High refresh gaming - believe the hype!

[Berious]

So this week I bought a new monitor. Always had variations on 1080p 60Hz monitors. But thought I'd treat myself to something a bit more fancy.

I bought a Lenovo Y27q-20 (1440p, 165Hz, IPS, G-sync compatible): https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/access...-20A19270QY2-27inch-Monitor-HDMI/p/65EEGAC1US

Only just got around to setting it up. Was impressed soon as I got it out of the box and put on a 1440p Youtube video. But now I've just played an FPS and really see why people have been hyping high refresh gaming! I did a run of Gunfire Reborn (great little indie BTW: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1217060/Gunfire_Reborn/ ) and got further than I ever have before. It's a nice looking game but easy to run - was getting over 165FPS so maxing out the refresh. The movement was so fluid, I was dodging projectiles and landing head shots like it was nothing. Looked so much better too!

I was always a little skeptical about high refresh. Didn't think it would really make such a big difference. But after having finally experienced it I will never go back to 60Hz.

Probably old news to many here but I just had to share

(wasn't paid by Lenovo or the Gunfire devs for posting this - probably should have been though!)

 

[Zloth]

Still skeptical - especially when it comes to things like 240Hz.

You can't just try one then the other, I'm afraid. As long as you know which refresh rate you're getting, you're probably going to play a little differently. You might even measure a little differently. (Those bad runs were "just flukes.")

 

[XoRn]

Still skeptical - especially when it comes to things like 240Hz.

You can't just try one then the other, I'm afraid. As long as you know which refresh rate you're getting, you're probably going to play a little differently. You might even measure a little differently. (Those bad runs were "just flukes.")

Linus Tech Tips did an experiment a while ago on just this subject. It's kind of a mixed bag, but for the most part everyone did perform the tests better at rates above 60hz at least, though some people performed better at 144hz vs 240hz.

For me personally the difference between 60 and 144 is night at day. I've never used a 240hz panel though and would love to give it a shot sometime.

 

[Frindis]

I experience a lot of difference between 60 and 144 when it comes to being able to plant shots easier and smoother movement. The problem for me though is that in some multiplayer fps games it often does not matter at all because of the often horrible netcode. This has been a big problem in Warzone and typically I experience this when getting shot in cover and looking at the kill cam noticing I was actually never behind any cover at all.

 

[apoth0r]

I just went from an EG 144Hz monitor to a Asus TUF 27" 165Hz monitor (With Gsync) and the difference between those two is incredible.
144Hz isn't the same between two monitors so make sure you shop around. If you rock a 2080TI or similar, invest in the monitor too, going cheap on 144Hz isn't the experience you hoped for!
#Lessonlearnt

 

[Zloth]

Interesting video @XoRn ! I was thinking more of pure refresh rate, though, so I liked the results with equal graphics cards more. Very nice, though!

Now step 2: does this actually matter in your game? Something that drives me completely bonkers are people who seem to think that they NEED to have 144+ in games The Witcher. I've even seen people absolutely insist that they must have 120fps in turn-based XCOM games!

 

[XoRn]

Now step 2: does this actually matter in your game? Something that drives me completely bonkers are people who seem to think that they NEED to have 144+ in games The Witcher. I've even seen people absolutely insist that they must have 120fps in turn-based XCOM games!

I think 120hz "feels" nicer no matter the game (assuming the game isn't capped obviously. 120zh isn't going to do anything in Street Fighter), but I wouldn't say it's REQUIRED but for a small selection. Competitive/twitch shooters receive the most benefit, so Counter Strike, Call of Duty, Overwatch, Battlefield, etc.

RTS's/MOBA's also play better at 120hz, though not to the extent of shooters.

For more casual games, or games that aren't really based on reaction speeds you're just getting visual smoothness. Does it matter? Not in terms of success at playing those game but it may be a factor in a players enjoyment, and I can't knock that.

 

[Kaamos_Llama]

I've been on 144hz for a few months now, and it definitely makes games feel smoother. Not being a competitive gamer generally I don't neeed it. Its a luxury I'm fortunate to be able to have.

I do wonder if it's a thing like resolution. Going from a 1080p IPS to a 1440 IPS screen a few years ago on a monitor around the same size I didnt really think it looked much different. But when I went back to the lower resolution afterwards for a while, it looked awful.

 

[McStabStab]

2560x1440 @ 144hz gang wya?

 

[Blacksad]

2560x1440 @ 144hz gang wya?

I'm 3440x1440, but only 100ms. I'm a plebeian. lol

 

[Zevolta]

went from 60hz to 144hz. 1080p to 1440p. I'm not going back.

 

[zippygeorgeandben]

Hi - this is my first contribution post (after introduction so please be gentle!) I need to upgrade my Acer240HL monitor (2013) and I am contemplating Samsung C27 but I do like researching. I am not tech savvy but this looks quite good to replace a 7 year old monitor, but I always respect opinions.

 

[Inspireless Llama]

I'm using a 144hz monitor too, but to me the amount of games I actually notice a difference on is fairly small. Maybe that's because high refresh rates are most important to shooters, which I don't play. The only game I really notice it and can appreciate it is Dota2, but for other games like Cities: Skylines, my game runs at like 20FPS lol. That's Cities engine rather than my PC I think though.

When I play ETS2 I can reach 144FPS, but wether it's at 144FPS or 90, I don't notice the difference.

Some other games I can run well over 60FPS but don't go to the 144FPS, talking about Dishonored 2 and RDR2 here.
Hell, when I played the Witcher 3 and had to cap the FPS at 30 because 60FPS bugged out the controller playthrough I didn't even notice that much of a difference.

I guess for me a stable FPS is much more important than high FPS. Dishonored 2 can be really annoying because it runs at 100FPS and then randomly drops to 40FPS, goes to 100FPS and next to 70. Then I prefer a game like Witcher 3 to be running at a stable 30FPS. Also, for me the step I liked most was going from 24" 1080p to 32" 1440p.

 

[zippygeorgeandben]

I haven't played The Witcher series, is this a little like RDR2? My laptop screen looks really sharp!

 

[Inspireless Llama]

Witcher 3 is very different from RDR2, mainly because it's a fantasy game. The only thing that looks simular I'd say is that they're both 3rd person

 

[zippygeorgeandben]

I meant in the way of playing an almost sandbox type mode game on a laptop? Wondering if I will miss my console.