The Great Frame Rate Debate: Weighing the Costs and Benefits of Faster Gameplay

When it comes to gaming, one of the most debated topics among enthusiasts is frame rate. While some argue that a higher frame rate is essential for a smoother gaming experience, others claim that it's not as important as resolution or graphics settings. In this article, we'll explore the pros and cons of choosing a lower frame rate and what it means for PC and console gamers.

Cost: The Currency Aspect

One of the main reasons to choose a lower frame rate is cost. Higher frame rates require more powerful hardware, which can be expensive. When you're on a budget, prioritizing speed over other factors can help you save money. However, if you're willing to invest in high-performance hardware, you may not need to compromise on frame rate.

Prioritizing Speed Over Other Factors

To crank up the frame rate, your processing power takes priority over other important factors like resolution or graphics settings. This means that you may need to turn off features like ray tracing, which can make games look worse but still run smoothly. In some cases, frame rates are capped at a certain level due to hardware limitations.

The Impact of Resolution

For PC gamers, the situation is even more complicated. High-resolution screens already present trade-offs for gamers, such as limited panel options and refresh rate compatibility. When searching for a display with high refresh rates, you may find that there aren't many options available at an affordable price. For example, finding an ultra-wide screen with 360Hz may be impossible.

Racing Games: An Exception

One area where higher frame rates are more important is in racing games. However, even here, the need for over 120Hz is debatable. If you're serious about gaming, buying a high-end wheel may be a better investment than upgrading to a faster monitor.

Console Users: A Different Perspective

For console users, choosing a lower frame rate isn't always necessary. In fact, many games on consoles are designed to run at high frame rates, and it's often not worth the cost of a 120Hz TV for most players. However, if you do play supported titles, upgrading to a higher refresh rate can be a no-brainer.

PC Gamers: The Ultimate Freedom

For PC gamers, the situation is more complex. With so many display options available, choosing a monitor with a high refresh rate like 144Hz or 165Hz can provide the freedom to play at any resolution you want. This is especially true for mixed gamers who may not need the benefits of faster frame rates in every game.

In Conclusion

Ultimately, the decision to prioritize frame rate over other factors depends on your gaming needs and budget. While higher frame rates can provide a smoother experience, they often come with a price tag. By understanding the trade-offs involved and setting realistic expectations, gamers can make informed decisions about their hardware choices. Whether you're a PC or console gamer, finding the right balance between performance and cost is key to an enjoyable gaming experience.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enyou've been lied to for years higher frame rate isn't always better there i've said it shock horror don't get me wrong there are loads of great reasons to play games at higher frame rates but then again there are also plenty not to this might sound a little bit confusing after all 120 hertz is higher than 60 so it simply must be objectively better right it's basic maths man science doesn't lie but here's the thing in isolation you'd be absolutely spot on but in the world of gaming there is no such thing as a free lunch and unfortunately you are going to have to trade things for a higher frame rate which in practice aren't always worth it so let me explain what sort of frame rate is best what you should be aiming for right after a short word from this video sponsor gigabyte error laptops are the one stop solution for all of your creative and gaming needs these slim and sleek machines look absolutely gorgeous yet they pack in some serious horsepower coming equipped with nvidia rtx graphics cards intel 11th gen processors and stacks of memory these laptops are perfect for both work and play learn a little bit more today with that link down below as usual it's the whole marketing bs that gets in the way of the truth because it's not as simple as just buying 120 or 360 hertz display and then playing all of your games and that luscious rich frame rates because you're always going to have to make a trade-off to get there assuming you can actually get there in the first place it's a bit like buying a long-haul flight cheap if it has four stop overs but costs half the price is it really worth it and is that a good analogy probably not for decades console users have been using 30 frames a second as the standards the benchmark minimum that games need to feel smooth enough to play coding issues and hardware limitations mean that sometimes games miss this cyberpunk but that's a topic for another video let's assume a rocksteady frame rate across all of the games today the issue with 30 frames a second is that it looks absolutely fine but it never really feels great as soon as you put any input into the system with a keyboard with a mouse or a gamepad you'll probably notice that there's a slight disconnect from what you're doing and then the time to actually see something or feel something happening on screen this is exactly why the latest gen consoles and of course pc gaming have all adopted 60 frames a second as the true minimum benchmark of next gen with images being refreshed twice as fast not only does the game look a whole lot smoother but the reduced delay from actually hitting the key and then seeing the result on your screen makes it feel a whole lot better too the drawback for this however should be pretty obvious you need twice the amount of horsepower to actually render twice the amount of frames though with current generation hardware this shouldn't be a problem right right moving things into the realm of 2022 a key selling point for both pc gaming and the new consoles is 120 fps gaming which is of course four times the amount of those icky old consoles there is absolutely no doubt that this feels incredible both on pc gaming monitors and the new breed of gaming tvs with 4k 120 slowly becoming the norm for super high-end gaming it is just a joy to use honestly especially in multiplayer gaming is just so much more snappy and engaging it really is next level this isn't 3d it's not vr this is well and truly not a gimmick just like rgb makes your life complete but here's the best bit this isn't even tech for the wealthy oh no cheap 1080p displays that work with 120 hertz have been around for ages so there's no reason why anyone has to settle should they want to get in on 120 fps action unless you're on console and this is the main difference really between pc gaming and console gaming choice because on pc you can set the frame rate to pretty much whatever you want as long as the game actually supports it without a frame rate cap sorted whereas on console you can only choose the options that the developers have actually set for you which is a bit sad now to be fair a decent chunk of next generation games do give you the choice between different performance modes but sometimes it's between 30 and 60 not between 60 and 120. if you're on pc though the good news is that this doesn't apply and in fact you can go even higher than 120 there are even rumors of 480 hertz monitors coming soon which is almost a little bit scary it's all about reducing that time between input and output and as such you'll feel more connected to the game than ever before any competitive title really starts to pull away and give you a frankly unfair advantage especially against anyone playing at 30fps you wouldn't want to be one of those guys because you get your ass whooped boy it's really difficult to explain with words but i'd almost describe it as having more focus on your surroundings as the extra time to spot enemies and move the mouse may only be fractions of a second but it really does make a big difference it's definitely not as dramatic as 60 fps versus 120 especially in slower paced games but there is no doubt that i played better in apex legends at 240 fps even if i am still a little bit crap the big big problem here though is actually quite a few things firstly money 240 and 360hz monitors are expensive let alone the graphics cards and the processors needed to actually drive these games at that refresh rate and that's the other thing even with an endless onslaught of cash there's just no way you can actually drive all of your games at 200 fps even if you've got an rtx 3090 at 1080p it ain't gonna happen sure the games that you probably want to play at 240 or 360 are going to be lighter multiplayer titles but it is definitely a little bit of a waste now isn't it and then finally you have the issue of resolution because if you're looking at getting a super fast refresh rate monitor chances are at best it's going to be 1440p and the real fastest ones are always going to be 1080p there's just something very backwards about having super high in hardware then pairing it with like a small low resolution monitor if there's a title that you play religiously that's multiplayer and you're a very competitive person then 240 and 360 hertz monitors are indeed for you and i don't think you'd regret buying one for everyone else i'm not quite so sure so this is the bit that i like to call pc centric super fun guide to choosing a frame rate starring me and if you buy anything you isn't it fun speed games feel incredibly fast as the frame rate increases with extra fluidity to help their game look and feel their absolute best competitiveness not really important for single player but the faster the screen refreshes the lower the latency and the faster you can react to the on-screen action enjoyment just like i bet you're enjoying this segment i know this sounds really silly but genuinely playing at 120fps is more fun than the same game at 60. i can't quite explain it but by adding that extra layer of immersion through a closer connection between the player and the game it is definitely more fun this last point definitely has a layer of diminishing returns to it though as ultimately it depends what you're playing and what you're playing on the more input that's required the stronger the effects and it's much more pronounced with a mouse and keyboard than it is with a controller now for comparison here are the reasons to actively choose a lower frame rates and the list is actually surprisingly long cost we've already mentioned the currency aspect but here i'm talking about the computing power or the cost of actually working with higher frame rates you see in order to actually crank up the frame rate your processing power is prioritizing speed over other arguably just as important factors resolution maybe graphic settings ray tracing the better looking options need a lot of grunt as you may need to turn these off your game could look noticeably worse and do remember that in some games you are going to have that frame rate cap not just on consoles on pc2 there are titles that will cap out at 60 maybe 120 150 i for one would absolutely love to replay la noire in more than 30 fps but i don't think it can be done and do bear in mind that if you are on pc the high resolution screens already present you with a little bit of a difficult trade-off for you to consider because not only would you be limited in resolution but there aren't actually as many different panels being made out there so the chances of you finding the exact same screen size aspect ratio and refresh rate that you're after all in one package at a good price isn't actually that likely an example for me for instance is i would happily get an ultra wide that's 360 hertz but it doesn't exist yet this statement might be a little bit controversial but in my opinion you just don't need over 120 hertz if you're playing with a controller racing games might be an exception here but to be honest surely you'd buy a wheel if you're really serious right and there actually lies the truth to frame rates ultimately it's all about what's getting best for you and it's really easy to identify because you need to know what it is that you want to play and what you're going to be playing it on for console users i wouldn't say that it is a must-have to buy a 120 hertz tv right now but if you do play the right supported titles then it is a no-brainer to upgrade to 120 whenever it is comfortable for you to do so on the pc side of things it's definitely a lot harder because there are so many different combinations of options and you probably don't just play games either do you what if you're on a second monitor for reddit asking the big questions aren't i competitive gamers just get the fastest gaming monitor that you can afford to drive and then you'll get the lowest latency possible if you're a mixed gamer then to be honest anything between 120 and 165 is absolutely fine you're not going to get the benefits of faster frame rates in every game that you play but then again you're not paying for a specific use case that you're not really going to ever properly take advantage of it also gives you the true freedom to play at whatever resolution you want 4k 1440p ultra wide ultimately it's whatever floats your world of warship i should have just said boat single player guys and girls controller players then in my opinion you can take it easy a large format display is probably what you're after make it 32 inches or more higher resolution and aim for 120 hertz this is all you're going to need to play any title and even if you can't make it up to 120 that's cool no issue whatsoever it's gonna look fantastic and it'll still feel brilliant told you it was simple really just have realistic expectations what it is that you're actually trying to achieve and ultimately if you are spending a set budget try and work out what is going to work best for you because there is no one-size-fits-all but ultimately the more broad you are as a gamer the more broad display you should probably be buying in conclusion faster is indeed better but it always comes at a cost just how much are you willing to pay and how much are you willing to give up for that smoother gameplay if you do want to check out current pricing on any of the displays that were featured here then you can check them out with my affiliate links listed down below and of course while you're down there don't forget to check out gigabyte's awesome aero laptops available in both 15 and 17 inch flavors these rtx studio machines are perfect for cruising through workloads by day and then crushing aaa games by night with both oled and hdr screens available and specs to me any creators need portable creativity has never been more empowering get yours today with that link down below smash the like button if you've enjoyed this get yourself subscribed let me know your thoughts on this down in the comment section below what frame rate are you using what you're aiming for thanks so much for watching i'll catch you in the next oneyou've been lied to for years higher frame rate isn't always better there i've said it shock horror don't get me wrong there are loads of great reasons to play games at higher frame rates but then again there are also plenty not to this might sound a little bit confusing after all 120 hertz is higher than 60 so it simply must be objectively better right it's basic maths man science doesn't lie but here's the thing in isolation you'd be absolutely spot on but in the world of gaming there is no such thing as a free lunch and unfortunately you are going to have to trade things for a higher frame rate which in practice aren't always worth it so let me explain what sort of frame rate is best what you should be aiming for right after a short word from this video sponsor gigabyte error laptops are the one stop solution for all of your creative and gaming needs these slim and sleek machines look absolutely gorgeous yet they pack in some serious horsepower coming equipped with nvidia rtx graphics cards intel 11th gen processors and stacks of memory these laptops are perfect for both work and play learn a little bit more today with that link down below as usual it's the whole marketing bs that gets in the way of the truth because it's not as simple as just buying 120 or 360 hertz display and then playing all of your games and that luscious rich frame rates because you're always going to have to make a trade-off to get there assuming you can actually get there in the first place it's a bit like buying a long-haul flight cheap if it has four stop overs but costs half the price is it really worth it and is that a good analogy probably not for decades console users have been using 30 frames a second as the standards the benchmark minimum that games need to feel smooth enough to play coding issues and hardware limitations mean that sometimes games miss this cyberpunk but that's a topic for another video let's assume a rocksteady frame rate across all of the games today the issue with 30 frames a second is that it looks absolutely fine but it never really feels great as soon as you put any input into the system with a keyboard with a mouse or a gamepad you'll probably notice that there's a slight disconnect from what you're doing and then the time to actually see something or feel something happening on screen this is exactly why the latest gen consoles and of course pc gaming have all adopted 60 frames a second as the true minimum benchmark of next gen with images being refreshed twice as fast not only does the game look a whole lot smoother but the reduced delay from actually hitting the key and then seeing the result on your screen makes it feel a whole lot better too the drawback for this however should be pretty obvious you need twice the amount of horsepower to actually render twice the amount of frames though with current generation hardware this shouldn't be a problem right right moving things into the realm of 2022 a key selling point for both pc gaming and the new consoles is 120 fps gaming which is of course four times the amount of those icky old consoles there is absolutely no doubt that this feels incredible both on pc gaming monitors and the new breed of gaming tvs with 4k 120 slowly becoming the norm for super high-end gaming it is just a joy to use honestly especially in multiplayer gaming is just so much more snappy and engaging it really is next level this isn't 3d it's not vr this is well and truly not a gimmick just like rgb makes your life complete but here's the best bit this isn't even tech for the wealthy oh no cheap 1080p displays that work with 120 hertz have been around for ages so there's no reason why anyone has to settle should they want to get in on 120 fps action unless you're on console and this is the main difference really between pc gaming and console gaming choice because on pc you can set the frame rate to pretty much whatever you want as long as the game actually supports it without a frame rate cap sorted whereas on console you can only choose the options that the developers have actually set for you which is a bit sad now to be fair a decent chunk of next generation games do give you the choice between different performance modes but sometimes it's between 30 and 60 not between 60 and 120. if you're on pc though the good news is that this doesn't apply and in fact you can go even higher than 120 there are even rumors of 480 hertz monitors coming soon which is almost a little bit scary it's all about reducing that time between input and output and as such you'll feel more connected to the game than ever before any competitive title really starts to pull away and give you a frankly unfair advantage especially against anyone playing at 30fps you wouldn't want to be one of those guys because you get your ass whooped boy it's really difficult to explain with words but i'd almost describe it as having more focus on your surroundings as the extra time to spot enemies and move the mouse may only be fractions of a second but it really does make a big difference it's definitely not as dramatic as 60 fps versus 120 especially in slower paced games but there is no doubt that i played better in apex legends at 240 fps even if i am still a little bit crap the big big problem here though is actually quite a few things firstly money 240 and 360hz monitors are expensive let alone the graphics cards and the processors needed to actually drive these games at that refresh rate and that's the other thing even with an endless onslaught of cash there's just no way you can actually drive all of your games at 200 fps even if you've got an rtx 3090 at 1080p it ain't gonna happen sure the games that you probably want to play at 240 or 360 are going to be lighter multiplayer titles but it is definitely a little bit of a waste now isn't it and then finally you have the issue of resolution because if you're looking at getting a super fast refresh rate monitor chances are at best it's going to be 1440p and the real fastest ones are always going to be 1080p there's just something very backwards about having super high in hardware then pairing it with like a small low resolution monitor if there's a title that you play religiously that's multiplayer and you're a very competitive person then 240 and 360 hertz monitors are indeed for you and i don't think you'd regret buying one for everyone else i'm not quite so sure so this is the bit that i like to call pc centric super fun guide to choosing a frame rate starring me and if you buy anything you isn't it fun speed games feel incredibly fast as the frame rate increases with extra fluidity to help their game look and feel their absolute best competitiveness not really important for single player but the faster the screen refreshes the lower the latency and the faster you can react to the on-screen action enjoyment just like i bet you're enjoying this segment i know this sounds really silly but genuinely playing at 120fps is more fun than the same game at 60. i can't quite explain it but by adding that extra layer of immersion through a closer connection between the player and the game it is definitely more fun this last point definitely has a layer of diminishing returns to it though as ultimately it depends what you're playing and what you're playing on the more input that's required the stronger the effects and it's much more pronounced with a mouse and keyboard than it is with a controller now for comparison here are the reasons to actively choose a lower frame rates and the list is actually surprisingly long cost we've already mentioned the currency aspect but here i'm talking about the computing power or the cost of actually working with higher frame rates you see in order to actually crank up the frame rate your processing power is prioritizing speed over other arguably just as important factors resolution maybe graphic settings ray tracing the better looking options need a lot of grunt as you may need to turn these off your game could look noticeably worse and do remember that in some games you are going to have that frame rate cap not just on consoles on pc2 there are titles that will cap out at 60 maybe 120 150 i for one would absolutely love to replay la noire in more than 30 fps but i don't think it can be done and do bear in mind that if you are on pc the high resolution screens already present you with a little bit of a difficult trade-off for you to consider because not only would you be limited in resolution but there aren't actually as many different panels being made out there so the chances of you finding the exact same screen size aspect ratio and refresh rate that you're after all in one package at a good price isn't actually that likely an example for me for instance is i would happily get an ultra wide that's 360 hertz but it doesn't exist yet this statement might be a little bit controversial but in my opinion you just don't need over 120 hertz if you're playing with a controller racing games might be an exception here but to be honest surely you'd buy a wheel if you're really serious right and there actually lies the truth to frame rates ultimately it's all about what's getting best for you and it's really easy to identify because you need to know what it is that you want to play and what you're going to be playing it on for console users i wouldn't say that it is a must-have to buy a 120 hertz tv right now but if you do play the right supported titles then it is a no-brainer to upgrade to 120 whenever it is comfortable for you to do so on the pc side of things it's definitely a lot harder because there are so many different combinations of options and you probably don't just play games either do you what if you're on a second monitor for reddit asking the big questions aren't i competitive gamers just get the fastest gaming monitor that you can afford to drive and then you'll get the lowest latency possible if you're a mixed gamer then to be honest anything between 120 and 165 is absolutely fine you're not going to get the benefits of faster frame rates in every game that you play but then again you're not paying for a specific use case that you're not really going to ever properly take advantage of it also gives you the true freedom to play at whatever resolution you want 4k 1440p ultra wide ultimately it's whatever floats your world of warship i should have just said boat single player guys and girls controller players then in my opinion you can take it easy a large format display is probably what you're after make it 32 inches or more higher resolution and aim for 120 hertz this is all you're going to need to play any title and even if you can't make it up to 120 that's cool no issue whatsoever it's gonna look fantastic and it'll still feel brilliant told you it was simple really just have realistic expectations what it is that you're actually trying to achieve and ultimately if you are spending a set budget try and work out what is going to work best for you because there is no one-size-fits-all but ultimately the more broad you are as a gamer the more broad display you should probably be buying in conclusion faster is indeed better but it always comes at a cost just how much are you willing to pay and how much are you willing to give up for that smoother gameplay if you do want to check out current pricing on any of the displays that were featured here then you can check them out with my affiliate links listed down below and of course while you're down there don't forget to check out gigabyte's awesome aero laptops available in both 15 and 17 inch flavors these rtx studio machines are perfect for cruising through workloads by day and then crushing aaa games by night with both oled and hdr screens available and specs to me any creators need portable creativity has never been more empowering get yours today with that link down below smash the like button if you've enjoyed this get yourself subscribed let me know your thoughts on this down in the comment section below what frame rate are you using what you're aiming for thanks so much for watching i'll catch you in the next one\n"