Eli5: Why screen refresh rates are 60Hz, 90Hz, 120Hz, and 144Hz? Why not other numbers?
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60Hz is the lowest commonly agreed upon refresh rate at which rapid motion looks smooth – for example, the motion in first person shooters.
Yes, there are many circumstances in which video will appear smooth despite a lower refresh rate.
Yes, it is still possible to distinguish the difference between a 60Hz monitor and higher refresh rate monitors when there is high-speed motion being rendered.
Despite that, 60Hz is the generally agreed upon refresh rate at which motion will look *smooth* – not perfect – under all circumstances.
The first video cable to economically cater to people displaying high motion video on a monitor was the DVI cable. DVI Single Link was designed to provide enough bandwidth to support 60Hz at what is basically 1080p. DVI Dual Link was designed to provide enough bandwidth to support 60Hz at what is basically 4k. This is why 60Hz monitors exist.
If you stick a DVI Dual Link cable on a 1080p monitor, the extra bandwidth that the cable provides allows for a maximum refresh rate of 144Hz. This is why 144Hz monitors exist.
120Hz monitors exist because early HDMI cables could support 720p monitors at 120Hz. 120Hz monitors are cheaper to produce than 144Hz monitors for a negligible difference in quality and so continue to be produced for that reason.
90 Hz monitors exist because 90 is halfway between 60 and 120. Humans like to buy products that are halfway between the “low end” and “high end” models for any given product, and thus 90Hz monitors were born.
Modern HDMI cables can support refresh rates far in excess of 144Hz at 1080p. Nonetheless, it isn’t economical to produce monitors with refresh rates higher than 144Hz, plus the difference in perceived performance is already negligible above 120Hz. As a result, monitors that go above 144Hz are rare and expensive.
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