If you have purchased a brand new PC gaming monitor, and you have set up the monitor with your Windows 10 device, but you notice that the 144Hz option is not showing in Windows 11/10 Display options, then this post is intended to help you. In this post, we will detail how you can make this option available.
Before we jump right into it, a bit of background.
The Refresh Rate is the number of times a display refreshes in a second to show a new image. The unit of frequency is measured in Hz (hertz). Therefore, 144Hz means the display refreshes 144 times per second to show a new image, 120Hz means the display refreshes 120 times per second to show a new image, and so on.
Mostly for gamers that have a 60Hz display, which is being used to play a game rendering 75 frames per second, you may have a poor experience due to “screen tearing”. To resolve this, a higher refresh rate is needed from a computer monitor with at least 120Hz. These displays can handle up to 120 frames per second, and the result is much smoother gameplay.
144Hz option not showing in Display options
If you are faced with this issue, you can resolve it based on your PC configuration, so we’ll go through both optimizing your settings for NVIDIA and AMD graphic cards.
Bear in mind that you’ll also need the right cable. So, make sure you have a DisplayPort 1.2 or HDMI 2.0 connection to take advantage of the full-frame rate experience.
Also updating NVIDIA or AMD drivers sometimes resets the monitor settings, so you might want to double-check if that’s the case for you too.
For NVIDIA graphics card
Do the following:
- Open NVIDIA Control Panel. If the NVIDIA Control Panel is missing, see this post.
- Head to Change Resolution tab under the Display options.
- Next to the Resolution window, there’s a Refresh rate drop-down menu. (If you have more than one monitor, you’ll need to select the correct one).
- On the drop-down, you should see the higher frame rate option, assuming you have the right cable.
For AMD graphics card
Do the following:
- Right-click your desktop and choose Display settings.
- On the right pane, scroll down and select Advanced display settings.
- In the properties window, click the Refresh rate chevron.
- From the drop-down, choose your desired mode (e.g. 144hz).
- If you have more than one monitor, you will need to select the other monitor from the Choose display section in the Advanced display settings window and repeat steps.
That’s it!
