High refresh rates monitors became the sought after displays for gamers ever since multiplayer titles took over the industry. These monitors offer a very smooth gameplay experience and can display the extremely high frame rates modern graphics cards are capable of outputting. But, after you shoved all of your good money behind one 144Hz at your local Micro Center, you find out that it is only running at 60Hz. And, that refresh rate is only as good as your five-year-old panel.
In this article, we will list the most common fixes that will help you fix the problem of monitor stuck at 60hz on a 165hz, 144hz Monitor Stuck at 60hz, and other similar issues.
Why is My Monitor Not Running at 144Hz?
There can be a lot of reasons why your monitor is not running at 144Hz. We will list the most common ones down below, and list the fixes accordingly.
1. Set the Right FPS from Monitor Menu
Monitor menus are very inconspicuous and often just a single button (control nipples) that you can tilt in various directions to navigate the menu. Due to the single button, users may confuse the menu button with a power on and off button. It leads them to not set the monitor to the right refresh rate. Usually, monitors are set to 60 FPS by default. You need to access the monitor’s menu and set the max FPS. Once you do that, you should be able to fix the stuck at 60hz on a 165hz monitor or 144Hz.
2. Check Whether Your Monitor Supports 144Hz
Make sure your display supports 144Hz. Otherwise, you would waste a lot of time troubleshooting a non-existent problem. If your monitor is only capable of up to 60Hz, you can never push it to 144
Make a quick Google search with the exact model name of your monitor. Then open up the official documentation. All specs of your display should be listed here.
3. Check Windows Settings
Windows may default your high refresh rate monitor to 60Hz since that is the most common refresh rate in the market. In this scenario, you will have to manually set the refresh rate to the highest your monitor supports.
To do this, follow these steps:
- Select the start button.
- Then go to the Settings app.
- After that, go to System -> Display -> Advanced Display.
- Then from the “Choose a refresh rate” dropdown box, choose the highest rate your display supports.
- You can also choose Dynamic Refresh Rate. This feature automatically increases the refresh rate while gaming or scrolling. When the screen is idling, it drops it down, thereby saving power.
4. Make Sure Your Graphics Card/Console Supports 144Hz
Some low-end graphics cards do not support high refresh rates. You can do a quick Google search with the name of your card to find out the maximum supported refresh rates at a given resolution.
Also, the PS4, PS4 Pro, and the Xbox One family support only up to 60Hz. The latest PS5 and the Xbox Series consoles, however, can output at 120Hz. So, set your refresh rate accordingly.
5. Check Your Display Cable
You need to make sure that you have a capable cable to display content at high refresh rates. Old school VGA connectors won’t do it. You need at least an HDMI 2.0b or higher or DisplayPort 1.4 or higher cable to enjoy high refresh rates.
If you cannot figure out which ports your cable comes with, just buy a good HDMI 2.0 cable, and plug it in. A good cable will cost you barely around $10.
These steps should help you fix your problem. If you are still facing issues, try contacting Microsoft as this will be a problem on the software’s half if your hardware supports 144Hz.
