Refresh rate (Hz)
What Hz means on a screen, the difference between 60Hz, 120Hz and 144Hz, and whether it matters on a console.
Refresh rate is how many times per second your screen redraws the image, measured in hertz (Hz). A 60Hz screen refreshes sixty times a second. It is the display side of the same idea as FPS: the game produces frames, and the screen has to be able to show them.
60Hz vs 120Hz vs 144Hz — what is the difference?
The number is a ceiling. A 60Hz screen can display at most 60 frames per second, no matter how many the game produces. A 120Hz screen can show up to 120, and a 144Hz monitor up to 144. Going from 60Hz to 120Hz makes motion visibly smoother and cuts the delay between your input and what appears on screen. The step from 120Hz to 144Hz is much smaller — noticeable to competitive PC players, largely invisible to everyone else.
Does refresh rate matter on a console?
It matters, but only if both sides support it. Your game has to run above 60 FPS, and your screen has to accept it. PS5, Xbox Series X and Series S all support 120Hz output, and a growing number of games offer a 120 FPS mode — mostly shooters, racing and fighting games. Story-driven games usually target 30 or 60 with better visuals instead.
Two practical points. First, the TV has to be connected properly: 120Hz at 4K needs an HDMI 2.1 port and a cable that supports it. Second, the setting often has to be switched on — check your TV picture settings for a game mode or a high frame rate option, because some sets ship with it off.
If your screen is 60Hz, there is nothing to enable and nothing lost. Almost every console game targets 30 or 60 FPS, and a 60Hz screen shows those perfectly.