Some people think FPS is irrelevant. According to them, moving beyond 60 frames per second to something like 120 frames per second is meaningless since the human eye can only perceive so many frames per second.
Those individuals are mistaken.
The quick answer is that 60 frames per second is more readily available and less expensive to run, but it is notably less sprightly than 120 frames per second. Although 120 frames per second is undoubtedly preferable than 60 frames per second for fast-paced, intense video games, the additional 60 frames per second won’t make much of a difference for routine activities like web browsing.
Granted, you won’t notice much of a difference when you double your framerate while using Microsoft Word or Excel, and your experience on Twitter is unlikely to be significantly enhanced by switching from 60 to 120 frames per second, but there are instances in which doing so can have noticeable, practical advantages.
This tutorial will cover everything you need to know about when you’d benefit from 120 frames per second, when 60 frames per second will suffice, and how switching from 60 to 120 frames per second will enhance your experiences.
Pros & Cons of 60fps vs 120fps
Although framerates have a significant impact on computing, not all applications are similarly impacted. Let’s first examine the advantages and disadvantages of 60 fps and 120 fps in general.
Benefits and Disadvantages of 60fps
For many years, 60 frames per second has virtually been the norm. The maximum number of frames that may be displayed per second on most TVs and monitors was 60Hz, and PCs were no exception. And despite the fact that modern monitors and graphics cards can support much, much higher framerates, many users still believe that 60 frames per second is a feasible option.
The following are the main benefits and drawbacks of 60 fps versus 120 fps:
60fps Experts
- backed by a broad range of hardware
- Most current PCs can support 60 frames per second at 720p or 1080p.
- Quick enough for many games, albeit not optimal
- Significantly less demanding on the machine than 120 fps
60 fps Cons
- Motion is not as fluid as 120 fps
- Compared to 120fps, action scenes appear more hazy.
- more input lag than 120 frames per second
- puts you at a disadvantage compared to players using 120 frames per second
120fps Pros and Cons
Although 120 frames per second is still relatively new, both consumers and manufacturers are fast adopting it as the industry standard. It takes a lot of computing power to produce 120 frames per second, but many people—especially gamers—believe the extra frames are well worth the investment in more powerful computers and monitors with faster refresh rates, and it’s easy to see why. Fast-paced games look, feel, and play better at higher framerates (we’ll talk more about that later), and in many situations, greater FPS actually means better performance.
120fps Experts
- Motion appears smoother than at 60fps.
- action scenes with less blur
- reduced input lag as compared to 60 frames per second
- Less screen tearing and chop at 120 frames per second
120fps Cons
- not as many PCs and displays supported
- need more powerful (and pricey) hardware
- Resolution and framerate trade off
- Not required for the majority of applicants
60fps vs 120fps for Gaming
You’ll really notice a difference between 60 and 120 fps in gaming. Many games run quite well at 60 frames per second, but first-person shooters like Halo Infinite or Battlefield 2042, racing games like Forza Horizon 5 or Dirt 5, and fighting games like Street Fighter V or Guilty Gear Strive now almost always require framerates of 120 frames per second or greater. Professional gamers value FPS above resolution, graphical effects, and pretty much every other aspect of their gaming experience because the effects of higher framerates on fast-paced games are so substantial.
Professional gamers place a high value on FPS for a number of reasons, all of which are worthwhile exploring. The majority of professional gamers prefer to play at 144, even 240 frames per second rather than 60 or 120, but you’ll still gain the same advantages by switching from 60 to 120 fps, albeit not to the same extent.
The link between framerate and graphics is the first advantage you’ll experience when switching from 60 to 120 frames per second. The animations can occasionally appear jerky or fuzzy while you’re playing an FPS or other fast-paced games at lower framerates. The game moves too quickly for the animations to be precisely caught in just 60 frames per second, resulting in these obtrusive effects.
By increasing the frame rate to 120 frames per second, your computer may divide the animations into twice as many frames, resulting in smoother, more realistic animations and character models that don’t appear to be hopping from one location to another.
The elimination or reduction of irritating visual effects like ghosting that can interfere with your game is the second advantage of 120 fps over 60 fps. Ghosting—when fast-moving characters leave ghostly trails behind them—occurs when you run games on LCD displays at low framerates and can easily result in missed kills or unnecessary deaths.
For a few other reasons, raising your framerate can significantly enhance your gaming experience. The first is latency. Your system divides each second into twice as many pieces when you increase your frame rate from 60 to 120 frames per second, rendering every animation, motion, and input twice as quickly. This has a bigger impact than you might imagine; cutting down on system latency improves the feel of your inputs, makes it easier for you to react to other players, and gives you a significant advantage over the lower-FPS opposition.
60 frames per second vs. 120 frames per second for everyday computing
While going from 60 to 120 frames per second won’t improve the appearance of your papers or make your spreadsheets any easier to use, it will make everything feel more fluid and responsive. By virtually halving the response time of your computer, doubling the framerate makes everything feel much smoother, from scrolling through a webpage to moving your cursor to click a link. The interface will feel more responsive, and animations like window opening and closing will appear more fluid.
When performing routine tasks, some people won’t notice much of a difference between 60 and 120 frames per second, but practically everyone will notice if you drop from 120 to 60 frames per second. Some customers claim that the change from 120 to 60 frames per second makes the monitor’s refreshing more obvious, the screen seems choppier, and moving the pointer feels less responsive and even a little jerky.
There isn’t much benefit to conducting routine tasks at 120 frames per second, even though doing so will make your cursor feel more responsive and make things look and feel smoother. Most people will manage just fine with 60 frames per second, so there is no reason to upgrade your computer and monitor merely to attain 120 frames per second internet browsing.
What “Frames Per Second” Actually Means
The term “frames per second” means precisely what it sounds like. The idea behind old-school flipbooks is basically the same as how projectors, monitors, and televisions generate the appearance of motion by presenting a series of still images, or frames, many times per second. The sensation of motion also gets stronger the faster the images pass, much like in vintage flipbooks.
Due to industry regulations and the bandwidth restrictions of outdated broadcast technology, movies, television broadcasts, and live sporting events are restricted to certain framerates; however, computers are not subject to these restrictions. The framerate is only constrained by your preferences and the processing capability of your computer, regardless of whether you’re playing a game, working on a spreadsheet, or simply staring at the home screen.
Conclusions and Suggestions
Above 60 frames per second, 120 frames per second provides many significant advantages. Almost all actions and animations will feel faster and more natural, including moving your cursor, opening windows, and scrolling down pages. However, increasing to 120 frames per second needs a significant increase in computing power, so upgrading your system definitely won’t be worthwhile unless you’re an avid player.
The one application where raising your framerate is undeniably worthwhile is gaming. Higher framerates make it considerably simpler to track and shoot at moving characters, and they also directly correlate with decreased input and system lag as well as fewer distracting visual effects. While slower-moving or turn-based games can be played at 60 frames per second without degrading performance, modern gamers who wish to stay competitive must run faster-moving games at 120 frames per second or higher.
