Refresh Rates and 85HZ

[blues008]

Hey all,

I've been spoiled by a dell 19in ultrascan 991 here at work, and am looking to buy the Viewsonic PF795. We've got the PF790 here, and it's nice, but not flat.

Anyway, the question is, these monitors are capable of running at higher refresh rates than 85Hz. Yet, everywhere I look, people say that 85HZ is a good rate to be at. Will a higher refresh rate - over 100HZ effect the longevity of the monitor??

Any help would be appreciated
Thanks!
blues

 

[Gosharkss]

There are three components to the refresh rate of a monitor, the pixel clock (time it takes to draw a single pixel, measured in Mhz mega-hertz). The horizontal scan frequency (time it takes to draw one complete line, measured in kHz Kilo-hertz). And the vertical refresh rate (time it takes to complete one full frame measured in Hz, hertz).

All three of these are interrelated. The faster you draw a single pixel, the faster the horizontal line can be drawn, the faster the refresh rate can be.

On the monitor side, the pixel clock usually is in reference to the capabilities of the monitor's video amplifier. An amp rated below the required dot clock for a specific frequency will in most cases display the video signal. The difference is that it may not be fast enough to make the complete black to white, and white to black transitions fast enough, creating charters that look grayish instead of pure black. So running super fast refresh rates will eliminate flicker however it may degrade the image on the screen if the video amp in the monitor cannot handle the faster pixel clock frequencies.

My advice, run your monitor at the slowest refresh rate you feel comfortable with. Everyone has a different threshold for flicker sensitivity so only you can decide what is best for you.

Good Luck

 

[blues008]

But...what if you have a video amp that is able to the handle the faster pixel clock frequencies? And are the video amp statistics located somewhere in the monitor specs? Or is the video amp part of the video card??

Thanks!
blues

 

[Gosharkss]

The video amp is in the monitor.

Some monitor manufacturers post the pixel clock or video bandwidth specs, some do not. If you do not see the symptoms I describe at the higher refresh rates go for it, however I see no real benefit in doing so.

Also note that there are video cards on the market that do not perform well at higher resolutions and refresh rates that can cause symptoms similar to poor video amp performance.

See the following link.

http://www.geocities.com/porotuner/

 

[Hawk]

So much one can learn on these forums.