Do You Need a High Refresh Rate When Playing Games in Your Laptop?

With the gaming market growing in epic proportion, manufacturers are now making gadgets such as smartphones, PC’s, monitors and even laptops with the gamer in mind. Some gamers may prefer a gaming laptop as a compromise between the small screen of a smartphone, or the bulkiness of a PC. Thus, when choosing a gaming laptop, one of the key features to consider is the refresh rate. With some gaming laptops coming with refresh rates of up to 300Hz, the question is whether you really need them for playing your favourite games or casino games in an established casino such as JackpotCity online casino. While at it, you may want to look at the hard to resist bonus at JackpotCity as you enjoy your favourite games.

Refresh rates explained

For a picture to appear on your screen, it must redraw itself a number of times per second (refresh rate) to make the motion fluid. This means that a screen with a high refresh rate produces motion that is much more fluid. For example, a typical movie runs at 24 fps (frames per second), which means that it must redraw 24 times per second or 24Hz on the screen to play smoothly. While this is fine for a TV, this refresh rate is too slow for your PC or Laptop, since it would be showing jerking motion. This is why most PC’s and laptops will usually run at 60Hz to show smooth motion. With this in mind, the question is, why would you then invest in higher refresh rates if 60Hz is enough?

Why invest in higher refresh rates

Most of the gaming laptops being rolled out today are able to achieve refresh rates above 60Hz, with the common ones being 144Hz, 240Hz and 300Hz. You would want to invest in a laptop with a high refresh rate to make the motion more fluid. However, the refresh rate will be affected by the screen resolution. Most of the gaming laptops run at 1080p (1920 by 1080) or 1440p (2560 by 1440). However, most gamers prefer playing at resolutions of 1080p, also known as full HD, as it provides great detail without being too taxing on your graphics card. Most gaming laptops with resolutions of 1440p and 1080p will come in refresh rates of up to 240Hz, while some 1080p laptops are able to reach 300Hz.

So, which refresh rate do I need

If you are playing casual games or AAA games, a gaming laptop with a 60Hz refresh rate will be sufficient. You will be able to play your games smoothly with low-end graphics cards such as Radeon RX 5500M, GeForce GTX 1650 series or GeForce MX lines. This is because they support frame rates of between 30fps and 60fps. However, in games such as esports, where response time, accuracy, and competitiveness are key, then higher frames rates such as 120Hz or 144Hz will be preferable.