Is 144Hz Monitor Worth It? or will a 60Hz monitor suffice? Let’s find out what 144Hz monitors’ true benefits are.
A 144Hz gaming monitor is undoubtedly worthwhile if you play competitive games.
Additionally to giving you a more pleasurable and responsive gaming experience, it gives you an advantage over rivals who use standard 60Hz displays.
Are you unsure of the value of a 144Hz monitor?
You’ve probably heard that a 144Hz gaming monitor is a requirement for playing competitively, that once you switch, you can never go back, and other praises, but how true is all that?
In this essay, we’ll explain what exactly a 144Hz refresh rate is and examine its value.
Does 144Hz Really Matter?
Watch the above-included video to learn more about the advantages of a high refresh rate display.
Now, if you were to pause the video, the image that would appear would be as follows:
Imagine that you are trying to kill an opponent player in a first-person shooter instead of an automobile.
Now, if you tried to fire at your target on a 60Hz monitor, you would be shooting at an invisible target since your display can’t refresh the frames quickly enough to keep up with the moving object or target.
You can see how your kill-to-death ratio in FPS games could be impacted by this!
However, you must also have a high FPS (frames per second) in order to use a high refresh rate. Therefore, ensure sure your CPU and GPU are powerful enough for the refresh rate you desire.
Additionally, a higher frame rate/refresh rate reduces input lag and hides screen tearing, which dramatically improves the responsiveness and immersion of the game as a whole.
Despite the fact that you may not feel or notice any issues while playing games on a 60Hz monitor right now, if you were to get a 144Hz display, game on it for a time, then switch back to a 60Hz display, you would undoubtedly notice that something is missing.
Other video games with uncapped frame rates and greater frame rates supported by your CPU/GPU will also seem more fluid. In fact, scrolling and dragging the cursor alone will feel more fulfilling at 144Hz.
However, if you prefer slower-paced, more graphically intensive games, we advise choosing a higher resolution monitor rather than one with a high refresh rate.
In a perfect world, getting a gaming monitor with a high refresh rate and good resolution would be fantastic. The nice thing is that the pricing disparity is no longer as significant. In general, a good 1080p or 1440p 144Hz gaming monitor costs around the same as a 1080p or 1440p 60Hz model, but this isn’t the case with 4K models, at least not yet.
240Hz panels offer even smoother performance, but the difference between 144Hz and 240Hz is not as obvious as it is between 60Hz and 144Hz. Therefore, we only advise 240Hz and 360Hz monitors for serious and skilled gamers.
Advantages Of 144Hz Monitors
The benefits of higher framerates as opposed to lower framerates are mostly taken into account when discussing the advantages of monitors with greater refresh rates.
The gameplay will be smoother and more responsive the more frames that are shown per second. For individuals who are prone to motion sickness, it also implies less motion blur, which is good news.
But more crucially, high refresh rates are preferred by competitive gamers because they can provide them a competitive edge. In other words, more frames equal more information revealed each second, which may result in a modest improvement in reaction time.
At first look, this might not appear like it has much of an impact, but in tense multiplayer situations, even a split second can make a big difference.
In terms of performance, that essentially settles the “60Hz vs. 144Hz” debate. A 144Hz monitor, however, typically has to make necessary concessions to remain affordable in the lower price ranges, which may prove to be deal-breakers for some gamers.
Disadvantages Of 144Hz Monitors
The issue of cost comes first and foremost. There are 144Hz monitors that are more affordable, but only for one specific reason: all of them make use of TN or inferior VA panels. Better-looking IPS 144Hz displays are also available, although they are significantly more expensive.
TN panels have a unique set of drawbacks. They are often used in 144Hz gaming monitors because of their low cost and unheard-of speed. Nevertheless, their poor color reproduction and constrained viewing angles remain their most prominent drawbacks. Since you’d always be facing your monitor squarely at your desk, viewing angles aren’t a huge concern, but TN panels’ output colors sometimes appear fairly drab and faded.
However, when it comes to color accuracy, IPS panels and VA panels are roughly on par. However, they have significantly longer pixel response times, which can result in some motion blur and slightly reduce the responsiveness of the display.
The issue of framerates is another. No benefit is gained from a high refresh rate unless your GPU can push sufficiently high framerates. Obviously, if we’re talking about less demanding eSports titles like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive or Overwatch, this is rather simple to accomplish. However, GPU-hungry AAA games are unlikely to reach such high refresh rates without some settings being reduced unless you’re using a high-end graphics card (or more).
Other Considerations
Moving on, if you want the best performance in fast-paced games, you should also pay attention to the monitor’s response time speed.
Thus, while a higher refresh rate does provide greater motion clarity, noticeable trailing/ghosting and motion blur result if pixels cannot change from one color to another (respond time) in sync with those refresh rates.
Because of this, players choose gaming monitors with 1ms GtG response times or faster.
While IPS and VA monitors with a 1ms GtG response time speed are more expensive (between $350 and $550), fast TN monitors are the most cheap option.
Some gaming monitors use backlight strobing technology to reduce ghosting, which produces motion clarity akin to a CRT. It sacrifices picture brightness to lessen apparent motion blur.
Not to mention, you might want to buy a gaming monitor that uses a variable refresh rate (VRR) technology like FreeSync or G-SYNC.
So, Is 144Hz Monitor Worth It?
Overall, a 144Hz or greater refresh rate monitor significantly enhances your competitive gaming experience, provided that your CPU/GPU and display’s response time can match the refresh rate of the monitor.
