Is A 60Hz Monitor Good Enough For Gaming?

Gaming monitors are perfect for gamers, but they don’t come cheap, making it challenging for gamers to pick a budget-friendly monitor. 

In that case, a 60Hz monitor can be a good option regarding their budget and gaming experience. But, is a 60Hz monitor good for gaming? 

Well, you can invest your money on a 60Hz monitor for gaming without any doubt. A 60Hz monitor is sufficient for playing both single-player and multiplayer games and experiencing a good gaming performance. Plus, 60 FPS is the current standard frame for most games. 

But it won’t give you the best performance all the time. Read along to learn when you should go for a 60Hz monitor and when to choose a higher refresh rate monitor.

Is 60Hz Good For Gaming?

If you mostly play games where you don’t need any split-second moment or need to shoot your enemy, a 60hz monitor is enough for gaming. In addition, when you’re on a tight budget, 60Hz monitors can be a budget-friendly option.

Gamers usually advance to a higher refresh rate to attain smooth visuals and to diminish lag while playing competitive games. Though a higher refresh rate can give you a smooth gaming experience, 60Hz monitors are still good enough.

Besides, if your monitor can’t meet the corresponding FPS amount, there won’t be any advantage of having a higher refresh rate monitor. In that case, you’ll need a more powerful PC.

But 60Hz refresh rate doesn’t need a powerful PC; your inexpensive gaming computer can easily adapt to 60Hz. Also, 60Hz is the current standard FPS for many games.

Here is some example of games that can give you a smooth gaming performance on 60Hz:

• MMO
• Racing games
• Sport games
• Simulation
• Strategic games

So, in short, 60Hz is a reliable refresh rate for gamers who don’t play many competitive games and are looking for a monitor on a budget with advanced gaming facilities.

On the other hand, higher refresh rates, such as 120Hz, 144Hz, or 240Hz, are suitable for those gamers who play competitively, and their PC supports a higher refresh rate. 

What Does Refresh Rate Mean?

There are different numbers of refresh rates available, for example, 60Hz, 120Hz, 144Hz, 240Hz, and even more. These numbers of refresh rates indicate how many times your monitor screen will refresh every second.

It means a 60Hz monitor will refresh 60 times per second to display the game or other content on display. However, the refresh rate determines how realistic and smooth your displayed contents will be.

For example, 120Hz refreshes the screen 120 times every second, which is two times higher than a 60Hz monitor. In that case, the contents and games on a 120Hz PC will look more realistic, and smoother, and let you catch every possible visual element. 

However, if you upgrade to 144Hz from 240Hz monitors, you may not be able to identify the difference on the screen immediately as a novice player.

A higher refresh rate than 144Hz can give you some extra millisecond faster refresh rate, making your enemy’s movement clearer and more accurate than a 60Hz monitor.

That’s why most fighting and shooting gamers prefer 240Hz monitors for their gaming experience. But keep in mind that your monitor has to be compatible with the speed of refreshing the screen to display the content accordingly.

Why Is Refresh Rate Important For Gamers?

When the 30 FPS was the standard frame rate for games, people thought there was no difference between 60 FPS and 30 FPS. Now the same goes for higher refresh rates like between 120Hz, 144Hz, and 240Hz. 

But you can easily notice the differences and smoothness on the screen when you upgrade from a 60Hz to 120Hz monitor.

In simple words, higher refresh rates display smoother and more precise content on the screen than lower refresh rates. Now you may be able to guess the importance of a higher refresh rate. Let’s make the concept clearer.

High refresh rates allow your GPU to produce enough frames per second. Therefore, it gives your eyes a smoothness, makes the game environment more realistic to practical life, and reduces lags.

You can take the most advantage of the high refresh rate when you play shooter games. 

Higher refresh monitors can display more frames every second as there’s a millisecond delay between each frame, which makes it easier to track your enemy’s move more accurately and place the perfect headshot.

In that case, a low refresh rate monitor like 60Hz may not be enough for your gaming experience as it can lag, and your eyes will miss the moves of your component.

Who Should Go For 60Hz Monitors?

People who play casual games like single-player games and multiplayer games from time to time should get 60Hz monitors. You don’t need high refresh rate screens to play single-player or casual games.

However, a high refresh rate can give you more smoothness, details, and an immense gaming experience, but it’ll cost you a good amount of money which isn’t well worth for such gaming.

Moreover, even if you want to play multiplayer games on your 60Hz monitor, you won’t be at any significant disadvantage.

Plus, if you play games on XBOX or PS, you should get 60Hz as those devices aren’t compatible with a higher refresh rate. Again, if your PC has graphic cards less than GTX 1070 or less, a 60Hz monitor is what you need.

Are 60Hz Monitors More Affordable?

If your budget is low and you can’t afford a gaming monitor with a high refresh rate for now, then a 60Hz monitor is a perfect choice for you. Gaming monitors generally contain a high refresh rate, making them more expensive than 60Hz monitors.

On the other hand, a gaming monitor has high resolution and powerful hardware that adds extra cost. But 60Hz monitors have a standard refresh rate of 60 times per second, low resolution yet enough for most games, and have inexpensive hardware that makes these monitors more pocket-friendly.

Besides, 60Hz is also less expensive than 120Hz, 144Hz, and 240Hz monitors.

Will 60Hz Still Be Enough for Gaming in The Future?

Well, it’s a bit challenging to answer as no one can foresee or tell what exactly will happen in the future. Therefore, there’s no official answer from the technology space regarding whether 60Hz will still be enough for gaming in the future.

However, we can assume that 60Hz monitors won’t run outdated in the upcoming few years. But how?

Currently, the popular high-end refresh rate is 240Hz, and among the other available higher refresh rate, 60Hz has a sweet spot. The demand for 60Hz monitors is pretty high.

It’s because 60Hz monitors are inexpensive but still give a smooth playing experience. Therefore, we believe that 60Hz monitors will continue to run in the gaming world for a longer time, and then again, we can’t reassure you as it’s in technology production.

4K 60Hz VS 1080p 144Hz: Which One Is Better for Gaming?

Although higher refresh rates mean better gaming sessions, 60Hz is still sufficient for having a smooth gaming experience. If you want to choose between 60Hz and 144Hz for gaming, then there are some factors that you may need to consider first.

Here are the factors to know before choosing one of these hertz for gaming:

4K VS 1080p Display

Both 4K and 1080p offer outstanding viewing experiences. But 4K is more clear and can present more details than a 1080p display. 

Again, the 144Hz refresh rate offers super-fast frame rates and maintains a flexible and even gaming experience compared to 60Hz. So which one to choose is more likely your personal choice and demands for a monitor to play games. 

60Hz Vs 144Hz Refresh Rate

The key difference between these two-hertz monitors is the gaming experience and frame rates. Though the 60Hz monitor has a low FPS compared to 144Hz, it still shows a better gaming screen.

On the other hand, 144Hz is faster, provides a flexible gaming experience, and makes the game settings more accurate and realistic. 

So if you play multiplayer or shooter games, consider choosing 144Hz monitors. And people who play casual games can go for 60Hz monitors.

Frame Rate

Your PC’s frame rate determines which hertz you should choose. If the existing graphic card in the PC doesn’t have the capability of going above the 60 FPS game settings, then choosing a higher refresh rate than 60Hz will be a waste of money.

On the other hand, when you want to play a shooter or other multiplayer game that involves a mouse and keyboard and your PC can handle high frame rates of the games, then choosing a higher refresh rate monitor can lead you to a better gaming experience.

Frame Changing Time

The faster the frame-changing time is, the better and more accurate gaming display you get. If you go for a 60Hz monitor that runs at 60 FPS, you’ll see new frames on the monitor’s screen every 16.67 milliseconds. 

In contrast, a 144Hz that runs at 144 FPS can display new frames every 6.94 milliseconds, which is about 9.73 milliseconds faster than 60Hz monitors.

Budget

Price plays a significant role in deciding which one to choose, and you can’t ignore this fact. Indeed 144Hz gives you better gaming performance than 60Hz, but if you want to get a high refresh rate, you have to pay more for it.

That’s why when you’re limited with the budget, a 60Hz monitor is what you need to go for. However, because 60Hz monitors have a lower frame rate and speed, it won’t make much difference when playing single-player games.

Also, choosing a cheap 60Hz monitor will leave you with some more options to add extra storage and upgrade internal components that can improve your 60Hz monitor.

Can Your Computer Handle Higher Refresh Rates?

If you want to upgrade from 60Hz to higher refresh rates or want to purchase a higher refresh rate monitor for the first time, it’s really necessary to know whether your computer can handle a higher refresh rate or not.

For example, if your monitor has a 144Hz refresh rate and runs at 144 FPS, then you should have a computer that can run on 144 frames per second. Even if it can run on more FPS, you’re good to go. But if your PC can’t reach 144 FPS, then it’ll miss details.

Here are the minimum criteria that your PC needs to have to run at 144 FPS or 240 FPS for gaming:

PC Criteria	144Hz Monitors	240Hz Monitors
Graphics Card	Should have a minimum GTX 1070 or GTX 1080 to gain more than 120  FPS for triple-A game settings	Minimum RTX 2070, RTX 2080, or 2080 TI graphic card
CPU	No less than an Intel Core i5-9400F or Ryzen 5 3600	Should have at least an Intel Core i7-9700K, Intel Core i9 9900K, AMD Ryzen 7 2700X, or AMD equivalent
RAM	16 GB of DDR4 RAM	32GB of DDR4

Who Should Go For Higher Refresh Rate Monitors?

The widely used hertz of higher refresh rate is 120 or 144, and the popular high-end higher refresh rate monitor is 240Hz. If you’re a frequent multiplayer or shooter gamer, then you can go for higher refresh rate monitors. 

It’s because a higher refresh rate can improve FPS (frames per second) that allow you to gain accurate enemy movements and a clear gaming view on the screen. Thus you get the chance to track all the moves perfectly and react faster, even victory in the game.

It’s not like you can’t play casual or single-player games on higher refresh rate monitors, but getting a 120Hz or more hertz monitor for such games is unnecessary and not worth it.

Plus, you should note that a higher refresh rate works outstandingly for mid-range titles, eSports games, or other less hardware-intense games.

However, no matter what hertz monitor you choose, it may be challenging to go beyond 200 FPS for games like Red Dead Redemption 2, GTA 5, or other related high-end games. 

So people who play shooter, competitive games, or major tournament games are most likely the best match for choosing a higher refresh rate monitor.

What Response Time Is Good For A Gaming Monitor?

Response time refers to the time of changing the display’s color and adapting a new color quickly. Generally, the less time your monitor’s screen takes to change color, the transition will be sharper and smoother. And response time is a dominant factor for gamers.

When you play games, your character keeps moving, and the surroundings of the game settings keep changing as you run. So if the response time isn’t high, color won’t blend smoothly and will leave a hazy trail behind each object.

This issue can ruin your gaming experience and distract you from your gaming aim. That’s why you should look for a monitor that has a high response rate of less than 5ms. However, the perfect and the lowest response rate is 1ms, but monitors with the lowest response rate can be expensive.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What does 60Hz mean for gaming?

A 60Hz monitor for gaming determines what will be the number of times your monitor’s screen refreshes each second. So a 60Hz means your screen will refresh 60 times each second.

• Is 60Hz good for gaming 4K?

Yes, a 60Hz monitor for gaming 4k is good enough. But if the game you want to play on a 60Hz monitor goes beyond 120 FPS, you may miss some game details.

• Can 60Hz run 120 FPS?

No, you can’t run your 60Hz monitor at 120 FPS. 60Hz monitors are designed for running at 60 FPS, so even if you plug a 120 FPS cable, your monitor still can’t operate at 120 FPS.

• Is 60Hz good for the PS5?

Yes, a 60Hz monitor is good for PS5 as it supports playing on a minimum 4K 60Hz refresh rate. However, the details of the game may not be as sharp and faster as playing PS5 on 120Hz.

• Can 60Hz run 90 FPS?

Well, your 60Hz monitor can run at 90 FPS, but you can’t expect a good view on the screen. Plus, it’ll consume more processing power to display the content somehow.

• How noticeable is 60Hz vs 120Hz?

When you promote from 60Hz to 120Hz, you can notice the evenness of the objects on the screen and the smooth movement of your gaming character. However, the difference may not be noticeable enough when it comes to motion clarity.

Conclusion

So, now you know, is a 60Hz monitor good for gaming or not. A 60Hz monitor is enough to give you a satisfactory gaming experience for most games. However, you can play competitive games on 60Hz monitors, but the details may not be as accurate as on higher refresh rate monitors.

If you’re new to the gaming world and have a low budget, then a 60Hz monitor is a blessing for you. You can always upgrade in the future anyway.

However, when it comes to choosing between a 60Hz, or 144Hz monitor, you should first consider your budget, the kind of games you play, and your PC’s components.