Refresh rates
Refresh rates What each rate means for motion.
A refresh rate sets how long each frame stays on screen. Every figure below is computed by the same functions the site's motion tests use, at the speeds those tests move their patterns.
The frame interval is 1000 ms divided by the refresh rate. On a panel that holds each frame lit for the whole interval, which is every LCD and OLED without backlight strobing, a moving edge that your eye follows smears across the distance it travels in one interval: blur in pixels is the interval in seconds times the speed in pixels a second. The motion blur explainer goes through it.
None of this is a measurement of your monitor. The refresh rate test measures the rate your screen is running at, the frame pacing test how evenly frames arrive, and the monitor motion test lets you see the blur by eye. A display with variable refresh changes its rate to follow the frames.
Frame interval and blur, by rate
| Rate | Frame interval | Test speed | Blur at test speed | Blur at 960 px/s |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 Hz | 16.67 ms | 960 px/s | 16 px | 16 px |
| 75 Hz | 13.33 ms | 960 px/s | 12.8 px | 12.8 px |
| 120 Hz | 8.33 ms | 960 px/s | 8 px | 8 px |
| 144 Hz | 6.94 ms | 960 px/s | 6.7 px | 6.7 px |
| 165 Hz | 6.06 ms | 960 px/s | 5.8 px | 5.8 px |
| 240 Hz | 4.17 ms | 1,920 px/s | 8 px | 4 px |
| 360 Hz | 2.78 ms | 1,920 px/s | 5.3 px | 2.7 px |
| 480 Hz | 2.08 ms | 1,920 px/s | 4 px | 2 px |
Questions
- What does a refresh rate in Hz mean?
- How many times a second the screen draws a new image. At 60 Hz each image stays up for 16.67 ms; at 144 Hz for 6.94 ms. The interval is 1000 divided by the rate.
- How do I check the refresh rate my screen is running at?
- Run the refresh rate test on this site. It times frames for ten seconds and reports the rate the browser sees and the panel rate it matches. A monitor sold at a high rate that reads 60 Hz is usually set wrong, not broken.
- Why is the blur at 240 Hz larger than at 144 Hz in the table?
- The motion tests move their pattern at 960 pixels a second below 240 Hz and at 1920 from 240 Hz, so a frame still moves at least four pixels. The last column gives every rate at 960 pixels a second for a like-for-like comparison.
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