Your monitor's refresh rate is how many times per second it redraws the image on screen. A 60Hz display updates 60 times each second, while a 120Hz or 144Hz panel doubles that pace. The practical difference shows up in smoother cursor movement, less ghosting during fast camera pans, and a general sense of fluidity that's hard to unsee once you've experienced it.
But the setting isn't always automatic. Many high-refresh-rate monitors default to 60Hz out of the box, leaving that extra smoothness untapped. Windows hides the toggle in a few different places depending on your version, and not every option that appears will work cleanly with your current resolution. Here's how to find the right setting and avoid the most common missteps.
Before You Change Your Refresh Rate
Refresh rate, measured in hertz (Hz), describes how many times per second your display draws a new frame. A 60Hz monitor refreshes 60 times per second; a 120Hz or 144Hz panel does it twice as fast or more. According to Microsoft, higher refresh rates can make motion look smoother and more natural on screen — a benefit that's especially noticeable when scrolling through documents, moving windows around, or playing fast-paced games where every frame counts.
One important version check before you begin: Windows 10 support ended on October 14, 2025. That means no more free software updates, technical assistance, or security fixes. It also means Dynamic Refresh Rate (DRR) — a feature that automatically adjusts your refresh rate to balance smoothness and battery life — is exclusive to Windows 11. If you're still on Windows 10, the manual refresh rate controls still work, but you won't get DRR or any future display-related improvements. Upgrading is worth considering for both security and feature access.
Step-by-Step: How to Change Refresh Rate in Windows
There are two main paths to the refresh rate setting: through the modern Settings app or via the older Advanced Display Options. Both get you there, but the Settings route is cleaner and exposes the DRR toggle on Windows 11. Before you start, confirm that your monitor and cable actually support the rate you're aiming for — a mismatch between an old HDMI 1.4 cable and a 4K 144Hz signal, for instance, will quietly cap your options.
Change Refresh Rate in Windows 11
The standard path for most users starts in the Settings app. Open Settings > System > Display, then scroll down and click Advanced display. Near the bottom of that page, you'll see a dropdown labeled Choose a refresh rate. Click it, and Windows lists every rate your monitor reports as supported at the current resolution.
One subtlety Microsoft calls out: rates marked with an asterisk are resolution-dependent. Selecting one will change your screen resolution, and Windows displays a note warning you when that's about to happen. It's not a dealbreaker — just something to be aware of if you're particular about your desktop real estate. Pick the highest un-asterisked rate for the cleanest experience.
Change Refresh Rate in Windows 10
For systems that haven't upgraded yet, the path is a little longer: Settings > System > Display > Advanced display settings. From there, click Display adapter properties, then switch to the Monitor tab. The refresh rate dropdown lives under Monitor Settings. It's the same fundamental control, just buried one dialog deeper and missing the DRR toggle entirely.
This method still functions, but it's a dead end for future improvements. With Windows 10 no longer receiving updates after October 2025, you're locked into the manual-switching workflow indefinitely. If smooth motion matters to you, the upgrade to Windows 11 unlocks more than just convenience.
Enable Dynamic Refresh Rate (DRR)
Smooth scrolling and battery savings when you need them — that's the pitch for DRR. It automatically bounces your refresh rate between a low base rate (like 60Hz) and a high rate (up to 120Hz or more) depending on what's happening on screen. Microsoft notes it's available only in Windows 11, and you'll need three things: a display with at least a 120Hz native refresh rate, a GPU with a WDDM 3.0 driver, and a compatible graphics card. The toggle sits under Settings > System > Display > Advanced display, right below the refresh rate dropdown.
DRR works well for everyday tasks — scrolling, inking, light browsing — where you want the fluidity without the constant power draw. Some games play nicely with it too. But there's a catch: in titles not designed for variable refresh rate (VRR), DRR can cap the maximum refresh rate, making a favorite game appear to run slower than your hardware allows. Competitive players who need every frame at its peak often prefer to set a fixed high rate instead.
Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
The asterisk next to a refresh rate option is easy to miss and easy to misunderstand. Those rates are tied to a different resolution than the one you're currently using. Select one, and your screen resolution changes — sometimes to something that looks stretched or soft. In the worst case, the display goes black for a moment while Windows negotiates the new mode. The fix is simple: stick with rates that don't carry the asterisk unless you're intentionally switching resolutions too.
DRR introduces a subtler issue. While it's designed to be seamless, games that lack proper VRR support can get locked to a lower refresh rate than your monitor's maximum. You might boot up a title expecting 144Hz and get 60Hz instead, with no obvious error message. The workaround is to toggle DRR off in Advanced Display settings before launching a gaming session where you care about peak frame rates. A quick toggle is less hassle than wondering why the game feels sluggish.
Cable selection matters more than most people assume. An older HDMI 1.4 cable can't push the bandwidth needed for 1440p at 144Hz or 4K at 60Hz, let alone 4K at 120Hz. DisplayPort cables have version limitations too. If your refresh rate options top out lower than expected, swapping the cable is often the cheapest fix — and it's worth trying before you assume the monitor or GPU is at fault.
Troubleshooting Refresh Rate Problems
Missing refresh rate options usually point to one of three culprits. First, check your monitor's on-screen display (OSD) menu — some panels have a "maximum refresh rate" or "overclock" setting that must be enabled manually. Second, update your GPU drivers; an outdated driver may not recognize the full range of modes your display supports. Third, try a different cable, preferably one rated for the bandwidth your target resolution and refresh rate demand. A DisplayPort 1.4 cable, for example, handles 4K at 120Hz, while HDMI 2.0 taps out at 4K 60Hz.
If you select a refresh rate and the screen goes dark, stay calm. Windows automatically reverts to the previous setting after 15 seconds if you don't confirm the change. Just wait it out. If the display doesn't recover — or if you accidentally confirmed the black screen — boot into Safe Mode, where Windows runs at a basic resolution and rate, and switch back to a known-good setting from there.
Screen tearing or persistent stuttering at high refresh rates often signals that variable refresh rate (VRR) isn't engaged. FreeSync and G-Sync technologies, available on many gaming monitors including those from ASUS and highlighted in roundups by PC Gamer, synchronize the display's refresh rate with the GPU's frame output, reducing tearing without the input lag penalty of traditional V-Sync. Check your GPU control panel — NVIDIA Control Panel or AMD Software — and make sure the feature is enabled for your display. It's not a cure-all, but it resolves the most common mismatch between frame delivery and screen refresh.