Display Refresh Rate & Reaction Time
Updated 2026-08-10·By ReactionF1 Team
What Refresh Rate Changes
A 60Hz panel updates about every 16.7 ms. Higher refresh shortens the gap between frames. That can change when a light-state change becomes visible — a slice of your measured time, not your entire nervous system.
Honest Bounds
Refresh rate is one contributor among input lag, browser work, and attention. Do not claim a magic “+30 ms for 60Hz” law for every person. Use it as a reason to keep the same panel when tracking.
Practical Check
If you own both a 60Hz laptop and a higher-refresh phone, run the same-person five-clean protocol from the phone-vs-desktop guide and note refresh class in the log.
Gaming Monitors
Faster panels help competitive play feel snappier. For ReactionF1, the win is repeatability: same Hz, same game settings, same browser.
What Not to Do
Do not buy hardware solely to chase AdSense or leaderboard bragging. Buy it if you already care about display feel — then re-baseline your training log.
Ready to put it into practice? Run a clean lights-out attempt on thefree F1 start test.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. It can reduce display delay; it does not create F1-driver nerves.
No. It is common. Just keep it constant when comparing weeks.
Yes — power modes can throttle. Note them if scores jump.
Expect different stacks. Separate logs.
Device latency guide and methodology.
Explore More
Methodology & Timing
Our reaction time test uses performance.now() for millisecond-precision timing. The stimulus (lights out) and your tap are both timestamped in the browser. Your reaction time is the difference—typically within ±5 ms of true response time, depending on device and display latency.
Device latency and browser variance affect results. A 60Hz display adds up to ~16ms of delay; touch and mouse input lag also contribute. For a detailed explanation, see our device latency & reaction time guide.
Last updated: 2026-08-10 · Written by ReactionF1 Team
