The Edit — Tech
Monitor Refresh Rate vs Response Time: What Matters
Refresh rate is measured in hertz and is a fixed property of the panel. Response time is measured in milliseconds on the manufacturer's most flattering grey transition, and the two get conflated constantly.
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Refresh rate is how many times a second the panel redraws, in hertz. Response time is how long a pixel takes to change colour, in milliseconds. They describe different things and a monitor can be good at one and poor at the other.
This page reads the panel specifications against owner reports on 6 monitors, ranked by rating and then by number of ratings on the method in how we choose. Nothing here was handled or measured.
ASUS TUF Gaming 27-inch, Full HD, 165 Hz
Good fit You want high frame rates on modest hardware
Not for You want desktop space and sharp text
Alienware 27 Gaming Monitor AW2725DM, WQHD, 180 Hz
Good fit You want sharpness and speed together
Not for You want a long owner record
Sceptre 27-inch Prime Gaming Monitor, 100 Hz
Good fit Work first, games second
Not for Competitive shooters are the main use
Samsung 27-inch Odyssey G55C, QHD, 1000R Curved
Good fit You sit close and want immersion
Not for You do colour work
Alienware AW2725DF OLED Gaming Monitor, 26.7-inch
Good fit Motion clarity is the whole priority
Not for A fixed taskbar sits there 8 hours a day
Z-Edge 27-inch Curved Gaming Monitor, QHD, 165 Hz
Good fit You want the deepest owner record here
Not for You want a brand with service behind it
Refresh rate has a steep curve and a flat top
The jump from 60 Hz to 120 or 144 is the largest visible change in monitors, and almost everyone notices it immediately, including on a desktop with no game running.
From 144 to 240 the difference is real and much smaller, and it matters mainly in competitive shooters. Above 240 you are into diminishing returns that most people cannot see at all.
There is a hard dependency people forget. A 240 Hz panel only shows 240 frames if the computer produces 240 frames. Buying refresh rate beyond what your graphics card can feed changes nothing.
| Refresh | Notice the jump | Needs |
|---|---|---|
| 60 Hz | Baseline | Anything |
| 100 to 120 Hz | Unmistakable | Modest hardware |
| 144 to 165 Hz | The sweet spot | A real graphics card |
| 240 Hz and up | Competitive players | A strong card at low settings |
ASUS TUF Gaming 27-inch, Full HD, 165 Hz
4.7 across 1,008 ratings at 165 Hz and 1080p, which is the combination that makes a graphics card's life easy.
Current price shown on Amazon. We may earn a commission.
| Refresh | 165 Hz |
|---|---|
| Resolution | 1080p |
| Rank here | Highest rated of 6 |
The highest-rated monitor here at 4.7 across 1,008 ratings, pairing 165 Hz with 1080p, which is the combination that lets a modest graphics card actually reach the refresh rate.
That pairing is the point. A 1440p panel at the same refresh demands substantially more from the card, and a high refresh rate you cannot feed is a specification you paid for and do not see.
Buy it if
- You want high frame rates on modest hardware
- Competitive games rather than cinematic ones
Don't buy it if
- You want desktop space and sharp text
Response time is measured on the kindest transition
The 1 ms figure on almost every gaming monitor is grey-to-grey, measured between two mid-tones where the pixel moves fastest, frequently with overdrive pushed to its limit.
The fuller picture is black-to-white, which is slower on every panel type and rarely quoted. The gap between the two numbers is where smearing lives.
Overdrive itself is a trade. Pushing pixels faster produces overshoot, which shows as a bright halo trailing moving objects, and the aggressive setting that hits the marketing number frequently looks worse than the moderate one.
Treat 1 ms as a claim about a best case rather than a description of the panel. It separates monitors far less than refresh rate does.
Alienware AW2725DF OLED Gaming Monitor, 26.7-inch
OLED, where response time is genuinely near-instant rather than a best case on one transition.
Current price shown on Amazon. We may earn a commission.
| Panel | OLED, quantum dot |
|---|---|
| Response | Near-instant by construction |
| Watch | Static elements and burn-in |
OLED is the one panel type where the response time claim is not a best case. Pixels emit their own light and switch essentially instantly, so motion clarity is a property of the construction rather than of an overdrive setting.
The cost is burn-in risk from static elements, which is the same trade OLED televisions make. A fixed taskbar for 8 hours a day is the use this panel handles worst.
Buy it if
- Motion clarity is the whole priority
- You vary what is on screen
Don't buy it if
- A fixed taskbar sits there 8 hours a day
Panel type decides more than either number
IPS gives accurate colour and wide viewing angles, with weaker blacks. It is the default for most work and most gaming now that fast IPS exists.
VA gives much deeper blacks and higher contrast, and it is slower on dark transitions, which shows as smearing in shadowed scenes.
TN is the fastest and the cheapest, with poor colour and narrow viewing angles. It survives only at the competitive end.
OLED emits per pixel, so blacks are absolute and response is near-instant, at the price of burn-in risk and a higher cost.
Buy IPS unless you have a specific reason. Of the 6 monitors here, the Alienware AW2725DF is OLED, the Samsung is VA and the Alienware AW2725DM is fast IPS; check the panel line on the other 3 before buying.
Samsung 27-inch Odyssey G55C, QHD, 1000R Curved
2,075 ratings on a 1000R curved VA panel, which is the aggressive curve and the panel type with the deepest blacks.
Current price shown on Amazon. We may earn a commission.
| Panel | VA, 1000R curve |
|---|---|
| Resolution | QHD |
| Watch | VA smearing on dark transitions |
A 1000R curve, a 1-metre radius, is aggressive, and on a 27-inch panel at desk distance it is genuinely immersive rather than gimmicky.
VA is the panel type here, which buys contrast and costs dark-transition speed. 2,075 ratings, and the smearing to watch for is in shadowed scenes rather than bright ones.
Buy it if
- You sit close and want immersion
- Contrast matters more than colour accuracy
Don't buy it if
- You do colour work
Alienware 27 Gaming Monitor AW2725DM, WQHD, 180 Hz
WQHD at 180 Hz on a fast IPS panel, which is the resolution and refresh pairing most gaming builds should target.
Current price shown on Amazon. We may earn a commission.
| Resolution | WQHD, 1440p |
|---|---|
| Panel | Fast IPS |
| Sync | G-SYNC compatible |
WQHD at 180 Hz on a fast IPS panel is the specification most gaming builds should actually target: sharp enough that text is comfortable, fast enough that motion is clean.
It is a newer listing with few reviews yet, at 483 ratings. G-SYNC compatibility is the useful line here, and the next section explains why that matters more than another 40 hertz.
Buy it if
- You want sharpness and speed together
- Your graphics card can drive 1440p
Don't buy it if
- You want a long owner record
Adaptive sync fixes the thing people blame on response time
A monitor refreshes on a fixed schedule and a computer renders frames irregularly. When a new frame arrives mid-refresh, the screen shows part of the old and part of the new, which is tearing.
Adaptive sync, sold as G-SYNC or FreeSync, makes the panel wait for the frame instead. It eliminates tearing without the input lag that the old software fix introduced.
It matters most below the panel’s maximum. At 90 frames on a 165 Hz monitor, adaptive sync is the difference between smooth and visibly stuttering, and that is the range most people actually play in.
Check compatibility with the card you own. Most current monitors handle both, and some older ones do not.
Sceptre 27-inch Prime Gaming Monitor, 100 Hz
3,012 ratings at 100 Hz, which is well past the point where the biggest perceptual gain has already happened.
Current price shown on Amazon. We may earn a commission.
| Refresh | 100 Hz |
|---|---|
| Ports | DisplayPort and 2 HDMI |
| Use | General and light gaming |
100 Hz sits past the biggest perceptual jump and well short of the expensive end, which for a monitor used mostly for work is a sensible place to land.
3,012 ratings, with DisplayPort and 2 HDMI ports. Port count is worth checking on any monitor that will serve a computer and a console at once, because the second device is usually the one that gets a worse connection.
Buy it if
- Work first, games second
- You want the 60 Hz jump without paying for 240
Don't buy it if
- Competitive shooters are the main use
Z-Edge 27-inch Curved Gaming Monitor, QHD, 165 Hz
4,756 ratings makes this the most-reviewed monitor here, at QHD and 165 Hz, and 4.3 is the lowest score on the page.
Current price shown on Amazon. We may earn a commission.
| Resolution | QHD, 1440p |
|---|---|
| Refresh | 165 Hz |
| Rank here | Most-reviewed, lowest rated |
4,756 ratings makes this the most-reviewed monitor on the page, at 4.3, the lowest score on it.
QHD at 165 Hz is a lot of specification at the budget end. A lesser-known brand means less service behind it, so buy where returns are easy and check the panel for dead pixels in the first week.
Buy it if
- You want the deepest owner record here
- Specification per pound is the brief
Don't buy it if
- You want a brand with service behind it
What to buy
Decide resolution against your graphics card first, then refresh rate, then panel type. A 1440p 144 Hz monitor on a card that manages 70 frames is a worse purchase than 1080p at the same refresh.
Then treat the response time figure as marketing and check that adaptive sync matches your card. Getting the picture out of a laptop is the other half of the job, and USB-C hubs, compared covers which ones carry 4K at 60Hz. The same specification-over-marketing reading runs through switches by the numbers and panel labels on a television, and the boards to pair with it are in the mechanical keyboard shortlist.
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