Ask HN: Do high refresh rate monitors make it hard to go back? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Do high refresh rate monitors make it hard to go back?

I’m considering getting a high refresh rate (up to 165Hz) 27in screen as a primary monitor to take center-stage away from my 75Hz one, which would become the secondary screen for gaming and streaming, and primary screen for graphic design.

A concern is whether I’d become ‘spoiled’ by playing games at higher refresh rates and thereafter perceive 60fps in games as ‘slow’, thus ’creating’ more of my own graphics performance issues.

Any thoughts on this?

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I think it depends what you use them for. Personally, since I use my external monitor for coding, I'd rather optimize for PPI. I love reading code on my MacBook's Retina screen, which is about 218 PPI, and I definitely notice the difference when reading code on non-retina. Unfortunately it's extremely expensive to get the equivalent of Retina PPI in an external monitor. But you can still get decent readability even without Retina PPI if you avoid issues like display scaling. Here's a great blog post [0] about the tradeoffs of screen size, resolution, pixel density, and the "zone of despair" where display scaling causes problems.

[0] https://bjango.com/articles/macexternaldisplays2/

That is, retina or below 110 PPI? Is it really so bad that a 1440p 27-inch is preferable to a 4K 27-inch? Do you have firsthand experience?

I've read mixed reports.

I do have personal experience, at least in following the advice of that blog post. After reading it, I bought the Dell S2722DZ which is 27" 2560x1440 for 108PPI. It's a decent monitor and I haven't had any issues with scaling, i.e. the "native resolution" of the monitor works with the output of the OS and there's no need to waste CPU/RAM on scaling the pixels. The text isn't as crisp as on a Retina, but it's way better than the previous cheapo monitor I had.

Not sure my opinion counts for much though, since I didn't try any monitor in "the red zone" and thus have nothing to compare it to.

This Dell model does have a 1px column of dead (?) pixels that appears sometimes, but if I squeeze it then it goes away. I think it's due to some loose wire in the paneling... but it's not too big of a deal, and regardless, it's unrelated to PPI or scaling or whatever.

Thanks for that link!

My 27in screen is in the “Good for non-retina” space at 109ppi in its native 2560x1440 resolution, which I find to be a sweet-spot for gaming and desktop use.

I had two displays side by side, only one of them 144Hz. It was awful. Also I kinda can’t stand 60Hz anymore. Neither desktop nor gaming. I try to retain 100fps+, since for me the magic starts around 90.

Some people can’t see the difference. And some can’t see 60 vs 30 (not sure if they trolling). It’s highly subjective.

In gaming I can’t go back to 30fps after being lucky to have machines that can play 60fps consistently for a long while.

On desktop I don’t mind much as my work is mostly static graphic design.

I do notice the difference between a Pro Motion display on a recent Macbook Pro (120Hz) compared to the 60 or 75Hz of an Asus ProArt display, and I think it would make it difficult to go back when playing action games, so I’m thinking of staying at 75Hz.

I game, and there's no way I could enjoyable play (competitive shooter genre) without at least 144hz. I can't game on console either without noticing how jarring the framerate is at 60hz. So I would say yes, it's hard to go back.

Noted, with thanks!

I don’t play competitive shooters much so I’ll probably stick with 60 or 75Hz for a while.

It doesn't bother me in my case since it's not my main monitor. I have a high refresh rate main monitor, and an ancient 60hz (1680x1050) second monitor. I don't notice it because I'm rarely dragging windows around on the second monitor.

I don't notice it on my phone either. However, I purposely got a high refresh rate laptop because of this concern. I think it depends on two things: The size of the screen, and how often you'll be looking at it.

From personal experience, once you get used to a high refresh rate, it can be a bit jarring to go back to 60Hz, especially in fast-paced games. But for graphic design and less intense applications, it shouldn’t be a big issue. It really depends on what you prioritize in your experience

Thank you for chiming in.

I like all types of games, especially action and flight simulators, and play FPS shooters occasionally.

Maybe I just need to spend more time away from the computer :D

Haha, a break from the computer can always be refreshing. Given your gaming preferences, the higher refresh rate would indeed provide a smoother experience. But remember, it's all about balance. Enjoy your gaming, and those occasional breaks!

Indeed…I’m going to go and take a walk now :)

Thanks again!

I went back and forth. Higher refresh rates were noticeably better and it was a downgrade to go back. But not like I needed intensive therapy to get over it. I mostly adjusted again and don't really notice what I'm missing.

I bounce between 144hz, 120hz, and 60hz all the time and while I notice a difference if I think about it, it’s not that big of a deal.

I notice 120hz vs 60hz more on iOS and Windows. But even then.

Personally it does make it hard to go back, even for non gaming use cases!

If gaming, GSync and similar technology seems to have a similar effect. You don't really need the high frame rate, but the smooth control.

This is an interesting point. Thanks! I’ll look into GSync.

Going from 240 to 120 is noticeable. At least for me. I can barely use 60 anymore on external.

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