If you’ve ever noticed that gameplay feels choppy or menus seem sluggish on a machine with a powerful GPU, the culprit might be your screen’s refresh rate. Refresh rate is how many times per second your monitor redraws the image, measured in Hertz (Hz). A 60Hz panel redraws 60 frames every second, while a 144Hz or 240Hz gaming display can show far more, making motion look smoother and giving competitive gamers a real advantage. Windows 11 gives you a couple of ways to check what rate your display is currently running at and to change it—but the higher-speed option only appears if your monitor and cable actually support it. This guide walks you through checking and changing your refresh rate step by step, so you can unlock the smoothness your hardware is capable of.
Before You Start: To run at a higher refresh rate, three things must line up: a monitor that supports the speed, a cable that can carry the bandwidth (DisplayPort and newer HDMI standards usually do; older HDMI cables sometimes cap you at 60Hz), and a graphics driver that isn’t throttling the output. If any of those three fall short, you’ll likely see only 60Hz as an option even on a fast panel. Keep these in mind as you work through the steps below.
Step 1: Check your current refresh rate in Display Settings
Open Settings, then navigate to System > Display. Click the Start menu, type “Display Settings” in the search box, and press Enter—or right-click an empty spot on the desktop and choose Display Settings from the menu. Either path lands you on the same Display hub, which is the home for every screen-related control in Windows 11.
Scroll down and click Advanced display. This link sits near the bottom of the Display page, under the “Multiple displays” section. Clicking it opens a new page that reports exactly what your monitor is doing right now.
Read the Refresh rate line under “Choose a display.” Windows lists the current rate—something like 60Hz, 144Hz, or 240Hz—right there on the Advanced display page. If the number looks lower than your monitor’s spec sheet claims, that’s your signal to move on to Step 2 and confirm the reading another way.
Step 2: Confirm the refresh rate with Task Manager
Open Task Manager and switch to the Performance tab. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to launch it quickly, or right-click the taskbar and choose Task Manager. Click the Performance tab at the top to see real-time hardware data.
Click GPU, then look at the bottom-right corner. Under the frame-rate graph you’ll find a refresh-rate number, such as “60.0 Hz” or “144.0 Hz.” This reading comes straight from the GPU’s own output counter, so it’s a solid cross-check against what Settings reported.
Compare the two numbers. If Settings shows 60Hz but Task Manager shows 144Hz (or vice versa), there may be a mismatch worth investigating—often a sign that Windows is outputting at the wrong rate. Matching readings mean your display is behaving as expected, and you can move on to changing it.
Step 3: Change the refresh rate in Advanced Display
Return to the Advanced display page and open the Refresh rate dropdown. Back in Settings > System > Display > Advanced display, click the box next to “Choose a refresh rate.” A menu drops down listing every rate your monitor and connection currently support.
Pick the highest rate you want to run. If your gaming monitor is rated for 144Hz, scroll to that option and select it. Choosing a higher rate than 60Hz is what unlocks smoother motion, but be aware that more frames per second also mean more work for your GPU, which can lower frame counts in graphically heavy games.
Let Windows apply the change. The new rate takes effect immediately, and a small preview window appears on screen showing a moving image. If the display flickers or goes black for a few seconds, that’s normal—Windows is reconfiguring the signal.
Step 4: Confirm the change stays in place
Watch for the “Keep changes” prompt. After applying a new rate, Windows shows a countdown timer (usually 15 seconds) asking whether you want to keep the new settings. If the screen looks good and stays visible, do nothing—the change locks in automatically once the timer runs out.
Revert if something looks wrong. If the image looks garbled, too dark, or the monitor complains, let the timer expire and Windows reverts to the previous rate. This safety net exists so a bad setting never leaves you stuck with a blank screen.
Verify the new rate in Task Manager. Open Task Manager again and check the Performance > GPU screen. The refresh-rate number should now reflect your higher selection, confirming the change took hold at the hardware level.
Pro Tip: If you game on a laptop, plug it into an external monitor over DisplayPort or a solid HDMI cable and make sure it’s running on AC power. Many laptops throttle the external output to 60Hz on battery or route it through the integrated GPU, so you can miss the higher rate even when your panel supports it.
Troubleshooting: When the higher rate doesn’t show up
Issue 1: Only 60Hz appears in the dropdown
Check your cable and port first. The most common reason a fast monitor caps at 60Hz is a bandwidth-limited connection. Older HDMI cables, especially, can’t carry 144Hz at higher resolutions. Switch to DisplayPort if your GPU and monitor both have the port, or try a HDMI 2.0 or 2.1 cable and plug it into a port that matches.
Confirm Windows picked the right GPU. On desktops with both integrated and dedicated graphics, Windows may be pushing the desktop through the slower chip. Open your graphics driver’s control panel (NVIDIA Control Panel, AMD Software: Adrenation Edition, or Intel Graphics Command Center) and make sure the display output is assigned to the powerful GPU.
Issue 2: The rate flickers or drops mid-game
Update your graphics driver. Outdated drivers sometimes misreport or drop refresh-rate support. Visit NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel’s driver download page, install the latest version, and restart. This fixes a surprising number of refresh-rate glitches.
Check game-specific settings. Some games lock frames to your monitor’s rate or to a V-Sync cap. If the in-game frame counter sits at 60 while your display runs at 144Hz, turn off frame caps and V-Sync in the game’s video settings to let the higher rate show through.
Issue 3: External or second monitor behaves differently
Set the refresh rate per display. in Windows 11’s Advanced display page, the “Choose a display” dropdown lets you switch between connected monitors. Select the second screen and repeat the refresh-rate change for it—each display gets its own independent setting.
Enterprise deployments may lock the rate. If you’re on a work or school machine managed by IT, an admin might enforce a specific refresh rate via Group Policy. In that case, the Settings option may be greyed out or reset after a reboot. Ask your administrator if a higher gaming rate is allowed before digging deeper.
Final tips to get the most from your refresh rate
Match your game’s frame rate to the display. A 144Hz panel only helps if your GPU pushes 144 frames per second. Run a benchmark or check an in-game frame counter to see whether your hardware can keep up, and adjust resolution or graphics settings accordingly.
Consider Adaptive Sync. If your monitor supports G-Sync (NVIDIA) or FreeSync (AMD), enable it in the driver control panel. This syncs the refresh rate to the frame rate, cutting screen tearing without the frame-cap tradeoffs.
Keep your settings after a Windows update. A major update can occasionally reset display settings. Re-check the Advanced display page afterward to make sure your refresh rate didn’t slip back to 60Hz.
What refresh rate is your gaming display running at now, and did bumping it up make a difference in your games? Let us know in the comments.
Over to you: What refresh rate is your gaming display running at now, and did bumping it up make a difference in your games?
