Monitor Refresh Rate

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Monitor Refresh Rate

Post by Embracer Of Darkness »

I saw some references to refresh rate in the thread about cheap monitors and I had to ask this...

What's so important about refresh rate? And why do people seem to like it higher?

I have my refresh rate set to 60hertz, anything above 75 makes my eyes feel funny, and if it push it to 85 it looks a tiny bit blurry. There's nothing wrong with my eyes, but I just don't see how people can tolerate anything too high.
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Post by Vendetta »

Anything less than 85Hz gives me a headache.

My monitor runs at 100Hz.
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Post by Embracer Of Darkness »

Vendetta wrote:Anything less than 85Hz gives me a headache.

My monitor runs at 100Hz.
:shock: I don't get this at all. Do people just have different tolerances, or what?
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Post by Alyeska »

Anything below 70 makes me feel like throwing up. I like to keep my monitor as high as I can get it. Right now I am running 85.
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Post by TrailerParkJawa »

Embracer Of Darkness wrote:
Vendetta wrote:Anything less than 85Hz gives me a headache.

My monitor runs at 100Hz.
:shock: I don't get this at all. Do people just have different tolerances, or what?
Yes, I think we all have tolerances. I cant stand dim or fuzzy monitors at all. But I hate running at high resolutions cause everythign is too small. As for refresh rate, I almost never notice any differance at all when I change it.
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Post by HemlockGrey »

How does one change the refresh rate?
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Post by Faram »

HemlockGrey wrote:How does one change the refresh rate?
R-Click on the desktop / Properties / Settings / Advanced / Monitor / Screen Refresh Rate.
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Post by HemlockGrey »

Odd. I don't seem to have a 'screen refresh rate' option.
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Post by Faram »

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Re: Monitor Refresh Rate

Post by phongn »

Embracer Of Darkness wrote:I saw some references to refresh rate in the thread about cheap monitors and I had to ask this...

What's so important about refresh rate? And why do people seem to like it higher?
Low refresh rates give some people headaches. Unless I have a very high quality monitor and video card, I can barely stand 60Hz.
I have my refresh rate set to 60hertz, anything above 75 makes my eyes feel funny, and if it push it to 85 it looks a tiny bit blurry. There's nothing wrong with my eyes, but I just don't see how people can tolerate anything too high.
That's because (1) you have a low-quality monitor and (2) your video card's RAMDACs aren't very good.
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Re: Monitor Refresh Rate

Post by GrandMasterTerwynn »

Embracer Of Darkness wrote:I saw some references to refresh rate in the thread about cheap monitors and I had to ask this...

What's so important about refresh rate? And why do people seem to like it higher?

I have my refresh rate set to 60hertz, anything above 75 makes my eyes feel funny, and if it push it to 85 it looks a tiny bit blurry. There's nothing wrong with my eyes, but I just don't see how people can tolerate anything too high.
On lower refresh rates, it is possible to peripherally sense the flickering of the monitor as it redraws the display. The higher the refresh rate, the less likely it is that one would be able to notice this occasionally distracting flicker.
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Post by HemlockGrey »

No, I utterly lack any such options. Of course, my computer and monitor are both five years old, so that might go a long way towards explaining such a lack.
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Post by Vendetta »

If you're in Windows 9x/ME, the option is under the Adapter page on Advanced display options.


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Post by RedImperator »

Mine is at 60 and I've never noticed any problems. I have a laptop though, so things might be different for me.
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Post by phongn »

RedImperator wrote:Mine is at 60 and I've never noticed any problems. I have a laptop though, so things might be different for me.
You're using an LCD, not a CRT. Only the best LCDs (read: not on laptops) can hit 60Hz refresh rates; setting your laptop to refresh at 60Hz won't really make a difference.
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Post by Pu-239 »

Hehe, 60 on a CRT here at maxed resolution. Hehe. Are there any problems other than headaches- non of which I've had, just some sleepyness?


Oh, and I sit in front of the computer nonstop for hours at a time. Of course, I know this is bad.

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Post by Dalton »

I'm running 60Hz. I just tried switching to 72Hz and my brain objected after about three seconds.
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Re: Monitor Refresh Rate

Post by Embracer Of Darkness »

phongn wrote:
Embracer Of Darkness wrote:I saw some references to refresh rate in the thread about cheap monitors and I had to ask this...

What's so important about refresh rate? And why do people seem to like it higher?
Low refresh rates give some people headaches. Unless I have a very high quality monitor and video card, I can barely stand 60Hz.
I have some random LiteOn monitor and a Geforce4MX graphics card. I've had this monitor for years and it's always been on 60hertz. I have suffered from migraines in the past, but they were stress related. I don't get them anymore.
phongn wrote:
I have my refresh rate set to 60hertz, anything above 75 makes my eyes feel funny, and if it push it to 85 it looks a tiny bit blurry. There's nothing wrong with my eyes, but I just don't see how people can tolerate anything too high.
That's because (1) you have a low-quality monitor and (2) your video card's RAMDACs aren't very good.
I don't know the exact spec of my monitor, but the image is nice and sharp.
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Post by Embracer Of Darkness »

Dalton wrote:I'm running 60Hz. I just tried switching to 72Hz and my brain objected after about three seconds.
That's what happens to me. :?
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Re: Monitor Refresh Rate

Post by Embracer Of Darkness »

GrandMasterTerwynn wrote:
Embracer Of Darkness wrote:I saw some references to refresh rate in the thread about cheap monitors and I had to ask this...

What's so important about refresh rate? And why do people seem to like it higher?

I have my refresh rate set to 60hertz, anything above 75 makes my eyes feel funny, and if it push it to 85 it looks a tiny bit blurry. There's nothing wrong with my eyes, but I just don't see how people can tolerate anything too high.
On lower refresh rates, it is possible to peripherally sense the flickering of the monitor as it redraws the display. The higher the refresh rate, the less likely it is that one would be able to notice this occasionally distracting flicker.
I don't see any flickering. :? This is a real puzzle to me.

I think it must vary from person to person.
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Post by Shinova »

The monitor I'm using right now is one of those low-emissions ones so you touch it, it doesn't feel all crackly and all against your fingertips. So it's really easy on the eyes. That out of the way, 85Hz compared to 60Hz SEEMS clearer. Can't really tell. It might just be my imagination.
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Re: Monitor Refresh Rate

Post by phongn »

Embracer Of Darkness wrote:I have some random LiteOn monitor and a Geforce4MX graphics card. I've had this monitor for years and it's always been on 60hertz. I have suffered from migraines in the past, but they were stress related. I don't get them anymore.
What resolution are you running at, and how large is your monitor? The GF4MX usually has acceptable RAMDACs, so that's not a big issue here.

I run at 1600x1200 and I can't stand 60Hz. The flickering gives me a headache. OTOH, if I ran at 800x600 or so I doubt that I'd notice it.
I don't know the exact spec of my monitor, but the image is nice and sharp.
Most monitors can produce a sharp image at 60Hz. The challange is getting them to produce a sharp image at high refresh rates. I know some people who find anything less than 100 Hz unacceptable.
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Post by phongn »

Shinova wrote:The monitor I'm using right now is one of those low-emissions ones so you touch it, it doesn't feel all crackly and all against your fingertips.
Low-emission monitors have nothing to do with that.
So it's really easy on the eyes. That out of the way, 85Hz compared to 60Hz SEEMS clearer. Can't really tell. It might just be my imagination.
It varies from person-to-person; some can notice the flicker at 60Hz, others can't.
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Post by aerius »

Anything below 75Hz produces visible flicker and gives me a fucking migraine after a few minutes. My main computer monitor runs at 85Hz and the other one at 75, but that's because it has an 8 year old video card in it, can you say "ATI Mach 64"?
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Post by phongn »

aerius wrote:Anything below 75Hz produces visible flicker and gives me a fucking migraine after a few minutes. My main computer monitor runs at 85Hz and the other one at 75, but that's because it has an 8 year old video card in it, can you say "ATI Mach 64"?
I remember having a Mach64GX. :D
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