Yeah its all about stability, clarity and preventing eye-strain. For Windows use you really want a refresh of 75-85hz. What the maximum refresh rate is depends upon your monitor and the selected resolution. As the res increases the maximum refresh rate will decrease. As said many games, esp in WinXP, default to 60Hz, but for games this isn't that unpleasant. So for Windows make sure you select your monitor rather than using 'default monitor' in the device manager, and try raising the Hz and see where your limit is. You should see a hugely better, more stable and sharper image when using 75Hz+ over 60Hz. For a 17" monitor you generaly want to run a res of 1024x768x32bit with a refresh of at least 75Hz for Windows use at least.