So I understand why higher frequency monitors are better, I know my computer runs Overwatch at 299-300fps when I put it on low, as a competitive gamer, graphics aren’t that important to me, however…
I’m thinking about investing in a 240hz monitor, and I want to use it for more than OW.
But heres my main problem, I’m looking for something around £200 - £400 no higher. BUT I have a Nvidia GPU, I want to eliminate screen tearing. But if I’m correct, screen tearing only happens if the hz of my monitor is higher than the fps of my game correct? Does this mean for Overwatch, would a cheaper AMD Freesync monitor be worth buying simply because my fps is so stable.
Nvidia supports free sync soon(or already?)
I don’t know about UK prices but in Switzerland you’ll never get 240hz for under 400.- not that I’m aware of. Maybe a 24" 240hz no g-sync, tn screen… Ofc 1080p
I paid 800 for 27" 165hz ips g-sync. (2k resolution)
G-sync will eliminate 100% tearing.
Definitely not, otherwise I wouldn’t had to replace my 60hz monitor which was crap.
Tearing… Better check online, as I can’t give you a 100% accurate answer right now, my apologies.
You can lock FPS in the game settings (display based or manual), so if you PC can produce more, it will stay synchronized with your monitor
I don’t use Freesync or G-sync (or any other sync option) for competitive games.
Yes they eliminate screen tearing but in turn increases input lag.
I have tried using the standard v-sync option, and the input lag is horrible.
My GPU also supports NVIDIA Fast Sync which should cause much much less input lag issues, but even then i feel the effect.
On the other hand, I’m running a 144Hz monitor and 200-300fps (capped it at 200) yet i never notice any screen tearing without any sync options enabled.
If you are serious about competitive gaming, i can assure you that it feels much better to upgrade from 60hz.
I can only really speak of the difference between 60hz to 144hz though. But i hear that people are also able to feel the difference between 144-240hz, although the difference may not be as impactful as 60-144hz.
I think I get what you’re saying, so it doesn’t really matter what kind of sync monitor I get, I have a 1080 with 8gb VRAM, so as long as I have a stable framerate above the hertz of my monitor I shouldn’t notice anything bad. So in which case it does not matter if I get freesync or gsync. I think I’m going to get a freesync monitor at around 240hz. I’ve seen a few on Amazon for around £330 (roughly about 370 euros I think). Either way if I can’t find a 240hz there is always 144hz as well. Which I’m assuming is also a very good upgrade
I believe most sync options are rather effective at getting rid of tearing, Some are just better for input lag than others. G-sync and Freesync i believe are pretty good candidates for doing this with little input lag increase. But even the best sync options that i know of will add some.
So in the end this comes down to your preferences.
Yes an upgrade from 60 to 144 is what i did and i won’t go back on that.
I can only imagine the difference it will make with 240hz.
So this comes down to how much of an improvement you want, and how much you are willing to spend on it.
No, you’d be better off with 4k if your graphics card can do that at your refresh rate.
Smaller pixels means you can see stuff further away or when less of when is poked over a ledge e.t.c. It also makes them easier to notice against backgrounds. Even at only 60hz, you only have a gap of 16.666ms between frames. If you run the game at higher fps (ideally a multiple of your monitor fps), then your frames will be ‘up to date’ when they display, the latency of the monitor is more important than frame-rate here. A 1ms latency monitor makes a big difference here over a 2+ monitor.
Its also very much a case of diminishing returns as well, human brains and eye are already close to the limit at 60mhz of it giving little advantage going above that level. I would not be surprised if 144mhz was above the level that makes any difference considering that is publishing a new frame every 7ms. Case in point, movies still run at 25fps and still look smooth.
If you don’t have a Display Port on your graphics card, it wont matter how many hz your monitor has, regular HDMI wont even handle 144hz, HDMI 2.0 will do it, you get the best result with Display Port.
Have you tried a 144hz or 240hz monitor compared to 60hz?
I can assure you that there’s a noticable difference.
I used to be critical to this claim as well, until i tried it out for myself.
My brother was equally as critical about it, until i let him try a game on my computer. He quickly stated that he should stop or he would just be too addicted to not buy one himself. 
I already knew this, but thanks for the heads up just in case. I have 1 hdmi, 3 dp ports and 1 dvi port on my gpu
Yes to 144, no to 240.
Compared side-to-side before purchasing mine, decided to go 4k instead.
4k does seem to make a lot more difference than 144hz to me. Still 4k at 144 will be my next purchase, might need another 2080ti to keep up with it lol! ![:slight_smile:](https://d1kzxbyyijk9k6.cloudfront.net/en/overwatch/images/emoji/twitter/slight_smile.png?v=6" ":slight_smile:")
Not saying there isn’t an improvement going up to 144hz, but given the time-frames involved and the natural reaction speed of the cones in your eyes prevents all of that many frames from actually been registered. So its a question of where the upper limit of refresh rate actually stops becoming useful, to be honest, I think its below 144hz for most people, but above 60hz, which would make going above 144hz fairly pointless.
Also the latency is very very important and cheaper monitors often have higher latency so that is something he does need to check!
Fair enough.
I can only talk from my own experience. I personally found the difference to be huge.
I can’t speak of 4k as I’ve never tried it outside of watching TV on a 4k screen, which i don’t believe can be used as a good example for this
Yes Latency has much to say for competitive gaming. I would only recommend going for as low as possible if you want as much of an edge as possible.
1 Like
Yeah, 4k is definitely worth trying, its so much easier to notice hard to spot things like traps or something just with an edge round a corner 
At the end of the day, its a question between that and a max 8 ms extra latency (60hz vs 144hz), 4 ms ave which is the difference it effectively makes assuming your eyes can handle 144hz perfectly. For me, it was 4k but I can see how others might prefer the extra smoothness.
Well I don’t really have a problem with seeing things, I even turn things such as anti-aliasing off for the fps increase. I’m around 3400 sr, so I feel like smoothness will be my main priority. Thanks for alternative approach though.
I come from a background of CounterStrike Games, so I do play competitive games quite often. I think thats where my lack of care of graphics come from.
Although i don’t really play comp, I have checked my MMR to be around 4100 (was able to queue with 4353 and 3775 but not 3739, which based on SR range limitations should put me between 4090-4125).
I’m a Tracer main, so the extra smoothness seem really good to me, since i have to turn a lot.
I guess 4k may be more of an advantage if you have a more precise playstyle. Aka don’t have to turn as much.
Well I play quite a few characters. If I play tank I mainly play Roadhog, but If I play dps I mainly play Doomfist, Mccree and Widowmaker. I support sometimes which in that case I’d play Ana or Zen. I don’t really touch Moira or Mercy.
I mean, it’s very possible to get advantages out of both hz and resolution with these heroes i guess. Depends on your playstyle and preference i would say.
In the end I don’t want to tell you that one is definitely better than the other.
I only hope me sharing my own experience. and Drenzul sharing his will help you figure out the right decision for you
Thanks to both of you
I do think I’ll stick with my plan on getting a 240hz monitor. Or at least a 144hz
I don’t think you will notice screen tearing on 240hz or even on 144hz. xD 4k in OW. xD Is this singleplayer game ? Dude I play on render scale 50% and 1080p because I have really bad gpu HD6850 and i still don’t any problems spotting junkrat traps and other things except if somebody is faraway(I would love to play on render scale 100% 
but waiting for some good GPU deal). I mean if you care about good look go IPS 4k not TN 4k. 240hz is much more smoother. Still noticeable but not like 60hz vs 144hz.
Oh boi, i can’t even get myself to play on 75%.