After you get your shiny new monitor, there are a few settings you’ll need to adjust before you can take full advantage of the glory, that is 144 Hz. However, you can also run into some bottlenecks along the way.
To make your monitor 144 Hz, head to Settings > Display > Advanced Display. Now, select the monitor you wish to adjust the refresh rate of and select 144 Hz. After clicking save, your monitor should now be at 144 Hz.
In this article, we will go through all the ways you can make your monitor 144 Hz alongside all the bottlenecks that may come along the way.
The NVIDIA Control Panel
We’ve often found users complaining about their monitor not being set to 144 Hz without looking into all the settings. Rightfully said, though, NVIDIA has made it quite hard for users to get to the place where they can set their refresh rates to their liking.
- Right-click on your desktop and click on the “NVIDIA Control Panel.”
- After doing so, head to the “Display” tab and expand it.
- Now, click on “Change Resolution.”
- Click on your 144 Hz monitor (the monitor whose refresh rate you wish to change).
- Now, scroll down to the “PC” tab present in the “Resolution” dropdown.
- Click on the highest resolution available there.
- Now, select 144 Hz or higher (if available).
- Click “Save.”
While you are already in the panel, we recommend checking all your other monitors’ resolution and frame rates to ensure they’re at their best possible settings.
Windows Display Settings
If you’ve gone through the NVIDIA Control Panel and still are not able to configure your refresh rate, or you have an AMD GPU, then Windows’ proprietary way to change display resolution should do just fine.
- Open your search bar and type “Settings.”
- Once there, head to “System.”
- Now, click on “Display.”
- After doing so, click on the display whose refresh rate you wish to change.
- Now, click on “Advanced Display.”
- Select the highest option available in the “Choose a Refresh Rate” dropdown.
Why Can’t I Put My Monitor to 144 Hz?
If you’ve tried both the options above and are not getting the 144 Hz option and are stuck at a lower refresh rate, that may be a few reasons. We’ll be going from the most probable to the least.
Check Your Display Cable
Modern monitors have multiple ports ranging from DVI to HDMI. While there are tons of different standards and bandwidths for each, the rule of thumb is to pick either Display Port or HDMI. This is because both of these standards support high bandwidths.
If you are running at higher resolutions (1440p+), going for HDMI 2.0 or Display Port 1.4 makes the most sense. With them, you won’t have an issue with your cable/input module being the reason why your monitor can’t hit 144 Hz.
Moreover, a faulty cable can also lead to you not getting 144 Hz. Check if there are blurry/jagged lines in your output. Moreover, if there’s flickering when playing games or if the cable itself is relatively old, chances are that an upgrade might fix all your woes.
Check Your GPU Drivers
Your monitor will not perform properly if you do not have the latest graphics drivers installed. Therefore, before you proceed any further, ensure that you have the latest drivers for both your NVIDIA and AMD GPU.
Also, make sure that your monitor is plugged into your graphics card and not your motherboard. If that happens, you will end up getting a display out of your monitor, but it won’t throughput through your GPU. So, this might be a reason why your monitor won’t switch to 144 Hz.
Adjust Your In-Game Setting
Your desktop often renders at 144 Hz, but a game might still feel laggy or choppy. This is primarily because you haven’t adjusted the game’s own video settings to accommodate your needs.
To do so, turn V-Sync off, head to the game’s Display Settings, and ensure that there’s no frame rate limit set and your monitor (with the right refresh rate is selected). If that isn’t the case, adjust your monitor from the dropdown menu until you see 144 Hz.
If you still aren’t able to hit 144 Hz. Then, chances are that your GPU is simply incapable of rendering that particular game at a high refresh rate. So, you can either reduce your video quality settings or purchase a newer GPU.
Check Your Monitor’s Specifications
While this may just be a long shot, it may be possible that you picked up the wrong monitor altogether. Often, model numbers can be quite confusing, and you might’ve just picked up a monitor that does not have a native 144 Hz display in the first place.
To check, either open your User Manual or take a look at the monitor’s box or any specification sheet online. In most cases, you’ll also get an idea of what exact resolution you should be aiming for to get the refresh rate you desire.
How To Check if Monitor Is at 144 Hz
Alright, we’ve gone through all the changes and have finally got our monitor to 144 Hz. Or have we? The obvious way to check would be to take a look at the increased smoothness and overall fluidity of the display.
But, if you were moving from a 120 Hz to a 144 Hz monitor, that might not be extremely obvious. No worries, though. There’s a nifty little test that helps you get an accurate reading. Just open the refresh rate test on your primary monitor, wait for it to calibrate, and you should be good to go.
Summary
Playing your games at 144 Hz or even just scrolling through sites feels extremely fluid and responsive. With that said, though, while the initial setup might feel a bit cumbersome, the added advantage of a high refresh rate monitor in terms of gaming and general use is paramount.
