Updated : Revised to correct outdated details and make the guidance easier to follow.
An RTX 30-series or Radeon RX 6000-series card can be used with many high-refresh monitors, but the exact card, screen and connection matter. Being able to send a 240Hz or 360Hz display signal is different from rendering a game at 240 or 360 frames per second.
Ampere and RDNA 2 are now established GPU generations. Old pre-release percentage claims are not a useful way to decide which monitor to buy today.
Refresh rate and FPS are different
- Refresh rate, in Hz: how often the display can refresh each second in a selected mode.
- Frame rate, in FPS: how many frames the game and computer produce each second.
- Resolution: how many pixels each frame contains.
A Windows desktop can run at a high refresh rate while a demanding game runs much slower. Conversely, a game can report more FPS than the screen can show as separate refreshes. Our guide to FPS and what people can see explains why a single “human eye limit” is misleading.
Which connection should you check?
Check the actual model’s specification, including the monitor’s per-input timing table. HDMI and DisplayPort sockets that look alike can have different limits. Adapters, docks, KVM switches and cables add more possible restrictions.
| Example | Official reference information | What it does not prove |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA RTX 3080 family | NVIDIA lists DisplayPort 1.4a and HDMI 2.1 capabilities, with DSC for some demanding modes. | That every monitor accepts its maximum refresh rate on every input. |
| AMD Radeon RX 6800 XT | AMD lists DisplayPort 1.4a and HDMI 2.1 VRR/FRL. | That every board partner card has identical physical ports. |
See the NVIDIA RTX 3080 specifications and AMD RX 6800 XT specifications. These examples are not specifications for every card in either series.
What is DSC, and do you need it?
Display Stream Compression reduces the bandwidth needed for some display modes. The GPU and monitor must both support the required combination. A screen may need DSC to reach its highest refresh rate at a particular resolution and color setting.
Do not assume DSC is the same as reducing color detail through chroma subsampling. Check the monitor manual for resolution, refresh rate, bit depth and compression requirements together.
Will your games reach 240 or 360 FPS?
That depends on the game, CPU, GPU, resolution and settings. A light competitive game and a demanding new single-player game can behave very differently on the same PC. At very high frame rates, the CPU can be a limit too.
Use benchmarks for the exact game, resolution and settings you intend to use. Look for frame-time consistency and low-percentile results as well as an average. Upscaling or frame generation figures also need their settings explained; do not treat every reported FPS number as equivalent.
If you are building without a separate graphics card, see our integrated-graphics processor guide. A powerful CPU name alone does not promise a powerful iGPU.
Why is Windows only offering a lower refresh rate?
- Connect directly to the graphics card using a cable suitable for the intended mode.
- Check the monitor’s input and any high-refresh or DSC setting in its menu.
- In Windows 11, open Settings > System > Display > Advanced display, select the correct screen and check the available refresh rates.
- Update the display driver from the GPU maker, then test again.
- Check the screen’s manual before changing resolution, HDR or color settings.
Microsoft‘s refresh rate guide covers the current Windows settings. With more than one screen, our two-monitor setup guide helps you identify and configure the correct display.