Is a 240HZ Monitor Worth it for Gaming?

PC monitors have witnessed a great evolution over the past few years. When I talk about PC monitors, I mean gaming monitors and professional monitors.

Simply put, a monitor can be any display device.

It’s easily noticeable that different monitors render different content distinctively.

As a business professional, you probably want a screen that will adequately produce your spreadsheet application, no cut-offs, no blurriness.

Well, that’s you. My interest rests on gamers. Check out our Gaming Blog!

For a gamer, the monitor, commonly known as the screen, is the center of all the action. Most primitive gamers used to think that the game is stored on the monitor. I think they know better by now.

Gaming has evolved over the years with each new year bringing new features. A game you played in 2005 won’t be the same in 2018. You have probably noticed some change in the quality of display or graphics.

What you need to understand is that, when the quality of the game rises, then the quality of the hardware must also increase.

You don’t want to play FIFA 19 on an old curved screen where you struggle to see the fans. Actually, we both know that support only would be an issue.

Let’s go back to PC monitors, what is the interest of a monitor to a gamer? What kind of monitor does a gamer really need?

Well, let’s look at a few things to consider before you jump on that monitor glaring at you from the display section of the mall.

1. Refresh rates and speeds

The human eye processes images faster than any PC monitor does.

Therefore, the goal of manufacturers is to try to beat this processing speed. Refresh rates are the measure of how fast images flash on the screen.

A gamer needs a PC monitor that’s fast enough to compete with that bullet from a shot fired.

Just imagine shooting a villain in the head and he dies after 5 seconds. For a serious gamer, that would be mediocrity. A high refresh rate will ‘kill’ the villain in say milliseconds.

With that, we can now talk about gaming.

2. Resolution

In technical terms, the resolution is the number of dots per inch or the number of pixels. Doesn’t make a lot of sense, we are gamers, not techies. Well, in gaming language, the resolution is the size of images on your screen.

Are they too big, too small or just there?

While the resolution is dependent on hardware, resolutions such as full HD ( 1080p), Quad HD( 1440p) and ultra HD(2160p) are one of the many PC monitor resolutions you can choose to go with.

Resolutions dictate the quality of images and videos. As a gamer, choose wisely, or you will turn that new fantasy gaming car into just any car.

3. Size

Well, gamers like to live lavishly; at least that’s what I know about myself. I don’t want a monitor that will give me sight problems. I want a monitor just large enough, but when I can afford, I’ll go for the largest.

That’s how much I love gaming. What about you? Well, gaming PC monitors come in 24, 27, 30 or 32 inches.

I hear there are bigger ones. Anyway, the size matters if you want a perfect gaming experience.

4. Aspect Ratio

This is the ratio between the height and width of the display. Most PC monitors have an aspect ratio ranging of 16:9 or 16:10. Well, the best gaming PCs have the 16:9 resolution.

5. Curved-off Flat

You have probably seen these monitors, which are slightly curved at the front. But guess what? These old ladies still exist.

Even though flat screens may have swept the market clean off the curved monitors, some gamers still prefer the slightly curved monitors. So this decision is solely based on the gamer.

Having considered some factors that will influence your choice of PC monitor, lets center our discussion to refresh rates.

Ideally, this is the most important factor in gaming.

However, only keen gamers will establish the difference between various refresh rates. Actually, also the type of game you play matters.

60HZ, 144Hz and 240Hz Monitors

The common denominator in gaming is speed, except for maybe word games, which don’t actually require a monitor as large as a PC monitor.

There are different refresh rates in the market, 60Hz, 144Hz, and 240Hz. The 60Hz and the 144Hz rates came before the 240Hz.

So what’s really the difference between these three resolutions?

The distinction is pretty straightforward. The 60Hz rate means that the frames on display are refreshed at the rate of 60 cycles per second.

144Hz means 144 frames per second and so on. As I had earlier pointed out, the refresh rate is directly proportional to speed.

But wait, does that mean that a 240Hz monitor is better than a 60Hz or 144Hz monitor is? Well, this is entirely dependent on the gamer. How fast are your eyes, or rather how fast do you like your game?

Below, I will show you why a 240Hz monitor is probably a better monitor for your gaming needs.

Why is the 240Hz a better monitor?

The question should actually be, why do I need a 240Hz monitor? Do I have to replace the one I have?

This discussion will give you some insights on the 240Hz and possibly some qualifications that make it better.

1). Quick response time

Ever played FIFA 19? Apologies to anti-footballers, I actually love this game. If yes, then you must have noticed the game hang at some point.

Maybe the commentaries come much after the game, which sometimes irritates.

The beauty of any game is the thrill, the real-time experience. When you press on a brake pedal, you want to see your car stop there and then.

240Hz monitors boast of quicker response times than their 60Hz and 144Hz counterparts. Response times dictate how quick the activities synchronize. No lagging or distortions.

2). Fast Refresh rates

Again, this is just something you cannot assume. It has all to do with speed. How quickly do the frames switch? Or rather, how fast do actions load?

By definition, the 240Hz PC monitor leads in refresh rates.

However, this doesn’t mean you should abandon your 144Hz monitor. Interestingly, some gamers are still tied to their old monitors for reasons best known to them.

A movie person will probably settle for lower refresh rate or will not even bother about the refresh rate. All they want is to capture the important parts, the juice, as they call it.

However, a gamer is an active person, who concentrates on many details at once.

Gamers mostly compete with their intellectual ability.

How fast or how creative can one be? A 240Hz monitor can very well satisfy this need given how fast the gaming environment is.

3). Clear Images

Clarity matters a lot in gaming. You want to see where you are headed or where you are firing. A normal PC user will probably be satisfied as long as he or she can identify an icon or a command.

PC monitors have different levels of clarity based on the settings you place on the various parameters.

However, at default settings, the quality of images tend to differ. The 240Hz excellent clarity at default settings compared to the other monitors.

Are you thinking about, the color, the saturation, the contrast, 240Hz is the way to go for a modern gaming experience.

4). Aiming

As a gamer, you want to sharp, focused, not missing even a mark. For this to happen, you need a high-resolution PC monitor that will give a clear and precise view of your gaming environment. [source]

While 144Hz is much better at giving you a better aim than 60Hz, 240Hz supersedes them all.

In a home-based setting, a 144Hz won’t be a bad choice. However, for competitive gaming, where a price is attached, no questions asked, go for the 240Hz. Surely, no one wants to risk losing.

5). Reasonable pricing

Last but not least, the money. Here’s where it hurts most. You want something that’s worth your pocket. If you taking your gaming seriously as I do, then you won’t gamble on a PC monitor.

You want something that will give you the quality you deserve, something that will bring some spark to the game. Look no further, it’s simply a high-quality PC monitor.

So, here’s my analogy. You have money enough to get you a quality item that may just be enough to serve your needs.

However, looking carefully, you also notice that by adding a few cents, you could get something better, or even the best there is.

The same goes for a 240Hz, while it is slightly pricey; it is the current elephant in the room. You walk into the PC monitor world; you can’t fail to recognize a 240. My advice is, go for the 240Hz.

This way you will not keep wishing for a higher quality, assuming these industry players take a while before releasing a better monitor.

When do I migrate from a 144Hz to a 240Hz?

As a PC monitor owner, you are probably wondering what would make you jump the rope, that stimulating factor or factors.

Whether or not you don’t find a reason to migrate, 240Hz is just the King as most gamers now say.

Here are factors that will help you make the decision on whether to migrate or not.

i). High-level competition: Well, if you take part in gaming tournaments, you must know they use the latest gaming tools to set some standards for every competitor.

As a competitor, you need to familiarize yourself with the gaming environment prior to the completion. This is the right time to jump the rope.

ii). Need for quality: Some of us gamers are just attracted to quality. In most gaming conversations, we tend to dissect the various features of a game, our likes, and dislikes.

If you are thinking about having some cutting edge against your playmates, then this is an excellent time to make the shift.

iii). Idle computing power: Most gamers are techies. They not only know the game, but they also know how the environment runs. They are kind of a jack-of-all-trades when it comes to gaming.

Ask them anything about gaming. And you might just have the longest lecture of your life.

My point? These gamers know how much computing power they have left. They probably want to exploit it all.

This serves as a good time to go for a 240 Hz monitor, however, be careful not to choke your computer.

iv). When you don’t mind spending: It’s a fact that as time goes by, prices of recent technologies drop as newer technologies come into place.

This creates a bit of uncertainty, as you are not sure of whether to spend or not. If you don’t mind spending, why not go for the most recent technology.

If you decide to wait, who knows, you might wait a lifetime for the best to come. We both know a lifetime is such a very long time.

Do you need a 120Hz or 240Hz monitor?

We did an in-depth analysis to determine whether or not high refresh-rate monitors are worth your time and attention. If you want to get one without reading any further, here are some of the high-end displays we recommend.

What is HZ?

I think it’s high time we define this “HZ” that’s being thrown around by PC gamers and those looking for large monitors.

For most casual users, a “120Hz” has everything to do with performance because it seems connected to the way process clock speeds are described.

But that would be further from the truth. ‘HZ’ actually describes the ‘refresh rate’ of any given monitor. The Refresh rate measures the number of times per second that a display refreshes its image.

This is the case since the difference between frames is the yardstick for displaying movement. Hence, the refresh rate is what places a hard cap right within the frame rate that’s visible.

That said, there’s a difference between refresh rate and frame rate. The refresh rate is concerned with the attribute of the monitor, while frame rate centers around the information that’s being sent to it.

For example, if your game runs at 100 frames per second, you may benefit from using a monitor that can refresh as many times as possible per second. Your gaming experience will be ‘wow.’

On the flip side, using a refresh rate monitor to watch a classic 24 frames per second movie, you’ll not see any tangible benefit.

Motion Resolution

Can your computer play your favorite game at a high frame rate to match a 240Hz monitor? If yes, then you’ll notice how the perceived sharpness of a moving image is greatly improved.

The same effect might also happen if you’re playing a game on a 120Hz monitor with a high frame rate.

The human brain works in a tricky way sometimes. It tends to process a set of individual frames which a monitor displays — this results in blurring.

The series of frames are blurred together by the brain to create a sensible moving image, but some of the important detail is lost along the way.

When you use a higher refresh rate monitor like the 120 or 240Hz, it supplies your brain with more information to act upon — thus, this decreases the blur and reduces the perceived blur also.

If you’re observant, you might notice the difference between a 60Hz and 120Hz display almost immediately. Some other people can’t seem to notice the difference that everyone is shouting about.

Essentially, the difference that exists between a 120Hz and 240Hz is minor that the majority of gamers won’t even pinpoint it unless they’re told the difference.

In all, what you get out of any monitor depends solely on what you’re doing with it. For gamers, most of them will notice sharper visuals when in fast action scenes, and the mouse feels smoother and easier to move at that time compared to a more typical 60Hz screen.

In the same vein, browsing the web when fast scrolling down a page can be smoother and more enjoyable, too. But when you’re replying emails or watching online videos, the difference that you’ll notice is rather small.

Screen Tearing

There’s usually a mismatch between refresh rates and frame rates because they’re two distinct attributes of a display monitor. That’s also when you notice a phenomenon known as screen tearing.

Screen tearing tends to happen as soon as a computer’s video card is spitting out frames at a higher rate that surpasses the refresh rate of the monitor connected to it.

Since the monitor can’t handle a large number of frames, half-frames are often seen showing on the screen, indicating an obvious split between two portions of it, and there’s no way you can enjoy either of the split portions.

This problem can distract a viewer and even the least sensitive user will immediately notice what’s happening.

In games, frame rates can even exceed 100 FPS. Bear in mind that a 60Hz monitor only refreshes 60 times per second.

In essence, a gamer isn’t fully benefiting from the enhanced performance and responsiveness of the higher frame rate and may see the screen tearing effect since the display can’t keep with the data supplied to it.

A 120Hz monitor refreshes quicker and twice as a 60Hz display. That means it can display up to 120 frames per second, and of course, 240Hz display monitor can effectively handle up to 240 frames per second.

In most games, this large number of refresh rates per second will eliminate screen tearing and help the gamer enjoy her time in front of the screen.

Frame syncing technologies such as the V-Sync, FreeSync, and G-Sync are also recommended as they help prevent screen tearing but they’re not perfect either.

V-Sync, for example, will cap performance. G-Sync and FreeSync, on the other hand, require a specific combination of monitor hardware and video card to function effectively.

Input Response

Bear in mind that the refresh rate of a 60Hz, 120Hz, or 240Hz display monitor has a noticeable impact on input lag.

A 120Hz display a visible input lag of 8.33ms, a 240Hz display further goes down to 4.16ms. The highest monitor with input lag is the 60Hz which is at 16.67ms — because that’s the amount of time required to pass or move from one refresh to the next.

You may not want to decrease lag by less than milliseconds because it’s not of importance to games and other users. But eliminating the input lag is essential for ultra-competitive gaming or for those who enjoy playing games that feel as smooth as an egg.

Again, some people will notice this issue more readily than others.

Should you go for a 120Hz or 240Hz monitor?

This has been a huge debate for gamers because a lot of them have testified that the difference isn’t that much. The truth is that there’s no greater benefit from switching to a high-refresh rate display monitor such as the 240Hz.

The reason is simple: Upgrading to 4k at the same time can be quite expensive and cumbersome on your hardware.

Whether it’s a 120Hz or 144Hz or 240Hz monitors, you’ll enjoy a smoother, tear-free gaming experience, and 98% of the time, you’d have eliminated the input lag.

Conclusion

Monitors come in different resolutions; refresh rates and aspect ratios as we have just seen. I don’t want to impose any monitor on anyone, but I believe this article will guide towards the right monitor for your gaming experience.

At this point, we all know a 60Hz is a joke in this gaming generation, except if you are new to gaming.

All said you need a monitor that will make the game real, highly responsive and most importantly thrilling. Which racer doesn’t like the thrill of swerving a car around a sharp bend without scratching or overturning?

Personally, I will go with the 240 Hz. It forms the perfect interface for my machine and me. You could try it too.