# 60hz vs 70hz



## NinkobEi (Jul 29, 2007)

just curious can anyone explain to me the difference between the two of these? will one look better/perform better than the other? I can sort of tell a difference when I switch my monitor between the two but I cant figure out what the difference is..


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## Ben Clarke (Jul 29, 2007)

70Hz give you a better refresh rate, so it reduces flicker on your monitor.


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## rodneyhchef (Jul 29, 2007)

You notice it more at higher resolutions, eg 640x480 @ 60Hz looks fine but 1600x1200 @ 60Hz looks very flickery! If you have the option to increase the refresh rate you should do so.


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## Wayward (Jul 29, 2007)

Also some people are sensitive to various refresh rates.  A friend of mine got badly ill after gaming on a 60hz monitor.  Took us a while to figure out what happened, but increasing the refresh rate past 70hz solves the problem.

I've even heard of some people having seizures, but I wouldn't know firsthand.


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## rodneyhchef (Jul 29, 2007)

It's along the same lines of people being sensitive to strobe lighting. It happened to a friend of mine who (at the time) was using an amstrad CPC 464. Going back a few years now.


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## bigboi86 (Jul 29, 2007)

It doesn't apply to LCD monitors though, 60hz is fine for LCD monitors because they work differently than CRT monitors. 60hz on a CRT is awful, but 60hz on an LCD doesn't even make a difference.


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## Nemesis881 (Jul 29, 2007)

Personally, I can't look at a CRT under 75hz.  But my eyesight is horrible .


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## hat (Jul 29, 2007)

I've been 60hz since I was 8 (I'm 15 now). Doesn't bother me, thank god, cause I got a 60hz monitor and they are very expensive to go out and buy one just to get more refresh cycles/sec


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## bigboi86 (Jul 29, 2007)

hat said:


> I've been 60hz since I was 8 (I'm 15 now). Doesn't bother me, thank god, cause I got a 60hz monitor and they are very expensive to go out and buy one just to get more refresh cycles/sec



It wont support anything above 60hz? Have you tried changing the refresh rate?

EDIT: I can take about 72hz.. that's what I ran my old CRT on. Looks a WHOLE lot better and more soothing to the eyes IMO. 75 is even better but I couldn't run 75hz at 1280 res.


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## NinkobEi (Jul 30, 2007)

I do notice a difference between 60hz and 70hz on a lcd monitor, now that I have tried it out. in games everything is much smoother and if I turn really sharp I wont notice as many screen refreshes. 70hz ftw!


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## pbmaster (Jul 30, 2007)

I game fine on my 17" CRT @ 60 Hz...and my eyesight is terrible too!!! I can stare at it for hours and hours and hours.....


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## bigboi86 (Jul 30, 2007)

Ninkobwi said:


> I do notice a difference between 60hz and 70hz on a lcd monitor, now that I have tried it out. in games everything is much smoother and if I turn really sharp I wont notice as many screen refreshes. 70hz ftw!



It does not make a difference on an LCD monitor.


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## Wile E (Jul 30, 2007)

bigboi86 said:


> It does not make a difference on an LCD monitor.


He's right. It doesn't matter what you set the refresh rate to in the software, the LCD's hardware converts it to 60Hz for display. It's the LCD's natural refresh rate. Any difference you think you may notice is just the placebo effect.

CRTs are entirely different story, altogether. The higher, the better on a CRT.


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## Nemesis881 (Jul 30, 2007)

pbmaster said:


> I game fine on my 17" CRT @ 60 Hz...and my eyesight is terrible too!!! I can stare at it for hours and hours and hours.....



I guess my eyesight is superior


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## NinkobEi (Jul 30, 2007)

eh, my LCD is set at 74 HZ right now and it was set at 60hz. you're telling me that the settings on my monitor is not true?


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## Wile E (Jul 30, 2007)

Ninkobwi said:


> eh, my LCD is set at 74 HZ right now and it was set at 60hz. you're telling me that the settings on my monitor is not true?


Well, sort of. The signal going to the monitor is 74Hz, but the monitor still only outputs 60Hz if it's an LCD.


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## NinkobEi (Jul 30, 2007)

Wile E said:


> Well, sort of. The signal going to the monitor is 74Hz, but the monitor still only outputs 60Hz if it's an LCD.



is that like a written rule? lcds cant run faster than 60hz? i'm just confused why they would stop at 60


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## Wile E (Jul 30, 2007)

Ninkobwi said:


> is that like a written rule? lcds cant run faster than 60hz? i'm just confused why they would stop at 60


More or less. It's just the nature of the way pixels respond, and the way it interacts with the backlight.


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## Mussels (Jul 30, 2007)

CRT: 72Hz is the 'official' flicker free refresh rate

LCD: stuck at 60, because they dont HAVE a refresh rate.

Refresh rate is how often the entire screen updates, but LCD do it pixel-by-pixel, so the screen itself (8ms, 2ms, 16ms, etc) determines how well it does here.

Setting the refresh higher on an LCD only allows you to run a higher FPS if you have Vsync on, it really doesnt change anything else.


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## NinkobEi (Jul 30, 2007)

okies, well thanks. back down to 60hz for me then...no point making something work harder than it has to


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## lemonadesoda (Jul 30, 2007)

60Hz vs 70Hz.... very confusing question.

If you are on TFT, then probably the 60Hz is better. The electronics of most TFTs are designed to match 60Hz to give a rock solid screen. If you run too fast, then some colors tend to shimmer ot moire.

If you have a CRT, then usually 70Hz is much better, and less likely to interfere with your incandescent lighting.  However, sometimes the resolution of the faster speed maxes out at a lower resolution.

Horses for courses. Try it. And see what works best with your screen+graphics card+lighting situation.

(PS. I run my TFT's at 60Hz... MUCH MUCH better image stability and colour control than 70Hz.)


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## tkpenalty (Jul 30, 2007)

I run at 75 

Anyway, higher refresh rates generally give smoother action.


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## psyko12 (Jul 30, 2007)

Woot I've been running my CRT with 60hz for 11 years now lol, I know still stuck with old ACER CRT  hehehe just saving greens for newer parts or maybe move unto LCD , off topic tho, which 1 eats more electricity lcd or crt? Thanks


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## HookeyStreet (Jul 30, 2007)

My Sony 19" SXGA LCD monitor only does 60Hz and Im happy with that   At first I thought it must be shit because my 17" LCD would go upto 75Hz.

This may be of interest to you:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frames_per_second#Frame_rates_in_video_games


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## bigboi86 (Jul 30, 2007)

lemonadesoda said:


> 60Hz vs 70Hz.... very confusing question.
> 
> If you are on TFT, then probably the 60Hz is better. The electronics of most TFTs are designed to match 60Hz to give a rock solid screen. If you run too fast, then some colors tend to shimmer ot moire.
> 
> ...



Did you not even see our posts about how refresh rates doesn't affect LCDs?



			
				Wiki said:
			
		

> Much of the discussion of refresh rate does not apply to LCD monitors. This is because while a phosphor on a CRT will begin to dim as soon as the electron beam passes it, LCD cells open to pass a continuous stream of light, and do not dim until instructed to produce a darker color. Pertaining to LCDs, see also response time and Input lag.


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## NinkobEi (Jul 30, 2007)

CRTs should draw LOTS more power than a LCD. like a tube television vs a plasma...it just has so much more to power.


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## psyko12 (Jul 30, 2007)

Thanks for answering my ques, time to save up some greens for a good 20" lcd.... lol


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## bigboi86 (Jul 30, 2007)

psyko12 said:


> Thanks for answering my ques, time to save up some greens for a good 20" lcd.... lol



Didn't see your question.. yes CRTs use up a lot more power, and generate a lot more heat.


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## Mussels (Jul 31, 2007)

psyko12 said:


> Woot I've been running my CRT with 60hz for 11 years now lol, I know still stuck with old ACER CRT  hehehe just saving greens for newer parts or maybe move unto LCD , off topic tho, which 1 eats more electricity lcd or crt? Thanks



CRT's use a lot more.

19" CRT - 90-110W
19 LCD - 40-60W

i tested a few with a power meter a while back.


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## CH@NO (Aug 1, 2007)

bigboi86 said:


> Did you not even see our posts about how refresh rates doesn't affect LCDs?



Copy that.....just on my new HP w19e widescreen set a 60 HZ (res. 1440 X 900) the screen flickers on the letters, and when I increase the fresh rate (same res.) to 75 HZ the issue dissapears.

I have a PowerColor X1650PRO connected via VGA, could it be the VGA Card or It's 'cause I'm using VGA input instead DVI???

thanx for the support.


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## bassmasta (Aug 1, 2007)

how much do you think it would cost to get a true-to-life rate monitor? that is to say, we can see 200htz, sunlight is between 160 and 180.  so, how much do you think that would cost?


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## lemonadesoda (Aug 2, 2007)

bigboi86 said:


> Did you not even see our posts about how refresh rates doesn't affect LCDs?



I read it. And you are wrong. Refresh rates DO affect TFT's. And often significantly.  

YOU might have a TFT with only one refresh rate. But we're not interested in just YOUR situation.


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## Wile E (Aug 2, 2007)

lemonadesoda said:


> I read it. And you are wrong. Refresh rates DO affect TFT's. And often significantly.


Nothing I have ever come across supports that. Have any links to info?


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## ex_reven (Aug 2, 2007)

lemonadesoda said:


> I read it. And you are wrong. Refresh rates DO affect TFT's. And often significantly.
> 
> YOU might have a TFT with only one refresh rate. But we're not interested in just YOUR situation.



Are you sure you arnt thinking of response time?
I.e. Grey to Grey and Black to Black response times


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## Mussels (Aug 2, 2007)

Response times! lol i was thinking of that, couldnt remember what it was called.

Refresh rates only increase the Vsync rate. I've got 4x LCD's here, all except my 22" offer upto 75Hz - and there is no difference unless Vsync is on in gaming.

Refresh is how often the entire image is updated, LCD update tons of little cells at a time individually.

If YOUR monitor has flickery text or something like that at a lower refresh, that means you're the odd one out - its worth adding as a side note to this thread, but its definitely not the norm.


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## tkpenalty (Aug 2, 2007)

actually guys.... the FRAMES PER SECOND is the LCD refresh rate. Tell me why the frames per second displayed is lower when I set it at 60hz? And why is it faster at 75?


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## Wile E (Aug 2, 2007)

tkpenalty said:


> actually guys.... the FRAMES PER SECOND is the LCD refresh rate. Tell me why the frames per second displayed is lower when I set it at 60hz? And why is it faster at 75?


Because that's how many frames your graphics card renders, not how many frames the LCD displays.


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## ex_reven (Aug 2, 2007)

This reminds me of photoshop.
You have a 300dpi image in front of you, but regardless of what you have, you will never be able to see the whole image on screen because the monitor only does 72 dpi.


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## Mussels (Aug 2, 2007)

tkpenalty said:


> actually guys.... the FRAMES PER SECOND is the LCD refresh rate. Tell me why the frames per second displayed is lower when I set it at 60hz? And why is it faster at 75?



Because you have Vsync enabled? lol.

LCD's have an infinite refresh rate, because they DONT refresh - its all down to the response times of the individual pixels and their ability to change colors.

Maybe someone should hunt up a good wiki link about this, far too many people are arguing it.


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