Refresh rate
Also known as: screen refresh rate, display refresh rate, 120Hz display, high refresh rate
Refresh rate is how many times per second a display updates its picture, measured in hertz (Hz).
A 60 Hz screen redraws 60 times a second, while a 120 Hz or 144 Hz screen redraws twice as often or more, making scrolling, animations, and games look noticeably smoother. While high refresh rates feel great, they use more battery, and you only benefit when the device can produce enough frames to fill them.
Refresh rate, explained at three levels
At home
A screen works like a flip book. It never shows real motion, just a fast series of still pictures, each slightly different from the last. Refresh rate is how many pages flip every second, measured in hertz. A 60 Hz screen flips 60 pages a second, while a 120 Hz screen flips 120, so movement looks smoother, scrolling feels more fluid, and fast games are easier to follow.
At work
Refresh rate is how many times per second a monitor redraws its picture, measured in hertz. A standard office screen redraws 60 times a second, and faster models manage 120 or more, which makes scrolling and moving windows look smoother. Businesses care because higher rates cost more and need capable docks and cables, so they pay off for gaming, video, or design teams but rarely for general office staff.
At home
A screen does not show continuous motion. It shows a rapid series of still pictures, and the refresh rate is how many it draws each second. At 60 Hz, each picture stays for about 17 milliseconds, and at 120 Hz for about 8. More pictures per second make scrolling and moving objects look smoother and feel more responsive. Phones with adaptive refresh rates drop to a low rate when the screen is still and rise only when something moves, saving battery.
At work
Higher refresh rates at higher resolutions need much more bandwidth between computer and monitor. A 4K screen at 144 Hz needs DisplayPort 1.4 with compression or HDMI 2.1, while older HDMI versions top out at 4K at 60 Hz, or 30 Hz on older docks. USB-C and Thunderbolt docks share their bandwidth across all attached screens, so adding a second monitor can lower the refresh rate available to each. Check the whole chain: port, cable, dock and monitor.
At home
A high refresh rate only helps when your computer delivers enough frames to fill it. A 144 Hz monitor attached to a graphics card producing 50 frames per second in a game shows mostly repeated pictures. Variable refresh rate, sold as G-Sync or FreeSync, lets the monitor wait for each new frame, which removes tearing when frame rates bounce around. In my view, pairing a high-refresh monitor with a weak graphics card is money poorly spent.
At work
For general office deployments, 60 to 100 Hz monitors remain cost-effective, though higher rates reduce perceived lag for heavy scrolling work. Variable refresh rate helps video editors and anyone who reviews motion. When specifying multi-monitor setups, calculate bandwidth per screen across the dock's DisplayPort lanes, and note that DisplayLink docks use compression and drivers that add CPU load and can limit video playback. Adaptive refresh on laptop panels extends battery life, so leave it enabled by default.
Real-world examples
At home
Carlos switched from a 60 Hz to a 144 Hz gaming monitor. Fast-paced games felt much smoother, and he noticed he reacted a little quicker.
At work
Aisha sets up desks for a Vancouver game studio. She ordered 144 Hz monitors for testers but kept 60 Hz screens for administrative staff.
How it compares
| feature | 60 Hz | 120 Hz or higher |
|---|---|---|
| Smoothness | Standard | Noticeably smoother |
| Battery use | Lower | Higher |
| Cost | Lower | Higher |
| Best for | Office work, video | Gaming, fast scrolling |
Higher refresh rates feel smoother but cost more power and money.
For analysts
I'd only spec high refresh rates where staff work involves fast motion. For most office roles, resolution and ergonomics matter more.
History & origin
Television in North America settled on about 60 fields per second in the 1940s, matching the 60 Hz electrical grid, and 60 Hz became the default for computer screens too. Old CRT monitors often ran at 75 to 85 Hz to reduce visible flicker. Gaming monitors at 120 Hz and then 144 Hz became popular in the early 2010s, and Nvidia's G-Sync in 2013 and AMD's FreeSync in 2015 let screens match their refresh rate to the game. The Razer Phone in 2017 brought 120 Hz to smartphones, and Apple's ProMotion arrived on the iPad Pro the same year and on the iPhone 13 Pro in 2021. Gaming monitors now reach 360 Hz and beyond. In my view, 120 Hz is one of those upgrades you don't miss until you've tried it.