What are REFRESH rates? Please help

[timers]

Dont flame me please, . I know sort of what they are but not really what they are. My Viewsonic VG150 15" LCD monitor, and Windows XP gives me the default of 60 hz. With my options higher, being like 70, 72, and 75 I believe. What should I be at. Does this affect my performance, please explain these. Thanks. Whats the best fo games, etc. Thanks.

 

[sohcrates]

how many times per second the image is "drawn" on the screen

higher refresh rates mean that you're less likely to notice "flickering" in your peripheral vision...

the higher the refresh rate the more "stable" the image looks.

that's a quick rundown....i'm sure others will add more!

 

[timers]

SO say I go up to 70, I went up to this last night, and when I restarted my CPU, I sort of had a double image, like 2 mouses, etc, and a bunch of lines on my screen, when I went back to 800x600 it went away, so I guess it went down to 60 hz again, Is there a WIndows XP refresh rate fix? Do games look better?

 

[sohcrates]

well, you're monitor is the limiting factor these days

most video cards can handle high resolutions and refresh rates...but some monitors cannot

you need to see what your monitor specs are.

if you're getting freaky stuff on the screen, then you're probably set too high

many games default to 60Hz...i *think* there's a fix for some games, but i don't know enough about them to help you out !

 

[dullard]

Refresh rates are confusing to people since there are three types of rates that are important to how you see a program.
1) The rate at which your eyes can differentiate different images.
2) The rate at which your CPU/video card can calculate the images.
3) The rate at which your monitor will display the images.

Number one really doesn't matter for gaming purposes at this point in time. Number two determines if your games will be laggy or smooth. Number three determines if you will get eye strain (leading to headaches). These do not mix. Chaning the refresh rate of your monitor (#3) will not affect how smooth a game will play - it only affects how much eye strain you get.

LCD monitors don't refresh the same way that CRT monitors refresh. They can display a lot fewer images per second (lower Hz) without causing eye strain. And they often fail if you try to increase the refresh rate beyond their capability.

Choose a value. If it causes headaches, then increase. If you don't get headaches, then ignore it.

 

[KyleMac]

Win2k/XP refresh rate fix:
http://www.planetquake.com/ztn/nvreffix/

Anything under 70hz on my 17" monitor gives me a huge goddamn headache, but my brothers 15" in 60hz is fine.

When setting refresh rates with the fixer, trial and improvement is often what's needed for working out the maximum refresh rate for each resolution, or a detailed manual.

 

[lastig21]

On a crt, I prefer a refresh rate of 75hz or higher. I have a 15" lcd now, and to keep from being blurry in certain spots I have to keep the refresh rate at 60hz @ 1024x768. The screen actually doesn't bother me at that rate, whereas on a crt I would notice the flicker. I would say to run the monitor at the recommended resolution and refresh rate, as that would give you the best picture. If you can notice the low refresh rate, then you might decide to raise it.

 

[timers]

Mines at 60 hz default in XP with my 15" LCD Viewsonic VG150 monitor, and 1024x768 res. Should I try going for 70? WOuld it help or just make everything slower?

 

[sohcrates]

<< Mines at 60 hz default in XP with my 15" LCD Viewsonic VG150 monitor, and 1024x768 res. Should I try going for 70? WOuld it help or just make everything slower? >>



because it's an LCD, refresh rates aren't as important. if it works well @ 60 and looks good to you, i would just keep it there