refresh rates guestion

Hi,
I have an ATI radeon video card, 128 meg, and it lets me adjust both the
screen size and the "refresh rate." The default refresh rate is 60.

So I changed it to 70 to see what happens. I think it made the picture
clearer, but I'm not sure because my vision isn't that great.

What is the purpose of "refresh rates," and is 60 what everybody should
generally use?

Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to fill me in this.

a

On Mon, 6 Dec 2004 09:07:06 -0500, -Alby Hewlet wrote:

Hi,
I have an ATI radeon video card, 128 meg, and it lets me adjust both the
screen size and the "refresh rate." The default refresh rate is 60.

So I changed it to 70 to see what happens. I think it made the picture
clearer, but I'm not sure because my vision isn't that great.

What is the purpose of "refresh rates," and is 60 what everybody should
generally use?

Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to fill me in this.

60 hertz is definitely on the low side - ideally aim for 70/75+

It depends on the capabilities of the monitor you are using. CRT's are
usually capable of high refresh rates at lower resolutions (over 100 hertz
in some cases), and tail off toward the top end.

Most 17" CRT's should do 1280 x 1024 at a good refresh rate, whilst 19"
ones are normally capable of diplaying 1600 x 1200 at similar rates.

A higher (or faster) refresh rate means it redraws the screen more times
per second, meaning less flicker or shimmer ie easier on the eyes.

"-Alby Hewlet" wrote in message
...
Hi,
I have an ATI radeon video card, 128 meg, and it lets me adjust both the
screen size and the "refresh rate." The default refresh rate is 60.

So I changed it to 70 to see what happens. I think it made the picture
clearer, but I'm not sure because my vision isn't that great.

What is the purpose of "refresh rates," and is 60 what everybody should
generally use?

Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to fill me in this.

a



Refresh rate helps minimize flicker in high ambient light.
60Hz is fine in most cases.
As bench mark, a dark movie theater runs about 24 frames /sec.
A US TV set runs 60 frames/sec for one field.
Monitors at the AirPort run at 85 frames /sec or 85Hz.
JPS

-Alby Hewlet wrote:

Hi,
I have an ATI radeon video card, 128 meg, and it lets me adjust both the
screen size and the "refresh rate." The default refresh rate is 60.

So I changed it to 70 to see what happens. I think it made the picture
clearer, but I'm not sure because my vision isn't that great.

What is the purpose of "refresh rates," and is 60 what everybody should
generally use?

Actually, nobody uses 60 if they can avoid it.

The refresh rate is how many time per second the screen is redrawn on the
face of the tube and that determines how much flicker there is. 60 is fine
for TV sets but it's too low for a computer CRT monitor and even if you
can't 'see' it odds are it is straining your eyes.

That might be why you think it's 'clearer' but, unless there is something
out of adjustment with the monitor, it should not be any 'clearer'.


Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to fill me in this.

a

Hi,
I have an ATI radeon video card, 128 meg, and it lets me adjust both the
screen size and the "refresh rate." The default refresh rate is 60.

So I changed it to 70 to see what happens. I think it made the picture
clearer, but I'm not sure because my vision isn't that great.

What is the purpose of "refresh rates," and is 60 what everybody should
generally use?

Thanks in advance to anyone who takes the time to fill me in this.

a


60 hertz is too low for me and for most people. At 60 Hertz I can see a
definite flicker in the image. It's like the image is either pulsating or
vibrating. It's especially noticeable when I happen to be walking by the
monitor and catch a glimpse of it out of the corner of my eye. I set my
monitor resolution at 85 hertz. Setting the resolution too high is bad too.
It makes the monitor work harder and could cause it to burn out faster. The
best setting is the lowest setting at which it looks good to you.

What is the purpose of "refresh rates," and is 60 what everybody should
generally use?

At 60 Hz, some, maybe most, people can detect a flicker when the
refresh occurs so slowly. Some people even complain that it gives
them a migraine to stare a montior refreshing at 60 hz. From my
experience, the flicker is most noticible when looking at a white
background. As an experiment, open Notepad, and Maximize the window.
Can you see the flicker? How bout if you... view the screen
peripherally. Meaning, don't look at the screen, but instead look
directly at the monitors edge. Without moving your eyes from the
edge, stare briefly, and concentrate on your peripheral vision towards
the center of the monitor. Yeah, there it is... Increasing the
refresh rate will make this effect disappear completely, or at least,
lessen the intensity.
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"-Alby Hewlet" wrote:

What is the purpose of "refresh rates,"

The refresh rate is the number of times your screen will flicker
every second. If it flickers very fast, you won't notice the flicker.
The technical explanation has something to do with how your monitor
surface maintains/retains light.

and is 60 what everybody should generally use?

A refresh rate of 60 is significantly lower than ideal. A low refresh
rate can be annoying and might even increase eye strain. I prefer
100, but 85 is OK too IMO. I have read that 75 hertz is OK. If you
have a low-end monitor, you might be stuck with low refresh rates. A
refresh rate of 60 is problematic in my experience.

.... get/download your monitor driver
.... install your monitor driver
.... be sure your chosen refresh rate does not exceed your monitor
capability

.... I would use desktop properties to change refresh settings
.... right-click on the desktop - Properties - Settings - Advanced -
and change refresh rates under Adapter or Monitor

.... modern versions of Windows will allow you 15 seconds to press OK
before Windows resets the refresh rate back to whatever it was before
you changed it
.... that way, if you set it too high and the display is garbled, it
will self-correct