I want to give you the inside scoop on understanding refresh rate versus response time. Whether you‘re a gamer trying to choose a new monitor or just curious about the tech behind smooth visuals, you’ll know the key facts by the end of this article. Grab a coffee and let’s dive in!
A Quick History First
Before we define these terms, a quick history lesson will help us see how far display technology has come. Back in the 1920s when TV broadcasting began, engineers found that a 30 Hz refresh rate worked fine for the early analog systems and cathode ray tube displays.
As computers emerged in the 60s and 70s, monitors targeted 60 Hz to match electrical utility frequencies and avoid flickering issues. With digital displays like LCD and LED monitors becoming popular in the 80s and 90s, faster refresh rates were possible but still capped by bandwidth limitations.
It wasn’t until the late 2000s that 144 Hz monitors appeared. And today with high-speed interfaces like HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 2.0, we have 360 Hz gaming monitors and 4K displays supporting refresh rates up to 144 Hz. Those early TV engineers would be amazed!
Early CRT and LCD monitors also had relatively slow response times of 50 milliseconds (ms) or more. Today’s best gaming monitors boast less than 1 ms response, enabling crisper motion clarity.
Okay, Refresh Rate First
Refresh rate – measured in hertz (Hz) – defines how many times your monitor can fully redraw or “refresh” the entire screen image per second.
- 60 Hz = Screen refreshes 60 times per second
- 144 Hz = Refreshes 144 times per second
Like a flipbook animation, a higher refresh rate yields smoother apparent motion because you’re seeing more images stacked closer together each second.
It also minimizes ugly artifacts like screen tearing (where part of the image tears horizontally due to sync issues between content frame rate and monitor refresh rate).
![Chart showing range of monitor refresh rates]
So why does refresh rate matter? Higher is generally better, especially for gaming – enabling you to actually see and react to more frames of animation per second for a competitive edge.
- For everyday use, 60 Hz is fine
- For gaming, 120-144 Hz is great
- For esports/competitive play, 240+ Hz is ideal
Variable refresh rate tech like Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync also helps match the monitor to your computer’s graphics output for smoother, tear-free visuals.
Okay, now that you’ve got refresh rate down, let’s move on to…
Response Times Explained
If refresh rate is about complete frame updates, response time focuses on how quickly each pixel on your monitor screen can change color.
Response time measures how fast liquid crystal cells inside an LCD monitor can shift from fully off (black) to full on (white) and shades in between.
![Animation showing a pixel transitioning from black to white]
This transition speed is measured in milliseconds (ms). Slow transitions can lead to ghosting or motion blur.
- A 5 ms response means pixels can shift colors in 5 milliseconds
- 1 ms is very fast with less potential for ghosting artifacts
For gaming, you want this number as low as possible for crisp clarity as onscreen images move rapidly.
Guidelines for gaming response times:
- 10 ms or below is decent
- 5 ms or less is good
- 1 ms is fantastic
The best gaming monitors now boast response times of 1 ms or 0.5 ms thanks to panel innovations like overdrive tech.
Contrast that to early LCD monitors which had response times of 16-50 ms – no wonder early games looked so blurry in motion!
Finding the Right Balance
So which spec is more critical for a great gaming experience – refresh rate or response time?
For most, refresh rate has more impact. The jump from 60 Hz to 144 Hz makes for much smoother perceived motion than moving from 5 ms to 1 ms response time.
That said, once you’re solidly above 120 Hz/144 Hz, you hit diminishing returns on improved experience. And competitive esports gamers still covet 240 Hz or 360 Hz monitors.
Meanwhile, response times below 5 ms deliver solid results for most gamers, with 1-2 ms being gravy. Ultra-widescreen and 4K monitors may still lag a bit behind on response times too compared to faster 1080p displays.
The sweet spot? Aim for a 144 Hz (or better) monitor with G-Sync/FreeSync support and response times in the 1-5 ms range. Our current top gaming monitor pick is the Asus ROG Swift PG279QM with blistering 360 Hz refresh matched to a stellar 1 ms (GTG) response time.
Let me know if you have any other questions! Happy gaming 😊
John
Computer Graphics Expert
