Your Gaming monitor and your graphics card work hand in hand to display your games on the screen. The graphics card renders the frames while your monitor displays them. Now, there are a lot of common misconceptions regarding the two. One of the most common misconceptions is that by just getting a high refresh rate monitor that you will benefit from it immediately. Well, it’s not really that simple.
Your graphics card needs to be powerful enough to even render more than 60 frames per second. Even if you have a monitor with 200Hz refresh rate, it will all be for naught if your graphics card is only capable of producing 30 fps.
With that being said, there are a lot of factors that can affect your GPU’s performance such as:
- The resolution of your monitor
- How graphically demanding your games are
- Your in-game settings
- If the card is overclocked
You will know your GPU’s frames per second performance by using a third-party program like Fraps. There are also some games with an in-game frame counter to help you know if your graphics card is able to produce enough frames that your monitor’s refresh rate can support.
I will go over the different factors so that you can better understand my point. The native resolution of the monitor is important because the higher it is, the more taxing it is going to be for the GPU since it has to render a lot of pixels.
Different games can also affect your GPU’s performance. There are those titles that are highly optimized like all of Blizzard Entertainment’s games while there are also others that are graphically demanding like Crysis, Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, just to name a few. How it affects your GPU depends on the game engine they’re using as well as the textures and stuff like that.
The in-game settings affect your graphics card performance. The closer you are to its maximum values, the more demanding it will be on the GPU. There are some games that have preset options, for example, like Ultra or High settings (Ultra being the highest preset). Remember, the higher you go, the more GPU power it requires.
And lastly, overclocking the GPU can also affect its performance because the card will then run at higher speeds. Do note that when you overclock your card and you run a graphically demanding title, it will produce more heat. Make sure that the GPU has adequate cooling and that your case has ample room for good airflow.
Those factors affect the Graphics card’s performance and if it is not able to deliver more frames, your high refresh rate monitor will be almost useless.
With that being said, how do you make the most out of your high refresh rate monitor? Here are some tips:
If you have a low or midrange card, it is best that you lower the graphical settings in the games you play. By lowering the graphical details, the less taxing it would be on the GPU, thus, it can render more frames. This is where you have to make a compromise: do you want to make the most out of your fast monitor or do you want more eye candy at the cost of slower performance?
Lower the resolution to 1080p (if you’re using a monitor with a native resolution of 1440p). That is because the lower the resolution, the lesser the graphical load.
Overclocking really helps in terms of GPU performance. If you happen to miss just a few frames (if you have a 144Hz monitor and you only get to about 132 fps), then overclocking the GPU will help you reach the maximum refresh rate of your monitor.
Doing a multiple GPU setup can also improve performance but this will cost you more money as you have to buy another GPU.
So in conclusion, if you’re going to get a high refresh rate monitor, you must first make sure that you have a powerful enough graphics card. Remember that both of them will work together so make sure that you not only look at the performance of the monitor but you also need to consider the performance of the GPU as well.
Pedro Lima says
Does your monitor have a display port and if it does you’ll need to use a display cable to get the 144hz you’re looking for
Eva says
I just bought a monitor that can display 144hz via its HDMI cable. I’m using the HDMI cable included with the monitor. My computer will not go higher than 60hz, despite installing drivers and changing to every resolution possible. My PC does not have a graphics card, it’s just Intel HD Graphics 4000, which is its integrated graphics. Is my GPU not powerful enough to display 144hz? I’ve been looking online for days trying to figure this out with no luck.
Paolo Reva says
Hello, Eva! Check the specifications of your motherboard’s HDMI output. Most, if not all, are limited to 60Hz operation even if the HDMI version allows for higher refresh rates. Good luck!
Vitor says
Hi,
I have 4 144Hz monitors (ASUS VG248QE) and I am looking for a decent GPU to go with it. What is your suggestion?
Thank you
Paolo Reva says
Hello, Vitor! What types of games do you play? If you like E-Sports titles like Overwatch or CS:GO, you can’t go wrong with a Nvidia GTX 1060 which is the sweet spot for 144Hz 1080p gaming. However, if you like graphics-heavy titles with the settings turned up, we recommend no less than a GTX 1070 for the best results. Good luck!
Diana says
Hello, I am currently running a Ryzen 5 1600x, 16gb ram, and a GTX 1060 Giga OC(which is currently overclocked). I’ve been looking for a new monitor for sometime now, and I really wanted to go with a 27″ 1440p. But some people are telling me the 1060gtx cant handle that load…..and I would have to run it at mid quality. Do you think it can with the overcloak and still be able to run games at high settings? Or should I just stick to a 1080p monitor?
Paolo Reva says
Hi, Diana! We recommend sticking to a 1080p display where the GTX 1060 is the perfect sweet spot. You can get away with that card at 1440p, but you won’t be able to maximize a lot of graphics settings on a lot of the latest titles. We recommend a GTX 1070 as a minimum for 1440p and a GTX 1080 and 1080Ti for 100Hz to 144Hz 1440p.
Dylan says
Hello, so my monitor is the BenQ ZOWIE XL2730z, and i was wondering if my pc affects the refresh rate of the monitor as i can only set it to 60 Hz at 1440p.
my computer has a AMD fx6300, a 750ti, and 8gb of ram
(if its my PC i will be getting a new one soon so ill be fine with that)
Paolo Reva says
Hi, Dylan! Make sure you have your iGPU disabled in the bios, plus, double check if your monitor is connected via DisplayPort 1.2 instead of HDMI. The latter doesn’t have enough bandwidth for 1440p 144Hz, so it will revert the monitor to 60Hz.
Roger says
HI what monitor would you recommend for me? In my case, i have a i5-7500 CPU, 8gb of RAM and my GPU is GALAX GTX 1060 6GB OC. I am having a difficult time trying to find the best monitor that can stretch the abilities of my GPU. Budget is not a problem.
Paolo Reva says
Hello, Roger! Your build calls for a 144Hz 1080p monitor for competitive gaming performance. You should consider getting a G-Sync monitor like the Acer XB241H, or you can stretch it out further and get a 240Hz option like the Asus ROG Swift PG258Q. Cheers!
Willem says
So what monitor would you recommend for a EVGA GeForce GTX 1070 FTW ACX 3.0 graphics card? I’m thinking about building a gaming PC. I want to be playing at 1440p at high frames and high to ultra settings. I will be playing mostly Overwatch, but some others as well.
Paolo Reva says
Hi, Willem! Thank you for your time and question. If you want a 1440p beast for your battle station, we would like to recommend the Asus ROG Swift PG278Q if you want a TN panel for its speed, or the Acer XB271HU if you would rather have IPS eye-candy. You can’t go wrong with either, but you can also check our buying guide for more 1440p models you can choose from. We also would like to recommend that you get a G-Sync enabled product like the two mentioned above so that you can make the most out of your GTX 1070 in graphics-heavy titles.