100+ FPS on a 60hz Monitor?

[Meet GOD! Your Maker]

Hi Guys. Recently ive seen the hope on 4k HD monitor and monitors with 144hz or more refresh rate.

I have a gaming laptop with 60hz refresh rate and im playing most games on 70-100+ FPS. Does that mean that im not fully utilizing the frames and im not actually seeing 100+ FPS but instead locked at 60?

I dont really quite understand.

Im using a 17 inch 1080p screen with 60hz. Im playing most games smoothly.

[r.linder]

You're not actually getting anything higher than 60 FPS, even if the counter reads higher. You're ultimately locked to your refresh rate, not that it matters, as going above 60 can break a bunch of games, like games in the Fallout series that Bethesda have had a hand in.

[𝔇ave]

technically you are not seeing any frames above your monitors refresh rate however for most people there is a very noticable difference between 60 fps and 100+ fps. its a minor difference but it is there. just not in a visual sense. mouse movement and keystrokes tend to be a bit more responsive. if you don't play competitively and and want to keep your laptop a bit cooler then using a frame limiter or *shudders* vsync can keep your components cooler by not letting them produce an image beyond what your monitor can display

[Snow]

Originally posted by Dave:

technically you are not seeing any frames above your monitors refresh rate however for most people there is a very noticable difference between 60 fps and 100+ fps. its a minor difference but it is there. just not in a visual sense. mouse movement and keystrokes tend to be a bit more responsive. if you don't play competitively and and want to keep your laptop a bit cooler then using a frame limiter or *shudders* vsync can keep your components cooler by not letting them produce an image beyond what your monitor can display

^ the best answer so far.
I highly recommend trying out RTSS framelimiting. It helps both with and without VSync.

[Eldin]

Originally posted by Dave:

technically you are not seeing any frames above your monitors refresh rate however for most people there is a very noticable difference between 60 fps and 100+ fps. its a minor difference but it is there. just not in a visual sense. mouse movement and keystrokes tend to be a bit more responsive. if you don't play competitively and and want to keep your laptop a bit cooler then using a frame limiter or *shudders* vsync can keep your components cooler by not letting them produce an image beyond what your monitor can display

^this

Reason you can notice the difference between 100fps and 60fps on 60hz monitor is because with 100fps you'll see the most recent frame. But you'll still see only 60 frames per second.

Downside is that high framerates can introduce screen tearing on lower refresh rate monitors.

I recommend you to watch this video to learn about screen tearing and VSync
https://youtu.be/seyAzw9zEoY

I'd rather increase graphic settings than have PC render extra frames that I won't see.
Or limit fps to keep GPU and CPU cooler.

Usually, if I don't see tearing in game, I limit fps with RivaTuner because it doesn't introduce input lag.
I don't really like VSync because of input lag. But if tearing is noticable even when limiting fps with RivaTuner, I have to use VSync.

[Supafly]

Even if you render 300fps you will only ever see 60, 120,144 or more depending on your monitors refresh rate. Only reason you may want the highest fps you can get is in competitive games. Just because you'll always see the most recent image.

However on a low refresh rate display you'll likely see screen tearing when exceeding 60 fps. With a high hz panel, 120+, you'll notice less tearing because the image is replaced faster that you often won't even notice. This want you wouldn't need any form off sync'ing that will introduce lag to stop the tearing and countering some of the benefits of high fps.

On none competitive games exceeding refresh rate isn't important and any lag from sync'ing tech is usually acceptable. So make you decision based on the types of games you play. If you play competitive go for a high refresh rate otherwise a 60 would be fine.

Personally I still like a high refresh rate because it makes things feel smoother. Even on desktop environment. So when buying my most recent monitor I went for 1440p @144hz rather than 4k @60hz.

[Eldin]

Originally posted by meh:

Originally posted by Eldin:

I don't really like VSync because of input lag.

V-sync stalls the app (including the next input poll) whilst waiting on a ready state from the display before swapping the frame buffer. On a 144hz v-sync enabled display I cannot notice this stall. I did notice it on a 60hz, though, which is why I tend to recommend higher frequencies.

I never had a chance to play on 144hz monitor. But on 60hz, that input lag can be so annoying, sometimes I'd rather have a little bit of screen tearing than input lag.
In some games input lag is not noticeable, but in fast paced first person shooters VSync is the worst thing you can enable.

[Mikasa Ackerman]

a framerate higher than your monitor can display means nothing unless you have drops then its good to stay at 80 because if you drop 10 fps you are still above your monitors cap

[Autumn_]

Originally posted by Sakura Haruno:

a framerate higher than your monitor can display means nothing unless you have drops then its good to stay at 80 because if you drop 10 fps you are still above your monitors cap

You don't know what you're talking about.

You can notice a difference between 60, 100, 150 fps on a 60hz monitor.
The higher the FPS, the less input lag you have, also you see the most up to date frame (or at least half of it.)

[Revelene]

Higher frames than your refresh rate means you are getting screen tearing. Anytime you have frames not synchronized results in screen tearing.

[Snow]

Originally posted by Revelene:

Higher frames than your refresh rate means you are getting screen tearing. Anytime you have frames not synchronized results in screen tearing.

You got the second part right, but "higher frames than your refresh rate" is BS, it has nothing to do with framerate, only with frame buffer not being synchronized with refreshes.

[Revelene]

Originally posted by Snow:

Originally posted by Revelene:

Higher frames than your refresh rate means you are getting screen tearing. Anytime you have frames not synchronized results in screen tearing.

You got the second part right, but "higher frames than your refresh rate" is BS, it has nothing to do with framerate, only with frame buffer not being synchronized with refreshes.

It has everything to do with frame rates. Screen tearing is literally where multiple partial frames are displayed.

[r.linder]

Originally posted by Revelene:

Originally posted by Snow:

You got the second part right, but "higher frames than your refresh rate" is BS, it has nothing to do with framerate, only with frame buffer not being synchronized with refreshes.

It has everything to do with frame rates. Screen tearing is literally where multiple partial frames are displayed.

Snow is correct. It's the frame buffer being out of sync with your monitor's refresh rate, and that's literally why the solution is called Vertical Sync. Having a higher frame rate may look like the cause, but it's the frame BUFFER.

[Revelene]

Originally posted by Escorve:

Originally posted by Revelene:

It has everything to do with frame rates. Screen tearing is literally where multiple partial frames are displayed.

Snow is correct. It's the frame buffer being out of sync with your monitor's refresh rate, and that's literally why the solution is called Vertical Sync. Having a higher frame rate may look like the cause, but it's the frame BUFFER.

You act as if they don't go hand in hand... Lol it is quite literally a display of partial frames. The tear is the end/beginning of a partial frame.

[Crashed]

If you go above the refresh rate of your monitor you will see one or more of the following effects:

• Tearing, if running fullscreen
  
• Stutter and/or dropped frames, if running windowed/borderless
  
• Increased GPU/CPU temperature
  
• Increased power consumption

Pretty much, there is usually no advantage to running over your refresh rate, and generally you want to turn on VSync to lock your frames to your monitor refresh.

[r.linder]

Originally posted by Revelene:

Originally posted by Escorve:

Snow is correct. It's the frame buffer being out of sync with your monitor's refresh rate, and that's literally why the solution is called Vertical Sync. Having a higher frame rate may look like the cause, but it's the frame BUFFER.

You act as if they don't go hand in hand... Lol it is quite literally a display of partial frames. The tear is the end/beginning of a partial frame.

It's the frame buffer.

Frame rate =/= Frame buffer