Is 240Hz Monitor Good for Gaming and Worth the Upgrade?

As gaming monitor technology advances, gamers often ask: what specs matter most for an edge in fast-paced games? Speed and accuracy are crucial, and refresh rate plays a big role. 

Is 240Hz overkill for gaming? The short answer: absolutely NO! Higher refresh rates mean smoother visuals and better responsiveness, giving you the advantage you need. Let’s explore why.

• What’s the Refresh Rate (Hz)?
• Refresh Rate (Hz) vs Frame Per Second (fps)
• Is 240Hz Noticeable?
• So, Is 240Hz Monitor Good for Gaming?
• How to Reach 240Hz? You should Check your Setup First
• FAQ

In order to know about how 240Hz is good for gaming, we have to know what refresh rate is first. Refresh rate means how many times per second the display updates the image. For example, 120Hz means it refreshes 120 times per second. 

The biggest benefit of higher refresh rates comes in the form of more responsive and accurate gaming, with lower input lag. If you enjoy competitive multiplayer in reflex-based genres like first and third-person shooters, fighting games, sports, and racing, then you should aim for the highest refresh rate possible and 240Hz will give you an immediate advantage over competitors that use 60Hz or even 144Hz monitors because your responses will be a few milliseconds faster.

In addition, Refresh rate (Hz) and frame rate (fps) are both essential for a smooth experience. If they don't match, it can lead to issues like screen tearing or input lag. For example, on a 240Hz monitor with a 60fps video, the display is capable of showing 240 frames per second, but the video can only render 60 frames per second. 

As a result, the monitor will have to repeat the same frame, causing visual stuttering for the player. On the contrary, if you have a high-performance system running a game at 144–240fps, but your screen only supports 60Hz, you're essentially wasting that powerful performance, which negatively impacts your gaming experience.

Compared to 60Hz and 120Hz, for sure, it’s very noticeable. Movement in games becomes much smoother, which also helps reduce eye fatigue in general. Basically everyone notices the difference between 60Hz/120Hz and 240Hz. When talking about 144Hz and 165Hz, the move to 240Hz may not be as immediately visible, but the lower lag and smoother response will still be there regardless of whether or not you can “see” them.

Importantly, our own tests and general industry evaluation reveal that people become used to 240Hz quickly, and then when asked to game in 144Hz or even 165Hz they do notice the slower update. So, it seems that going up in frame rates beyond a certain point may not be strongly noticeable, but once used to it, going back to lower frame rates is very noticeable. As people say, it’s easy to get used to good things. 

Of course. That’s like asking if a plane that can fly fast is good for traveling. Getting a 240Hz gaming monitor is a smart move. Just make sure to get a screen that has DisplayPort for your PC plus dual HDMI ports for consoles. And the below tips are for you to run a 240 Hz gaming experience.

In order to get 240Hz, there are three simple steps that you should take to check your settings.

1. First thing first, monitor should support 240Hz

With BenQ MOBIUZ gaming monitors like the EX270M and EX270QM you don’t just get 240Hz on a gorgeous IPS panel, but a lot of custom features meant to further enhance gaming experiences. 

2. Check your Graphic Card can reach 240Hz 
 

Make sure your graphic card can support 240Hz, you may follow the steps below: 

If you are running Win 10:
System > Display > Advanced Display Settings > Display Adapter Properties.

Then click the “Monitor” tab, choose your preferred resolution and 240Hz refresh rate from the “Screen Refresh Rate” list, and click “OK.”

If you are running Win 11:
System > Display > Advanced Display > Display information > Choose a refresh rate. Then choose your 240Hz refresh rate.

Or you can do the setting via GPU control panel

If it is NVIDIA GPU:
Please open the NVIDIA control panel, and then head to the “Change Resolution” tab under the “Display” option, and then choose your preferred resolution under “PC (not Ulta HD, HD, SD)”, and choose “240Hz” under “Refresh rate” option.

If it is AMD GPU:
Right click on your desktop and select “AMD Radeon Settings”, and then click on the “Display” option, and then you can choose your preferred resolution and 240Hz under the Display options page.

3. Connect the Right Cable and game on! 

• Make sure to use HDMI 2.0 or DP 1.2a cable.

• If an HDMI 2.0 cable is used, make sure to connect to the correct HDMI 2.0 port.

• If DP1.2a cable is used, make sure to use the one bundled by ZOWIE.

• Make sure to update to the latest graphic card driver version.

• Make sure to check if the graphic card supports up to 240Hz.

A 240Hz monitor is four times faster than a 60Hz monitor and 70% faster than a 144Hz display. That’s quite a leap forward.

However, if you already had a 144Hz monitor and hesitated about whether you should upgrade to a 240Hz monitor. The answer would be clear enough: Definitely should! In the long run, most FPS games like CS and Apex are now capable of supporting refresh rates above 240Hz. To give you a smoother and more competitive gaming experience, upgrading your setup would definitely be a worthwhile investment.

With BenQ MOBIUZ gaming monitors like the EX270M and EX270QM you don’t just get 240Hz on a gorgeous IPS panel, but a lot of custom features meant to further enhance gaming experiences. For example, in addition to regular HDR you also have smart HDRi, which optimizes HDR content plus adds simulated HDR to SDR content. HDRi takes into account screen contents plus ambient lighting conditions to deliver the best high dynamic range presentation possible. 

Light Tuner and Black eQualizer balance contrast, brightness, and color temperature to make sure dark and bright areas of the screen don’t crush or wash out details. This is very important to competitive players especially, because the last thing you want are surprises lurking in corners of the screen improperly displayed by a lesser monitor. Well, with MOBIUZ that’s not going to happen.

Audio is an area where many monitor manufacturers cut corners. Sometimes you don’t get speakers at all, or when you do, they’re very poor quality. BenQ MOBIUZ uses technology derived from exclusive treVolo sound design to add built-in 2.1 channel audio into 240Hz monitors. That’s dual speakers plus a subwoofer for powerful, room-filling audio. Sure, you can still use a headset but it’s good to have the option of built-in monitor sound that’s just as good and equally accurate for spotting opponents and effects while in-game.