How to set a monitor to 144 Hz

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I earn a small commission from Amazon links, at no cost to you. See disclosure.

Bought a 144 Hz monitor but games still feel like 60? It might just be a setting. A 144 Hz monitor left at 60 is a setting. The refresh rate is how many times a second a new picture may start. Microsoft’s Advanced display page uses that wording: a 60 Hz display updates the screen 60 times a second. Windows opens many screens at 60 until you pick the higher rate on that screen. The panel draws 60 pictures a second while the menu says 60, whatever number was printed on the box.

I play on a 1080p 240 Hz and a 1440p 155 Hz monitor, driven by an RTX 5080 and an AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2. Both of those rates sit above 144. This guide is the Windows setting that makes a 144 Hz monitor actually run at 144. The best gaming monitor is the resolution the PC can hold, at a size the desk fits, at a refresh rate you will see. Variable refresh follows frames under that ceiling. It does not raise the ceiling. More monitor guides.

What to check first

144 Hz is the rate Windows is using on this monitor. If the menu still says 60, the panel is drawing 60 pictures a second no matter what the box printed.

Advanced displayIt says 60 HzIt says 144 Hz144 Hz is not in the listThe cableNot sure yetThe port the listing names for 144An older HDMI, or the other portThe gameNot sure yetThe counter is near 144, or uncappedThe counter sits near 60

What this means

Windows is still on 60

Open Settings, System, Display, Advanced display. Select this monitor at the top. Choose 144 Hz. If the row still says 60, you changed the other screen.

Read the rate on the monitor you are actually looking at. A laptop panel and an external screen are two rows. Microsoft puts an asterisk next to a rate that does not support the current resolution. That star is not a cable test.

144 Hz monitors worth a look

• 27” 1440p 144 Hz IPS: LG UltraGear 27GN800-B. Official US page: 27” QHD (2560 × 1440) IPS, 1 ms (GtG), 144 Hz, NVIDIA G-SYNC Compatible, AMD FreeSync Premium, sRGB 99% (typ.) with HDR10. LG’s UK spec sheet pairs 2560×1440 8-bit at 144 Hz on HDMI and 2560×1440 10-bit at 144 Hz on DisplayPort 1.4. LG US page. Amazon search for 27GN800-B
• 24” 1080p 144 Hz IPS: LG UltraGear 24GN60R-B. Official US page: 24” FHD (1920 × 1080) IPS, 1 ms (GtG), 144 Hz, AMD FreeSync Premium, sRGB 99% with HDR10. LG’s UK sheet prints HDMI plus DisplayPort 1.4, refresh max 144. LG US page. Amazon search for 24GN60R-B
• 23.8” 1080p 144 Hz IPS: ASUS TUF Gaming VG249Q. Official US spec: 23.8” IPS, 1920 × 1080, refresh max 144 Hz, 1 ms MPRT, Adaptive-Sync, AMD FreeSync Premium. Ports: DisplayPort 1.2, HDMI 1.4, VGA. Digital signal frequency 48–144 Hz. ASUS US spec. Amazon search for VG249Q

The short version: pick 144 on the screen you are looking at. An asterisk changes the resolution. It does not name a broken cable.

Set it in Windows

Microsoft’s path for Windows 11 is Start, then Settings, System, Display, Advanced display. The Display information panel shows the current resolution and refresh rate for the selected display, and whether that display supports variable refresh rate. Next to Choose a refresh rate, pick 144 Hz.

If more than one screen is connected, choose yours at the top before you touch the rate. The laptop’s own panel is a different display. Changing it does not change the monitor on the desk. Microsoft’s multiple-monitor page is Identify if you are not sure which number is which.

The same Microsoft article still prints the Windows 10 path: Settings, System, Display, Advanced display settings, then the display under Choose Display, then Refresh rate. Support for Windows 10 ended on 14 October 2025. The rule does not change. Select the screen you are looking at, then 144. The change applies immediately. You do not need the graphics card’s control panel when 144 is in this list and you have selected it.

If the list offers 165 or 240 and that is the number you paid for, pick that number. A higher entry isn’t a bonus Windows made up. I pick the highest rate each of my 1440p monitors supports. Those clicks live on this same page. 1440p 240 Hz is the pair above 144 at 1440p. 360 Hz is the other ceiling. Open Advanced display after a reboot and read the number beside that monitor’s name. That row is what the panel is using. The number printed on the box is not.

The asterisk is not a cable

Microsoft prints this as Important on the Advanced display page: the refresh-rate dropdown shows an asterisk next to rates that do not support your current resolution. Selecting one of those rates changes the display resolution so the selected refresh rate can run.

That is the whole of the mark. If you wanted 1440p at 144 and the star drops the picture to 1080p, that pair is not available at the current resolution and mode. The picture gets softer because the pixel count fell. Put the resolution back if you did not mean to trade it. Microsoft’s resolution page says to stay with the option marked Recommended when you want the native count.

A cable can still be one reason the pair is missing. So can the panel, the GPU, the port, or a dock. The asterisk itself only means that Hertz is not supported on the mode you are in. Do not buy a new lead because a star appeared. Read whether 144 is missing, or starred. Those are two different rows.

Two screens sharing one picture

Microsoft’s multiple-monitor page names four layouts behind Windows key + P. Duplicate shows the same thing on all your displays. Extend shows the desktop across multiple screens so you can move items between them. PC screen only and Second screen only leave one panel dark.

When both screens must show the same picture, they have to agree on one pair. The list then only offers rates both can do. A 60 Hz laptop screen duplicated onto a 144 Hz monitor is why 144 may not appear at all. Switch to Extend. The screens become separate rows. Select the external monitor at the top of Advanced display, then choose 144.

A dock sits in that same chain. Microsoft’s multiple-monitor article starts with cables seated on the PC or the dock, then a Windows Update check. If 144 only appears when you unplug the dock and go straight into the card, the dock is the limit. The asterisk still is not that diagnosis.

When 144 is not in the list

The menu only lists pairs the panel, the port, and the cable all accept. A monitor can have a fast port and a slow one. Plugging into the slow one is how a 144 Hz panel opens at 60 and stays there.

Read the row the maker printed for 144 at your resolution.

LG’s 27GN800-B is the 1440p example: HDMI listed at 2560×1440 8-bit / 144 Hz, DisplayPort 1.4 listed at 2560×1440 10-bit / 144 Hz. Either named port can carry that pair on that sheet. An older HDMI lead from a drawer is still a common cap. Intel’s 120 Hz note says the same thing in one line: older HDMI cables may not support the bandwidth. Use the cable that came with the monitor, or one rated for the port the page names.

ASUS VG249Q is the 1080p example that still lists HDMI 1.4 next to 144 Hz. HDMI 1.4 is not automatically too old at 1920×1080. It is too old when the listing needed a newer HDMI version at a higher pixel count. VGA on that ASUS is the analog leftover. I would not hunt 144 on that socket.

Then match the resolution to the row that includes 144. Some panels offer 144 at 1080p and a lower rate at 4K. Do not type a custom rate into a graphics control panel. If Windows does not list the pair, the chain is not offering it.

A monitor menu sometimes has its own refresh switch, or an overclock the manual says must be on before the PC can see the higher rate. BenQ’s 144 / 165 / 240 Hz setup note starts in that on-screen menu, then Windows. Turn on only the switch that manual names. Then open Advanced display again. If 144 is still missing after the cable and the port match, Intel’s next step is a clean graphics-driver install. How to update a GPU driver is that install. The driver can’t offer a combination the port cannot carry.

Stuck at 120, not 60

120 Hz is a common stop on HDMI. It is not 60, and it is not the asterisk. Intel’s 144 Hz stuck at 120 Hz note, last reviewed 16 July 2026, starts on the same Advanced display path, then names older HDMI cables, the display’s own support, and a clean driver. If 144 is absent and 120 is the top number, you are looking at a bandwidth or handshake limit, not a Windows preference for 120. Swap to the port the listing names for 144, then look again.

When Windows says 144 and the game does not

A borderless or windowed game uses the desktop rate. A fullscreen game can keep its own video setting, including a refresh of 60 or a frame limit near 60. Open that game’s display menu. Set the rate to match, or turn the limiter off. A counter that sits on 60 while Advanced display says 144 is that cap. The monitor did not ignore you. How to cap FPS is the limiter page. VSync is the other wait that can hold a finished frame until the next start.

On a laptop, Dynamic refresh rate lives on the same Advanced display page. Microsoft says DRR needs a display that supports VRR and a refresh rate of at least 120 Hz. It automatically adjusts the rate based on what you are doing. The same Important note says DRR should not affect games designed for VRR, but it can limit the maximum refresh rate of other games. If a game seems stuck low and this switch is on, turn it off and look at the counter again. Leave it on when the game is already smooth. It is a battery feature, not a higher rate. Windows 10 does not have DRR.

Microsoft also notes that if the display already supports VRR, many games adapt the refresh on their own. That follow is G-SYNC or FreeSync. It still lives under the ceiling Windows is using. It does not create 144 frames.

Setting 144 does not make the graphics card draw 144 frames. A counter at 80 means the panel is showing about 80. The unused room is the label you already paid for. Raising the Windows number again will not fill it. An FPS monitor is still the size and the resolution the counter holds.

What 144 Hz does not fix

It does not make a pixel change shade faster. A trail behind a moving edge is that change. Response time is the millisecond. The gap at 144 Hz is about 6.9 milliseconds. At 155 Hz, my 1440p screen, it is about 6.45. At 240 Hz, the Overwatch screen, it is about 4.2. Those are spaces on a schedule.

It does not brighten the screen. HDR is brightness. It does not stop a tear by itself. Frames that show up between starts can still split the picture until variable refresh, inside its range, is the thing you are judging. It does not repair a cable in the wrong hole, or make a 60 Hz laptop panel faster while Duplicate is still on. If the Advanced display row already says 144 on the screen you are looking at, the monitor is set. The next question is whether the game is allowed to use that rate, and whether the PC can draw the frames.

How to choose the click

1. Identify the screen. Advanced display, this monitor, then 144 if that is the number on the box.
2. If 144 is starred, read the resolution after you pick it. Put the native count back if the picture went soft. The star was a mode limit, not a shopping list for cables.
3. If 144 is missing, read the port row on the listing. Use that port and a cable rated for it. Leave a dock out of the test. Extend, do not Duplicate, when a 60 Hz panel is sharing the picture.
4. If the top number is 120, treat Intel’s note as the next page: cable, display support, clean driver.
5. Then open the game. Match the rate, or turn the limiter off. Turn DRR off if a laptop game sits under the maximum.

I play on a 1080p 240 Hz and a 1440p 155 Hz monitor. The Zarya guide is the aim page. Sensitivity lives on /tools. I set their refresh rates on this same Windows page.

Pick 144 on the screen you are looking at when 144 is the rate you paid for. If the star drops the resolution, the pair was not available. If the number is missing, fix the chain. More monitor guides.

Common questions

How do I set my monitor to 144Hz in Windows?

Go to Settings, System, Display, Advanced display, pick your monitor and choose 144 Hz next to 'Choose a refresh rate'. If it still shows 60, make sure you selected the right screen.

Why is 144Hz not showing in Windows?

Usually it's the cable, the port or the resolution. Use DisplayPort or a newer HDMI cable, make sure you're plugged into the graphics card and not the motherboard, and update your GPU driver.

What does the asterisk next to a refresh rate mean in Windows?

It means that refresh rate doesn't work at your current resolution. If you pick it, Windows will change the resolution to make it work.

Why does my game still feel like 60Hz?

The game may have its own refresh rate or FPS cap. Check the game's display settings and frame limit, and set it to 144 Hz or switch to borderless mode.

Does setting 144Hz increase FPS?

No. It lets your monitor show up to 144 frames per second, but your PC still has to render them. If your game runs at 80 FPS, you'll see about 80.

Do I need DisplayPort for 144Hz?

Not always. DisplayPort is the safest choice, but HDMI works if your monitor and cable support 144 Hz at your resolution; check the monitor's specs.

Why is my 144Hz monitor stuck at 120Hz?

It's usually an older HDMI cable or port. Switch to DisplayPort or a newer HDMI cable, then pick 144 Hz in Advanced display settings.

Does duplicating my screen limit my monitor to 60Hz?

Yes, if the other screen is 60 Hz. In Duplicate mode both screens must share a refresh rate, so switch to Extend mode and set your gaming monitor to 144 Hz.