Does low monitor refresh rate bottleneck FPS?

[bunraku]

Hi


A couple of questions.


I’ve been reading studies by Nvidia that state better frame rates equals better kill death ratio in first person shooters etc. Obviously Nvidia is in the business of selling graphic cards and perhaps the findings are meant to encourage people to buy better graphic cards.

If I have I have a game that is running at 100 frames per second, but a monitor that only refreshes at 60 frames per second, then the monitor is bottlenecking the cards output and I am losing those extra 40 frames is that correct?


Lastly I currently play my First Person Shooters at 1920x1080 on a 27 inch monitor. I have limited space so can’t increase the monitor size, but if I get a monitor of the same size that displays 2560x1440 would I notice any difference? Particularly on long range sniping shots(enemy is now 50 pixels instead of 20 etc)?

Thanks

 

[youdsy]

Higher refresh rate monitor and high FPS to match will ultimately reduce input latency.

 

[andy_mk3]

The short answer is yes, more is better, or at least, more will help you be better

 

[varkanoid]

Hi


A couple of questions.


I’ve been reading studies by Nvidia that state better frame rates equals better kill death ratio in first person shooters etc. Obviously Nvidia is in the business of selling graphic cards and perhaps the findings are meant to encourage people to buy better graphic cards.

If I have I have a game that is running at 100 frames per second, but a monitor that only refreshes at 60 frames per second, then the monitor is bottlenecking the cards output and I am losing those extra 40 frames is that correct?


Lastly I currently play my First Person Shooters at 1920x1080 on a 27 inch monitor. I have limited space so can’t increase the monitor size, but if I get a monitor of the same size that displays 2560x1440 would I notice any difference? Particularly on long range sniping shots(enemy is now 50 pixels instead of 20 etc)?

Thanks

Bottlenecking is not quite the right term (I personally hate that term when people describe it with CPU/GPU) but it is well known mice with faster response rates, more responsive keyboards and higher resolution monitors give you an edge but unless you are doing eSports personally its not that much of an issue if you havent got them. Its not a magical bullet that will suddenly turn you into a better gamer.

 

[CuriousTomCat]

A 100fps GPU isn't being bottlenecked on a 60hz screen. Bottlenecked means held back. A system with a 60hz screen has a target of 60fps. If you achieve that, there's no bottleneck because it achieved all it needed to.

Just like a supercar isn't bottlenecked if you drive it at 30mph in a 30 zone.

You'll probably find that 60hz is the average framerate that people game at anyway. So you should be getting an average kill rate if you're an average player.

Upgrading to 100hz will give you an advantage over the average player. Upgrading to a 144hz screen will give you an even bigger advantage over the average player.

You're not at a disadvantage at 60hz because that's what most people use.

 

[Guest2]

I agree - bottleneck is not the word.

You can run a 100hz monitor and still play at 144fps (with vsync & gsync disabled) but then there would be other disadvantages like screen tearing without the gsync/vsync.
I tried it yesterday, higher frames but horrible. 144hz screen and 144fps better if you have the GPU to cope
Also there are other factors like resolution - You are at a disadvantage if you play at a lower resolution, say 640 x 480 over someone that plays at 4k.
Panel type (VA/IPS/TN) also come into play as have differing input lag and support of gsync/freesync

Sure there are other factors too, like if you have net curtains and it's sunny or your mrs comes in mid game and makes you jump!

 

[Black Dog]

I assume if you are running 100fps with a 60hz monitor then you must be running with vsync off in you games? 2560x1440 would be better as the pixel count would be higher than your 1080p screen because it has more pixels on the same 27" size screen. This would mean that the picture would be sharper and more detailed but I wouldn't say it would give you an advantage in gaming. Your desktop space will increase as the pixels will be smaller so it can fit more in. Bare in mind that going to a higher resolution will also lower you frame rate but I don't know you system specs to comment on that.

For an advantage in gaming then you will need to change to a higher aspect ratio like 21:9 ultrawide as this would give you a much wider field of view and you will see more of the game screen than someone on a 16:9 screen. Not all online games allow the ultrawide ratio to be used as it is a big advantage and basically disable it. Are you not able to increase your monitor size at all?

I currently have a 34" unltrawide but only at a res of 2560x1080 so basically I have the advantage of ultrawide and the resolution is lower enough for me to play every game at 144fps and have the ultrawide field of view. If I went for the 4k version then I would only be looking at around 60-80 fps max. Okay, graphically it's not as sharp as 4k but I prefer the higher fps for smoothness.

 

[BS Dave]

I personally hate running a higher fps than the monitor can handle in fps games the ground always looks weird when I run.

 

[Quartz]

Particularly on long range sniping shots(enemy is now 50 pixels instead of 20 etc)?

Yes. This is very noticeable on a 4K display.

 

[tyler_jrb]

Yes but you need a higher refresh rate monitor to take advantage of that. 100hz on a 60hz monitor will reduce the input lag somewhat but it’s still 60hz with those limitations.

It will allow you to become better. I have become much better since upgrading to a high refresh rate monitor and the difference to me as soon as I upgraded was massive. As everything is more clear, turning is much smoother and with much less input lag. You can turn and see an enemy in the distance at the same time. 60hz now feels like wading through treacle.

Same with 1440p, it will allow you to see things more accurately and with more detail. 1080p 144hz+ would make more of a difference IMO vs 1440p 60hz so depending on budget that’s what I would get with an appropriate GPU.