How to Get Higher Hertz on Monitor? | Unlock Full Refresh Rate

Raising a monitor’s Hertz takes thirty seconds in Windows display settings — if the max rate is missing, the culprit is usually the cable or the GPU driver.

A 60 Hz monitor refreshes the image sixty times per second — fine for email, terrible when a 144 Hz panel sits next to it and never got switched. Whether you are learning how to get higher hertz on monitor or troubleshooting a stuck option, the same Settings menu is your starting point. This guide covers the official Windows path, the cable swap that fixes nine out of ten missing-option cases, and the overclocking route for squeezing extra Hertz past the factory rating.

Raise Your Monitor’s Refresh Rate: The Windows Settings Path

This is the only guaranteed method and the first place to check. Windows 11 and Windows 10 both expose refresh rate controls in the same location, though the labeling differs slightly between versions.

1. Press Windows Key + I to open Settings.
2. Go to System > Display.
3. Scroll down and click Advanced display.
4. If you have multiple monitors, select the one you want to adjust from the dropdown at the top.
5. Click the Choose a refresh rate dropdown and pick the highest number listed — 144 Hz, 240 Hz, or whatever your monitor supports.
6. When Windows asks to keep the change, click Keep changes within 15 seconds. If the screen goes black or flickers, it reverts automatically — that means the selected rate is not stable with your current setup.

On supported laptops, you can also toggle Dynamic refresh rate (DRR) in the same Advanced display menu. DRR drops the rate to 60 Hz when you are reading or browsing and ramps it back up in games, saving battery without sacrificing smoothness. It requires an Intel Core i7 or i9 (12th Gen or newer) or an AMD Ryzen 6000-series processor.

What To Do When The Max Refresh Rate Is Missing

When the dropdown shows only 60 Hz, the monitor is probably fine — something between the GPU and the screen is blocking the higher rates. Check these four things in order because cable problems cause the majority of cases.

Swap the cable. HDMI 1.4 cables physically cannot carry more than 60 Hz at 1440p or 30 Hz at 4K. If you are using an HDMI cable that came with a set-top box or an older monitor, replace it with an HDMI 2.1 cable or, better, a DisplayPort cable. Microsoft’s official refresh rate guide recommends DisplayPort for high-refresh setups.

Update your GPU drivers. Outdated NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel drivers prevent Windows from reading the monitor’s full capability. Download the latest driver from the manufacturer’s site, not from Windows Update.

Check the PC resolution category. In NVIDIA Control Panel, the native resolution often appears under PC (not Ultra-HD/HD/SD). The PC category unlocks the full refresh rate; the TV-style categories cap at 120 Hz.

Verify the monitor’s own menu. Some monitors have an on-screen display (OSD) setting that limits refresh rate to a fallback value. Open the OSD with the monitor’s physical buttons and look for a Refresh Rate option — set it to the highest value or to Auto.

Still stuck? Open Display Adapter Properties for the monitor and uncheck “Hide modes that my monitor cannot display.” That checkbox sometimes hides valid 165 Hz and 240 Hz modes.

Which Cable Delivers The Highest Refresh Rate?

The cable is the most common bottleneck, and the standard matters more than the brand. Here is what each cable type can actually deliver at typical gaming resolutions.

If you are pushing 1440p at 240 Hz or 4K above 60 Hz, DisplayPort 1.4 or HDMI 2.1 is the minimum.

Is Overclocking Your Monitor Safe?

Overclocking forces a refresh rate higher than the monitor’s factory rating, and it carries real risk. Screen tearing, blackouts, and permanent panel damage are possible. That said, a small bump — 60 Hz to 70 Hz, or 144 Hz to 155 Hz — works on many monitors and leaves no lasting harm if the test fails.

Here is the process for NVIDIA GPUs. AMD’s Radeon Software follows the same logic with slightly different labels.

1. Right-click the desktop and open NVIDIA Control Panel.
2. Go to Display > Change resolution.
3. Click Customize and check Enable resolutions not exposed by this display.
4. Click Create Custom Resolution. Enter your monitor’s native resolution (e.g., 2560 x 1440) and raise the Refresh Rate by 10 Hz. Leave Scan Type on Progressive and Standard on Automatic.
5. Click Test. If the screen holds steady for five seconds without flickering or going black, the test passes. Click OK to save the custom resolution.
6. Select the new resolution in the Change resolution list and click Apply.

If the screen flickers or goes black during the test, the monitor cannot handle that rate. Drop back by 5 Hz and test again. Never leave a failing rate enabled — Windows reverts after 15 seconds, but repeated failed tests can stress the panel.

When The Monitor Itself Is The Limit

If your monitor caps at 60 Hz and no cable swap or overclock gets you past it, the panel simply cannot go higher. A 60 Hz office monitor will never hit 144 Hz no matter what you do in software. At that point, upgrading the display is the only real fix. For buyers aiming at the sweet spot between cost and smoothness, our roundup of the best 200 Hz monitors covers models that balance refresh rate with image quality for gaming and daily use.

Before you buy, make sure your GPU can drive the higher rate. A 200 Hz monitor is wasted on a GPU that maxes out at 90 frames per second in the games you play. Check that your system can actually hit the frame rates the new monitor would display.

Windows Settings vs Overclocking vs New Monitor: Which Path Fits?