Monitor refresh rate tells you how many times the display can update the image on the screen every second. It is measured in Hertz, or Hz.
For example, a 60Hz monitor can refresh the screen up to 60 times per second, while a 144Hz monitor can refresh it 144 times. A 240Hz monitor can refresh the image up to 240 times every second.
Higher refresh rates shorten the time between screen updates:
Because new images can appear more frequently, movement generally looks smoother as refresh rate increases. This is particularly noticeable when moving the mouse quickly, turning the camera in a game or tracking a fast-moving object.
However, monitor refresh rate is only one part of the experience. Your game frame rate, monitor response time and total system latency also affect how smooth and responsive gaming feels. Read our full monitor buying guide to understand every aspect of choosing the right monitor.
A 144Hz monitor updates the screen up to 144 times per second.
Compared with a standard 60Hz display, this is a major improvement. The time between refreshes drops from 16.67ms to 6.94ms, making motion look noticeably smoother.
You are likely to notice the benefit when:
For many gamers, 144Hz already provides the level of smoothness they are looking for.
It also does not mean you must play only competitive games. A 144Hz monitor can provide a good experience across action games, racing, RPGs, single-player titles and everyday PC use.
Many modern gaming monitors also offer 165Hz or 180Hz. These provide slightly faster refresh rates, but the general buying considerations are similar to 144Hz.
A 240Hz monitor can update its image 240 times every second.
That reduces the interval between refreshes to about 4.17ms, compared with 6.94ms at 144Hz.
In other words, 240Hz provides another step in smoothness and responsiveness, but the improvement is smaller than the jump from 60Hz to 144Hz.
Consider the difference:
This is why someone moving from 60Hz to 144Hz will usually notice a major difference immediately, while moving from 144Hz to 240Hz feels more like a refinement.
The higher refresh rate is most useful in fast competitive games where players constantly track moving targets or make rapid camera movements.
Both refresh rates are fast, but 240Hz has some measurable advantages.
At 240Hz, the screen has more opportunities to display updated frames. Fast movement can therefore look more continuous, particularly when the game itself is running at a high frame rate.
RTINGS also points out that the benefits of increasing refresh rate show diminishing returns. The visual difference at lower refresh rates is much larger than the difference between already-high refresh rates.
Higher refresh rates can also reduce how long you wait for a new frame to appear.
The theoretical minimum center-screen input lag associated with common refresh rates is approximately:
This does not mean your entire gaming system has only 2.09ms of latency at 240Hz. The mouse, keyboard, processor, graphics card, game engine and network can all contribute additional delay.
So, claims that a 240Hz monitor automatically makes someone a certain percentage faster should be treated carefully.
Research into competitive gaming has found performance improvements as refresh rate increases, including testing at 60Hz, 120Hz and 240Hz. But the benefit depends on the task and should not be interpreted as 240Hz automatically making every player significantly better.
This is one of the most important points when choosing between 144Hz and 240Hz.
Refresh rate and FPS are related, but they are not the same thing.
Refresh rate describes how frequently your monitor can refresh.
FPS, or frames per second, describes how many new frames your PC is producing.
For example:
RTINGS similarly notes that high-refresh-rate displays are most useful when the graphics system can also produce high frame rates.
This also means there is no specific graphics card that everyone needs for 240Hz.
The GPU requirement depends heavily on:
A competitive esports game at 1080p and reduced settings may exceed 240 FPS relatively easily. A demanding game at 1440p or 4K with maximum settings may run far below 240 FPS even on a powerful system.
So instead of asking, "Which GPU do I need for 240Hz?", a better question is, "How much FPS does my PC produce in the games I actually play?"
A common mistake is choosing a monitor only because it has the highest refresh-rate number.
A 240Hz monitor is not automatically better in every area than a 144Hz model. One important specification is pixel response time. Refresh rate determines how frequently the display can update, while response time describes how quickly pixels can change from one state to another. This means two monitors running at the same refresh rate can still show different levels of motion blur, ghosting or inverse ghosting. Independent testing from RTINGS shows that monitors with identical refresh rates can have noticeably different motion performance because of their response times. That is why advertised figures such as "1ms" should not be considered in isolation.
When comparing gaming monitors, look at refresh rate together with:
Your game will not always maintain exactly 144 FPS or 240 FPS. Frame rate can move up and down depending on what is happening in the game. Variable Refresh Rate, or VRR, allows a compatible monitor to adjust its refresh rate to better match the frames coming from your system. AMD FreeSync, for example, synchronizes the monitor's refresh rate with the frame rate produced by compatible graphics hardware. This helps reduce problems such as screen tearing and stuttering. This can be particularly useful when your frame rate fluctuates rather than staying fixed at the monitor's maximum refresh rate.
So when comparing 144Hz and 240Hz monitors, check the monitor's Adaptive Sync or VRR support as well.
For most gamers, yes.
144Hz provides a substantial improvement over 60Hz and does not require you to chase extremely high frame rates in every game.
A 144Hz-class monitor makes sense if:
For most general gaming setups, 144Hz, 165Hz or 180Hz provides an excellent balance.
240Hz becomes more worthwhile when competitive gaming is a major priority.
Consider 240Hz if:
For example, someone regularly playing competitive games at 220 to 300 FPS can take much better advantage of 240Hz than someone playing visually demanding games at 80 to 100 FPS.
The higher number is not automatically the right choice.
144Hz is the better fit for most gamers. It offers a major improvement over 60Hz, works well with a wider range of gaming PCs and provides smooth gameplay without requiring extremely high FPS. 240Hz is aimed more at competitive players. If your PC regularly delivers very high frame rates and you play games where rapid movement and responsiveness matter, the additional refresh rate can be useful. The biggest mistake is buying a 240Hz monitor simply because 240 is higher than 144. Before deciding, look at how much FPS your games actually produce, the monitor's response performance, resolution, VRR support and overall display quality. For most players, a good 144Hz-class monitor is already a significant gaming upgrade. For players consistently pushing well beyond 144 FPS in competitive titles, 240Hz offers the next step in speed and motion clarity.
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