60Hz vs 120Hz vs 144Hz advice please

Hodders · 3 May 2020 at 22:20

My son is desperate for a new monitor. At the moment he has a 1920x1080 old Dell running at 60Hz (the max it will do) input lag seems OK.

he plays a lot of fortnite and is asking for a better monitor. His PC is capable of running his games at 120fps plus as he's running my old 1070 in it.

I tend to play games like world of tanks, AC Odyssey etc where fps/refresh is not so much of an issue.

So, how much difference does monitor refresh really make to FPS gameplay?

Will he have a night and day experience with a gaming monitor?

random_matt · 3 May 2020 at 22:35

Loads. 120-144, nothing noticeable.

Hodders · 3 May 2020 at 22:46

I'm guessing a gsync/compatible monitor is a good idea as well.....

Are the gsync compatible freesync monitors a good option?

Radox-0 · 3 May 2020 at 22:56

Hodders said:
I'm guessing a gsync/compatible monitor is a good idea as well.....

Are the gsync compatible freesync monitors a good option?

Yes, effectively means there has been some level of validation by Nvidia to confirm that Nvidia GPU's can take advantage of adaptive Sync technology. Purpose of such tech is to remove the downsides of a variable refresh rate, i.e if you cannot hold 120hz steady or the next level down (60hz) you will not see tearing and things feel smooth at say 89hz on a 120hz panel. Combine Adaptive Sync technology with a higher refresh rate panel like 120hz and 144hz and it does feel much smoother then a 60hz panel. This will become even nicer in games like AC odyssey which are fairly demanding and where you may not hold a consistent 120hz / 144hz

As someone mentioned above, 60hz --> 120hz is signtificant, 120hz -->144hz not so much.

Zefan · 3 May 2020 at 23:01

It might just be my preference, but I wouldn't worry so much about the sync malarkey. For the use case you've described, don't even consider 60hz panels, the difference between 60 and 120hz is like night and day, but it's most noticeable after using a 120hz display for a period of time and then returning to a 60hz. It makes you feel like you're slushing your mouse around in mud.

tyler_jrb · 4 May 2020 at 00:40

60-120hz=massive
even to me 100hz-120hz is noticeable. I couldn't get used to 100hz for fps gameplay with k+m.
120-165hz is noticeable to me if you are really looking for it, but no where near the difference between 60-120hz.
Anyone would be hard pressed to notice 120hz-144hz as it is minor, so either is fine.

Adaptive sync is always a good idea as it keeps everything smooth and stutter free.

Hodders · 4 May 2020 at 03:11

Great advice thanks...

Any advice on the best monitors?

Spec seems to be 144Hz freesync *with* Gsync Compatibility due to 1070GPU. 27" or 24"

Don't want to spend more than required so not bear that in mind :-)

Cheers...

alec · 4 May 2020 at 09:43

https://www.rtings.com/monitor/reviews/best/budget-gaming
this is a good starting point

EsaT · 4 May 2020 at 09:55

Not a single reason to buy 60Hz monitors for gaming anymore.
High refresh rate monitors don't even cost much with 144Hz 2560x1440 VAs starting from £260.

And FreeSync allows smooth screen update even if PC doesn't reach monitor's (max) refresh rate

Zeebedy · 4 May 2020 at 19:14

My new monitor runs at 120hz and cannot tell much difference from my 144hz one.

Quartz · 4 May 2020 at 20:43

Hodders said:
So, how much difference does monitor refresh really make to FPS gameplay?

You will see a big difference at 100 Hz, both in fuidity and ease on the eyes; your son will notice big differences at much higher refresh rates.

Hodders said:
Spec seems to be 144Hz freesync *with* Gsync Compatibility due to 1070GPU. 27" or 24"

Go for 24" at 1080p and 27" at 1440p or 4k (34" for 1440UW).