitors?
However, at CES 2023, Alienware announced a 500Hz monitor, the AW2524H, and ASUS revealed the ROG Swift Pro PG248QP that can hit 540Hz on the right settings. Will you be able to tell a difference between 360 Hz and 500 Hz? Maybe. Is the premium price worth it for most people? Probably not. On top of this, there are some major tradeoffs you’ll need to accept if you want to break the 500Hz barrier.
Both only handle 1080p resolution, which is to be expected if you want to output enough frames to get the most out of them. Both use TN-type panels, which is also to be expected since TN panels offer faster response times at the cost of viewing angles and color reproduction. These monitors prioritize motion handling over almost every metric, including overall image quality.
Unless you have a very specific use case in mind, even a 360Hz monitor may not be worth it. We recommend seeing these monitors in person to decide if the price and image quality are worth it. You’ll also need to make sure your computer is up to the task.
Higher refresh rates demand higher frame rates
There’s no point in buying a high refresh rate monitor with a 240Hz or higher refresh rate if it can’t produce 240 frames per second (or close enough) in the games you want to play. Higher refresh rates are ideal for those who play competitive online games, where many gamers opt for lower graphics quality to get the most frames possible.
If you don’t play these types of games, or don’t have a beastly system to run your favorite games at a frame rate that takes full advantage of your monitor’s refresh rate, buying the monitor with the highest refresh rate you can afford may that it’s not worth it.
If you primarily play single player experiences, you may prefer a higher resolution and lower refresh rate. If you struggle to beat 120 frames per second in your favorite games, a modern 120Hz panel (like the 42-inch LG C2 OLED) will give you more for your money. You may prefer better HDR visuals by opting for a monitor with a high maximum brightness for a more immersive single player experience.
There’s always an argument for overhead, i.e. buying a monitor with a higher refresh rate than you need right now with the intention of passing that threshold with a future upgrade. But games don’t necessarily work that way. We’re more likely to see higher-quality textures, better lighting, and more realistic reflections and shadows than huge jumps in performance in the vast majority of games.
How fast is too fast?
Whether a refresh rate is “too fast” to justify the expense depends on two variables: your ability to perceive a higher refresh rate (ideally in a blind test), and how many frames your computer can produce in your games of choice. To fit the profile, you’ll probably play fast-paced, competitive online games like counter strike global offensive and looking for any competitive advantage no matter the cost.
For now, monitors with higher refresh rates command a premium. One day, when 240Hz and higher monitors are as common as 60Hz monitors are today, it will be cheap to buy something that seems excessive on paper.
The refresh rate is not the only measurement to consider when buying a monitor. You’ll also want to consider pixel response rate, pixel density, and how the monitor connects to your computer.
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