Question Is 120FPS much better than 60FPS in games? Is it worth it?

[rscheetah30]

I have a GTX 1060 6GB and my monitor is only 60Hz, I use VSync to keep temperature down, which means playing at 60Fps. I think most games are smooth enough at 60 Fps.

Is 120/144Fps really that much better than 60Fps?

Thx for any input!

 

[stonecarver]

That's an interesting question. I have a Titan X pascal that plays games from 60 fps to into the 300's fps.

And also a GTX 690 that gets lower fps but the games run faster.

My son had a GTX 1060 that I bumped him to my old GTX 1070 and it was a huge jump. So perception is weird.

 

[Eximo]

Depends a lot on the type of game you are playing. 60FPS can certainly be fine for RPGs and other story driven games. Turn based games and 3rd person/isometric type games as well. For action based games like first person shooters it makes a big difference in accuracy and response times jumping up to 100+ FPS.

V-sync does handle tearing, but so do FreeSync and G-Sync which can operate from 30-600hz (monitor dependent) so you can get the best of both worlds.

 

[NedSmelly]

120Hz is a noticeable improvement even with general Office applications and web browsing. Scrolling is so much nicer.

 

[iTRiP]

Depends on how one presives the game's engin, but in my opinion higher fps still remain the thing that drives the player to game!

Reason enough to keep upgrading, and replaying pc titles, save experimenting on new pc titles releases.

 

[rscheetah30]

120Hz is a noticeable improvement even with general Office applications and web browsing. Scrolling is so much nicer.

This is very interesting, I never thought that the monitor Hz could improve even usual stuff such as web browsing and scrolling.

 

[rscheetah30]

Depends on how one presives the game's engin, but in my opinion higher fps still remain the thing that drives the player to game!

I knew this to an extent. I just thought that anything much higher than 60 fps was sort of unnecessary/unnoticeable.

 

[iTRiP]

I knew this to an extent. I just thought that anything much higher than 60 fps was sort of unnecessary/unnoticeable.

Then you know how it is: unnecessary = true.
Unnoticeable = untrue.

Now I'm 100% certain, that coming from lower fps via upgrading hardware & software to higher fps when replaying titles= FUN!

 

[rscheetah30]

That's an interesting question. I have a Titan X pascal that plays games from 60 fps to into the 300's fps.

And also a GTX 690 that gets lower fps but the games run faster.

My son had a GTX 1060 that I bumped him to my old GTX 1070 and it was a huge jump. So perception is weird.

The few games I've tested so far since I bought this 1060 6GB showed a huge improvement in playability in general, especially Crysis 2 and ETS2. In Crysis 2 I can see and react to most things in the game much better, basically. Games are generally such a better experience than before with a lowly R7 240 2GB that I can only imagine how it will be with higher FPS.

 

[thestryker]

I wasn't sure how much of a difference it would make after over a decade of 60hz (ironically my last CRT was 75hz), but it's pretty massive from an input perspective. My secondary screen is still 60hz and even just moving the mouse in windows is obviously different between primary (144hz) and secondary.

When it comes to games the two biggest performance metrics are frame consistency and minimum frame rates. As for what I aim for frame rate wise when gaming it really depends on the type of game. For multiplayer action games and shooters I definitely will lower settings to get a higher frame rate. I also try to use frame limiters instead of vsync when they're natively available in a game (I like keeping power consumption down unless I need to push frame rates so often will be below 144hz).

 

[NedSmelly]

This is very interesting, I never thought that the monitor Hz could improve even usual stuff such as web browsing and scrolling.

It‘s even more noticeable with touch devices. The premium phones and tablets have high refresh rate (120-144Hz) and touch scrolling feels more responsive (subjectively) than regular 60Hz.

 

[Math Geek]

i went from 60 hz to a 120 hz screen. i can't really put into words how it was better, but overall, my mind was telling me something was different and it was a good thing.

i upgraded to a 165 hz screen when i bought a matched set for triple monitors. i could not tell at all that i added a bunch of extra fps. sure i could put a counter on the screen that told me it was higher, but i was not experiencing anything different than when i was at ~120 hz.

throw in a bunch of various articles i have read on the topic and it seems like getting to 100-120 hz is a good thing and worth pursuing. trying to get to 1000 fps, is just a case of wasting money.

as cheap as you can get a quality screen around 150 hz or so, it's worth it if you are buying anyway. but spending crazy money to get steam to tell you it is putting out 500 fps to an expensive 360 hz monitor, is more psychological than anything.

 

[punkncat]

IMO it probably isn't going to be worthwhile for a 1060. In the case that you actually have a graphics card that is capable of a much higher frame rate, in that case it can come down to monitor type and sync ability between Freesync and G Sync. Keep in mind that AMD just changed FreeSync to work with 144 monitors only in 1080 or 1440. I could be understanding the article incorrectly....

Even if you went with something meager that you know for sure can handle 60 FPS as at or near it's low, it would be a good experience even with V Sync.

 

[Math Geek]

IMO it probably isn't going to be worthwhile for a 1060. In the case that you actually have a graphics card that is capable of a much higher frame rate, in that case it can come down to monitor type and sync ability between Freesync and G Sync. Keep in mind that AMD just changed FreeSync to work with 144 monitors only in 1080 or 1440. I could be understanding the article incorrectly....

Even if you went with something meager that you know for sure can handle 60 FPS as at or near it's low, it would be a good experience even with V Sync.

good point. didn't even consider that my gpu was easily pushing the fps for my screens. a 1060 is not really going to be able to push much more than 60 fps anyway. so for that gpu, not really worth a new monitor unless it is a stop gap for a new gpu coming soon

 

[NedSmelly]

A GTX 1060 will support up to 240Hz, as it has DP 1.2 / HDMI 2.0 support. Citation

 

[Math Geek]

A GTX 1060 will support up to 240Hz, as it has DP 1.2 / HDMI 2.0 support. Citation

it will support that. 100% correct

will it actually be able to produce that many frames?? not really for most new games. minesweeper/solitare for sure. many of the esports titles that will play on a potatoe ? most likely.

anything else?? most certainly no.

 

[NedSmelly]

it will support that. 100% correct

will it actually be able to produce that many frames?? not really for most new games. minesweeper/solitare for sure. many of the esports titles that will play on a potatoe ? most likely.

anything else?? most certainly no.

Important for the OP to note the distinctions.

Will the GTX1060 support >60Hz in general, such as web browsing? YES (DP/HDMI compliant)
Will it deliver >60 frames per second in games? YES (for some, with the correct game settings)
Will it deliver >60 frames per second at 1080p in recent AAA titles? UNLIKELY

 

[alceryes]

I have a GTX 1060 6GB and my monitor is only 60Hz, I use VSync to keep temperature down, which means playing at 60Fps. I think most games are smooth enough at 60 Fps.

Is 120/144Fps really that much better than 60Fps?

Thx for any input!

This will depend mostly on the individual. All people can do here is give you their perspective, which may (or may not) be equivalent to yours. Also, FPS is only part of the equation. Frametime and monitor refresh are very important to the overall experience you are asking about.

Unfortunately for me, I am very sensitive to even the slightest bit of tearing. Even at a consistent (locked) 160FPS, 120Hz, and FreeSync Premium Pro enabled, I can still see some tearing in certain games.

 

[boju]

I use VSync to keep temperature down

So higher refresh rate is going to be a problem?

 

[punkncat]

Good catch @boju

 

[rscheetah30]

So higher refresh rate is going to be a problem?

Currently, yes, at least for as long as temperature is an issue. I don't have air-conditiong in my room currently, but am planning on having one soon.

 

[boju]

Good catch

Thanks. Think he might've meant curbing unnecessary processing since uncapped fps would be a waste. Though screen tearing would the reason I'd go for. But if he does have temperature issues then that's probably air flow thing. He's gonna have to address that if that's the case.

 

[SyCoREAPER]

OP,
Subjectively it's better. Some people are more sensitive to framerate than others. 60fps (stable) is widely considered a perfectly acceptable and enjoyable experience.

If you haven't played at 120fps and are happy with how 60fps looks, there's no point in torturing yourself into the triple-digit frames. Once you start playing at higher fps it's nearly impossible to go back.

Stay at 60 until you feel it no longer suits your needs and are willing and have the money to upgrade.

 

[boju]

Currently, yes, at least for as long as temperature is an issue. I don't have air-conditiong in my room currently, but am planning on having one soon.

Hmm ok. Have you got intake/exhaust setup with your case? Maybe opening side panel might make a difference.

Btw, just a tiny tip, try cap fps to 59 when you have vsync on. Vsync lag probably doesn't bother you but curious to see if you notice quicker response

 

[rscheetah30]

Hmm ok. Have you got intake/exhaust setup with your case? Maybe opening side panel might make a difference.

Btw, just a tiny tip, try cap fps to 59 when you have vsync on. Vsync lag probably doesn't bother you but curious to see if you notice quicker response

My current case is actually very old and simple, the psu still sits on top instead of on the bottom of the case, like in modern ones. It has no intake/exaust setup at all but on the plus side, it is open and sits on my desk which probably keeps it cooler than otherwise.

As for capping fps to 59 with VSync on, how do I do it? I am currently on Windows 7 since for some reason,
games won't work properly on either Windows 10 or 11 despite using current drivers(I am triple booting 7, 10 and 11).