I still remember the exact moment it clicked for me. It was probably around 2016, and I was at a friend’s house. He had just built a new gaming PC and was practically dragging me into his room to show it off. I, feeling pretty content with my own setup at home, was skeptical. “It’s just a monitor,” I thought. Then he loaded up Counter-Strike, a game I had poured hundreds of hours into, and let me play. The moment I moved the mouse, my jaw dropped. Everything was impossibly smooth. That was my introduction to 144Hz. So, to answer the question right away: is 144Hz good for gaming?
It’s not just good. It is the absolute gold standard for a reason, and it will fundamentally change how you experience your favorite games.
For years, 60Hz was the accepted norm. Most office monitors and older TVs refreshed 60 times per second, and we all just kind of accepted it. But the jump to 144Hz, which refreshes the image 144 times per second, is one of the few hardware upgrades you can truly feel instantly. It’s not about seeing a slightly higher number on a benchmark chart; it’s a tangible improvement in clarity, smoothness, and responsiveness that makes gaming feel alive.
More in Refresh Rates Category
What Exactly Is Refresh Rate and Why Does It Matter So Much?
Think of your monitor like a high-tech flipbook. Each page is a single frame, or image. The faster you flip the pages, the smoother the animation looks. A 60Hz monitor is like a flipbook showing you 60 pages every second. This is fine, but fast motion can look a little blurry or choppy.
A 144Hz monitor, on the other hand, is a flipbook showing you 144 pages every second. That’s more than double the information reaching your eyes. Consequently, the motion you see on screen is drastically smoother.
This isn’t just a visual treat. It has real, practical benefits. Because the monitor is updating more frequently, it can display a new frame from your graphics card sooner. This reduces the perceptible input lag—the tiny delay between when you move your mouse and when you see that action happen on screen. In a fast-paced shooter, that fraction of a second can be the difference between winning and losing a gunfight.
My First Jump to 144Hz: Was It Really a Night-and-Day Difference?
After that experience at my friend’s house, I was obsessed. I went home and immediately started researching monitors. A week later, a big box showed up at my door. I remember setting it up, feeling that rush of excitement for a new piece of tech. I plugged it in, fired up my PC, and… it felt exactly the same. My heart sank. Did I just waste a few hundred dollars on a placebo?
I spent about an hour feeling deeply disappointed before a random forum post saved me. It turns out, you have to actually tell Windows you’re using a 144Hz monitor. It doesn’t always switch automatically. I dug into the display settings, found the dropdown menu, and switched it from 60Hz to 144Hz.
The screen flickered for a second.
Then, magic. Just moving my mouse cursor across the desktop was a revelation. It glided effortlessly, with no visible trail or judder. It was beautiful. Then I launched a game. The difference was staggering. Everything from turning a corner to tracking an enemy felt incredibly fluid and connected. The game world felt more solid, more real. It was, without any exaggeration, the single biggest upgrade I had ever made to my gaming setup.
Which Games Benefit the Most from a High Refresh Rate?
While nearly every game feels better at 144Hz, certain genres see a much larger benefit. The improvement isn’t uniform across the board; it really depends on how much fast camera movement and quick reactions are involved in the gameplay.
Are First-Person Shooters (FPS) the Biggest Winners?
Without a doubt, yes. For competitive FPS games, a 144Hz monitor is practically a requirement if you want to play at a high level.
- Tracking opponents: When an enemy runs across your screen, a 144Hz monitor gives you more than double the visual information. This makes their movement appear much clearer and less blurry, allowing you to track their path and keep your crosshair on them more easily.
- Flick shots: The reduced input lag and enhanced smoothness make quick, reflexive “flick” shots feel more intuitive and accurate. You build muscle memory more effectively because the visual feedback is more immediate and consistent.
- Reduced motion blur: In the heat of the moment, fast turns can become a blurry mess on a 60Hz screen. At 144Hz, the world stays sharp and clear, letting you spot enemies faster after a quick 180-degree turn.
Games like Valorant, Apex Legends, Call of Duty, and Overwatch are transformed by high refresh rates. It truly gives you a competitive edge.
What About MOBAs and Strategy Games?
You might think that top-down games like League of Legends or Dota 2 wouldn’t see much of a benefit. While it’s true that the competitive advantage is less pronounced than in an FPS, the quality-of-life improvement is still massive.
I remember playing League on my new monitor for the first time. Scrolling the camera across the map felt buttery smooth instead of the stuttery drag I was used to. In huge, chaotic team fights with spells and effects flying everywhere, the added clarity made it much easier to keep track of my character and understand what was happening. It’s less about reaction time and more about reducing visual noise, which is a huge plus.
Is 144Hz Good for Gaming Even with Slower-Paced RPGs and Story Games?
This is where the conversation shifts from competitive advantage to pure immersion. Is a 144Hz monitor going to help you make a tough dialogue choice in Baldur’s Gate 3? No. Will it help you land a parry in Elden Ring? Actually, yes, it probably will.
For massive open-world games like The Witcher 3 or Cyberpunk 2077, the benefit is all about the feel. Simply panning the camera across a beautiful landscape feels more cinematic and fluid. It makes the game world feel more solid and responsive. While you could certainly enjoy these games on a 60Hz display, 144Hz adds a layer of polish that makes the entire experience feel more premium. However, for these types of graphically intense games, some players might prefer to prioritize resolution (like 1440p or 4K) over refresh rate if their hardware forces a choice.
PC Hardware Requirements for 144Hz
This is the single most important catch. A 144Hz monitor can only display the frames your computer actually produces. The monitor’s refresh rate (Hz) and your PC’s frame rate (FPS) are two sides of the same coin. To get the full benefit of a 144Hz monitor, you need a graphics card (GPU) and processor (CPU) powerful enough to run your games at or near 144 FPS.
If your PC can only produce 60 FPS in a game, your 144Hz monitor will only be able to display 60 unique frames per second. It will feel identical to a 60Hz monitor. This is why balancing your build is so important.
How Do I Know What My PC Can Actually Run?
Before you buy a high-refresh-rate monitor, you need to do a little homework.
- Check Your Current Performance: Most games have a built-in FPS counter you can enable in the settings. Turn it on and play for a while. See what numbers you’re getting. If you’re already hitting well over 100 FPS in your favorite games, you’re in great shape.
- Look Up Benchmarks: If you’re not getting high frame rates, search on YouTube for your specific GPU and CPU combination in the games you play (e.g., “RTX 3060 + Ryzen 5 5600X in Apex Legends”). This will give you a good idea of the performance you can expect.
- Be Prepared to Lower Settings: To achieve 144 FPS, you may need to lower some in-game graphical settings. Many competitive players, for instance, turn things like shadows and textures down to medium or low to ensure the highest possible frame rate. It’s a trade-off: visual fidelity for performance.
What About G-Sync and FreeSync? Are They Important?
These technologies are incredibly important. G-Sync (for Nvidia GPUs) and FreeSync (for AMD GPUs) are forms of adaptive sync. In simple terms, they allow the monitor’s refresh rate to dynamically match the frame rate being produced by your graphics card.
This eliminates a nasty visual artifact called “screen tearing,” which happens when the monitor and GPU are out of sync. More importantly, it makes the experience feel smooth even when your frame rate dips. If your PC is pushing 110 FPS, an adaptive sync monitor will adjust its refresh rate to 110Hz on the fly. This creates a consistently fluid experience without the stuttering you’d feel if your FPS dropped below your monitor’s fixed refresh rate. I would never buy a gaming monitor today that doesn’t have G-Sync or FreeSync compatibility.
The Financial Side: Is a 144Hz Monitor Worth the Investment Today?
A decade ago, 144Hz monitors were a luxury item, costing a small fortune and reserved for professional gamers. The market has changed completely. Today, high-quality 1080p 144Hz monitors are incredibly affordable, often costing not much more than their 60Hz or 75Hz counterparts.
When you think about the impact on your overall experience, it’s one of the best bang-for-your-buck upgrades you can make. People will often spend hundreds of dollars more on a slightly faster GPU for a 10% performance boost, but the leap from 60Hz to 144Hz is a 140% increase in smoothness that you feel in every single game. For me, I’d rather play on a 1080p 144Hz monitor than a 4K 60Hz one any day of the week. The responsiveness is just that much more important to my enjoyment.
What Happens When You Try to Go Back to 60Hz?
The truest test of 144Hz is what happens when you take it away. Once your brain gets accustomed to that level of smoothness, going back to a 60Hz screen is genuinely painful. It feels broken. The mouse cursor seems to stutter and skip across the screen. Games that once felt smooth now feel choppy and unresponsive.
This isn’t a placebo effect; it’s your brain getting used to a higher standard of visual information. It’s the ultimate proof that the difference is real and meaningful. It’s a one-way street; once you experience 144Hz, you can never truly go back.
Beyond 144Hz: Is It Worth Looking at 240Hz or Even 360Hz Monitors?
The market doesn’t stand still, and you’ll see monitors advertised with even higher refresh rates like 240Hz and 360Hz. This is where the law of diminishing returns kicks in very hard.
The jump from 60Hz to 144Hz is a colossal, night-and-day difference. Everyone can see it and feel it.
The jump from 144Hz to 240Hz is much, much smaller. It’s a noticeable difference, but only if you’re looking for it, and primarily in very specific, high-speed scenarios. The hardware required to push a consistent 240 FPS is also immense, requiring a top-of-the-line PC.
Who Should Consider a 240Hz Monitor?
Honestly? Very few people. These monitors are designed for aspiring professional gamers and esports enthusiasts whose livelihood depends on having every possible millisecond of advantage. For the vast majority of gamers, even highly competitive ones, 144Hz is the perfect sweet spot of performance, price, and tangible benefit. The science behind display technology and human perception is always advancing, and as researchers at institutions like Purdue University explore the future of displays, we may find new standards emerge, but for now, the higher tiers are a niche product.
So, to wrap it all up, is 144Hz good for gaming in 2025?
Let’s put it this way: 144Hz is no longer just “good” for gaming. It is the standard for PC gaming. It delivers a clearer, smoother, and more responsive experience that provides a real competitive advantage in fast-paced titles and a massive immersion boost in all others.
Here’s the bottom line:
- It is a transformative upgrade from the old 60Hz standard.
- It is essential for anyone serious about competitive shooters.
- It is a fantastic quality-of-life improvement for every other genre.
- It is more affordable now than it has ever been.
Just remember to make sure your PC has the horsepower to keep up. If you’re building a new gaming PC today or looking for the single most impactful upgrade for your current one, a 144Hz monitor should be at the very top of your list. If you’re on the fence, find a way to try one. It’s one of those upgrades you will never, ever regret.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is investing in a 144Hz monitor worth it today?
Absolutely, as 144Hz monitors have become more affordable and offer a tremendous upgrade in visual smoothness and responsiveness over older 60Hz screens, greatly enhancing gaming enjoyment and competitive advantage.
Are there additional technologies I should consider when buying a 144Hz gaming monitor?
Yes, G-Sync or FreeSync technologies are important as they synchronize the monitor’s refresh rate with your graphics card’s frame rate, eliminating screen tearing and stuttering for a smoother gaming experience.
Do I need a powerful PC to benefit from a 144Hz monitor?
Yes, to fully experience 144Hz, your PC must be capable of producing game frames at or near 144 FPS. Otherwise, the monitor will only display as many frames as your hardware can generate, which might not provide the smoothness expected from a 144Hz display.
How does refresh rate impact gameplay?
The refresh rate determines how many frames your monitor can display per second, affecting the smoothness and clarity of motion on screen. Higher refresh rates reduce motion blur and input lag, offering a better experience especially in fast-paced games.
What is the significance of a 144Hz monitor for gaming?
A 144Hz monitor refreshes the image 144 times per second, providing a significantly smoother and more responsive gaming experience compared to the traditional 60Hz monitors, making gameplay feel more alive and connected.
