GameLab Pillar Guide
FPS vs Refresh Rate: What Is the Difference & Why Frame Times Matter
2026-08-27
7 min read
Fact-Checked
FPS vs Refresh Rate: The Fundamental Difference
While often confused, FPS (Frames Per Second) and Refresh Rate (Hertz / Hz) measure two completely separate components of your gaming experience:
- FPS (GPU Output): How many distinct graphical frames your graphics card renders per second.
- Refresh Rate (Display Capability): How many times per second your physical monitor panel redraws its pixels.
\text{Frame Time (ms)} = \frac{1000}{\text{Refresh Rate or FPS}}
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