60, 120 or 144 Hz: what refresh rate do I need?
Short answer
For office work and films, 60 Hz is enough, but 120 Hz makes scrolling and mouse movement noticeably smoother. PC gamers should aim for 144 Hz or more. Console players benefit from 120 Hz on a TV or monitor with HDMI 2.1. On phones, 120 Hz is now common and worth having.
What refresh rate means
The refresh rate, measured in hertz (Hz), is how many times per second the screen shows a new image. At 60 Hz that is 60 times, at 120 Hz twice as often. Motion looks smoother and the screen feels more responsive.
The content has to keep up, though. A game running at 60 frames per second looks the same on a 60 Hz and a 144 Hz screen, apart from smoother menus and mouse movement.
By device
What makes sense depends a lot on the device and what you do with it.
- Office monitor: 60–75 Hz works, 100–120 Hz is a pleasant extra.
- Gaming monitor: 144–165 Hz for most PC gamers, 240 Hz or more for competitive shooters.
- TV for consoles: 120 Hz with HDMI 2.1 and VRR for games that support it.
- Gaming laptop: 144 Hz or more, if the graphics chip can deliver the frame rates.
- Smartphone and tablet: 120 Hz makes scrolling smoother; adaptive refresh saves battery.
What else to check
Variable refresh rate (VRR), sold as FreeSync or G-Sync on monitors, matches the screen to the frame rate and prevents tearing and stutter. It is worth having on any gaming screen.
Check the connection too. High refresh rates at high resolutions need the right port and cable, for example HDMI 2.1 for 4K at 120 Hz from a console, or DisplayPort on many PC monitors.
| Use | Refresh rate |
|---|---|
| Office work, films | 60–75 Hz |
| Everyday use, smooth scrolling | 90–120 Hz |
| Console gaming | 120 Hz with HDMI 2.1 and VRR |
| PC gaming | 144–165 Hz |
| Competitive e-sports | 240 Hz or more |
Questions and answers
Does a higher refresh rate use more battery?
On phones and laptops, yes, somewhat. Many devices use adaptive refresh rates that drop when the image is still, which limits the impact.
Can I see the difference between 144 and 240 Hz?
Many people can, but the step is much smaller than from 60 to 120 Hz. It mainly matters in fast competitive games where your PC reaches very high frame rates.