Most gamers underestimate the 144Hz vs. 165Hz difference.
Although it’s a minor difference of only 21 frames that eyes won’t even detect easily.
But those jumping from 60Hz, 75Hz, or 90Hz to 144Hz or 165Hz will see a considerable distinction and enjoy the perks of these higher refresh rates.
144hz vs 165hz – Quick Comparison
If I quickly differentiate between 144Hz and 165Hz, then you can definitely get a smoother and more fluid gaming experience with 165Hz compared with 144Hz, but that would not only cost you more money ( 144Hz displays are cheaper ) but would require more powerful and expensive equipment like a high-end CPU, GPU, more RAM, and somehow storage as well.
It isn’t a final verdict because there are many other things other than these two monitor refresh rates, and each refresh rate has its pros and cons, which you must know to decide which one to choose and which will be beneficial for you according to your gaming needs and budget.
So, let’s compare 144Hz vs 165Hz without any further ado.
Times of CRT TVs and sub-30 FPS gameplays have changed, and the rapid advancements of hardware and software technologies are quickly outdating older technologies, especially in this era where gaming is not only limited to entertainment but to making a living for many professional severe gamers. That’s why PCs, consoles, and monitors below 100FPS are being replaced by more powerful gaming rigs and the fastest refresh rates like 144Hz, 165Hz, 240Hz, 360Hz, or even 480Hz.
But, this article only differentiates between 144Hz and 165Hz,, and in this parallel comparison, you will decide which gaming monitor is right for you.
Quick Overview of Hertz
Hertz ( Hz ), discovered by Heinrich Hertz, is a frequency measurement or periodic event measuring unit that isn’t only used in gaming monitors and other electronics but also in monitors; Hertz means the number of images that can be displayed on the screen in a second. More about Hertz is discussed later in this article.
Increasing Hertz proportionately increases the fluidity in the animations on the monitor or television screen, and let me show you the difference of time when you increase Hertz.
- 60 hertz = 16.66 ms per frame
- 75 hertz = 15 ms per frame
- 144 hertz = 6.94 ms per frame
- 165 hertz = 6.06 ms per frame
- 240 hertz = 4.16 ms per frame
As you increase the Hertz, the timer between frames decreases which help gamers to enjoy fast-paced games without motion blur. The significant jump is from 60Hz to 144Hz, taking you from 16.66ms per frame to 6.94ms per frame, and that’s where you spot the difference with your eyes as motion becomes fluid and smoother.
Difference Between 144Hz vs 165Hz
Here’s a detailed section to find the difference between 144Hz and 165Hz refresh rates.
Pros and Cons of a 144Hz Display
A display with 144Hz means that it can display 144 frames per second, and those upgrading from 60Hz to 75Hz see a massive change in motion of the game characters, clarity, and visuals, and it’s comparatively cheaper than a 165Hz monitor.
The total time it takes one frame to move with a 144Hz display is 6.94ms per frame which is more than twice the 60Hz and ensures buttery-smooth movements to give you a seamless and enjoyable gaming experience.
Cost
The most significant difference that’s clearly visible in both 144Hz and 165Hz is the price difference, and if you are not involved in fast-paced games like FarCry 6 or other games where fast motion is necessary, then don’t overspend on a 165Hz refresh monitor as it would also require more powerful GPU and CPU resulting in more cost.
If a monitor cannot display frames produced by the GPU, you experience tearing or other visual artifacts in your display that a gamer won’t like at all. The solution is simple: make sure how many frames per second your GPU produces and then select the monitor with the same or higher refresh rate to easily display those frames in a second.
So, 144Hz can be a cost-effective option as it’s usually 40 to 70 dollars cheaper than a 165Hz monitor and won’t demand a high-end GPU and CPU, thus saving more cost.
Picture Quality
Obviously, you will get mesmerizing picture quality with a 144Hz monitor, and the purity of the image with sharp contents and crystal clear display will make you feel proud of your investment. You will enjoy exquisite image details and fine picture quality with a fast refresh rate.
Performance
A 144Hz display does require less powerful equipment than 165Hz but is still more potent than a 60Hz or a 75Hz display as 144Hz is still a large number of frames produced per second and therefore, you are going to need a demanding CPU and GPU for rendering complex graphics to utilize the potential of 144Hz display.
Most gamers find 144Hz satisfying for AAA games like Fallout 4, Witcher 3, and online multiplayer games as it has lighter graphics than 165Hz display but does give the slightest delay in rendering for demanding visuals.
All about 165Hz Display
sometimes 144Hz can display more frames than 165Hz monitor, slightly more expensive than 144Hz, marginally better motion blurring, requires a good rig for the display panel, preferred gaming settings,
A 165Hz monitor can showcase 166 frames in a second, which means extra 21FPS that won’t make a difference for an average gamer but is a big deal for competitive gamers where milliseconds matter. With 21 more images to display per second than a 144Hz screen and 6.06ms/frame speed, the 165Hz monitor can promise competitive games to enjoy a fluid and absolute best gaming experience with 14.5 percent better than 144Hz.
From 144Hz to 165Hz, the magnitude of the difference is almost invisible. Still, that difference of additional frames sets the ground for competitive gamers playing demanding high-end dynamic games like FarCry 6, and CyberPunk 2077 because they need seamless transitions with sharper visuals, vibrant colors, and improved visual quality to win in the competitive game environment.
Cost
Higher framerate like 165Hz also imposes certain constraints, like it’s slightly more expensive than a 144Hz display and requires more high-end GPU and CPU, so affording a 165Hz display means shelling out a lot of money. Having a low-end computer and buying a high-end display like 165Hz will negatively impact your gaming experience.
Suppose you can invest in a superior rig and afford a 165Hz display. In that case, there is no need to get a 144Hz display. With this minor refresh rate improvement, you will have an unfair advantage over your opponents to identify them in the gaming battlefield and outperform them in fast-paced games like FPS ( First-Person-Shooter)games.
What makes a higher refresh monitor better than conventional lower refresh rate monitors is the ability to display the rendering of 3D complex graphics and animations for either reflex-based games like Counter-Strike or Call of Duty but also helps in professional environments for making digital content so it can be worth spending for an improved refresh rate. Still, the decision should be made based on requirements and budget.
Image Quality
For competitive gaming, you will undoubtedly get improved picture quality and viewing angles with smoother visuals and no motion blur to make you the gaming experience of another dimension. With 165Hz, you will get comparatively enhanced visuals with impeccable and crispier visual quality to enjoy pro games like Skyrim, Assasin’s Creed series, and other single-player RPGs.
, sharper images with more details than 144Hz, reduced motion blurring, and stuttering, fluid transitions, decent graphics quality,
Performance
Going with a 165Hz refresh rate would mean disbursing extra cash not only on the monitor but also for getting a beast of a video card. You will also get the upper hand in locating enemies and tackling fast-paced games thanks to the visual sensitivity you get with smoother frame transition.
A monitor cannot underutilize/overutilize a computer’s performance. Therefore, it’s essential to get a monitor with Synching capability ( V-Sync/G-Sync/FreeSync ) so that frames produced by GPU can match the monitor’s refresh rate and you don’t have to play with complex settings and so that you can enjoy hardcore gaming.
Hardware Requirements for Higher Framerate Performance
Let’s see the powerful hardware required to showcase higher frame rates.
Graphics card
GPU, or Graphics Processing Unit, is the second brain for a computer that has the ability to render and produce dozens or thousands of frames of detailed gameplay per second to make your video, animations, or games smooth and to support a higher frame rate a GPU has to produce structures at required speed because underpowered GPU will result in terrible video glitches like hanging, flickering, and screen tearing.
GPUs FPS has to match the monitor’s refresh rate when rendering complex 3D environments with rich visuals to enjoy seamless visuals or you will end up with choppy visuals.
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 is a suitable GPU to support 144Hz refresh rate with 4K resolution or 1440p with 165Hz refresh rate as you cannot get 4K and 165Hz simultaneously. Still, other combos can help you play the latest games with higher resolution and ultra settings.
A relatively cheaper option than RTX 3090 is AMD RX 6900 XT, which offers everything similar to the RTX 3090 but comes at a cheaper price tag.
Monitor
When you have a CPU capable of rendering 144 or 165FPS, you need a capable monitor to support high frame rates coming from the GPU. So if your GPU is producing 165FPS, go with a 165Hz display, and the same is true for the 144Hz version.
For competitive gaming standards, you will go with a monitor with a higher refresh rate and the lowest response time for lightning-fast inputs. When choosing a monitor with a specific refresh rate, you must pay close attention to the resolution because limitations of HDMI and GPU won’t let you play 4K or 8K at 165FPS, so you can either go 4K with 144Hz or 1440p with 165Hz.
Suppose a G-Sync compatible monitor has a lower refresh rate than the FPS of the GPU. In that case, G-Sync will balance the gap, but that will come under overclocking that isn’t harmful, but definitely monitor will be used beyond its limitations to ensure improved gaming performance and fluid gameplay.
I have a few recommendations for you to choose from according to your needs and budget.
If you need a giant gaming display with the smoothest visuals, consider 32-inch Dell S3220DGF, a QWHD (1440p) curved gaming monitor with a beautiful design, a sturdy stand, and thinner bezels. Plus, it has different ergonomics settings to adjust it according to your posture. Finally, it supports a 165Hz refresh rate and delivers excellent picture quality giving you peace of mind for your investment.
Another slightly smaller 165Hz monitor I recommend is the 27-inch Pixio PX277 Prime. It has an IPS panel that ensures excellent picture quality with great colors and viewing angles. Plus, 1ms response time, FreeSync support, and 1440p resolution make it a superior all-around gaming monitor with the best bang for the buck display.
Next is 27-inch MSI Optix, another 165Hz refresh rate monitor with a 1ms response time. It features an IPS panel and Quantum dot technologies to deliver richer, cinematic colors and automatically optimizes the colors and brightness of the screen.
24-inch Asus VG248QG is also a 165Hz gaming monitor with lightning-fast 0.5ms response time. The display is smaller but delivers stunning picture quality and is already used by eSports professionals as an eSports workhorse.
CPU
CPU or central processing unit that is the brain of a computer and processes the instructions given by the computer programs performs basic arithmetic, logic, and input/output operations to support higher refresh rates you need a more powerful CPU to handle the strain caused by higher framerates.
A cost-effective and suitable option for competitive gamers is AMD Ryzen 5 5600x that is a beastly CPU and has high clock speed it can effortlessly handle the processing of demanding game visuals to help you get fluid gameplay.
RAM
RAM isn’t directly involved in managing or producing frames it it helps a computer to run smoothly and allows you to open and run multiple programs side by side therefore your system must have enough RAM to process heavy games. So lack of enough RAM will slow down your PC and will definitely impact the production of frame rates as well.
You can go with, 8GB, 16GB, and 32GB options and the recommended RAM module for you is Teamgroup T-Force Xtreem ARGB 3600MHz 16GB kit.
HDD
Hard Disk Drive is the traditional storage drive most commonly used in Desktop computers and laptops. The HDDs are cheap but slower and have larger capacities. Due to the mechanical parts inside like the spinning disk HDDs are less reliable.
On the other end, SSDs are much more reliable and expensive as they don’t have any moving parts and are much faster than HDDs, and are usually seen in high-end laptops. SSD uses flash memory to store data on interconnected chips and offers the highest read/write speeds.
Refresh Rate
The refresh rate is a significant element in measuring the performance of a monitor. As you all know that there is nothing moving in videos or animations. It’s just an illusion of movement formed by rolling a collection of images so fast that the human eye cannot differentiate between those moving frames.
That’s why the faster an image moves, the more fluid and smooth gameplay you feel. The slower the image moves, you start experiencing blurring, shaking, flickering, and other visual artifacts that usually happen with a monitor with a low refresh rate.
You must know that FPS and Refresh rates are different things as GPU produces frames per second is called FPS, and the Monitor that displays those frames has a refresh rate both the FPS and Refresh rates must be the same to get a smooth and seamless gaming experience. If the GPU produces higher frames and the monitor can display fewer frames, you will see screen tearing.
Hertz Explained in Details
Higher Hertz means more frames passing in a second which means more fluency in the video or gameplay, and those coming with the 60Hz or 75Hz refresh rate will see a significant smoothness in motion while using 165Hz or 144Hz monitors. Although higher hertz means you’ll also get rid of the blurriness, stuttering, and other visual artifacts. Still, it has unique requirements like close attention to detail and hyper-fast online multiplayer gaming to get the max out of the 165Hz or 144Hz refresh rate displays.
Although a less capable display can give more refresh rate that comes under overclocking, which causes the hardware to release excessive heat that sometimes damages components, you have to decide carefully while choosing a gaming monitor according to the gaming specifications you want to play.
What is screen tearing?
Screen tearing is an issue caused by GPU settings when the frame rates of the GPU are not synchronized with the refresh rate of the monitor and then you start seeing part of the image displayed on both sides of your monitor and other visual artifacts.
240Hz better than 165Hz?
It’s obvious that more refresh rate brings more smoothness and clarity when playing dynamic or fast-paced games and immersive RPGs but it also requires deep pockets to afford such a display and to utilize it by having a powerful enough gaming rig. Therefore, stick with the 165Hz refresh rate to get the best possible gaming experience as going higher won’t make any big difference even if you are a competitive gamer.
Can HDMI 2.0 run 165Hz?
HDMI 2.0 can run 165Hz but only in 1080p resolution or 4K at 120Hz but with reduced color depth and lower quality chroma subsampling. It could also support 165Hz with 1440p but could end up with choppy visuals.
Conclusion
All in all, the biggest difference between 144Hz and 165Hz monitors is the price and the performance difference is only visible when you play super fast fame like shooting or racing games where graphics are changing rapidly. So, the fundamental difference between 144Hz and 165Hz is the number of frames as both frequencies vary in several ways. So, choose the display wisely keeping in mind the pros, cons, similarities, and dissimilarities of frame rates because with less smooth frames you won’t get buttery-smooth gestures and responsiveness and accuracy.
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