Refresh Rate Test Shows the Wrong Hz? Common Causes and Fixes
If a refresh rate test reports 60Hz on a 144Hz or 240Hz monitor, check OS settings, cable limits, browser throttling, VRR, duplicated displays, and power mode.
Estimate your active refresh-rate tier from browser frame timing and check whether the result is near 60Hz, 144Hz, 240Hz, or higher.
Estimate the active refresh-rate tier using browser animation frame timing. The result can help check 144 Hz or 240 Hz settings, but it does not read the panel's hardware capability directly.
A refresh rate is how many times per second a display updates its image, expressed in Hertz (Hz). This online monitor Hz test uses browser animation-frame timing to estimate the active refresh-rate tier. It can help check OS display settings and frame pacing without installing software, but it cannot read the panel's native capability directly.
Three steps to an accurate reading
The test collects 120 consecutive frame timestamps, discarding the first 10 warmup frames to let the browser reach steady state.
Frame intervals are converted to Hz values. The median Hz is reported as the primary result, with standard deviation showing frame timing consistency.
The result is compared to standard refresh rate tiers (60, 75, 120, 144, 165, 240 Hz etc.) to identify the closest browser-visible timing tier.
This test samples the animation-frame timing delivered to your browser. The result often aligns with the active display setting, but it can be affected by browser scheduling and does not prove the panel's native hardware capability:
What each Hz rating means for your use case
The baseline for most office monitors, older TVs, and budget displays. Adequate for productivity, web browsing, and casual gaming.
A modest upgrade over 60 Hz common in budget gaming and IPS monitors. Noticeably smoother than 60 Hz for everyday tasks.
The current sweet spot for gaming monitors. Motion appears significantly smoother and input lag is reduced, making it the standard for competitive play.
Popular on QHD gaming monitors. Provides a meaningful improvement over 144 Hz with similar hardware requirements.
Used by esports professionals and competitive players. The improvement over 144 Hz is subtle for most users but measurable in high-skill scenarios.
The current ceiling for consumer displays, designed for top-tier competitive play. Requires a very powerful GPU to sustain matching frame rates in games.
Common questions about refresh rate tests, monitor Hz, 144Hz, 240Hz, frame pacing, and display settings.
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Measure browser animation-frame timing over 10 seconds using requestAnimationFrame. See average, min, and max FPS with a live bar chart.
Measure browser-level click-to-frame latency using requestAnimationFrame. See average, best, and worst lag across 10 clicks.
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Methodology: This test uses the browser's requestAnimationFrame API to collect 120 frame-timing samples, computes the median refresh rate, and compares the result against standard display refresh rate tiers. The first 10 frames are discarded as warmup to ensure steady-state measurements.
About: Measurement processing happens locally in your browser. Aggregate product analytics may record test starts and completions, including a rounded result when analytics is enabled.
Disclaimer: This tool measures browser animation-frame timing. It can help estimate the active refresh-rate tier, but it does not read the monitor's native hardware capability directly.
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