While the best approach depends on your GPU and appetite for details, all the software involved is free so the only cost to see if your monitor goes beyond 60Hz is a little effort.

Do you really need a gaming monitor with a high refresh rate? It can do a lot for gamers, but others might not notice much of a difference.

This is how to configure a high-refresh-rate monitor with Windows 10 and 11 with an Nvidia GPU.

Summary Refresh rate is important for gamers as it determines how quickly a monitor can display new images, and higher refresh rates could give you an advantage in competitive games.

To get the full benefit of a high refresh rate, you also need a high frame rate, and ideally, the two match. The cost is often your battery life.

Make the most of your graphics card You might already be enjoying great performance on your GPU, but if you haven't explored some hidden and lesser-known settings, you might be missing out.

The high-powered discrete processor generally remains idle when the task on your device is not GPU-intensive. However, when you launch a GPU-intensive task, the more powerful discrete processor ...

Wouldn't it be neat to bolt on a discrete GPU and unlock higher settings, higher resolutions and higher frame rates, on a lovely high-refresh monitor? Maybe even chuck a nice ray-traced cherry on top?

High-refresh-rate gaming laptop displays start at 120Hz and top out (at this writing) at a blistering 480Hz, with popular in-between increments including 144Hz, 165Hz, 240Hz, 300Hz, and 360Hz.

Microsoft is now adding a Windows 11 update that would automatically adjust the refresh rate of multiple monitors. Learn more.