Refresh rates/Variable refresh rate
Variable refresh rate The screen waits for the frame.
A fixed refresh rate draws a new image on a clock, whether or not the game has a new frame ready. Variable refresh lets the display follow the frames instead, within a range the display supports.
With a fixed clock, a frame that arrives late waits for the next refresh, which shows as judder, or is drawn part way through a refresh, which shows as a tear. With variable refresh the display holds the current image until the next frame arrives and then draws it. That is the whole idea, whatever the brand on the box. The glossary defines variable refresh rate and refresh rate in a paragraph each.
A display's variable range can stop below its highest fixed rate, so the two figures on a spec sheet are not the same thing. The highest rate a monitor runs at is what the refresh rate test reads; the 144 Hz and 240 Hz pages give the frame interval at those rates.
What the standards and operating systems say
HDMI's description: "VRR enables a gaming source such as a console or computer to deliver video frames as fast as it can", and "VRR reduces or eliminates lag, judder and frame tearing."
Source: HDMI Licensing Administrator, checked 29 October 2026VESA certifies two kinds of variable refresh. The AdaptiveSync Display logo carries the highest frame rate reached in Adaptive-Sync operation: "Values in the logo will include 144, 165, 240, 360, etc." The MediaSync Display logo has no rate tier, because its certification is about "the absence of jitter and flicker".
Source: VESA, checked 29 October 2026On a Mac, an Adaptive Sync external display needs macOS Monterey 12 or later and any Mac with Apple silicon, or one of the Intel models Apple lists. Apple: "Do not use an HDMI cable or adapter."
Source: Apple Support, checked 29 October 2026Windows 11's Dynamic Refresh Rate builds on VRR. Microsoft: "DRR requires that a display supports VRR and a refresh rate of at least 120 Hz", and "Windows 10 does not support Dynamic Refresh Rate (DRR)."
Source: Microsoft Support, checked 29 October 2026
What the tests here can and cannot show
The refresh rate test measures the fixed rate the browser sees while it runs. It cannot read the variable range a display supports, or the rate at each moment while a game drives it. The frame pacing test shows how evenly frames arrive, which is the thing variable refresh exists to hide, and the monitor motion test shows motion at the rate the screen is running.
Windows 11's Dynamic Refresh Rate needs a variable refresh display of at least 120 Hz, so it starts at the 120 Hz tier.
Questions
- Can a browser test measure my VRR range?
- No. The refresh rate test measures the fixed rate the browser sees while it runs. A variable refresh display changes its rate to follow the content, and a web page cannot read the range the display supports or the rate at each moment.
- Is VRR the same as G-Sync or FreeSync?
- They are brand names for variable refresh: the display follows the frames it is sent instead of refreshing on a fixed clock. HDMI calls its version VRR, and VESA certifies Adaptive-Sync displays with a logo that carries the highest rate reached.
- Why does my Mac not offer variable refresh on my monitor?
- Apple lists macOS Monterey 12 or later, a Mac with Apple silicon or one of a short list of Intel models, and says not to use an HDMI cable or adapter for an Adaptive Sync external display.
- Does VRR fix stutter?
- It removes tearing and the judder of a frame waiting for the next fixed refresh. It does not make a game deliver frames more evenly. The frame pacing test shows how evenly frames arrive.
More reference pages