Research Shows That This Monitor Feature Can Actually Make You Better At Video Games

Whether you're a casual who plays some Mario Kart every once in a while or a competitive gamer playing Valorant every day, the desire to improve and beat others is natural. However, not everyone has the time to invest hundreds of hours into a game, and sometimes it seems like something beyond just skill is holding you back. This is why the question of whether your monitor's higher refresh rate makes you better at games or whether 60 Hz is enough for gaming is so prevalent. 

There have been plenty of studies about this, and a recent analysis by LG Display seemingly provides conclusive proof that a monitor with a higher refresh rate does make you a better gamer. The study involved 31 adults who had some level of gaming experience and had them play an unmentioned FPS game on monitors with 60 Hz, 240 Hz, 360 Hz, and 480 Hz refresh rates.

The company presented the results at SID Display Week 2026, showing that as you upped the number of frames per second, performance increased as well. The results showed, on average, a 38% increase in win rate going from 60 Hz to 480 Hz, 10% from 240 Hz to 480 Hz, and 5% from 360 Hz to 480 Hz. It also showed a reduction in reaction times, and researchers at LG mentioned that OLED monitors with higher refresh rates typically perform better than alternative technologies, even if they show the same number of frames per second.

LG is one of the best computer manufacturers in the world today. The company produces its own monitors, including premium OLED ones that have high refresh rates. This might make the study seem biased, as claiming that the company's more expensive monitors improve your gaming performance means more profit for LG.

After all, while the results paint a clear picture, plenty of details aren't mentioned. We don't know the specifics of the test, for example. The results could be influenced by the participants simply being more used to monitors with higher refresh rates, or they might've become more used to the game as the tests went on. We also don't know what FPS game was played or the participants' history and preferred genre of games, which are all variables that could skew the results one way or another.

However, even without knowing all the details, the findings mostly align with what other studies show. A more open study from 2024 also showed significant improvement in reaction time and tracking moving targets when going from 60 Hz to 120 Hz, but minimal change from 120 Hz to 144 Hz or even 240 Hz. Another in-depth analysis by the YouTube channel Linus Tech Tips showed largely similar results: using a 240 Hz monitor conclusively made each participant perform better than when they were on a 60 Hz monitor. 

The results unanimously agree that refresh rates are one of the most important things to consider when buying a new monitor, but whether that means 120 Hz, 240 Hz, or even 480 Hz is more subjective. With refresh rates this high, the numbers should be beyond what the human eye can see, but there's still an improvement in performance. However, this improvement is negligible, with even LG's results showing only a 5% increase when doubling from 360 Hz to 480 Hz, compared to the much bigger difference of 28% going from 60 Hz to 120 Hz. 

This makes 120 Hz or 144 Hz the sweet spot to aim for, and while you might see some level of improvement going up to 480 Hz or even LG's 1,000 Hz UltraGear (most likely not), aiming for an absurdly high refresh rate is one of the biggest mistakes you can make when buying a monitor due to how pricey it can be.

There are some other interesting things to note as well. While it's generally agreed that those more used to higher refresh rates find it easier to differentiate between different monitors — someone who's only used to 60 Hz won't be able to tell the difference between a 120 Hz monitor and a 240 Hz one — casual gamers and complete beginners show more of an improvement when upgrading to better monitors. According to another test by Linus Tech Tips, competitive gamers can find ways of mitigating the delay that lower refresh rates cause, while those only relying on their hand-eye coordination benefit much more from the faster delivery of information.