How to Set a Monitor to a 144 Hz Refresh Rate

When you connect a new monitor to your system, Windows should automatically pick the highest refresh rate supported by the monitor. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always happen.

Various software and hardware problems can limit your monitor’s refresh rate far below the desired 144 Hz. If you’re certain that your monitor is capable of showing 144 Hz, then you might need to troubleshoot possible issues.

This article will focus on tips and tricks to deal with refresh rates.

Possible Cable Issues

In some cases, your monitor may be able to render a 144 Hz refresh rate. However, you could be locked into lower refresh rates if you’re using the wrong cables or port. This shouldn’t be a big issue since you won’t be limited to anything lower than 60 Hz, which is enough if you’re trying to run a game in 60 FPS.

That said, if you want to unlock your monitor’s full potential, it’s worth knowing what ports and cables to use.

For example, some monitors don’t support 144 Hz through HDMI. In that case, you should use the Display Port to connect the monitor to your laptop or PC. Standard HDMI cables won’t allow you to run your monitor at 144 Hz because of limited bandwidth. But if you use HDMI 1.4 or higher, then you can unlock the 144 Hz refresh rate on monitors that support it.

It’s also important to plug your cables in the correct port. While you can’t connect an HDMI 2.0 cable to a standard HDMI port, you can make other mistakes. For example, you could plug your HDMI cable in a port other than your GPU’s dedicated slot, i.e., the port for your integrated graphics card.

The only way to enable 144 Hz on your monitor is to connect it to a compatible GPU capable of outputting the refresh rate.

Setting the Refresh Rate

1. Go to “Windows Settings.”
   
2. Select “System.”
   
3. Alternatively, right-click on your desktop and select “Display Settings.”
   
4. Go to the “Display” tab.
   
5. Select the “Advanced Display Settings” option.
   
6. Click on “Display Adapter Properties.
   ”
7. Navigate to the “Monitor” tab.
   
8. Select the 144 Hertz refresh option if available.
   

If you’re running an older version of Windows, like Windows 7 or 8, you can use the following steps.

1. Right-click on the desktop.
2. Select the “Screen Resolution” option under the “Display” menu.
3. Click the “Advanced Settings” option.
4. Go to the “Monitor” tab.
5. Select the desired refresh from the “Screen Refresh Rate” list.

Old GPU or Bad Drivers

It’s important to understand that even if your monitor supports a 144 Hz refresh rate, your PC or laptop might not. So before buying a new monitor, check the compatibility online by looking at your graphics card’s specifications.

If all else fails and you still can’t find the 144 Hz option, your GPU might be too old to support the higher refresh rate. However, before swapping your GPU for a new one, try updating your drivers to fix the issue.

1. Type “Device Manager” in the search bar and click on it.
   
2. Collapse the “Display Adapters” list.
   
3. Select your graphics card.
   
4. Navigate to the “Driver” tab.
   
5. Click the “Update Driver” option.
   
6. Choose to find drivers automatically.
   

Alternatively, you can go to your GPU’s manufacturer website and download the latest drivers from there. You have three options here:

1. Intel for Intel HD Graphics integrated graphics cards.
   
2. AMD Radeon for AMD dedicated cards.
   
3. Nvidia for Nvidia cards.
   

After updating the driver, restart your system and try setting the refresh rate to 144 Hz.

Running 144 Hz on Consoles

Keep in mind that consoles aren’t designed to output at 144 Hz.

The PS4 and Xbox One can only benefit from a maximum refresh rate of 60 Hz, while older models used to be capped at 30.

With the PS5 and Xbox Series X new-gen consoles, the maximum output is 120 Hz. However, there’s still no console that can support 144 Hz. So, if your monitor is capable of this refresh rate, you can only unlock its peak performance while gaming on a PC or gaming laptop.

Elevate Your Gaming Experience

There’s much debate on whether the human eye can spot the difference between 60 Hz, 144 Hz, and 240 Hz. This is because our brains are wired in 60 FPS or slightly higher. But studies suggest that we can differentiate between 60 Hz and 144 Hz given enough time – with the latter providing much smoother visuals.

True or not, to get the whole 144 Hz experience, ensure there are no cable incompatibilities or falsely advertised refresh rates to contend with.

Have you ever had any problems with setting the refresh rate on your monitor? Did you use any of the trips and tricks in this article? Let us know in the comments section below.